17. Moments Of Joy (1/2)

chapter xvi

"so there we go, 1942! what will you

ing us?" julia wrote in her diary a day before her journey back to london.

"this year, i just hope for the peace in the world. that's all i ever ask god for in my prayers lately, i noticed…

"well, when it comes to concluding my three weeks' leave in my old prince edward island, i think that i would describe it as very lovely and touching in every possible way. i know i will miss my family greatly but because i came here, i realised that they are all safe, here in glen, and quite happy, not like people who live, for example, in london.

"i would come back to england with a light heart and an optimistic view on the future if blythe and walt wouldn't enlist. especially blythe, i must say, because i was prepared for walt to go but not for him. walt joined the lfc however blythe joined the rcaf like his

other, gilly. oh, my eyes turn watery whenever i think about it! i feel as if my heart will

eak into small pieces, too small to put them all together again.

"blythe, walt and i talked yesterday for about three hours and i could see that walt isn't scared of going at all (which i'm very greatful for) and that blythe seems very much more himself than he was when i came. he said that as soon as he joined up, he felt as if a huge stone which was on his heart for so long dissappeared completely and that he isn't as scared as he thought he would be.

"they are going to toronto for training just two days after my departure tomorrow. and that's why i'm greatful for coming back; my work will give me no freedom to think about them the whole time.

"and with this i finish writing for today. i still have to pack up! tomorrow is a new day, and i will welcome it with open arms, no matter how hard things might turn out to be."

and so she did.

julia's farewell with her family wasn't much different to the last one she had, two years earlier. faith cried but smiled all the way through, her uncles and aunts kissed her with hopeful eyes, cousins had mixed feelings but wished her all the best in the world, her grandparents were loving and tender in every word they said to their granddaughter, cee couldn't stop hugging her sister, lily kissed julia three times and told her that she hopes for seeing her in england, walt and julia shared a long em

ace with serious expressions on their faces but parted with smiles.

blythe however had tears in his grey eyes and this time, he wasn't even trying to hide them. julia put her arms tightly around his neck and whispered: "i will always wear your necklace, no matter what will happen."

"i'm glad, that's why i bought it for you, to always remind you of "keeping hope" and faith." he whispered back "you'll be

ave, bathsheba, and i'll be

ave for you, wherever i'll be."

julia let out a small cry "and you'll be careful?" she had to ask.

"yes, i will." he replied softly.

she looked in his eyes sternly "don't you dare not coming back, blythe ford!" she warned him, trying as hard as she could not to sob again.

"i would never disobey you." he answered with a wistful smile.

"all aboard!" the conductor's voice filled up the still air.

julia stepped on the train, shouting "i love you" to her parents who were holding their hands tightly, while still holding blythe's hand when the train started moving gently. "walt!" she shouted fearfully and walt grabbed her hand ever so quickly, revealing from the crowd "please come back to us, you dear

other!" she said to him.

"i will, julia, i will." he promised and crossed his heart like he and julia always used to do when they were children.

"i love you both!" julia whispered and chuckled nervously.

"and we love you, sheba." blythe responded and for a second julia thought that she saw this gleam in his eyes she was waiting to see ever since she came back to glen. however as soon as she thought it appeared, it was gone.

julia looked at her two friends who would join the horrors of the war very quickly, too quickly, she thought to herself. she looked at them, she wanted to remember their handsome faces, such youthful and optimistic faces! such wonderful memories the three of them shared, and oh, so many secrets! that's when julia realised how grown up they all were. walt was twenty-two, blythe twenty-one and julia herself was twenty. they would still be in the souls of children if there wasn't any war around them. but there was war, and each of them were in the very centre of it. yes, julia thought, we are not children anymore.

the train was moving faster and faster and their hands separated from each other, leaving blythe and walt together at the train station, waving to julia eagerly. julia waved back and for one second thought that she will jump off the train and run back, run back to her family and safety and home. but instead, when she couldn't see the station anymore, she took her suitcases in her hands and came inside.

dear mother, father and cee,

my journey went much faster than i expected it to go. i was writing in my diary for the whole time while listening to the orchestra playing on the ship. claire and olive surpirsed me by coming to the victoria station to greet me and i really felt glad of coming back (although i had my doubts during those four days in travel, you must know). even mrs ashby welcomed me with a smile and a she said quietly, so that nobody apart from me could hear her: "it was very hard here without your high spirits, nurse blythe." and so i came back to my old optimistic way of living, which is actually not so hard to come back to when i have olive next to me, with a constant smile on her freckled face.

i got two short letters from walt and blythe today and i'm so relieved that they're trying to enjoy their training in toronto. blythe says that he really loved the first flying lesson he had but would never quite comapre it to the way the birds can fly. don't worry mother-dear, walt will be as fine as merry has been for the past three years, and i have a feeling that our boys-twins will meet up in the trenches after all.

cee, your drawings are so detailed, it's hard to imagine that you are just eleven years old! you really should think about becoming an artist one day.

daddy, as much as you want me to describe my work from the medical point of view, i won't describe it to you in this letter because i suppose that mother and cee don't want to hear about the "bloody business" as olive and i call it and i simply don't have time to describe it in a separate letter! but i promise i will, one day!

i have to go now, my night-duty starts in half an hour and i still have to change into my uniform!

the best of all the wishes,

your loving daughter and a sister,

nurse julia una blythe

"merry and jake are going to be moved to france next week." julia declared in the middle of fe

uary just after finishing her night-duty.

"do you know where exactly?" claire asked while lying on her bed and watching the ceiling with tired eyes.

"no… i think they don't know themselves yet." she replied and sighed.

"and did you hear anything from blythe or walt?" olive questioned and sat down by julia on her bed.

"yes, i did." julia said slowly "walt has just arrived in paris and will be sent to the front in a few days time, and blythe is flying over to italy… tomorrow!" julia sounded horrified by the every thought of it.

"don't worry, bath." olive put her hand on julia's shoulder "he'll be fine."