Prisoners of War (Part 1)

A love story set in World War 1. This is the first part because I haven't finished the entire story yet.

Time could be described as one of the most admirable of tricksters. He plays with the mind as though it were merely a child’s toy yet at the same time he fools the heart into false comfort and safety. And when we try to capture him, place him in a cage to perhaps attempt to hold a moment still, he slips away as comfortably as fish in water. Yes, Time certainly has a way of seducing minds and breaking hearts and never allowing us to preserve moments the way we want them. Perhaps he delights in our pain, perhaps it is the agent which pushes Time to do as he does or perhaps he merely finds our lives strangely empty and tiresome and wishes to alter them in some way hoping for something more interesting. Whatever the reason, Time is never on our side. He fights only for himself and his motives are his own. He cannot be persuaded, bought or changed and as much as many people hate to admit it, Time rules our lives.

 

It is perhaps Time’s folly that makes grief so unbearable. The sight of a sunset over the ocean while in the presence of someone who truly makes life meaningful can be quickly forgotten until it is too late and the memory has already sunk into the dusty depths of the mind. The soft and gentle touch of another’s lips on your own can easily pass unnoticed until it can never be felt again. And perhaps the simplest of memories are not cherished enough until it is realised that they will never again come to pass.

 

Time had injured, perhaps forever, yet another helpless victim.

 

The sound of his voice could no longer be recalled and the feeling of his strong arms around her body was hard to place. She failed to remember his gentle kisses and those late night talks. Time, in its merciless and cruel fashion placed only one memory clearly in the front of her mind. She was constantly reminded of the day he left for the war. She remembered the last kiss, the last hug and the look in his eyes. Time had clearly imprinted every detail of his face in her mind to haunt her forever.

 

It was here where Time had left her, with the papers held loosely in her hand. Heidi stared down at the formal, emotionless writing for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Mrs. Schroëder                                 19 November 1917

This war we are fighting is of great importance to our proud nation and we have many brave, young men risking their lives for their country. We regret to inform you that your husband, Mr. Heinrich James Schroëder has been killed in action. We are sincerely sorry for your loss.

Yours Faithfully

General Schneider

All feeling had drained from her body, causing the tears that rolled down her face to pass unnoticed. Her heart seemed to stop beating, perhaps trying to give her peace in her grief. Indeed, she barely noticed that her breathing had become shallow and escaped in ragged gasps. All she was aware of was the image which she saw in her mind’s eye. His face. She could see clearly his gentle green eyes sparkling with a touch of mischief and that lopsided smile which had always managed to make her laugh. It hit her then, so suddenly that she staggered with the realisation. She would never again see that face, she would never again kiss those perfect lips and his strong arms would never again encircle her body. 

 

Her mind flashed back to the letter she had received from him only a few weeks prior.

 

17 October 1917

My Dearest Heidi

 

Time seems to be passing so slowly here. I have seen sights fit for the eyes of a king, but none that compare to your beauty. Every flower and sunset that catches my eye I look upon with pride knowing that waiting for me is one of more beauty than anything I might find here. I look upon them too, with sorrow in my heart because here there is death and sadness. Here there are sons that will never return to their mothers, brothers that will never return to their sisters and husbands that will never return to their wives. I see more death everyday than any person should see in a lifetime and it all fills me with a steadfast resolve that one day I will return to you. I will return to take you in my arms and kiss your beautiful lips. I will return to see your eyes light up when you smile and to run my fingers through your soft hair. My dearest Heidi, what I miss most are not the kisses or your beauty, no, sweeter still than these is your smile. Smile everyday, smile for me for if I can only hold on to the memory of your smile, I believe I will make it through to return to you. I speak with joy in the midst of the tragedy around me for the thought of you alone brings joy.

 

Always with love and the knowledge that one day we will be reunited.

Heinrich

 

The sound was one that filled the listener with such pain that could not be described. It spoke of the loss of a childhood love, a companion who truly made life worth living for and a friend dearer than any other. It was filled with such intense grief that it must surely rent apart the soul. Sobs coursed through her body like live surges of electricity, filling every nerve with pain beyond reckoning. It was pain that burned so intensely, she thought rather to end her life than to live in a body imbued with such anguish. Time seemed to come to a halt, it danced in front of her now like the shadows from the candles that flicked nimbly along the walls. Now he would allow her to remember everything, from every kiss down to the smallest freckle on his face, she could see it all clearly now. The agony she felt inside, which seemed as if it could not possibly become any worse, intensified to the point that she was forced onto her knees as more memories surged back. Even if he had been able to laugh, Time’s mockery would not be heard above the ragged gasps that now escaped from her bowed over form.

 

Having received his entertainment for the evening, Time slipped out of the door, slowly and quietly, leaving the prostrate form to its grief as the candles burned lower taking with them their shadow dancers.[ALR1] 

 

 

 

 

If life is seen as a series of experiences, placed side by side to be expected to weave together to form a complete story, it is not life at all, yet it is in this way that Heidi lived the next few months of her life. Every thought, every action and every memory was seen separately by her. She groped her way through the darkness that had descended upon her life with no real or direct thoughts at finding her way out again. She moved slowly, so slowly that at times she thought she wasn’t moving at all, or, on the worse days she thought she might be moving backwards because there really was no way of telling given the darkness around her.

 

The way she felt at first was like moving through a tunnel. It was dark and dank and the floor slippery, making it easy to fall down but harder to rise. Dark shapes covered the walls and there were echoes of her thoughts all around, bringing the endless pain back to her again and again. The floor was covered in puddles of memories, wetting her thoughts with a desire for more yet with a sense of revulsion for what she saw as yet more echoes hit the walls. And so she stumbled onwards.

 

Looking back, Time would not allow her to see how she had found her way out of the tunnel, he allowed her only to live with the knowledge that she had. Her thoughts slowly found their way back to the farm left to her by Heinrich, that which she had mostly neglected during her travels through the tunnel. As she emerged from the darkness into, not yet light, but something which allowed her to see a little more of what was around her, she realised how much needed to be done.

 

Instead of allowing herself to wander the dawn-realm into which she had travelled, she busied herself by working on the farm. Her thoughts moved from the dark creatures that haunted her sleep to more trivial matters. With the help of some neighbouring farmers, she managed to plough the fields and sow the seeds of the first crop the farm had seen in some time. The work was hard and physically demanding and did not allow her thoughts to stray. By night, her eyes were drier than they had been in months as she fell into a welcome sleep, keeping a tight rein on her mind and staying ever wary of Time and his folly.

 

As more time passed and she too passed from the dawn-realm to witness a gentle sunrise on her life, the wheat, which had appeared as seedlings at first, also progressed in its life cycle and was nearing the time for harvesting.

 

It was now when Heidi realised how desperately she needed farm workers. This need, however, seemed impossible to satisfy as most men had been called up to war. She spent hours each day trying to find a possible solution to her problem and had almost given up all hope when her solution came in the form of a passing remark from a neighbour concerning the growing number of prisoners of war in the country. As this was said, an idea, an outrageous idea at that, began forming in her mind.

 

It seemed unlikely yet perhaps it was the note of urgency in her telegram that convinced the officials or perhaps it was merely their relief to have a temporary solution to their problem, whatever the reason may have been, Heidi felt a hope that she hadn’t felt in months when she received a positive answer.

 

Her plan had many pitfalls and could even place her at risk, but her need to save Heinrich’s farm, was greater than any doubts could be.

 

Upon arrival, the three prisoners that she had been sent were quiet and seemed out of their depth by the fact that they were under the control of a woman. A brief questioning of each revealed that they were British and, surprisingly enough had all worked on a farm before. This news came as a relief to Heidi who did not know much concerning the harvesting of wheat.

 

The work began immediately and contrary to her preconceived ideas prisoners, Heidi found the prisoners to be strong and helpful men. She enjoyed their company thoroughly and constantly found herself smiling at their strong accents.

 

Perhaps she knew she was slightly overstepping the boundaries by allowing herself to become friendly with the prisoners, however, they were the first people she had shared proper conversation with in a long time and in some small way, they helped her to temporarily forget her lingering grief.

 

She felt a strange closeness with one of the men in particular. If they had been talking while going about their work, William would be the only one to notice her smile fading shortly after the conversation. He alone saw the empty, haunted look in her eyes that she tried so hard to conceal. Heidi, too, felt his observations and tried even harder to conceal her feelings from him, but knew that she could not fool him. He said nothing however, even his actions remained normal except perhaps for his glances, that lingered slightly longer than those of the others, and made her feel as though he were seeing into her very soul.

---

Author's Note

Please be critical, I'm trying to fix this story up. And if you liked it, please read part 2