Edinburgh, Portobello High School

Across the Sea and Back Again

SMACK! Another wave slams hard against the hull, sending them tumbling out of their bunks. She hears Christine vomit into her pillow. This ship is not a pretty sight. But it can’t be long now. Will he be there when she gets back? Is he well? The last letter she got was two months a-BLAM! Again, the sea sends the boat rocking viciously. Can’t be long now.

Mary was working as a shorthand typist, called over to Belgium during the war, her husband being the secretary for the University of Edinburgh. She was sent over to help forces there numerous times. She stayed for months at a time, each channel crossing a living nightmare.

“He was the most kind, brilliant man I’d ever met” she whispers, shaking slightly. “When he left the University, he was awarded a colour television as a parting gift, which was a huge thing back then” she laughs lightly, gesturing towards the iPad we have laying on the table. “It’s not much now, but we kept it for years”.

SPLASH ! Again and again and again, rocking the boat horribly, but it can’t be long now. She’ll see him again there.

John will be waiting for her.