A/N: Finally! I'm super sorry, I don't really have an excuse. I've just been super lazy with this story and I feel really bad about it. But I had some spare time and was like 'Oh, I remember this.' and decided to finsih writing the chapter that was just sitting there half written. And here it is! So I hope you enjoy. Also, you should probably fan and vote. Oh, and tell me what country you're supporting in the Olympics! I love to hear where people live in the world, it's super interesting. I promise that I'll get better with the whole updating thing. Until next time, read on!
Chapter 3
“Would you like some bread?” Rayleigh asked. It looked delicious but I politely declined. I didn’t need to impose on their hospitality any more than I already was. Apparently, the children hadn’t asked before they dragged me to safety so now they were in trouble. The woman didn’t talk to me, but she didn’t throw me out. She just sat in the corner listening to the radio with a notepad and a pen. The room was small and had no windows and one door. There were two sets of bunk beds one on either side of the room, and a desk with a small radio on it in the corner. That’s where the woman, whose name I had learned to be Emily, was sitting. As soon as the shelter door had been shut and locked, Rayleigh and her brother had gotten straight into introductions. We had sat on one of the lower bunks and I learnt a lot about the two. The boy’s name was Nicholas and he was 10 years old, Rayleigh was only 5. The children’s father was a mechanic and was working on the jets here in London, so he was generally out of direct danger from the German troops. His name was Andrew and I promised the two siblings that if I ever came across a mechanic named Andrew, I would make sure to tell him how much they loved and missed him. After about an hour of being in the shelter, Rayleigh had started complaining about being bored so Nicholas had pulled out some socks and made a puppet show for her. I watched surprised at how strong their bond was. I’d never had a sibling; my mother died giving birth to me. My father, along with Mo, was all I had left in the entire world but he was a pilot and he had to fly the jets. I guess it was a kind of irony almost that this family allowed me sanctuary. I’d never been more grateful in my life towards anybody. The raid lasted around 5 hours, one of the shorter ones. Somehow, Rayleigh managed to fall asleep about 2 hours before it was safe to leave. I, however, sat on a bunk next to Nicholas. We didn’t really talk; we didn’t have much to talk about anymore. So we waited in silence until there weren’t any more shouts or explosions. When we heard the all clear siren, there was an audible sigh of relief from the 3 conscious beings in the small room. I walked over to the door of the shelter and pushed it open. Before I left, something caught my eye. On the small wooden desk was an open folder, full of newspaper clippings, drawings, and photographs. All of them were about one thing; a statue of a stone angel that had its hands cupped to its face as if it was weeping. There was something so familiar about the image but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Emily followed my gaze with her own and, when she realized what I was looking at, quickly shut the folder. I looked at her as she clutched the folder to her chest, cradling it as if it was the most important thing in the world. “Some research that Andrew had been doing before the war.” She offered as an explanation. Then she glanced back to Rayleigh and Nicholas on the bunks and I felt that it was time to go. “Thank you, Emily. You saved my life. How can I ever repay you?” She looked at me and I could almost see her brain ticking. “Be safe, and don’t throw it away.” And then, quite uncharacteristically, she grabbed me and pulled me into a smothering hug. Then she let go, nodded once and then hurried back inside once more to get out of the cold. As I turned to walk away, with the soft thud of the door behind me, I realised that the people I had just spent hours of my life with, the ones who had saved me and provided me sanctuary, didn’t even know my name.
