1940, England
The gentle swaying of the train woke Emma up. Straightening her posture, she looked around groggily, not recalling how she got on the train in the first place.
Her yellowish hat slid down from her brown locks, as she eyed the mountains towering above them, thinking hard, her freckled face frowning in confusion. Glancing around her cabin, she could see her old-fashioned brown luggage neatly placed on top of each other, while she was holding onto a piece of paper for dear life. Now she remembered.
She was on her way to Bellingham to meet her new family.
Clutching the letter close to her chest, she glanced at her simple watch curious about the time. She was only half an hour away, from her dream life.
As tears starting to pool in her eyes, she opened the slightly crumped paper, which she had read so many times before.
Dear Miss Armstrong!
Reading your letter encouraged me to act immediately and help you and your family in these truly horrific times...I, myself love painting and writing here and there when I have the time for it of course. Seeing your adoration and commitment to learn, I am more than willing to share my humble and peaceful home with you at Payne Hill, while you finish university this year.
As you arrive at the Bellingham station, one of my workers will wait for you.
Sincerely,
Viola Payne
She couldn't wait to meet this mysterious woman who agreed to take her under her wings, until the war was over.
Emma didn't like to say it out loud, but her family was wealthy, making sure she got the best education a woman could get...Even if it was in art. Getting accepted in university was a huge thing, but being accepted as a woman was an even bigger miracle.
Or so she thought.
It turned out her family had paid a fair amount of money, to persuade the school into accepting her as a student along the many males. It wasn't a miracle after all...
She was quite enthusiastic about starting school, gaining many friends in the process. Her grades were high, and she loved doing her little projects and homework.
That was until World War II had hit London too.
She still remembered the 1st of September. She had lunch with her family, the radio playing quietly by their side, when the news came.
Hitler attacked Poland.
She and her family thought they were safe.
That's when the first bomb landed in London.
Her school immediately arranged an 'exchange student' type of program, where people from the rural area of Britain offered shelter and a peaceful environment, far away from London. She had to write a short introduction about herself and her studies, which appeared in the newspaper the very next day all over the United Kingdom.
You may ask, why did her family not flee the country or at least the city. Well, her parents owned fabric factories, which due to the war could only make weapons for the British soldiers from that day. And this huge task needed both of her parents.
So, they both decided to send their only daughter away for her own safety.
And that's how Emma ended on a train which went straight to Bellingham's tiny station.
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