Strawberry Red

Chapter 32

"Rosie," greeted Buck as he stepped out of the car. He had his bag in hand and was wearing his flying gear.

"Major," answered Rosie and tilted his hat. Buck climbed into the plan and made his way to the cockpit. On the way Rosie's crew greeted him eagerly.

"Let's go feed some people," said Buck as he passed the crew.

"Yes, Sir. Sounds good," answered Ross.

Buck sat down in his usual spot on the left. For a moment all he could do was take in the familiar feeling. Flying had always come natural to him. He felt free when he was flying. Then the feeling of freedom was taken away from him when he was shot down. Now he felt free again. Just a certain someone was missing, Ruby. She had always stood on the runway and waved them goodbye. And when they returned, she was waiting for them. Now, there was nobody on the runway.

Buck hung up a picture of their wedding day next to the steering wheel. In the picture Ruby was standing in his arms, turning her head to him and smiling. He was holding her tightly. He should've never let her go. Buck had lost his wife and his best man to the Germans. Both were still in Germany, hopefully alive. But Buck didn't know for sure which made him go insane.

"I hope you don't mind but I usually take the left seat," apologized Buck when Rosie entered the cockpit. "Well, I always, actually."

"I'll get the General on the phone," joked Rosie and smiled. "It's an honour." They shook each other's hand firmly. "Ready to do pre-flight checks?"

Buck nodded. "Never been readier." They started their pre-flight checks. And when they were done, they started the fort and rolled onto the runway. They were given green light and took off. Buck was finally in the air again. Their flight to the Netherlands was peaceful and no complications occurred. The sun was slowing going down but before it did it enlightened the sky in beautiful red-orange colours.

They were now flying directly over the Netherlands. From above Buck could see destroyed houses. He wondered if Ruby was living in similar conditions in Berlin. According to Rosie the Brits and Americans were heavily targeting Berlin over the past year. The fear Ruby must've felt every time bombs dropped. Not knowing if she'd be next or if she'd survive the bombing.

"Here we go, get ready, everybody," said Buck over the radio. "Approaching Falkenberg."

"Looks like we're good boys. Germans decided to honour the truce," added Rosie a few minutes later when the flak didn't start. "Look at this."

Buck looked down and saw many people gathered on fields waving them. They were happily shouting at the sight of aid. The bomb bay doors opened, and they bombardier released the food packages. The red cross volunteers even made small packages filled with sweets and toys for children. Those packages were flying down attached to small parachutes. The kids were laughing out of joy when they realized that the chutes were meant for them. They ran around the field trying to catch every last one of them.

On the way back to base the scene Buck just witnessed stuck in his mind. Even from above he could feel the gratitude of the people. He could hear the children laughing and he could see them running after the chutes. It was a beautiful scene to watch, and he was grateful to be able to help the citizens. But it gnawed at this heart seeing the kids run around. He never thought he'd one day want to be a father. But meeting Ruby changed his view. Their talk about their future together changed his mindset. It also helped to keep him going during in time in Stalag III. It kept him going knowing that one day they'd live in peace with kids running around their house. But now? Now he felt as if all the hope he had was snatched away from him the minute he heard where Ruby was. She had endangered herself to help him. And there was nothing he could do now to help her. It frustrated him.