24th December 1942
Dark blue eyes looked into the equally dark blue sky and the stars were reflected in the light tears.
It was Christmas Eve and Bert, like so many other people, was several kilometres away from his home and loved ones.
He thought of the last letter he had sent to Mary:
"It's Christmas in less than two weeks and it hurts so much to leave you alone on that day. I wish I could come to you so that we can spend the holidays together - but I am not allowed to do that."
These had been his words and oh how much he wished that he could see his Mary.
Well he actually could see her in some way because he had a recent photo of her. But he also knew that she would just as much like to see him - but sadly no current photo of him existed.
Bert paused when he remembered something. He quickly picked up pen and paper, sat down on the nearest seat and began to draw. Every now and then he looked at his hip flask, which he always had with him to see its reflection.
As light as a feather, he created the basic lines on the paper with a pencil and lovingly coloured the dreary grey of the graphite with the last bits of chalk he had.
He didn't know exactly how long he sat there when he examined his finished drawing.
It showed him in a field. He was leaning against one of the countless cherry trees on a beautiful, sunny and warm spring day.
Impatiently, he turned the paper over and began to write:
My dearest Mary,
I wish you a Merry Christmas and peaceful holidays with all my heart.
Like last year, I hope that you are not alone on these days.
I don't want to complain (especially since that's not in my nature), which is why I come straight to what is probably the most important part of this letter:
On the back there is a drawing that I made today. Perhaps, with the help of your magic, you could explore the picture?
Unfortunately, I can't be there when you explore it, but maybe it will give you other thoughts and put a smile on your face.
I also want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Christmas package that you sent me! You should have seen the faces of Johnny and Peter once when I unpacked the scarf! I don't think they expected the colour of the wool to adapt the colours of the environment.
Take care of yourself!
I love you
Always,
Bert
As soon as Bert had put his signature on the paper, a pleasantly warm east wind came up and let the letter flutter in his hands.
With a wry smile, he folded the letter, put it in an envelope labeled "Mary Poppins" and threw it into the air.
Immediately the letter was caught by the wind and brought home.
Bert looked after the letter until it disappeared on the horizon and only then did he go back to the other soldiers, most of whom were already asleep.
Hundreds of kilometres away, in the small London apartment, Mary Poppins was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, reading a Christmas card she had received from the Banks family.
However, she did not get very far with reading, as a violent gust tore open the window and only a few moments later let a letter fly into her hands.
From the scrawly writing she knew immediately that the letter was from Bert.
She took the paper out of the envelope and let her sapphire blue eyes wander over the lines before looking at the back.
Her breath caught when she looked at the drawing and saw the small, familiar figure leaning against a tree. Again and again she wondered how it was possible that a person could create such beautiful drawings and have such a ugly handwriting.
With her it was exactly the other way around: She had a beautiful, curved and elegant handwriting but couldn't really draw.
Mary looked at the picture again carefully before closing her eyes.
She only opened her eyes again when a light wind blew through her hair and the typical scent of spring tickled her nose.
She looked around in amazement: never before had a picture been as detailed as this one. Bert must have been sitting on it for hours!
She was walking between the trees and looking at the white blossoms dancing around her when a familiar voice reached her ear: "Don't ya want t' greet me?"
Mary turned around: Bert was standing only a few meters away and didn't look like he had been drawn - on the contrary! He looked the same as ever!
Except for the fact that he was wearing a uniform and a moustache was on his face.
"Bert," she breathed in disbelief and was speechless. And Mary Poppins was rarely speechless.
"'ello Mary"
Both came closer to each other; Mary still in disbelief and Bert with his typical crooked smile. When they were only an arm's length apart, Mary literally threw herself into his arms.
For a brief moment she was afraid that all this was just an illusion and that she would fall to the ground. But that was not the case and she immediately felt safe and at home when he wrapped his arms around her.
They held the embrace for what felt like an eternity until they broke up and looked each other in the eyes; blue met blue.
"Are you actually here?"
He did not answer her; instead he tucked a stray strand behind her ear: "Nice t' see ya again, Mary."
Oh how he loved to say her name! To most other people she was "Mary Poppins", nothing more, nothing less. But he had the honour to be able to call her by her first name.
Mary noticed that he skilfully ignored her question. Normally she would not tolerate such a thing, but they lived in hard times.
"Wanna stroll around?" He asked, offering her the arm; an offer that of course she couldn't refuse.
"Yes, of course, Mister Alfred."
They walked across the field in silence for a moment and just enjoyed the peace, the harmony and above all their togetherness. Even if they weren't really physically united, they were together in this picture. And neither of the two wanted to miss this!
"Why did you draw a spring picture?" Mary asked as the cherry blossoms danced around her.
"Don't ya like it?" He teased her slightly.
"I do! I just thought that something more Christmassy would be your choice."
"You love cherry trees in spring .. That's why I thought I would give you a little pleasure."
Instead of saying something, she stopped, crossed her arms behind his neck and kissed him with all the love she had.
His hands went to her waist and he pulled her closer as he kissed back. Their lips moved in perfect sync and they only parted when they ran out of air.
Breathing heavily, they stood there and just looked at each other.
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Bert."
They spent several more hours in the picture. Most of the time, Bert leaned against a tree with Mary in his arms. They talked about everything - except the war, of course. They avoided this terrible subject as best they could. Only once did Mary ask why he was wearing a uniform instead of his usual clothes.
His answer was short but meaningful: "I wanted t' draw myself as detailed as possible an' because I've only seen myself in uniform lately an' otherwise I 'ad no good references. So I drew the uniform."
Only when the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon and it became colder they slowly but surely got ready for their next farewell. The very thought of their ways parting again made them feel uncomfortable. But it was inevitable.
Together they went to the point where they first met that day. When they got there, they just looked at each other and looked for the right words - but couldn't find any.
Instead, they hugged each other and let their tears flow.
"Take care of yourself, Bert... Will you promise me that?" Mary sniffed into his chest.
"I promise ... But only if ya promise me not t' worry too much."
"I promise!"
They looked at each other and kissed deeply one last time before saying goodbye.
"Goodbye, Mary..."
Mary couldn't say anything because of the lump in her throat. A fact that she regretted, because only a few seconds later the picture blurred and she found herself back in the apartment in London; still unknowing of whether he was really there or whether it was just a perfect illusion.
Merry Christmas! :D
I hope you are doing well and that you're all healthy!
Actually I wanted to upload a Mary Poppins Christmas oneshot that has nothing to do with this story, but unfortunately I haven't had the time to write yet.
But maybe tomorrow hehe
A always I would be very happy to receive reviews!