Lily lay back in the soft,
green grass of the pasture.
White daisies, golden brown-eyed Susans,
prickly blue viper's bugloss, and frilly
Queen Anne's lace surrounded her.
She beckoned to him from
what seemed like miles away.
He hiked through the grass
calling her name. She began to
stroll away from him
into the distance. He had
to reach her! He loved her so!
If they couldn't marry, he would
make her his mistress! Nothing could
extinguish the flame of his love!
He would cling to that
until his dying day.
Lying stationary was taking
its toll on Jack's circulation.
His feet and hands were numb.
Something was tickling his nose.
He managed to tilt away
from the irritant, whatever it was.
He was so thirsty! He tried
to lubricate his lips with saliva
but had none. His bladder felt
like a separate entity that
would overflow. He could stall
the urge to void no longer
and allowed the urine to
flow out of him.What did
it matter now? He was
as good as dead anyway.
The fort stood in the center
of the pasture. A moat filled
with sharks protected its walls
from any possible intruders.
Jack pedaled his bicycle as fast
as he could. The sharks
whipped back and forth so quickly
they created foam on the surface
of the water. He had to
cross the drawbridge before
it was raised, segregating him
from his regiment and his
pregnant wife, Lily. She saw him
approaching and skipped onto
the bridge to greet him.
The bridge was rising.
The sharks were in frenzy!
He rode as if the hounds
of hell were after him.
He had to reach her!
His right arm was wedged
against a rock. No matter how
hard he tried, he couldn't
wrench it free. This was
getting tiresome. He felt
a stitch in his right side.
That's all he needed now
to die from a ruptured appendix!
He had wriggled enough to
increase the size of the slot
in which he was trapped.
Were those voices he was hearing?
He wasn't deaf!
When he fought his way
to the surface of consciousness
once again, he was being carried
on a litter over the inverted
battlefield. Bodies were strewn everywhere.
The stretcherbearers stumbled over
the rough ground but maintained control
of their human cargo as they
made their way to the field hospital.
The fuse leading to the dynamite
in the stern of the oil tanker
burned so rapidly that Jack knew
the ship would explode before
he could reach the hatch
to extinguish the flame.
The olive green ship was almost
within his reach when it blew up.
He felt as if he were
on a grill. His face was
aflame. His body felt as if
the skin had been ripped
from it. He wanted to die
before the pain grew worse.
His forehead felt cool.
He opened his eyes slowly, painfully.
A white-clad nurse sponged
his face gently. As she became
aware of his gaze, she stopped
her ministrations and offered
him a sip of water.
“Take it easy,” she whispered.
“You mustn't drink too quickly.
Too much, too fast
will give you nasty cramps.”
Jack was aware of bandages
on his muscular arms and casts
on both legs. Intravenous tubing carried
a clear fluid into his veins.
Consciousness was still transient.
Dreams of a strange pasture mingled
with reality and continued to
haunt his sleep. He understood
he was on a hospital ward,
but where? And how did he get here?
The pretty young nurse was back.
“We cabled your wife.
She knows you were injured
but are on the mend.”
“How did they find me?”
Jack asked.“A patrol looking
for survivors found you buried
in the the foxhole. You were
calling ‘Lily!’They started digging
and there you were. You were
stabilized at the field hospital
before they could bring you here.
We scrubbed you up and started
to you with I.V. therapy.
You were very dehydrated and
suffering from urinary retention
and renal failure. Your kidneys
may never function normally again.
The good news is that
you survived,” she explained.
A stray strand of hair fell
across Jack's cheek hiding the tears
that crept from his eyes.
He was grateful to have
his life back. He silently saluted
his friend. Mike hadn't been so lucky.
The cable from Lily arrived
the next day. “We have a son
stop Born 05 Dec. stop Healthy
stop Named him Michael stop
I love you. Lily stop P.S. Dad
bought the pasture and
deeded it to Michael.”
