Gone
Rain beat steadily on the roof. I could hear Susan and Lucy finishing up the dishes. Giggling and laughing. They were probably playing in the bubbles and having a good old time. How could they just go on like everything was normal? I don't think things can ever be normal again. Dad had been gone only two weeks, but it already felt like years.
Why did the Germans have to start this stupid war any ways? Mum was always worried now and almost never smiles like she used too. The bombings were getting more frequent, and she never let us leave the house except for school. I don't know how much more I can take.
To distract myself I keep reading. The laughing made hard to concentrate so I tossed my book down onto the floor and looked around the room.
On the coffee table the chess set stood unused and getting dusty. Dad and I used to play on rainy evening such as this one, but had not been used since the day that dad had gotten his draft letter.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. Mum and dad had stayed up all night talking. The letter had said that he had a week to get ready and say his goodbyes and now he is gone.
I glanced at the bookcase, it contained many books different titles all of which he loved and read over and over again. Realizing he may never read them again.
Snapping out of my daydreams, I heard mum telling the others goodnight.
I stood for a while and then headed up the stairs. As I reached our room I spotted Peter sitting on his bed reading. Not wanting to disturb him. Grabbing my pj's and headed to the toilet, but of course Susan beat me again.
Downstairs I heard mum tuning off the lights and getting ready for bed. It would be 10 or 15 minutes Susan would finally decide to emerge. So I decided I would read while I waited. When I reached my room I remembered that I had left my book downstairs. Deciding to go get it, I threw my pj's onto my bed I headed downstairs.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs I was greeted by darkness. I made my way slowly down the hall not wanting to stub my toe.
When I reached the sitting room I started crawling around on the floor looking for the book until the whole house was shaken. I was so startled I hit my head on the coffee table. Then heard that too familiar whine of the air raid siren. Forgetting the book I walked over to the window. There was another explosion; the house shook and I almost fell over from the force of a bomb that must have hit close. I lifted the curtain to see whose house had fallen victim to the Germans planes this time and the survivors that had escaped before their house became a death trap.
I heard mum yell for me to get away from the window. When I didn't move she came and pulled me away. She pulled me toward the kitchen where we found Lu, Peter, and Susan waiting there. Susan had her arms full of blankets. On top was a flash light and she was trying to sooth Lu who just stood there looking like she might faint from the fright with her arms wrapped around herself. Peter was searching franticly through the drawers for another flash light. Which he pulled one presently from the drawer when found.
We ran out toward the bomb shelter—bombs were exploding everywhere. Halfway there I remembered the picture of dad was still in the sitting room and would be destroyed if I did not get it.
Thinking of nothing except that I couldn't let be ruined (It might be the last memory we have of him.)I turned around and yelled over my shoulder, "DAD!" Hoping they would understand and keep going.
I ran back through the house which shook harder with each explosion. I reached the sitting room and it was within my reach when I was tackled to the floor by Peter. A bomb went off, and shattered the front window. I grabbed the picture that was now on the floor. The glass that used to cover it was shattered and it cut me, but it didn't matter. I could not have let it be destroyed.
We ran through the house and back toward the shelter the bombs were ever closer now with every earsplitting explosion the ground shook harder. Peter pushed me down into the shelter and yelled, "What do you think you were doing! You could have got us both killed!"
I just sit there I could not think of anything to say. Why did he have to be like that? He didn't have to come back after me. After he was done yelling he slammed the door and we were enveloped in darkness.
It was so stuffy and hot in the shelter. I could hardly breathe. Ever two to three minuets a bomb shook us and all we could do was sit there in the dark and wait. After a few hours I heard them one by one drifting off to sleep. I heard the rhythmic breathing of Lu, and mum, the soft ladylike snores from Susan and the louder ones of Peter.
But I couldn't sleep. Very faintly I could hear a distant explosion as the rest of London was being destroyed. I sat in the darkness and wondered what would become of the people whose houses were just destroyed. I wondered if any had died or if everyone had reached their shelters safely. It was so depressing. With every bomb another home or business was destroyed. Our small town of Finchley would never be the same again.
As I sat in the darkness all kinds of questions were rushing through my head. It must have been hours later that I finally heard someone stir. It was quiet now; the raid was over. Sunlight poured in blinding me. After I grew accustom to the light I grabbed the picture of dad and crawled out of the shelter.
I looked around outside: a few houses down the street were gone, only piles of rubble remained. I headed to the house maybe I could get some sleep before anyone else woke up. I entered; not much was different. I knew more than the sitting room window was probably gone. Too tired to investigate now I made my way to the bedroom and collapsed on my bed where drowsiness overtook me instantaneously.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Hours later I was jolted awake by Peter pulling me out of bed. "Just like you—you little beast," he said looking at me like he wanted to kill me.
"What did I do?" I asked blinking and rubbing my eyes (not being fully awake, I didn't quite know what was going on) I saw Susan enter our room clearly distressed.
"We've been looking for you for hours. Didn't you hear us calling you?" she said, "Peter didn't think you were in the house because he was the first one up and he came into the house to clean up. He didn't think that he hear anyone come in."
I was bewildered, had I slept that long? I looked at the clock, it was noon. I didn't intend to sleep that long, it's just they didn't know that I had only slept for five minutes last night.
As Susan explained mum and Lu entered our room. Lu looked like she had known the whole time where I was and wasn't worried a bit. Mum just looked relieved but also very tired. I was sorry that I had caused so much trouble.
"I'm sorry it's just..." I started to explain but Peter cut in.
"Ed, it would take someone like you to do such a thing like this," said Peter, "Bet you thought it would be a good joke."
"No...I...I," I didn't quite know what to say to this, that had been the farthest thing from my mind. It was then he spotted the picture.
"Why do you have this? It doesn't belong in here!" He sneered as he grabbed it. "Just because you 'saved it' doesn't mean that it's yours now. It belongs to all of us."
I looked at him in disbelief. How could he be so thick? He just thought of my as some immature little kid and I hated it. When would he treat me like an equal? After all I am almost 13! He even treats Lucy better than me and she is only 9.
"We all miss dad not just you so stop moping around and get your act together! You're making us all miserable." After that he stalked out of the room.
Everyone stared at me. Unwilling to let them see the tears in my eyes I turned around and folded the pj's I had thrown on my bed last night when I went to get my book. Mum walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.
"It is getting to dangerous here and I was told that all children are to be sent to the country." She said.
I looked at her but didn't say anything.
"Edmund I know how much you miss your father but try to make the best of your summer and try and get along with your brother and sisters," after she said that she left me.
I sat down on my bed. I was feeling completely rotten. Dad left mum is sending us away. I felt like I was going to have the most rotten summer ever. Plus I knew that I was going to feel like the odd one out.
As I was sitting there Susan entered and sat down next to me.
"Don't let Peter get to you," she tried to assure me.
"It's kind of hard not to let him," I said.
"Come on Ed, now is when we need each other the most," I could tell she was trying to cheer me up but it was not working.
I was silent. I wanted her to go away I wanted to bury myself in a book and never stop reading, to shut the whole world of bombs, airplanes, and Peter out of my life. I knelt down on the floor ignoring Susan again and I started digging under the bed for my trunk.
"I know it doesn't seem like it but Peter is just trying to help. Won't you just give him a chance?" She pleaded to me.
"Well he's not helping at all! He didn't even..." She cut me off.
"Just know he's trying," she said as she stood to leave.
Why was she taking his side? She used to stand up for me instead of Peter. I pulled out my trunk and slammed it on the bed, pulling out clothes from my drawer and started shoving them in; along with my pen knife, yoyo, and sketch book. Then I remembered the book I wanted to read but never gotten it from the bookcase last night. "Might as well take that too," I thought shoving another pair of pj's and my bathing suit in the trunk. I headed once again downstairs.
Reaching the sitting room I saw that the window had been boarded up. I walked over to where I left book I was reading but it wasn't there. Peter must have put it in the bookcase. I pulled it out and turning around I saw dad's picture back in its place. Without thinking I slipped the picture out of its frame and ran back upstairs shoving the book and picture in my trunk I slammed it shut. What was Peter going to do about it now?
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Mum woke us up early the next morning. We ate Breakfast silently as mum packed us lunches. After Breakfast we packed our trunks into a cab and headed to the train station. As we drove away I looked back at the house wondering if I would be there when we got back.
When we got to the train station Peter checked on our train and said it was on time. Now it was time to say goodbye. I didn't want to do to! All I wanted to do is jump back in to the cab and ride home. Maybe I could hide in the bomb shelter and steal food from the kitchen when mum was out.
As I watch the others tell her good bye. I couldn't see how they could take it. They all smiled (or tried to) and let her kiss them and hug them like they were going to camp: not leaving there home to go to some stranger's house, to live for who knows how long. When she reached me she hugged me but I pushed her off. I didn't want her to hug me I might cry and that was the last think I needed was Peter teasing me for bawling! Besides it will just be like telling her that it is alringt that she is sending us away but it's not.
Finally, mum finished telling us to be good, mind our manners, and all of those things that go without saying. What does she think we are, dolts? Finally we were moved along with a long line of other children. Some of the people that were taking tickets and tried to make us go faster by pushing us along.
Being annoyed with myself for not saying good bye to mum, and being tired already I snapped at them to stop touching me. I did not exactly want to be handled by everyone. It was not my fault we were moving so slowly.
Finally, on the train I strained to see mum out the window; as the others crowded around me I could only get my arm out the window to wave. After we could not see her any longer or should I say they could no longer see. Peter led us into a tiny compartment, which already had two other children.
After putting the girls trunks and his own on the rack Peter then reached for mine, but there was no way that I was going to let him. I was old enough—I'm not a kid anymore. I jerked it away from him, and with some difficulty I got it up on to the luggage shelves. I then settled down with my book and prepared myself for a long ride.