Still - h.s (au)

Chapter 4

Grace

These last twenty-four hours were probably the longest in my life and I have never felt this tired before. I felt as if an ambulance had run me over multiple times. My whole body was sore from lifting bodies all day and night, my feet were swollen, and I had made several blisters all over from the constant walking around. My stockings had blood everywhere and I had to wash them tonight because this was the only pair I had. Stockings were a luxury these days, and I couldn't ruin mine so soon. They were now hanging on the back of a chair and hopefully tomorrow they would be dry and ready for me to use them.

Martha and I were in our small bedroom in the building just across the hospital. These used to be a school but they turned it into accommodation for the nurses and the doctors of this hospital. It was not modern or very comfortable, but at least we had a bed to lay down and everything else we needed to survive. I had left the hospital against my will, but Miss Flinch ordered us to rest for a few hours. I had been awake for 36 hours now and my eyelids were so heavy that I was struggling to maintain them open. But I had promised my family I would write soon so I had to finish this letter first before going to bed.

Dear Mama, Papa, Peter, and Lilian

I am writing to you just to say that everything is running smoothly in the course. Today was the first time I took care of soldiers that came from France. It was a tough and very intense day, but I should get used to this because it will not get easier in the future. I managed to do everything correctly and I think I saved some lives today. Hope you are proud of me.

I hope everything is alright at home, please write to me as soon as you receive this letter.

Is Peter doing well in his school exams? Please make sure he studies hard for them.
And is Lilian enjoying her new school? Has she made many friends yet? Please tell them that I miss them deeply and I shall arrange for a visit home soon enough.

See you soon,

All the love,

Grace.

The letter was short, but my eyes were so heavy that my handwriting was terrible. My mother would complain about it for sure when she reads the letter. Tomorrow morning I will post it before going back to the hospital. "Is every day from now one going to be like this?" I am awake from my thoughts when I hear Martha's voice. She is already under the covers, but unlike me, she seems very much awake.

"I think so..." I sigh folding the letter into an envelope writing the address in the front. "I have never felt this exhausted," I tell her finally standing up from the small desk we had in our bedroom. It was very simple, with two single beds, a desk, and a small wardrobe. We also had a sink inside which was a luxury, but it meant that we didn't have to leave the room every time we were thirsty or when we were getting ready.

Even though I was exhausted, my mind was still thinking about my patient Harry Styles. I wanted to sleep but was afraid that something might happen during the night. The last thing I want is to wake up and go to the hospital to find out he has passed away during the night. I had spent the whole day trying to lower down the fever, and I changed his bandages several times to prevent infections.

When I left the hospital he was still asleep but didn't have any fever for four hours which was a big improvement. Miss Flinch promised that she was going to personally take care of him and if anything happened to him she would send someone to tell me. I only hoped that no one knocked on my door because that would mean that he was already dead.

I had visited Ben twice today as well, to clean his minor cuts and to feed him as well. He was looking better, probably because he spent most of the time sleeping. But he was very anxious always wanting to know if there was anything new about his friend. "How was that soldier?" Martha asks when I crawl to bed. I had already changed into my nightgown when she went to the toilet.