A/N: I know I've taken a lot of time with this chapter, but here it is finally!
Ipegasus: Thanks for your reviews. Really helps to know that someone's reading my stories.
Chapter: 4
All of it was new to Faith. London fascinated her. She was enthralled by the fast life of London- the various clubs, dance-houses and restaurants. The cobbled pathways that led into so many ancient buildings. The sheer numbers on London's numerous roads and cafes caught her wide-eyed and gaping. London was a pure mix of everything- the ancient and the modern, nature's beauty and the latest developments of technology. The fresh shiny cars and automobiles on the dark asphalt roads went well with the brown, large beautifully carved architecture of the city. Lights shone from every corner of every road when the sun set- casting a resplendent glow over the entire city. The very idea that nature could go well with all that is man-made had never seemed possible to Faith; but London was a delicious blend of everything. She missed the sights and smells of home, of course…but London gave the outsider enough food for thought. Often, lost in the city's splendor, she forgot her sorrows…but in a flash they'd all come back. The only aspect of London that disheartened Faith was the constant feel of war. The atmosphere was filled with the sounds of war. Anywhere in London, one could hear the uniform clatter of strong boots…salutes… 'yes, sir!'…flags being hoisted at dawn….pulled down at sunset. All the beauty of the city was unable to hide the presence of this horror. A minute might pass with no recollection of the true pain and agony of her life- but the next minute brought her back form her jolly ride. Such was the life that Faith had been flung into, and this was how she was going to live for a long while.
Her boat ride across the Atlantic had been enjoyable. Towards the end she had become a little sea-sick, but good care from a couple of nurses and a trained doctor helped her recuperate. She was well and fine when she reached London, and so she bothered not to mention this to her family in her next letter home. The six-day journey had been pleasant on the whole, except for the last two days…but four days had given her enough time to make new friends. Faith's room was right next to the room belonging to a young girl about the same age as her, and in Jane Moon, Faith found a kindred soul.
Jane was an average looking girl. She hailed from Toronto, but had lived one half of her life in New York City. She was quite wealthy; her clothes and her mannerisms were proof of that. Jane did not share Faith's enthusiasm for London- she had been there so many times, that she had 'lost her taste for the city.' Faith had been taking out her soapbox an a towel- she had wanted to get ready before dinner- when she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door, and there, standing before her was this young woman- probably twenty or twenty one years old- a cheerful smile on her face, a small rose in her right hand. She offered the rose to Faith, and walked in. She started speaking from the very beginning, as though she wasn't going to get another opportunity to do so, and the first thing she said was, "I think I like you already."
Faith had been completely taken aback by the girl's quick entry into her room (and life), but she slowly regained composure.
"Hello," she said amiably, "You must be the girl form room 608- I'm Faith Meredith."
The girl, who had so far been inspecting the room, turned around, and said, "Hi, I'm Jane- Jane Moon. Would you like to join me for dinner?"
Faith had been a little home-sick before Jane had come, and was looking at a picture of all of them- the Blythes and the Merediths taken before Jem had left for Redmond three years ago. She was now a little happier- and was curious to know more about this person who had stumbled into her life.
She soon found out that Jane was the daughter of a leading New York journalist. He often went to Toronto on work- where Jane's aunt and grandmother lived. Jane's mother had died when she was two. And right before the war had begun, Jane's Grandmother also died of cancer. Her aunt, her father's sister decided that they should move to a London suburb during the war, so that they could be away from it all. And that was where she was going- to a little suburb of London, called Mulberry Grove.
It was nice to be around Jane- carefree, happy and generally cheerful. Faith enjoyed her company, and though home was getting farther and farther away from her, she felt like she was going to a completely different home.
There were other girls on the ship- most of them going to London for voluntary aid work. Faith befriended many of them, and they had a good time. They had so much to share- the same old story was written on each of their young, small faces. A brother and a lover away at war, a broken family, and the need to get away and be of help. And then there were also all those young soldiers! To Faith, the extent of the devastation of the war had been restricted to her own life- to Jem and Jerry, and to the possibility that Carl, Shirley and Walter may also go. And then she realized how selfish they had all been, since so many millions suffered with them. And so it was that the journey that Faith had been dreading came to an end- with new friendships forged, and a fresh hope in her heart.
There was a knock at the door. Mrs. Hollister made her slow way to the door, and before answering it, looked through the peep-hole. She saw a young lady standing outside, and proceeded to open the door. She was a short, stout woman with large eyes and was probably around seventy years old. She tentatively opened the door, and asked in her hoarse voice, "Who is it?"
"Mrs. Hollister? I am Faith Meredith, the girl from Canada," Faith said, with a wee bit of hesitation. She had told the man at the port that she had wanted to go to Brick Lane, and though he had seemed confident as to where he was going, she herself had been a little afraid that she might end up in the wrong place, and would be lost in London. The old lady smiled. "Oh, of course, come in, dear," she said, and let Faith in.
"Was your boat late?" she asked as Faith brought her luggage in.
"Yes, by about half an hour, or so," replied Faith, and they walked through rows of rooms, filled with many girls, each looking curiously on.
"This is your room, dear," said Mrs. Hollister, and handed her a key, "You'll be sharing it with Candice Manning. She's from the states, and as far as I see, a very nice girl. If you need anything, let me know. Candice will orient you to everything."
From the room came a brunette, visibly a few years older than Faith, and Mrs. Hollister introduced her to Faith as Candice, from the states.
"Hello," said Faith, and held her hand out.
Candice took it, and replied tentatively, "Er…Hello."
"I'm Faith Meredith, form Prince Edward Island. I'm here for VAD work," and Faith tried to strike up a conversation with the girl.
The girl was reluctant to start a conversation so easily, and then said, slowly, "Nice to meet you, Faith, shall I show you around?"
"That'll be really nice, thank you, Candice," and Faith was led away into the large room.
The room was decorated primarily with small homey things, Faith thought, and she liked the way the room made her feel. There were two antique-looking rosewood beds, and there were two flowery sheets on them. The windows looked out on to a beautiful road, lined with large banyan trees, and on the other side of the road was a large garden with a number a stone benches here and there. There were two old teak desks at each corner of the room, and there were also two large cupboards. The rest of the contents of the room had been restricted to only one half- the half that belonged to Candice.
"This is our room," said Candice, "That's your cupboard, your desk and your bed- unless of course you prefer to have the other bed, considering it's nearer the window."
"That's alright," said Faith, who really would have preferred the window-side bed, but thought it wouldn't be right for her to say so, "I like mine very well."
They were quiet fro a while as Faith unpacked and started arranging her clothes in her cupboard. She looked around once, and smiled at Candice, saying, "You've decorated your half of the room beautifully- it makes the room feel homey. Did you get those porcelain dolls form your home?"
"Yes," said a blushing Candice slowly, "My mother makes them- I brought them here so that I can keep thinking they're here- even if they're not."
"Tell me more about you, while I unpack, won't you?" asked Faith smiling- she liked Candice already, but she understood her as the Una-type of person who takes time opening up. Infact, Candice had reminded her of Una so much, that was about any time ready to break into tears- she missed her little sister awfully.
"Can we do that some other time," asked Candice, and then added, "I came here only a few days ago- I might start crying when I tell you- I miss my family so much!"
"Of course," said Faith putting a hand on her shoulder, "I understand- I'll tell you my story later, and we can get to know each other better, okay?"
But Candice only smiled and nodded. She was glad Faith understood.
"Come on," she said, suddenly gaining enthusiasm, "Let me introduce you to everyone."
She led her through the rows of rooms to a larger room- all the girls were assembled there for tea, it seemed.
"Everybody," shouted Candice, over everyone else's loud talking, "This is Faith- Faith Meredith- she's from Prince Edward Island!"
There was first a few moments of furious murmuring, and then they all smiled at her and she was attacked by a pour of questions.
"Where the hell is Prince Edward Island?" asked a silvery thin voice from the crowd- and silvery thin though it was, the contempt was clearly felt by the whole assembly. Faith looked curiously around to see who had asked the question, and found an upturned nose on a white pale voice looking at her so hard, that she felt most self-conscious.
"It's in..Ca…," began Faith, but was interrupted by Candice suddenly.
"Well, Amelia," she said, turning her nose up too, "Most of us know where it is- and most of us also know that it is a very beautiful place too."
This probably was not true- considering that most of the girls were either English or French- and had never heard of the place- but all of them definitely shared a distaste for Amelia Bennett, and so all of them nodded in approval of Candice's little speech.
"is it some kind of village?" asked the girl curiously, and added, "Well, then- obviously I haven't been there!"
"Ignore her," came from nowhere, and Amelia disappeared into the crowd.
And the Faith was able to answer the tumult of questions that had fallen on her, and was able to ask her own, too.
Most of them were young girls who came from middle-class families in England or France- some even from the States. There was no one in her boarding house form Canada- but Faith didn't feel alone, for she had all the friends she wanted. The next day would see her in the hospital- which was to be her home for the next- she did not know how many years.
It was only two nights later that Faith found time to pen a nice, long letter to her family- to Una and Walter, to be precise. She had telegrammed them informing them that she had arrived, but hadn't been able to write as yet. But when she did get the time, there was time enough only for one letter. And as Faith pondered about who she would write that letter to, she decided, rather abruptly and foolishly, to write one letter to both Una and Walter.
Una almost ran all the way from the post office to Rainbow Valley to read the first letter Faith had written to her- and people stared, for it was rather unusual of lady-like Una to run in the middle of the village road. Panting, Una sat down on a mossy stone, and caught her breath before she tore open the envelope. On the very top of the first page were written the words- For Una and Walter. She had expected the letter to be solely addressed to her- and to no one else. And so, as Una read those words for the first time, she was sad. It was probably in matters like these that Faith was negligent- she did not realize that she was hurting someone's feelings. Faith did not know that Una liked to be reassured, every now and then that she was special to her. That she loved Una more than any one else- that Una was her best, closest friend- the dearest sister anyone could hope for. All this was true, no doubt. Una meant all that and more to Faith. Una did not know it, for Faith did not show it, but Una was one of the two people Faith actually looked up to. The other was Walter. Faith loved Jem, she adored Jerry, but she could admire only Una and Walter.
But Faith was negligent in being very expressive of her feelings. She assumed that Una could never doubt Faith's love and devotion to her. She didn't understand- and it would not be wrong to say that Faith did not care to understand. She did not try to understand. And here, Faith was definitely at fault.
Una had every right to be upset with Faith, and was. But Una couldn't be very upset for long, especially with Faith. And the more she looked at the top of the page, the more she thought of how nice those words actually felt. Her name written along side Walter's was- was an honor, thought Una. She felt proud. And then, suddenly, she felt…different. There was no word for it. She read the words again….Una…Walter- She felt something in the pit of her stomach, her heart was racing, and she found it difficult to breathe. Una thought it strange, but put it out of her mind. She then resumed reading the letter.