ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔢 𝔖𝔲𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔫 ¤ 𝔇𝔬𝔠𝔱𝔬𝔯 𝔚𝔥𝔬

Chapter 24

The first year and a half went by very fast, in Charlotte's opinion. Before she even had time to think about it, the year became 1915.

Charlotte wasn't that surprised that she and Pearl weren't the only teenagers who had joined the Woman Sufferage Movement.

Even though the groups they were in were slightly small, they didn't mind. They were still making a difference, even if the larger groups had been halted due to the war.

There wasn't a day that went by when Charlotte would plead that the letters Timothy sent wouldn't be his last. He was currently in the front lines, and his letters were one of the only things that brought Charlotte comfort.

She kept them all in a small box under the sofa she slept on. No matter how many times Pearl would say she wanted Charlotte sleeping on the bed, Charlotte knew her best friend deserved the bed more than she did.

///

It was an average evening in London. 

Charlotte and Pearl had gone into town to buy more stamps and see if they could get some food too, knowing they'd probably only get a small amount.

Margaret was back at their place, doing a bit of last-minute spring cleaning, as it was May. 

At the last minute, Charlotte picked up a newspaper. May 31st, 1915 it read. 

Charlotte sighed, "I find it hard to believe how long we've been at war with Germany."

"We'll get through it, Char," Pearl said, taking her best friend's hand. "C'mon, let's go watch the sunset. It'll cheer you up."

The two girls walked down to the Westminster Bridge, where they heard Big Ben announce it was 9 pm.

Charlotte smiled as she watched the glowing sun slowly slip away and allow the moon and night sky to take over. 

"You're right, that did make me feel better," Charlotte smiled.

"I think I would know my best friend like the back of my hand by now," Pearl smiled, making the two girls burst out laughing. Charlotte ended up having to lean on the bridge's bannister to keep herself standing, as she was laughing so much.

But the moment didn't last long, as Charlotte heard something.

"Pearl, did you hear that?" Charlotte asked.

Pearl stopped laughing, "Yeah, I can."

It sounded like a humming noise, but louder. Looking up, Charlotte spotted it first. It was a huge flying vessel, and it was most definitely not a British one.

"Pearl, we need to find shelter!" Charlotte said, grabbing her best friend's hand and beginning to run to the closest shelter they knew.

That's when the first bomb hit. It exploded by a road about a mile away, but they both heard the bomb's loud explosion.

Another then blew up a few metres away from where they had been only five minutes ago. Then, more and more bombs fell, and more planes appeared.

"This way!" Charlotte yelled, just as the air raid alarms started to go off.

Bombs went off behind Charlotte as she ran, making her scream and cover her head. Planes flew above her, dropping bombs on the city.

"Char, keep going!" 

Charlotte almost stopped as the last few moments played back in her head. She remembered this moment. 

She'd seen it, nearly two years ago.