It was a bright beautiful day - perfect for Independence Day´s celebrations.
Gotham Central Park was already crowded when Jonathan and his mother arrived. Mrs. Crane looked relaxed and satisfied. She was happy. Yes, she was happy because to her it looked like Jonathan was doing fine again.
„Blue skieees smiling on meee, nothing but blue skieees do I seeee" , Mrs. Crane sang out aloud, pressing Jonathan against her.
"Mom..", Jonathan shouted and made a pouty face.
You´re singing out of tune!´, he wanted to say, but he kept it to himself.
This was so embarrassing! His mother was acting like a teenager! But when he realized how happy she was, he didn´t want to put her out of temper.
Come on, so what? Enjoy the day! At least, give it a try!´, Jonathan thought by himself.
He could hear the cheering people. He watched children laughing and playing and could see the marching bands and the show-cars, preparing themselves and forming up for their performance. Jonathan sighed – and he thought of Alexandra. She was in war zone and he was here joining this trivial play!
No, don´t do this.. Don´t think of her now!´, Jonathan thought.
He didn´t come further, because the first marching band started to play and Jonathan was torn from his thoughts.
„Whoa, this is loud!", Jonathan yelled and covered his ears.
His mother gazed at him. No wonder, they were standing right next to the marching band!
„Come on, let´s go over there!", Mrs. Crane shouted and they walked away on the other side.
The people standing next to the parade route laughed cheerfully and applauded when the parade started to move. Mrs. Crane looked happily at Jonathan; he forced himself to smile. The crowd started to move with the rhythm of the music and clapped their hands. Jonathan looked into happy and smiling faces all around him.
What exactly am I doing here?´
As if she could read his mind, she nudged him in his side. Mrs. Crane laughed and clapped her hands to the music. Jonathan smiled lightly, but his smile still looked agonized. Mrs. Crane started to move, as she was dancing and tried to animate Jonathan to join her to dance. He followed her and started to clap his hands and to move too.
+„Stupid boy, are we here at kindergarten!"+
„Just shut up!"+
Jonathan danced and clapped and for the first time he was laughing aloud and happiness covered his face.
Suddenly in a split second a stabbing pain flashed through Jonathan´s body and tore him out of his good mood. The music got apruptly loud and the laughter and the voices around him went into his head like a thunderstroke. Jonathan writhed with pain and gripped the area around his abdomen and his hips. Mrs. Crane first continued dancing, because she thought that Jonathan was joking around, but then she realized that something was wrong with him.
„Good Lord, Jonathan!", she shouted and touched her son „What happened!"
His body winced under her touch. Jonathan staggered and bumped into the people standing around him, who either didn´t react at all or were just looking at him in bewilderment. Jonathan screamed in pain.
„My God, Jon, what is it!", his mother cried in panic, touched his arm and tried to pull him out of the crowd.
Jonathan whimpered, still writhing in pain. Both stumbled out of the crowd and rested at a big tree nearby the passing parade. Jonathan pressed himself against the tree, becuase he could feel his legs giving way. He panted. Mrs. Crane caressed his back, her eyes filling up with tears.
„ Jonathan! What the matter with you? Please Lord, tell me!"
Jonathan
still could hear the jumble of music, the laughing voices, his
laughing mother. He could see a storm of pictures in front of his
eyes: the park, the parade, the laughing people
- and suddenly he
could see bombs. He saw tanks and rifles. He saw destroyed homes,
soldiers, strange faces. He could see Mr. and Mrs. Wentzler. He saw
Martin. He saw Alexandra. He watched her screaming and whimpering. He
could hear the cry of a baby. He could hear the screaming of birds,
he could hear the Scarecrow…
„Noo!", Jonathan yelled and tears were running down his face.
„Oh God, Jon!"
„Mom!", he sobbed and panted „Please take me home!"
Irving Berlin: "Blue Skies"