This songfic is based on the song "Goodbye Blue Sky" by Pink Floyd. It is another follow up of the story "In the name of honour".
„Look mummy, there´s an aeroplane up in the sky!"
A five-year old boy pointed his finger at the bomber squadron that appeared at the horizon. It was a quiet evening. The sun was low in the sky. A beautiful panorama unfolded behind the bombers. Yellow faded into red, which faded into purple and underneath it was a broad band of blue.
The mother ran for her son. „Come inside Michael, fast!".
But the boy did not listen to her. His finger still pointed at the sky. His mouth was opened in amazement. Never had he seen so many planes before. „Mummy, look, they´re throwing stones!".
Indeed, tiny black dots fell from the bombers. Seconds later, an explosion rang through the night sky and flames and dust appeared at the horizon.
„Mummy, what´s happening?". The little boy sounded frightened now and pressed tight to his mother as the bomber squadron drew nearer. The roaring of the planes sounded like thunder and he was afraid of thunder.
Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
Another explosion made the house shake. Debris began to fall from the roof. The mother grabbed her sons hand. „Come Michael, we have to go inside, we will be safe then.".
„Really mummy?". Big frightened eyes peered into the mothers, asking for comfort, for safety. His mother stroke his hair. „Yes, Michael, now come.". As the two of them hurried towards the house, more bombs fell, closer all the time.
Did you ever wonder
Why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfold beneath the clear blue sky?
Inside, the mother and son hurried underneath the staircase, hoping it
would protect them, would the house come down. A loud crash, very near
to them made Michael jump. „Mummy, I´m so afraid. Are we going to die?".
His mother looked at him, her eyes opened wide. A thought shot through her.
Five year olds should not have to worry about death. What happened to the world, when five year old kids think they will die?
She stroke his hair again. „Michael, I will protect you, as best as I can.".
Her son nodded, put his head on his knees and folded his hands above it. There in the silent darkness, he cried his silent tears of fear when a bomb hit the house.
At first they thought that the staircase would remain in place, but when the whole house crashed down, nothing could save them.
„No!", Colonel Robert Hogan shouted, while shooting upwards from his bunk. For a moment he looked around, confused, before he remembered where he was. His breathing calming slowly, he recalled his recent nightmare.
He had been fighting the bad dreams for long, combining this with an increased effort to preserve the life of every man he could possibly save. The nightmares had decreased in number, but a recent letter had made them alive as if they had never been gone.
Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
George had sent him a picture of his wife and son. He thought that it
would be necessary for Hogan to come to terms with his own feelings of
guilt. The accompanying letter, however had not eased Hogans guilt,
they had only increased it in his own view.
The nightmares had returned, worse than ever, because now, the figures in it had faces and names and above all, a history, a connection to him. The letter had told him much about them, but even more about his brothers pain. George had obviously not intended to hurt him, he simply had wanted to show Rob how they had been and why George had hated the allies for killing them, but in every word was the pain of losing what had been dear to his brother.
He shifted around in his bunk, looked at the dark blue sky and knew, that he would have to live with this knowledge, forever.
Robert Hogan sat in front of the television, watching how the wall of Berlin crumbled an fell. He had wished for this to happen ever since he had said goodbye to Wilhelm Klink and Hans Schultz. The two Germans had insisted on staying in Germany to rebuild their country.
Now, Germany was reunited and maybe, the future would bring peace and comfort for those little children, who should be laughing and playing, not crouching for shelter when bombs fell around them.
Hogan looked at the blue sky above the remains of the Berlin wall. There, on the screen were people celebrating their new freedom. His gaze travelled to the tiny picture on the wall. There where Georges wife and son, the picture he had received in Stalag 13. There was the Berlin wall, but there was also the family that had been lost and would never return. The sky would brighten, but it had changed, forever.
The flames are all long gone
But the pain lingers on
Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye