Schaffhausen, Switzerland — Monday, 21 June 1915
After a six thirty departure from Sonnenhang, David and Maria stood on the platform in Schaffhausen on Monday morning in a light drizzle as the train pulled into the station. He looked at his watch. "Six minutes," he said as he let out a deep sigh and wrapped her in his arms. "You've filled my life so full these past seven weeks. Such depths of feelings. So many emotions I never knew existed. You've permeated my whole being. It's difficult now to tell where I end, and you begin."
She nodded in silence, then laid her head on his shoulder, her cheeks wet with tears.
"Here comes my car. Let's walk along with it until it stops."
They stood by the open door and kissed, then stared silently at each other for a long while before he picked up his satchel, squeezed her hand and turned to step up into the car. He moved along to his compartment, opened the window and reached out to her raised hand as the lump in his throat grew.
She walked along the platform as the train began to move, then as it gained speed, she let go his hand, stopped and waved.
He leaned out, waving back to her as she receded into the distance, then disappeared. Tears welled in his eyes as he pulled his head in and closed the window. After looking at others in the compartment, he sunk to his seat and put his face down into his hands. Oh, God! What am I doing?
YOU ARE READING
Missing
Historical FictionIn the early months of the First World War, a young Canadian soldier uses quick thinking and ingenuity to evade capture after being wounded fighting in Flanders. While escaping through Germany to the Swiss border, he becomes intimately entwined with...
