𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚘𝚗𝚎

It was one week away from Edmund's sixteenth birthday. Phillis sat at home with her mother, listening to the war updates on the wireless and making small talk about Phillis' new job at the newspaper; she worked there full time now. There was a knock at the door. Phillis got up quickly to answer it. A tall blonde man in a freshly ironed uniform stood at the door. "Hello?" Phillis said, her stomach doing somersaults.
"Mrs. Opal?" he said.
"I'm her daughter," Phillis replied.
"A letter for your family," the man held out an envelope.
Phillis took it with shaky hands, thanking the soldier before closing the door. "Mother, a letter," Phillis passed the item to her mother.
Virginia unfolded the paper carefully. The sharp intake of breath and the strangled cry that followed was enough for Phillis to know what had happened. It didn't even take a moment for the two women to be crying into each other's arms. Phillis, after spending seven minutes crying in her mother's embrace, decided to phone Susan. The telephone was next to the front door. Phillis put in Susan's number on the rotary dial. It rang for a moment. "Hello?" a croaky voice answered.
"Susan?" said Phillis, her voice weak.
"Yes."
"Have you heard?" asked Phillis, tears returning to her eyes.
"Of course I have," her tone was harsh and it made Phillis flinch. Susan paused, before saying, "I'm sorry, Phillis."
"It's okay. You're going through a lot right now," Phillis assured the eighteen year old that it was okay.
"But he was your brother. Especially, since you've lost your father. I can't imagine what you and your mother must be going through," Susan sighed. "Are you having the funeral in England?"
"Most likely. We haven't even had chance to think of that yet, Su," Phillis chuckled, trying to sound as happy as possible.
"Do you know what happened?" Su asked after a long moment.
"They say when he arrived he was already so weak. It was a miracle he survived two weeks there," Phillis sighed.
"It's only been a month and a half," Susan whispered. "I only got to see him for a week! He's gone, Philly, he's really gone."

The letter that Phillis and her mother received highlighted the details of Elmer's death. Elmer's plane had gone down over the Pacific into Japanese-controlled waters. He was captured by the Japanese and sent to a POW camp in Tokyo. Two weeks after he arrived, he passed on. The war had halved the Opal family and Virginia was not sure she could ever forgive the political leaders for what they'd done to her family. Even Mr. Churchill.

But it was like Susan said, he was really gone. Phillis had lost her father and now her brother. Peter would most certainly be heart broken at the loss of his friend. Susan wasn't sure if she'd ever recover. Virginia would spend the rest of her days angry at the world, shutting out those she loved. Phillis would put on a brave face and cheerful smile. She needed to be strong for her family.