Under heaven

Chapter Three: Last Moments Home

The 1st of June found me stepping off the train into the early morning sun at the junction back home. I had been given five days leave and felt the need to be back home for a short while.

My older brother picked me up in his Wagon and we set off for the farm. Lush green leaves filled the sides of the road as the horses pulled us effortlessly home.

My mother had been waiting for a while on the porch. She quietly stood up from her rocking chair and stepped forward to give me a hug and a kiss. Her eyes seemed more worried than when I had left that December, and her hair, a little more grey.

"It's good to have you home Isaac." She said softly. I could tell there was something left unsaid. I found my father in the kitchen making himself a small lunch before returning to the barn. With a handshake and half a hug he said his small greetings to me and quietly finished his lunch. He was never big on conversation but was as warm and caring as any father ever was. I could tell he was relieved to see me.

The supper table that evening was a feast. My brothers and sister in law and young nephew, my mother and father, all vying for my attention and anecdotes. After everyone had eaten and my brothers began to clean the table around me, my mother began to speak. She spoke quietly, but as though what she wanted to say earlier in the day was finally able to meet her lips.

"Your father goes to the junction for the paper every week. And you know he doesn't read well at night." She said quietly. "So I read it to him".

"We know the 26th is leaving very soon and that's why you're home." She continued.
There was a long cold pause and a sad look overtook her face before she spoke again.
"We also get the news from France and we've heard about the terrible gas attack at Ypres." She blurted out as a tear came to her eye.

My father sat next to her staring blankly into the centre of the table. My sister in law at once, picked up my nephew and hurried him from the dining room.
"I'll be OK mother." I said, as I looked straight into her eyes. "I have no intention of getting myself killed".

My mother gave me a smile and left the table. My father continued his stare for several moments until he too got up. On passing me he lay a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
"We worry about all our boys." He said. "At times, one more than another. But at this time, your mother and I worry more about you more than all the others."

I didn't sleep much that evening, thinking about the reality of what might come. I spent the next 4 days on the farm helping and enjoying the company of my family. No more was spoken about the war and before I knew it, it came time to go to the junction again. This time, I told my brother to let me walk the six miles alone.

I awoke the next morning at 3 o'clock. I snuck into my parents room and kissed them both on the forehead as they lay sleeping.

It was still a mild and clear June night when i stepped off the porch. The stars shone so brightly, one could easily tell the infinite nature of the heavens at a glance. I walked alone listening and looking at the road ahead under the dim light of the half moon.

I took in every step as though they were the last steps I would ever take down that familiar lane. The station was again quiet when I stepped off the platform onto the train. The sun peered down on the hills surrounding the valley of my birth, and I heard the sad whistle as I pulled out from the blanket of everything I had come to know and had only, now realized, I loved so dearly.