This is War [ONC 2021] // Honourable Mention

Chapter Three - Daniel

"The whole world's gone mad," Daniel said, eyeing the long line of people who lined up outside the village hall.

"It's a chance of glory, to be respected, what's wrong with that?" George asked. He pushed his bike over the stone and stared at Daniel. "Besides, Maisie Thornton might finally talk to you."

Daniel looked at him. "It's a chance to be killed."

"So you're not signing up?"

"I can't leave the farm. Father needs the help and Ruthie will be useless. That, and I don't see the appeal of joining up and putting my life on the line, regardless of the glory that might come with it."

George looked at him and pulled a face but said nothing. They moved past the crowd of people signing up to join the army and towards the baker where Mrs Morris had given Daniel a list of what to purchase. Although Daniel didn't mind the additional chore, he had wanted to do it alone because he knew the entire village would be talking about the declaration that appeared in the newspaper that morning.

All anyone could talk about was the war and every one the two of them had spoken to that day had mentioned the war. Many of Daniel's old school friends had already put their name down in a rush to make it to the battlefield before the war ended. Everyone said it would be over by Christmas and they all wanted a piece of the action before it became too late. Daniel had decided that the glory and honour everyone talked about wasn't for him. He'd rather work the farm.

Once they had finished at the bakery, George and Daniel walked back through the village before parting. George headed back towards the village hall to put his name down and Daniel started the long walk back home. He left the busy village centre and followed the dirt paths through the trees and fields.

Above him, the birds sang in the tops of the trees and he could hear the running water from the brook nearby. Daniel wouldn't leave his home for all the glory in the world, and he had made a promise to Ruth that he wasn't going anywhere, no matter what his friends said. Still, at the very back of his mind, buried deep within him, something kept telling him that joining up would be the best thing for him. Some extra money for his family, a chance to be a hero, Maise Thornton.

Daniel shook his head and scurried down the hill towards the cottage. He pushed open the door and shuffled into the kitchen, placing the basket onto the table and offering his mother a smile. Mr Morris sat at the table with a cup of tea in front of him and the newspaper still wide open. Even though he had read that newspaper four times since it had arrived that morning, he kept reading over it to make sure it hadn't been a dream.

"Did you speak to anyone when you were out?" Mrs Morris asked, routing through the basket and pulling out the bread and buns.

"George, John and Benjamin. George was on his way to sign up when we finished, the other two already have," Daniel said.

"And what about you? You're of age, just like them." Mr Morris looked at him from the paper.

"I can't. You need me here. All the farmhands are probably signing up so you'll need me around, Ruthie can hardly move the hay, can she?"

"We'll manage. This is your chance to fight for your country! Do you want to be the only one left behind? They'll call you a coward, boy."

"Ronald." Mrs Morris glared at her husband, her voice low.

"I can't go to war! Do you think I have it in me to kill?"

"You put down Belle."

"She was a cow! That's different. This war could go on for months, years even. I'll be away from the farm, from Ruthie. I could die! And for what? So you won't have a coward for a son?"

Mr Morris looked at his son. He closed the open newspaper and stood up, pressing the palms of his hands against the wood of the table. His nails were cracked and had dirt caked underneath, dirt lined the creases of his forehead and his eyes had a dark, clouded look in them. Daniel took a step backwards, his back collided with a stone pillar that separated the kitchen space from the main family room. From upstairs, he could hear Ruth singing.

Daniel's hands fumbled around the back of the pillar and his nails dug into the brickwork. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for a blow, for anything, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, Mr Morris stood an arm's length away from him but there was no hint of anger in his eyes, no frustration. Just disappointment.

"I'd rather have a dead son than a coward."

With that, Mr Morris brushed past his son, walked through the family room and disappeared through the front door. Daniel exhaled and relaxed against the pillar but he couldn't shake his father's comment.

All his life, Daniel had wanted to impress his father, to make him proud of him and he thought he had done that. Never did he think his father would call him a coward or accuse him or not wanting to defend his country or to fight for what was right. All those years of hard work, all those years of wanting to prove himself, wasted because he refused to put his life on the line for a war he hadn't started.

Daniel pushed himself off the pillar and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the front door, he could hear his mother following him. When he grabbed the door handle and went to open it, his mother spoke.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. I'll be back soon."

"Daniel!"

"Promise."

He stepped through the door and left his mother standing in the kitchen. Daniel knew that she must have had an inkling into where he was going and did not feel the need to verbalise it. There was only one thing Daniel knew he had to do.

To make his father proud.

~~~

First Published - February 11th, 2021