Come Back To Us - 47. Chapter 47

Months went by, and before he had time to even realise it, his twenty-first birthday had passed.

But there was nothing special about it; except that one more year had passed, and the war was still going on.

He had carried out many other missions during that span of time and he had managed to survive. Luck had been on his side for every of them he guessed but most importantly, the more missions he had completed the more experience he had got with time. He didn’t count anymore the Luftwaffe aircrafts he had shot down. Yet, they always came back to attack them. These were endless battles which he thought led nowhere in the end. He was always under the impression of going back to square one. And this kept him awake every night, wondering if it wouldn’t be much simpler if someone had the guts to find a way to reach and kill the man that had initiated this whole mad thing in the first place.

Currently, he was standing in the main yard of the station surrounded by officers, including Arthur, the Marshal and Kristian, and Edgar was present as well, along with a crowd of various aircraft men, English, Danish and other nationalities. He kept fidgeting with his fingers and chewing the inside of his cheek, even though he knew it wasn’t a thing to do in such circumstances. But he wasn’t quite used to this kind of ceremony, let alone to being the centre of attention.

“I am very proud on this day to promote the aircraft man who is here to the rank of Corporal, Karl Jørgen Nielsen. Congratulations. Keep up the good work. After showing so much bravery and such skills, you quite deserve it.”

The crowd of men started cheering and clapping, but it was only a strained smile that showed on his face. He should be happy about it and feel proud, but he couldn’t rejoice because of one thing that had been bothering him for so long.

Jørgen wasn’t here to see it. He still hadn’t come back. So he could only wonder where he was, what he was doing and more importantly if he was alright, which he hoped.

“Thank you,” he simply said, trying to sound as happy as possible.

As soon as the ceremony was over, he approached Kristian and Arthur before they could go anywhere or even move.

“Wait. What about Jørgen? Haven’t you got still any news from him?”

It wasn’t the first time he had been asking that question, but every time, it would be the same answer :”No/We don’t know/We don’t possess any information regarding him/Just be patient…” and he was tired of these empty answers.

Kristian had that look, a look that was both a mix of pity, worry and embarrassment while Arthur was stoic.

“Still nothing since the last time you asked us, that is not even one week ago.”

He frowned at the way Arthur said it.

“You’ve done nothing to retrieve him. Isn’t he important to you?”

“Karl, we are-” Kristian started saying but he cut him off.

“Useless. Sure you are. Why can’t you find a way to locate him? You should send someone to rescue him. If you don’t, I’ll do it myself!”

“Karl, please, calm down!” Kristian then spoke in Danish.

“How can you ask me to calm down?” He replied automatically back in their mother tongue. “It’s been months since we last heard from him. You look like you both don’t care about him!”

“Karl, don’t say that. You know that’s not true. It’s just…complicated, you see. This requires lots of means, which we don’t necessarily have…”

He couldn’t hear that? His fists curled into a ball.

“Alright. Don’t bother with your silly explanations. I’ll go myself.”

“Karl, no!” Kristian grabbed him before he could go anywhere. “You’re staying here with us! This is madness. Come on, get a grip on yourself. I know you care a lot about him, but we will find out what happened to him and where he is. In my opinion, he has probably been captured by the enemy and sent to a prisoners of war camp. And no one can escape this kind of place without paying the price for trying.”

A prisoners of war camp. A dark concept to him. But he’d rather imagine that than his death.

“What are you saying?” Arthur inquired.

They both turned their attention to him.

“He wanted to go looking for him himself. But I told him it was madness. Leave us some more time to find out what’s happened to him,” he switched back to English, his gaze never leaving Karl as he spoke. “Please.”

The anger overwhelming him slowly died down as he unclenched his fists and jaw. He could never be mad at Kristian for long. He looked down as he bit the inside of his cheek.

God knows where he had landed…

“Okay. But do everything you can.”

He couldn’t swallow the lump in his throat. If he died, he couldn’t stay alive. They had to die together even if it wasn’t at the same time.

He got away from them to go back to his quarters. He had to write to Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins about his becoming a Corporal, even if he wasn’t in the mood.

As soon as he was settled on his bed, he took the quill and started writing the date.

June 10th, 1943.

Dear Margaret,

I hope everyone is still doing fine. I am. Although I am worried for my friend Jørgen who still hasn’t come back from his mission, but it’s been already a year almost since we last heard from him.

It was the first time he mentioned it in his letters. He hadn’t meant to make them worried. He was already much enough like that.

Kristian, the Lieutenant General, says he was probably made a prisoner by the Nazis and sent to a camp. But I hope he is not in too bad conditions there if so. I don’t know what’s it’s like so I can’t tell.

Also, I need to say it to you: I’ve just been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal after completing several successful missions against the enemy.

I’d never thought such a thing would happen to me. I really like being a pilot despite the context.

A small but genuine smile brightened up his face as he imagined how Mrs. Hopkins would be happy and excited while reading those lines. That was the only thing that could still warm his broken heart.

He paused as he kept the quill on the paper. What could he possibly say besides these things? He had nothing else interesting to say. He thought for a while as it felt like so much déjà vu.

Of course, as long as they knew he was fine, they wouldn’t mind, but still. He could make an effort.

Then, his thoughts always found their way back to him. His heart skipped a beat as his breath caught in his throat.

He sighed deeply as he looked anywhere but at the paper. His hand was trembling now.

Never had he dared mention him in his letters, but now more than ever before, it felt like a pressing urge that needed to be fulfilled, and he realised he could no longer resist.

What about George? Is he alright? Does he talk about me? Have you seen him recently? And how is his mother and Jojo?

It had been a while since the last time he had thought about the little boy. And about Rosemary too, he realised.

And how is Rosemary? Is she still living with Paul and Emma?

Much love to all of you.

Your dear Danish boy.

Karl.

He folded the letter neatly and kept it under his bed once it was put into an envelope and took something else instead. It was Jørgen’s log book. He had been keeping it with him for months. He never read it. Not even one word. But it brought him a sense of comfort to have it close. He lay down on his bed as he kept holding it, his arms stretched above his head. He stared at the cover as if it would help make Jørgen come back in some way. After a while he sat up, his eyes still focused on the cover and he sighed.

“Kom tilbage i live. Værsgo.” Come back alive. Please.

We have to both keep living to see that day. When our country is finally freed. When we can go back home together without fearing the fire from the enemy any longer. After that, anything could happen to us, it won’t matter. You promised me, remember. Our families will be waiting for us, smiles on their faces. We cannot die without knowing again the sweet taste of happiness. You’ll be able to marry your girlfriend and I’ll go back to farming, helping my parents. We'll visit each other again someday, and we’ll be happy. The sun will keep shining upon our beautiful nation, and before we know it, we’ll have grown old with grandchildren messing around. And only then will we be able to die to remember nothing in the end.

Remember? You promised.

Hello everyone!
So there is a huge time skip from the last chapter to this one, but although I didn't make it explicit, Karl was found and brought back to the station safely and taken care of. Now the angst is about Jørgen going missing....
I wish you all a happy Halloween and a wonderful day/evening/night ❤️