CHAPTER 3
Disclaimer As usual, I do not own The Sound of Music, or any of the characters, blablablabla.
Author's note: There you have it! Chapter 3! To tell you the truth, I am not completely satisfied with it, but I've been racking my brains out too much and I just decided to post it anyway. I keep changing things and it's driving me bunkers!!! Lol. Btw, school is starting again on Monday, so it might be a while for me to post the next chapter but not too long I hope! (exams and homework come first! Well not really, but they should! Grrrrrrrr).
PS: Charley, so sorry not to have sent it to you before, cause it reassures me to have your advice before I post. But I didn't catch you on msn, so surprise! As for Gwenny, my little crêpe, where are my reviews? Just kidding, I know you're busy.
Again, thank you so much to: missqueenlilian, Shahrazad63, addlogcon, and ForeverJulie (thxs againfor pointing the spelling mistakes!)
And keep the reviews up! It's the best reward for us writers!
Now, let's get this show on the road! hihi
Ella had just put Grace to bed. The little girl had not protested much, her full stomach making sleep easier to come. As for Marta, she had agreed to help Cook prepare some pancakes for the children's afternoon snack. She was glad to make a surprise for her siblings when they would return from town.
Now the elder woman was out on the terrace, worry feeling her stomach, scanning the garden for any signs of the two adults. Then she saw Charlie carrying an unconscious Maria in his arms. She let out a scream and ran towards them.
"Oh my god! Charlie!"
"Please mother, just open the door for me!" he pressed her.
She quickly climbed back the stairs to the terrace and opened the back door, letting them in the villa.
She followed Charlie upstairs to Georg's office, not wanting to disturb the sleeping baby in Maria's bedroom, and quietly shut the door behind them. Charlie laid Maria gently on the sofa. He bent down next to her and took her hand in his; needing the contact of her warm flesh to reassure him she was fine.
"Charlie! Don't tell me Captain Von Trapp is…"
He turned around to face his mother. The look on his face told her everything she had been dreading.
"Oh no!" she cried, one hand over her mouth. "It can't be! What happened?! How did you learn it?! Are you sure? It must all be a terrible mistake!" She was rambling, a usual sign of nervousness.
But Maria prevented him from answering one single question. She was starting to regain consciousness.
"Georg! Where's Georg?" she whispered. She opened her eyes slowly, only to see two very worried faces leaning towards her.
"No!" she cried and suddenly stood up straight. "No! Where's my husband?!"
"Maria I'm so sorry." Charlie whispered, not knowing what to say, completely lost for words. He was still holding her hand. "Georg is.."
"Don't!" she cried, taking her hand out of his. "Don't you dare say that!" Tears were flowing down her cheeks. She looked at Ella, her eyes begging her to contradict the words her son had nearly uttered.
"Oh my poor child!" and Ella now crying too, ran to the couch and took Maria in her arms, hugging her tightly against her heart.
Maria stiffened and didn't return the hug. She felt num, as if she was not actually here, but miles away. No! This could not be! She was going to wake up any time now; Grace would soon be needing her, crying to be fed. Yes, that was it! She was having a nightmare! But why were her cheeks moist? Was she crying?
"Georg!" she choked before realizing she was hugging Ella tightly, needing some comfort, anything to ease the pain she felt.
At the same time, in a different place:
Sister Sophia knocked quietly on the reverent mother's door.
"Ave."
"Reverent mother." She entered the office and knelt down to kiss the older sister's hand.
"Yes my child. What can I do for you?"
"Well, the hospitals are full. I have the head physician waiting outside the gates of the convent with two trucks full of wounded soldiers. He is asking us if we could spare a few rooms as a temporarily measure to treat his men."
"Of course we must help them." The reverent mother did not agree with the Nazis ideologies and harsh treatment of what they foolishly called "the unworthy race". But nevertheless, all wounded men were welcome inside those walls.
"I will make the necessary arrangements my child. Please let them in. I will warn the sisters that we will need their help to prepare the rooms and perhaps to assist the doctors."
"Yes mother".
Sister Sophia went back outside to let the soldiers in.
"All right sir. You may bring your men inside." She said, unlocking the gate. "We will be glad to help in any way we can."
"Thank you Sister. Herr Zilmen!"
"Yes sir!"
"You are in charge of the first truck. Ask your soldiers to carry the unconscious men inside. The other wounded who can walk will follow you inside. I will take care of the second truck."
"Yes sir!"
"All right gentlemen, follow me." And Sister Sophia led the way inside.
She didn't notice one particular man who was lost in the crowd of other soldiers.
This man, lying on a stretcher, delirious with fever, kept repeating one word over and over again. This word would probably have caught the Sister's attention had she heard it: "Maria. Maria. Maria……"
Night time had come at the Von Trapp villa. But no laughter was heard as there usually would be. The dining room was empty. The habitants of the villa were not having their dinner as they normally would be at this hour. Maria's guitar lay abandoned against a chair in the sitting room, and no one was sitting at the piano, playing a joyful tune. Everything was silent.
Upstairs, in the nursery, a mother was trying to comfort her seven children, the eighth child still sleeping in the master bedroom, unaware of the pain and despair her mother and siblings were experiencing.
Maria was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, Gretl on her laps, her arms around Marta and Briggita who were sitting by either side of her. Louisa and Liesl were cuddle up on Gretel's bed, on Maria's left, while Fredrick and Kurt were occupying Marta's bed, on her right.
Earlier in the afternoon, Charlie had told her what had happened, after she had come down enough to let him speak.
"I had a visit from Herr Keller, this morning, Georg's superior commander in the navy." Charlie started to explain, as gently as possible. "He told me what happened."
He was racking his brain to find the right words to say to her. But in this situation, were there any? He knew she had to know what really happened, she deserved the truth. He was sitting by her side on the couch, in Georg's study. Ella was on her other side, one arm around the young woman's shoulders.
Maria was looking ahead of her. Her eyes were puffy and red from the tears she had spilt. She had cried so much she wondered if she had any tears left in her. She didn't want to look at either of them. She just couldn't. Her throat felt dry and hurt. Charlie had brought her a glass of water, but she had refused it, not wanting the satisfaction of easing this small physical pain. This was absolutely nothing to the sharp stab she had just received in her heart.
"He was accompanied by Herr Zeller.", he continued. She shivered but still didn't look in his direction.
"They were caught in a sea battle against an English war ship about a week ago, in the North sea. A bomb fell and pierced the hull of the ship. Georg and most of his men managed to get out on time before the whole thing sank. They escaped in life boats and headed towards the cost, but there, another battle was being fought. It was a trap. The English were only waiting for them on land."
He looked at Maria again and his heart ached for the woman he loved. Yes, he loved her. He admitted it. He knew things would be easier if he didn't, but how could he command his heart? He had loved her since the first time he had seen her, the night of the festival, in her husband's arms. He had known then that her heart would always belong to Georg. He had just had to look at the two of them together to know straight away that they had been made for each other. He had been memorized by the tenderness in the couple's eyes, by the aura of love that surrounded them both. He couldn't remember ever witnessing this adoration in a man for his wife as he had with the Captain and Maria.
During these months at the Von Trapp Villa, his love for her had grown with each passing day. Her eyes, her smile, her laughter, her whole being drove him crazy. She was perfection, as a woman, as a mother. But he respected her far too much to have decided to make his feelings known to her during the Captain's absence. He had been contented, no, contented was not the right word, but at least thankful to be near her even if he had to carry this guilty secret and hide it at the bottom of his heart.
And now, seeing the distress in her eyes was killing him. Why did this have to be? Why? Why? Why? She was only 22 for heaven's sake! She had just had a baby and now she had lost her husband! He never wanted to see this look in her eyes, never ever again.
"Georg, Herr Keller and Maxim, my friend who has been passing your messages to Georg, happened to be in the same life boat. But when they reached land, Herr Keller received a bullet in his chest, which very nearly missed his heart. He fell unconscious. Georg and Maxim carried him in the direction of a German camp, not far away from the sea shore. But in the middle of the way, Maxim took a bullet in the leg." Charlie's voice was trembling now.
Finally, Maria turned her head towards him. Every word she was hearing was hurting her. She felt dizzy and nauseous. But she had to know, she just had to force herself to listen until the end. Not knowing what had really happened would only make everything worse.
Ella tightened her grip around her shoulders to comfort her.
Maria took Charlie's hand in hers and squeezed it, silently urging him to continue, which he did.
"Max told Georg to go on without him or they would all die. So Georg carried him behind a dune of sand and promised to come back for him after he had brought Keller to safety. He reached the camp and left Keller in the doctor's care to go back and collect Maxim. The doctor and nurses tried to dissuade him to go, after all it was suicidal. But he didn't listen to them and he left."
Oh god! Why didn't they stop him! Georg! Why did you have to be so honorable and so brave? She despised herself for thinking that, but she couldn't help herself. And at the same time, she knew her husband was nothing less than brave, honorable and she loved him so much for it! But why him? Why was life so cruel? She couldn't bear to live without him. He was her second self. He was her life.
"Neither of them came back." Charlie finished.
She felt cold, so cold.
"Mother! Mother! We're home!"
Oh no! The children! What was she going to say to the children?! They were going to be so devastated! They adored their father so much! She was going to have to be brave for them. Could she manage? She was frightened to death to tell them, but she had to. They were going to need each other more than ever now.
She needed them.
Slowly, she stood up, Ella and Charlie imitating her.
"Maria, do you want me to come with you?" Charlie asked unsure, guessing what she intended to do next.
"No." Her voice was barely audible, but she looked determined. "They are my children. This is something I need to do by myself." And bravely, she left the office. She felt like if she was walking towards her executioner.
Back in the nursery:
"Mummy?!"
"Yes Gretl sweetie?"
"Do you think Father is in heaven with our other mother?" she asked anxiously, with all the innocence of her young age.
"Oh my baby!" And she hugged the little girl tightly, rocking her on her laps. "Yes Gretl. Yes, I think if you father is gone, then he is most certainly in heaven, with all the people he loves."
Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she dried them quickly with her hand, not wanting her children to see them. She couldn't help hoping this was some terrible mistake that he was going to come back to them. She half expected him to come through the door and greet them like he used to do when coming back home late in the evening, a warm and loving smile on his face. Stop it Maria! You're only making things worse! She said to herself angrily.
"But Father would want to be with you Mother! Not our other mother. He loves you and he must be sad you are not with him! Why can't you stay with him instead of our other mother?" Marta asked.
She and Gretl were so young to understand what was happening. And to them both, Maria was their real mother, the only one they remembered.
Maria was just about to answer her, but Briggita beat her to it.
"Marta, our other mother is in heaven. That's why Gretl is right in saying Father is with her." She explained, her voice shaking slightly. "Mother is here with us now. She can't be in two places at he same time. But that doesn't mean Father will ever stop loving her or us. He is living in all our hearts."
"Do you really think father is living in my heart Mother?"
"Yes Martha. I do believe it. And in yours too Gretl."
Maria smiled at Briggita, thankful for her help. She could always trust her to find the right words. She reached for her daughter's hand and brought it to her lips. Briggita responded to this gesture by putting her head on her mother's shoulders.
"Now I want both of you to put your hands on your hearts." Maria said to Marta and Gretl.
The little girls obliged.
"Now can you hear your heart beating?"
They nodded their heads, smiling.
"Well, when you want to feel your Father's presence inside you, remember to put your hand like this. And your Father will be there, in your heart as you can feel it now. And you can always talk to him. He will not answer you directly like I do, but he is here, listening to you and guiding you. He will always be."
She mentioned for Louisa, Liesl, Kurt and Fredrick to join the rest of them on the floor. She smiled to them softly and voiced them a silent "I love you". They smiled back to her, tears visible in their eyes.
"Now children! I want all of you to hold hands."
Maria gently put Gretl on the floor, next to her and took her hand in hers. Then she took Marta's hand in her other one. All the family sat in circle, each holding their siblings by the hand.
"Now I want all of you to close your eyes and make a little prayer for your Father."
She closed her eyes. Georg! Oh Georg! I miss you my love! I love you so much! You are my life.
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