Come Back To Us - 44. Chapter 44

Karl didn’t leave his room for the next few days, but he couldn’t take it anymore to stay trapped there, doing nothing. So he decided to leave the farm to go on a walk. Of course, he made sure he wouldn’t be seen as he left his grim room. It seemed that Clément wasn’t there.

He started as he heard a small bark. He had forgotten the dog guarding the house… He sighed.

“Du må ikke sige noget til din mester, tak. Du ved ikke, hvordan det er at være fanget i mørket hele dagen og natten lang.”

Don't tell your Master, please. You don't know what it's like to stay trapped in the dark all day and all night long.

The dog tilted his head as he made a small sound. He was beautiful. He used “he”, but it might have actually been a female… It was a big golden retriever. He directed his hand slowly towards its head and patted it gently and the dog only looked at him with big brown eyes.

“God dreng.” Good boy.

He walked past it and to his great relief the dog remained still and quiet as he looked back to check. He only turned around to watch him go. He knew he had to stay hidden inside, but he needed to see the sun and the sky again, the landscape. He needed to feel the fresh air again and fill his lungs with it and feel the light wind on his skin. He needed to move. Staying sitting for too long made his bum ache and pacing back and forth in his room was driving him crazy. He didn’t meet anyone on his way; the landscape was completely desert and lifeless, just like in his hometown. He was feeling hot as he was walking. He reached a cliff and couldn’t go any further. The farm wasn’t that far from the sea. He was close to the edge. It was vertiginous but he wasn’t afraid of falling. The sea was drab and dark and its waves were coming to crash hard against the rocks, the noise they made deafening. The wind was blowing hard. The sky was cloudy and dark. It felt like it was going to rain that night or the following day. The wind was blowing so hard that it was enough to make him have goosebumps. He remained standing there for what felt like ages, the wind never calming down, but he didn’t mind. He used that amount of time to reflect upon his current situation. There was nothing optimistic about it. He was penniless, planeless, stuck in a country he didn’t know and whose language he didn’t speak, and on top of that a country that had become an enemy territory. He couldn’t struggle against the wind; no more than he could struggle against his own vulnerability. He remained there for a long while, but at last, he knew he had to go back. He just hoped no one would see him… if so, it would be so stupid…There might have been still a chance he could go back to England… He shouldn’t lose all hope yet. He wasn’t alone. He met no one either on his back. He made sure no one would be spying on him from afar. But his heart skipped a beat as he entered the house. Clément… He had his arms crossed against his chest and didn’t look very happy. And he noticed his dog was standing right beside him. He yelped only once. Damn…

“Mais bon sang ! Où est-ce que t’étais passé ? Je me suis fait un sang d’encre ! J’espère que personne ne t’as vu ou suivi au moins !”

My goodness! Where have you been? I was worried to death! I hope that no one saw you or followed you at least!

He grabbed his arm and dragged him underground and Karl followed without any protest. And in not even one minute he was back to his “room”… He let go of his arm as they stood face to face. Karl looked down as he was staring at him. He felt like a child being scolded by his parents.

“Désolé…” Sorry

That was the only word he memorised since he had got there. He heard Clément sigh after a few moments.

“Ecoutes…Je sais bien que c’est pas marrant de se retrouver enfermé là sans pouvoir voir le soleil, le ciel bleu et la mer…Mais c’est pour ta sécurité. Moi et les gars, on est en train de préparer un plan pour qu’on puisse te renvoyer en Angleterre. Je sais que ça aide pas vraiment, mais il faut juste que tu sois encore patient…”

Listen… I am perfectly aware that it’s not funny to end up locked underground without being able to see the sun, the blue sky and the sea…But it’s for your safety. Me and the guys are preparing a plan so we can send you back to England. I know that’s not really helping just to know this, but you just need to be more patient.

He looked up to be met with a sympathetic look in his brown eyes, and he was glad he had landed into his house.

“Hmmm…” He put his index and middle fingers on his chin as he thought. “On peut sûrement trouver un moyen de tuer le temps, à deux ça passe plus vite,” he smiled and Karl did too. “Bouge pas. Je reviens tout de suite !” He hurried to leave and Karl waited for him to come because he guessed he was to come back.

We can certainly find a way to kill time. It will pass faster if we are two…. Don’t move. I’ll be right back!

It took him some time to get back, but he did come back in the end, and he stifled a laugh as he watched him trying not to lose his balance with all the stuff he was holding in his hands. He shook his head as he smiled.

“You should’ve asked me to come with you, I would’ve helped you if you needed.”

He failed as he eventually dropped most of his things. This was what happened when one wanted to hold too many things while they just had two arms. As his mother would say : Better take fewer but be faster rather than being too impatient.

He approached him and helped him pick up said objects before they got too dirty. He realised these were books. He picked up one of them and stared at the cover with earnest interest as he tried to read its title. He recognised the letters, but their way of pronouncing most letters had nothing to do with English. Or maybe it was more similar to Danish…

“L…Lei…”

It was Clément’s turn to laugh. He looked up from the book and saw him grinning at him.

“La littérature française. Tu vas rien y comprendre mais t’auras pas le temps de t’ennuyer avec ça. Et…Tatatta !” He opened the book he was holding, showing it to him proudly. “On a des images ! Donc ça va grandement nous faciliter la tâche !”

French literature. You’re not gonna understand a single thing but you won’t have time to get bored with this. And… Tadah! We’ve got images! So this is gonna make the job much easier for us!

They wasted no time as they sat down to start reading the first one.

“Bon d’accord, en vrai, certains de ces contes sont plus des histoires pour Jo, mais bon…” Well, okay, actually, some of these tales are more stories that Jo used to love reading, but well…

Seeing the images really helped, but it was funny. He had never seen a book with images before, but he found it was a good idea, it helped imagining the story in your head.

“Ça me rappelle l’enfance. Le temps où tout était plus facile…” It reminds me of childhood. The time when everything was so easier…

A moment of silence followed his words and he could feel his growing melancholy.

“J’imagine que je suis juste un gros sentimental, naïf et sensible qui n’arrive pas à se détacher du passé et n’est pas fait pour ce monde de brutes.”

I guess I’m just a huge bleeding-heart, gullible and sensitive person who can’t manage to break free from the past and who wasn’t made for that brutish world.

He knew they felt the same way about that war, like so many others. He could sense it and so they could share their despair, fears, and memories, although not with words.

He smiled as he realised he had just made another friend. This sounded so natural to him that it didn’t need to be questioned. It was good to find that kind of friendship again. A friendship in which there was no ambiguity. He lost focus as he was now thinking about Jørgen. He wondered if he was alright. If he was still on his mission or if he could come back by that time. He would always be his friend no matter what, but he guessed he shouldn’t be thinking too much about him.

“C’est moi qui ai appris à lire à Manu.” He paused and Karl thought that he had said something else before as he got lost in thought. “C’est une bibliothécaire du coin qui m’a donné le goût de la lecture ainsi que tous ces livres. Mes parents étaient trop modestes pour s’intéresser aux livres…” He paused once again. "Ça peut paraître pas très passionnant, mais ça change un peu de la monotonie de la vie de fermier, hein Betty ?”

I was the one who taught Manu how to read. It’s a local female librarian who made me want to read and gave me all these books so I could practise. My parents are part of those on a modest income, so they couldn’t afford to have any interest in books… It may look not that interesting, but it's a breath of fresh air when you are stuck in a monotonous farmer’s life, isn't it, Betty?

The dog yelped as it came to lie down beside its master. He patted it on its head before stroking his bushy fur. Karl smiled at it.

“Is it male or female ?” He asked out of curiosity, hoping he could make himself understood just once. He wished the bloke who spoke English was there, but at the same time he didn’t. He would have ruined the mood.

He chuckled.

“J’adore ton accent ! C’est cent fois mieux que celui de Gugus ! I love your accent! It’s a hundred times better than that of Gugus!

“G…”

He burst into laughter.

“C’est une fifille. Femelle. On l’a appelée Betty, comme Betty Boop. Tu vois qu’on est pas que des ploucs incultes dans notre petit coin perdu !”

She’s a girl. Female. We called her Betty, like Betty Boop. See, we’re not only illiterate yokels in our small backwater!

The dog yelped again.

Karl smiled. Like Master like Dog. She was so adorable. As they were slouched against the wall, there was the echo of a deafening noise and Karl looked up, intrigued.

“T’inquiète, c’est pas les bombes. C’est juste l’orage.” No worries, it’s not a bombing. It’s only a storm.

Betty whined at that and he glanced at her. He reached for her and patted her head and she put one paw on his knee, only making him smile more.

“Du skal ikke være bange, søde dame. Vi er her for at beskytte dig.” Don't be afraid, sweet lady. We're here to protect you.

“Ta famille et ton pays doivent te manquer. Je sais pas comment tu fais. Enfin…Je sais pas si j’aurais pu…Tout quitter pour vivre dans un pays étranger, même si en fait l’Angleterre, c’est pas très loin d’ici. Tu vis à Londres alors ? C’est bien ?”

You must miss your family and your country. I don’t know how you do it. I mean… I don’t know if I could have left like you did… Leaving everything behind to live in a foreign country, even if actually England isn’t far away from here. You’re living in London then? Is it nice?

Famille meant family. Jørgen had pointed out that many words looked alike due to the French influence with the Normans’ invasion in the eleventh century. So of course this helped a lot. And Londres meant London.

“It’s different from home. But it’s nice. My family has got a farm too.”

He tried to imitate the French accent so he would understand the words, but failed terribly. Clément smiled at him. Was it because of the way he talked? Most likely. The way he smiled reminded him of Jørgen’s own smile. He was suddenly overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.

“J’adore ton accent. J’aimerais tant pouvoir parler au moins une langue étrangère, mais dans cette cambrousse, c’est pas franchement évident…”

I love your accent. I wish I could speak at least one foreign language, but in the middle of nowhere, that’s definitely not easy…

He focused on his lips as he spoke. They looked so warm, so welcoming. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore. He needed to know if it felt the same.

He got closer to him until his breath was fanning over his face, and Clément only looked at him dumbfounded. He was craving for a warm touch and his mind had no control over himself anymore. Before he knew it, their lips met, and Clément instantly pushed him away, but it was enough for him to know that it could never compare. He was simply feeling awkward now.

He started as he heard someone clearing their throat and froze as he saw who it was.

Oh no, what have I done…?

“Clément. Il faut qu’on parle. Maintenant. Viens.” We need to talk. Now. Come on.

“Manu…”

Now he wished the earth could swallow him and make people forget about his very existence.

Clément stood up swiftly and soon enough they were nowhere to be seen anymore. He sighed as he looked down. He heard the dog whine and as he glanced at her, she looked sad. He gave her an apologetic look, and he was certain she understood what had just happened.

“Jeg har det elendigt, Betty. Og elendighed får dig til at gøre dumme ting.” He paused. “Jeg savner ham.” I'm miserable, Betty. And misery makes you do stupid things. I miss him.

Next thing he knew, she lay down on his lap and he caressed her bushy fur with a soft hand. Some warmth. He was momentarily appeased with a sense of peace that had long left him.

Then darkness soon came to him.

Hello everybody!
Here you go with another chapter and a little cliffhanger....
Have good day/evening/night and take care ❤️