3. Summer 39 (2/2)

it seemed as if ghosts of the past gathered around them and listened as well, feeling every word very deeply. julia was almost certain that she could hear someone

eathing next to her ear, and it wasn't blythe.

and so their dark thoughts faded away with the sun which started to run up the sky getting higher and higher with every passing second.

later that afternoon, barefooted julia ran to the shore, to have a small picnic with troy. they had mrs rogers' prepared sandwiches and aunt una's famous

ownies which they both ate in less then ten minutes. then julia laid down her head against troy's sturdy chest and they both looked at the sea in front of them.

"you can tell merry that my father agreed on keeping him at his farm for the next year." troy said and

ushed his fingers through julia's hair.

"really? oh, that's splendid news, troy! merry will be very happy, i'm sure." julia replied joyfully and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"yes, i suppose, and i will be glad to have a friendly face near me at work at this horrid farm." troy said with a disgust in his eyes.

"if you don't like farming, why won't you go to redmond like most of my cousins did and study something you actually like?" julia asked him.

"you know it's not possible with a kind of father i have. he will never let me do anything else in my life but to keep up my work at the rogers' farm." he sighed "but i dream of becoming a lawyer, you know. even cathy thinks that i should tell my father a big and loud 'no' and study law."

julia's

ows raised a little "who is cathy?" she asked.

troy bit his lip but then grinned at 'his' girl and kissed her nose "cathy lee is from white sands and her father works at our farm. she visits him everyday and

ings him lunch so we talk from time to time. you're not jealous, are you?" he asked her with a smirk on his face.

"jealous? me? don't you know me already, mr rogers?" julia questioned him and hit him playfully in his arm.

"good, you shouldn't be because there will never be anyone for me but you, the extraordinary miss blythe." he whispered to her ear and julia's cheeks turned

ight pink once again.

then, unexpectedly, troy sighed in a completely different manner.

"oh, i do hope this war is coming!" troy said very suddenly.

julia was very tired of hearing about the war. merry wouldn't stop talking about it and her father was lost in a very passionate discussion about it with uncle shirley for the whole afternoon just a day before.

"why would you hope for such a thing to happen?" she asked him in surprise.

"because it would allow me to do something that's not connected in any sense with farming. and i want to fight." he emphasised the word 'want' so dramatically that it made his companion to shiver.

"let's leave this topic there then, shall we? i'm not interested in this war and now…" she stood up and took out her hand towards troy "will you join me?" she pointed at the sea, an excited look appearing in her eyes. troy jumped from his seat, took laughing julia in his arms and ran with her towards the waves.

on the last week of august, walt, blythe, jake, gil and rose left glen st. mary and headed towards the redmond college.

the house on the hill felt very desolate without walt huming from each corner of his home. merry closed himself in his room and turned on the radio - that was always the sign that he was desperate to be alone. he missed his twin terribly during the last year of walt's absence and almost decided on joing him in redmond after the summer-holidays. of course that didn't happen. "i have no

ains for either english, french or other kind of maths or science." he declared to his family with his head held high.

"can i come in?" said a quiet voice behind the closed door of julia's room.

"of course, cee." julia replied and when cee slowly entered the room, she took her little sister in her arms, kissing her frecled cheek tenderly.

"julia, i'm scared." she whispered and hid herself in julia's arms.

"of what, sweetheart?" julia asked and looked at her sister's miserable yet very sweet and dimpled little face.

"of war. everyone talks about it now." she answered in a soft voice.

"darling, there will be no war, and if it will, we will get through it; hand in hand, you and me with mummy and daddy and with walt and merry." she assured her sister with a smile.

"and we'll get through it without a scratch?" cee inquired with furrowed

ows.

"without a single scratch." julia said in a serious tone and then both of the sisters spent the evening laughing and joking, not realising that it was their last peaceful evening for another six years of their lives.