I'll Wait

It's peaceful

Many weeks had past and Elena and Stefan have been sending letters to each other about how they both couldn't wait to be married. Elena had slowly been recovering from her brothers' death and she thought the only way was to get back to volunteering, Elena had settled herself back in.

Elena and other nurses move between beds of sleeping men,hanging up Christmas decorations, tinsel and some holly.As she's next to one bed the occupant, Billy, calls out "Nurse!" Elena turns to look at the man, his expression warm. Billy smiles "You're walking on air, Nurse!" Elena smiles. Billy continues "Go on, spill the beans!" Elena hesitates, then decides to tell him.Elena smiles "I'm going to Brighton in the morning to meet my fiance, we're getting married".Billy lays back "Over there, is he, fighting the Boch?" She nods. Billy continues "Now you're a reason for a man to get through, Miss, if you don't mind my saying".She tucks him up with a smile. Elena looks at him "Settle down and get some sleep".

Brighton -Boxing Day

An excited Elena is fixing a hat on, in a large gilt mirror in a corner of the elegant, high-ceilinged lobby. Her mother is with her, helping. Around them, we get a sense of the coming and going of guests, and smart, uniformed staff.Muffled, discreet elegance. A phone is ringing somewhere.Elena looks at her mother "How do I look?". Mrs. Gilbert adjusts her "Positively bridal. Haven't you heard from him yet?".

Elena smiled "He only got home last night,Mother".She glances at a clock.Elena continued "Half an hour to go".A hotel clerk comes over.Hotel Clerk interrupts Elena "Miss Elena Gilbert?", Elena turns "Yes".The hotel clerk points to a direction "A telephone call for you, Miss".Elena was surprised "That must be him! I hope he's not going to be late".She follows the clerk over to a desk, where apricot pink flowers sit a blue glass vase. Her mother watches, with a trace of anxiety.

Elena's hand as, in slight slow motion, she reaches for the receiver. She lifts it to her ear.Elena speaks first "Hello?The line is fuzzy, but no one replies the other end".Elena speaks his name "...Stefan?" She hears a sob and someone is crying. Anxiety floods her. Elena is silent for second "...What?" then suddenly she hears Mrs. Salvatore's voice as shes choking sobs "Elena...Oh God Elena...Oh God..".

Elena's blood starts to turn to ice. All other sound cuts out just the throbbing pulse of her heart.Around her, the lobby freezes- people stopped in their tracks, the hotel clerk, her Mother...The world at a standstill.Mrs. Salvatore's voice continues as she is choking sobs "He's dead...Stefan's dead".Elena's eyes are staring at a silent, frozen world. A breeze tinkles the ceiling chandelier then ruffles the flowers in the blue vase, their colour so dazzling bright, it hurts the eyes.

Many Hours Later

Gulls, flying against a grey sky, keening angrily. Elena, standing on the beach, gazing stunned and numb into the waves as they crash and suck at the shingle... A small crab scuttles across her shoe, Elena barely noticing. A numb, blank Elena sits in an armchair, anxiously watched by her parents, a cup of coffee in front of her. There's still no sound.She tries to pick up the delicate porcelain cup, but her hand shakes so much, it's impossible. The cup chinks loudly against its saucer. Her parents exchange a worried glance.

The Next Day Mrs. Salvatore's House

Elena sits, straight and still, on a couch. Mrs. Salvatore is nearby, red-eyed, lost in her own world. Grief isolates them both.The Salvatore's Lawyer stands with them as he reads out the letter "Letter here from an officer in his company....died of wounds at Louvencourt clearing station". Elena looked up "What was he doing at the front?" The Salvatore Lawyer looks at her blankly in shock. Mrs. Salvatore speaks "Why was he in a trench?". The lawyer scans the letter and speaks "Suddenly sent there by all accounts, for a big push".

The lawyer finishes the letter "False alarm. He was out mending wire. Shot by a sniper at 2 am while bravely carrying out duties. Taken straight to Louvencourt, died late afternoon...noble and painless death".Elena stands "That's a long time after he was shot! What happened?" Mrs. Salvatore, agitated, gets up; none of them want to think about this. The lawyer re-reads "Painless...I suppose the man would know".Mrs. Salvatore goes over to a record collection, pulls out a gramophone record. Mrs. Salvatore holds it up "He loved this piece....so did his father". She turns away, close to tears. Elena feels someone taking her hand looks down. It was nobody.

Elena decides that she wanted to get some air so she stands near a cliff not to far from the house, Elena is standing there, in a bleak wind, as Mrs. Salvatore comes out and joins her. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground.