Come Back To Us - 3. Chapter 3

Later that day, he found Jørgen in the mess hall, sitting at one of the tables.

“So, how was your first day?”

“Not as worse as yesterday.”

His answer was met with a smile. He found some kind of relief in it.

“What are you doing here?”

“I like to have some time just with me and myself sometimes.”

“You mean far from Dierk?”

This made Jørgen laugh.

“Yes, also. I mean I’m quite sociable but…a bit of solitude hasn’t got only bad sides. It can’t harm anyone.”

Yeah, he couldn’t disagree with that. But they both knew why he was staying here on his own.

“You think about your family too, don’t you?”

He just stared at him without saying anything. He could see it in his eyes; it was enough.

The long moment of silence that followed only confirmed it. He guessed he’d rather be alone with his thoughts.

“I’m gonna go. I’ll see you at the dorms.”

“No, you can stay. Take a seat,” he motioned for him to sit across him.

“Are you sure?”
“Certain.”

Only when he sat down did he notice the small notebook that was resting on the table.

“Yes, I do think about them. But I actually come here to write. It’s best to write on a table, rather than sitting with your thighs as support on a bed which is as hard as a plank.”

The way he said it made Karl smile. It was good that he knew how to write. Most Danes must know how to write and read, he couldn’t help thinking. But he mustn’t have been the only one that didn’t know, apart from his family and the people in his village.

“What do you write?”

Jørgen looked happy that he asked this question.

“I like to write about my days here, it’s like a kind of logbook, in which I can keep a record of everything that happens.”

That’s not the kind of thing he would think about doing, even if he knew how to write.

“Are you afraid to forget?”

He really looked amused.

“No. I just think writing is a good exercise.” A pause. “And in case something happens to me in the future, at least my family would have something left of me.”

A shiver coursed down his body and his mouth became dry. Yes, he hardly knew him, but he didn’t want to think of something happening to him. He didn’t want to think about innocent people dying anymore.

“Don’t say that.”

He didn’t look happy or amused this time.

“I don’t like to think about it either, especially so soon. But a war is a war, and you can never know for sure what will happen. So I’d rather anticipate just in case.”

Whether it was in English or in Danish, he didn’t want to hear that word anymore.

“That way they can have a full chronicle of my stay here.”

Karl wanted to shake the awful thoughts off his mind, but couldn’t… He needed something to distract him, anything.

Think…just think…

“Do you mention me in your logbook?”

His face brightened up after a few seconds.

“I’m not sure I should answer this question.”

Karl’s lips curved upwards. It seemed that his smile was catching.

“For me, it just means ‘yes’.”

He let out a small chuckle.

“There’s nothing confidential anyway. I just wrote that you arrived yesterday.”

“And that I was almost torn to shreds,” Karl raised one eyebrow as he said that. “I doubt your family would like to know about that.”

“No!” He chuckled again. This kind of event doesn’t have the same effect depending on the way you word it. So you have to choose one nice and careful wording,” he said as his teeth shone brightly.

The slight difference in meaning was too subtle for him. That was something he had never even thought about…

“If you say so.”

It looked like his smile wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

“Are you sure you want me to stay? I don’t want to disturb you while you’re writing.”

“You would never disturb me. I was done for today when you arrived anyway.”

He suspected it was a lie. But he didn’t really mind. He just smiled again instead.

Jørgen closed the notebook. He didn’t look away from him as he did.

“I know a place where we will be more comfortable to talk.”

Karl didn’t question it. He just followed him as they left the room to go to another one that was much smaller, even smaller than their own dorm, and it was full of stuff.

“Here, the box room is the only place where privacy is possible.”

He slowed down his pace as he was examining the stuff on the shelves. It was all things he had never seen before, of course.

“How long have you been here?” He asked as he stopped walking.

Jørgen was standing only a few yards away from him.

“Not for that long. I got in London in early November, and I joined the RAF shortly afterwards.”

Oh. He didn’t know why but he thought he had arrived much earlier. Now he was wondering if he could speak English well.

“Can you speak English?”

“Yes, I can speak both English and German fluently. I know a few words of French too, but I’m afraid my pronunciation is too awful for French people to understand.”

Karl just chuckled. Jørgen did too.

“Come. Let’s sit down.”

They sat down in one corner that wasn’t full of stuff at the back of the room, their backs leaning against a wall.

“What about you?

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I want to get to know you; know where you’re from, if you have any siblings, what you like, don’t like, you know, that kind of stuff.”

But there was nothing really interesting about his life worth saying…

“I’m from Sønderho, a small village on Fanø island. My family has been farmers for centuries. They don’t know to do anything else. My father sent me away when the country was invaded, and I was taken in by a really nice English family, the Hopkins. But I couldn’t stand it anymore to see the city being destroyed and people dying. So I chose to join the war. I have two older siblings who live in Copenhagen, Johann, and Ana. I couldn’t even bid goodbye to them.”

He looked like he was regretting asking about him.

The words just left his mouth spontaneously. He didn’t mean to ruin the mood with things he wanted to forget about.

“What about you?”

He made it clear with his look that he didn’t want to talk about the last thing he mentioned.

“I’m from Copenhagen. I have no siblings; that’s why I’d like to have several children later. My father is a clerk, and he started teaching me the job when I was old enough to learn, but I’m not that good at it.”

Karl chuckled again as Jørgen was smiling. The thing that caught most his attention was the fact he had no siblings, unlike him. He wondered why some couples had several children and some only one. There could be plenty of various reasons to that. Maybe some among them which he ignored.

He suddenly remembered what his sister had told him once.

Do you really want your children to lead the same miserable life as you?

These words were etched into his brain as if they were seared there so he could never forget.

He remembered when she had come to see him, after his fifteenth birthday. She had wanted him to leave to come and live with her, temporarily, so he could get an education, and wish for a brighter future.

But no matter how hard she had tried to convince him, he had never wanted to leave, even if it was to be with her and their brother.

Yes, the prospect of discovering a big city was really exciting, but Sønderho was his home.

Then he remembered his mother telling his sister to leave him alone, and that it was no use coming back if it was only to talk him into leaving.

He wasn’t sure he wanted children. But did he really have a choice?

Everything was a bit too confused in his head.

“I hope I’m not boring you.”

He looked back at Jørgen in a split second.

“No, I was just thinking about something.”

And he instantly seemed to understand what was on his mind.

“About your siblings?”

Well, it wasn’t too hard to guess.

“Have you always been so sure that you wanted children?”

The other male looked a bit surprised by his question.

“Yeah, I mean, for me it’s never been a question I should ask myself.”

Of course, it must have been so for most people. And it shouldn’t be any different for him.

“But don’t worry, it’s okay to have doubts and question yourself about this. This isn’t a decision which you can make lightly. And you still have time before you. How old are you?” He asked curiously.

“Eighteen years old.”

“Hey! You’re hardly younger than me! I’m twenty.”

So he was the same age as George, right?

“What day were you born?”

“I think it was a Sunday.”

Jørgen laughed, but he didn’t sound as if he was mocking him. He just looked amused.

“No, I mean what month and what number?”

Why was he interested in his birthdate? Did it have something to do with alcohol? He doubted it.

“June 4.”

“We were born almost the same month! I was born in May. On the 28th of May.”

How funny.

Another smile brightened up his face.

They were silent afterwards, and it seemed that the world around them had disappeared because there wasn’t a single noise that could be heard.

“You know once the war is over, I’d like to propose to my girlfriend, Greta.”

Oh. So he had a girlfriend. Why shouldn’t he have one anyway?

Thinking about this, he had never had a girlfriend, probably had been considered too young to have one. He had never even kissed a girl. He couldn’t believe his first kiss had been with a boy. A boy who didn’t care about him…

Wait…

“Do you have a girlfriend back home?”

Karl stared straight into his eyes again.

George didn’t love him, and he didn’t love him either, so why was he still focused on that?

“No.”

He didn’t need to know about what he had had with George. Ever. It was just the truth.

“That’s alright. You still have time to find the right one. I mean…well, it’s a bit complicated with the current situation…but let’s not be pessimistic.”

Find the right one…how do you even do that?

“What about we get going now? It’s almost time for dinner.”

“Yeah.”

They stood up and left the room to go back to the Mess hall. But on their way, they came across the man they had seen the day before.

“Good evening, Sir.”

“Good evening, Jørgen.”

Karl should have greeted him too, but he was too busy examining the man to do so.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’d like to talk to Karl for a few moments.”

“Of course. That’s not a problem.”

Their eyes met. His facial expression was unreadable.

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

Karl glanced at Jørgen who was smiling at him. Without waiting for any answer, he started walking away.

“Let’s go to a place where we will be sure we won’t be disturbed.”

Were they going to go back to the room where he had just been with Jørgen?

“Come.”

Karl just followed him silently. They got into a room that looked similar to the one where Edgar had taken him earlier.

“If it wasn’t so cold, we could have gone outside.”

They didn’t sit. They remained standing before each other, observing each other silently at first. There was something a bit weird in the way he was staring at him; It almost made him feel ill at ease.

“I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday. On behalf of the Danish RAF members, I apologise, and I will make sure it won’t happen ever again.”

Did he really make him come there just for that?

“That’s okay.”

It was silent afterwards, the man seemingly not knowing what to say any longer. Karl glanced away every ten seconds or so, not finding anything better to do.

“If the cohabitation becomes too difficult, I can try to have you switch rooms.”

No. He didn’t want to switch rooms. Not when he thought he had just made one good friend.

“Thank you, but it’s not necessary. I can deal with that.”

He gave him a look that let him guess he wasn’t that convinced.

“Well, if you have a problem, or if you need anything, just come and find me. You will always be welcome.”

Did he think he was just a weakling who was unable to defend himself? Well, that’s what he had shown.

“Thanks.”

He just kept staring at him as he said nothing else.

“May I go now?”

He tried not to sound too plain as he spoke, but he couldn’t find any other way to say it. There was really something weird in the way he was staring at him. He didn’t know why, but he preferred not to ask him about it.

“Yes, of course.”

He looked like he had just realised how he had been staring at him.

They didn’t bid goodbye to each other. Karl left without looking back at him.

He didn’t need his pity or protection, let alone his weird and insistent stares.

He could fend for himself.

He had no intention to let that Dierk guy bother him once again.

Hello everyone
Sorry for the delay.. Hope you enjoyed this third chapter!!
Have a good day/evening/night and take care ❤️