As I lie in the rubble of a fallen building on my deathbed let me recount the past few hours and tell you them as dying young has taught me something. It’s that lives’ too short for you to go unnoticed.
Earlier: I lay on my bed in the candle light, curtains drawn; it’s a bitterly cold winter’s night. All you can hear is the trees whispering to each other and the light pitter-patter of rain. As I lie in my bed trying to fall asleep an irritating buzz keeps me awake, they’re planes, German planes! The siren goes off and lets off a wailing noise. I grab my bag I packed a few nights ago and run downstairs as fast at the speed of light and out into the garden to our air raid shelter. I meet my mother and two brothers there and we climb into the shelter. As I climbed down I remembered I forgot something so I climbed back up and ran into the house mum looked redder than a tomato she was furious and yelled out “you’re a silly girl for putting your own live at risk over a worthless picture!” but I didn’t care, as I climbed the stairs the gentle buzz of the planes was now a loud roar which was concerning. I got into my room and grabbed the silver frame which held a picture of my father in his RAF uniform, his medals shinning, his eyes sparkling… I had no time to dream I had to get back to the shelter. When I did I climbed down and sat in our very cramped and very stuffy shelter. There was an awkward hush and all you could hear was machine guns firing, the stomping off army boots and the roar of the planes. As I listened I looked at my mother, tears rolled down her cheeks and she wisped “oh albert why did you leave us?” When it stopped and the roar of the planes turned into an irritating buzz again we were given the all clear. I rode into town on my bicycle wanting to see damage from all the bombs. Town was a sight to see smoke everywhere! There were people running around screaming and pulling cartilage out of broken buildings. As I walked through the war ravaged city a young man in his 30’s handed me a gas mask and told me to put it on it was huge probably meant to fit an adult, I slung it on my bike and carried on. As I rode back home I pasted a house that had been raided and I decided to take a look. I walked inside and couldn’t believe my eyes there in the corner of the house was a little child. “Mummy, is that you mummy?” she called her eyes were paralysed with fear. I spotted in the corner of my eye a pale body in a torn dress and told the small four years old to come with me. I pedalled and she rode on my handle bars her hair flowing in the wind. When we arrived at my house I took her inside and my mother hugged the young girl. It was Joanne McLean’s daughter Jane she told me she took the girl inside. The next day I rode into town again it was a cloudy cold day much like yesterday suddenly the siren went off I ran into a small building in which other children were sheltering I huddled in with them and we sat there shivering waiting for the siren to go off telling us it was a false alarm but Overhead I heard the planes and a whistle it got louder suddenly it hit me, this wasn’t a drill.
I tried to not panic as I was the eldest there these young children of 4-7 years of age looking at me there eyes teary and hopeful, what was I to do?
my house was on the other side of town, I couldn’t get there in time plus with about eight other children we’d suffocate. I told the kids to stay there and I poked my head out of the rubble that’s when a boy grabbed my hand he dragged me away from the kids, I tried to tell him that there were children who will die without me, I was to be there saviour and yet I couldn’t feel more useless he pushed me into a building and we ran and hid in the corner as the bombs dropped, as they did I told him about the children, we heard screams and bombs getting louder and I stared into his deep brown eyes I went into some sort of daydream because when I awoke he was passionately kissing me? this continued for about 10 minutes, I finally pushed him off and we went back for the kids. my heart stopped the building had collapsed every single one of them. Dead. I feel to the ground in shock the boy picked me up and we searched for and suriviors, as we were leaving we herd faint cries, it was a baby. Somewhere in the rubble was a baby. I searched as fast as I could and then I saw her in a corner I rushed over to her but as I ran some rubble from the house crushed my back and legs along with the boy I stared at him and he said softly
“I think this is it”
I sat there thinking of my family and all the kids I couldn’t save and the little baby, I began to cry and he took my hand, he smiled and kissed my forehead then I felt him slowly pass away. then as he lost his grip on life, so did I……
