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Mary could feel someone resting their soft and small hand on her tense shoulder, the person taking place next to the crying lady sitting on the bench. She sat down, saying no words. She wasn't going to force this sobbing lady into talking, not until she felt ready to. The young girl wiped her tears away with her thumb before glancing at the brown haired lady who looked with worry at her. Mary greeted the woman kindly, whispering a soft hello with her dry lips.
"Are you okay?," the woman asked in a soft tone, she slowly shuffled a bit closer before resting her arm around the lady and brushing over the fabric of her sleeves.
"Yeah, you don't need to worry," Mary assured her, forcing to part her lips in a smile.
"Who is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's the war isn't it? Did someone die?," she questioned, her hands still resting on her shoulder.
"No, no it's not that someone died. He's just going to get himself killed." Mary stuttered the words, her tongue struggling with the sentences.
"Who?"
"My boyfriend, he wants to go back and fight again," a soft sob escaped the young woman's lips, she buried her head in her palms and sighed from exhaustion. She could feel the wetness of her cheeks against her skin, the tears that had fallen still resting there.
"Did he also return from Dunkirk?"
Mary nodded softly, her eyes staring at the ground.
"My brother did too, he got rescued by one of those boats from the civilians. But he still doesn't want to talk about it, the only thing he ever said was about a boy he found on the boat. He kept on repeating how bad he felt for the family on the boat, Alex was the one to tell them that he had died."
The young girl's face shot up, her eyes wide and her heart started beating very fastly in her chest. She didn't know what to say, the words in her head unable to form a sentence. The woman next to her was shocked by her sudden movement, thinking that something must have happened to make her raise her head so abruptly. She quickly looked over every feature, trying to figure out what was happening. She reached for her hand while asking what was going on.
"I am part of that family, we rescued your brother."
The woman pulled Mary in her arms and embraced her very tightly, whispering over and over again how thankful she was for her help. Her brother was alive, the girl and her family saved him. It was thanks to this person that he came home safely, no big injuries that weren't able to heal. This girl and her small family saved all these men and the woman was finally able to thank the person.
"You don't have to thank me, it was a normal thing for us to do. Everybody needs a savior sometimes," the blonde lady laughed.
"It is thanks to you and your family that he returned home, thanking you isn't enough. Living without a brother, I don't know how I would be able to handle that."
"You learn to live with," Mary whispered to the woman, memories of Jack running through her mind.
"Did you lose a brother?"
"Jack died three weeks into the war, I thought my life was over. He was the oldest of us three, a witty man with a very big heart, he was my best friend. My other sibling, Peter, he got recruited two months ago, I still haven't heard any news. My parents live close to the shore, they receive the letters and I don't. I just hope that he's doing okay, I don't want him to get hurt. He's the youngest, I feel like I need to protect him, you know. I've seen what a war can do with someone, it's not nice," she answered, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, a lot of people lose the ones they care about."
"And you're scared you'll lose your boyfriend."
"It's not only that. He is so different and so scared of everything. He's only been in France for a couple of months, I don't know who he'll be when he returns. This might last for a couple years, he'll be mentally destroyed by then."
"Does Alex want to go back?," Mary asked, trying not to focus the conversation on only herself.
"My dad is forcing him to go, saying that he has to do the noble thing. Mum and I just want him to stay with us, make sure he's alright. Alex doesn't really know, he wants to help, yes, but too much has happened to him, he can't forget that and go on with his life. He's terrified of the war and fears that when he goes back, it will only get worse."
"The noble thing? Getting killed by guns and bombs, I don't know what's so noble about that?"
"Will you go and explain that to my father?," the woman looked at her with a small smile, her kind heart radiating through her posture and eyes.
"No, I can't stay away too long. I promised my boyfriend and I can't make him worried."
"What will you say when you go back?"
"I don't know, I really don't. I want him to stay of course, he is safe here. But Tommy wants to join the army, fight the enemy and help us win this war. He told me he couldn't stay here and do nothing."
"And what would you say when you would be in his place?"
"The exact same thing as him," she admitted.
"Allow him to go, love. He wants to and he has a good reason. You can't make him stay and live with this guild."
"He'll get himself killed."
"We have to hope he won't. He'll get destroyed here if he thinks that he is doing nothing, especially when could do so much in France, in Belgium."
Mary looked up at the woman, she was a bit taller than her and older as well, so much wisdom coming from her words.
"I understand what you are thinking, I really do. But, I also understand him and what he is saying. He knows what he is talking about and if he wouldn't believe in a great future after the war, than he wouldn't want to go there. He must have thought about it for a long time, debated everything in his head. Go home and listen to his reasoning, talk to him and go through this together. I believe you two can do that."
The woman hugged her for the last time before pushing her from the bench. She cleaned the grey dress from the leaves fallen onto her clothing and helped the lady with her blonde hairs, brushing through them with her fingers and placing them over her shoulders.
"Thank you for your help, -"
"Charlotte."
"Mary," they introduced themselves before parting their ways, Charlotte on her way to tell Alex about the person she just met. Mary on her home to Tommy, deciding during the walk what she was going to tell the person she loves. The two girls might haven't spoken for that long, but there was a friendship build during those minutes. A strong friendship both of them needed during these dark times.
