Darkness.

Silence.

Things I used to long for,

And now they are my enemy.

How long have I been lying here?

Unable to move,

Unable to breath.

What was that?

Something to break the silence?

A voice.

Calling, calling.

'Is anybody alive?'

Yes. I am alive.

I can't get the words out.

'Hello?'

'Over here,' I manage.

'Over here,' louder this time.

More sound now.

Scraping, shouting.

What is going on?

'Help!' I scream.

Soon a bead of light shines through the darkness.

Oh glorious wonders, light!

The bead of light grows bigger.

Bigger,

Bigger,

Bigger still.

It grows into a hole.

A young man kneels over the hole.

'Are you alright?'

I nod my answer,

To overcome with emotion to speak.

Where is Mother?

Where is Father?

Where is Tom?

And Charlotte?

Where is she?

The young man, a soldier,

Lifts me out of the hole.

I blink in the light.

Then I blink again,

Hoping that when I open my eyes this will not be true.

But it is.

The entire street is nothing but rubble.

Bricks and wood lay everywhere.

Soldiers walk through the rubble,

Calling, calling

Just like my rescuer.

But I am the only rescued.

Mother, Father, Tom, and Charlotte,

Mrs. Green next door,

John Turner across the street,

Who used to plague me,

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis,

Baby Tommy Lewis,

Small Samantha Lewis,

They're all gone.

And now it's just me.

Me and England, 1943.