Soul Man

Christopher remembered the day he shipped out. It was a sultry Sunday afternoon after a tearful Mass where the entire Russell clan prayed fervently for his safe return to this Dublin parish. He could have used their pitiful moaning when he was wrecked by a gang after a pub fight, or spent months in a dingy cell for stealing or the years of hunger and beatings at the hands of his Da. All of that made him into a holy terror, feared by his family. Now the war was raging in the Pacific and the British Empire needed strong hungry lads like Chris to help defeat the Japanese.

Stationed on HMS George V, CJ as his mates called him, was in the mess hall when the alarm started. “Japanese Zeros approaching from the south. All hands on deck. All hands on deck.” CJ dropped his mug of coffee and sprinted top side through the organized chaos. Nearly slipping on the wet metal stairs, he raced for the guns and strapped himself in. Gripping the controls, his best mate worked the wheel and pivoted him to face the enemy. Sweat from the heat and nerves covered his body and his biceps and legs ached from holding on.

The planes began to appear over the horizon, the sound like buzzing bees barely audible over the alarms blaring, men yelling and the crashing waves. CJ braced himself for the onslaught of the Japanese heading straight toward the deck of the ship. Chaos. That's all he could remember. The whine of the kamikaze pilot, the bing bing bing bing sound of bullets on the deck, and the searing heat as the plane fell from the sky and exploded, spewing metal everywhere. The agony was like nothing on earth as shrapnel pierced his face and eyes, dropping him instantly where he was. Everything black.

The next thing he recalled was the sweet voice of a woman. “Seamen Russell. Can you hear me? “ The touch of her hand startled and comforted him. “CJ, you’re at the naval hospital in Sydney. I’m Nurse Adams. You were injured aboard the George V. The medics onboard stabilized you and put you on a hospital ship. You've been unconscious for a week.” “Wait, where? I can’t see. Please, what’s happened? Where’s the ship?”, tears rolled down his cheeks as he strained to remember the battle.“How did I ? “ Screams replaced tears as the morphine started to wear off.

Nurse Adams pulled the syringe out of the metal bedside tray, pushed CJ’s sleeve up and quickly jabbed the needle into his skin, providing sweet relief from the agony. “When did we bomb Japan? Is the war over?” CJ sat up in his hospital bed and heard his mother’s voice. “Christopher, don't be daft. The war hasn't ended. It's morphine and the bang the shrapnel gave to your brain, son. You need more rest. You've been in and out for days. “Ma, listen. “ CJ whispered. “ I get pictures in me head. Weird things. “ Looking toward the door he lowered his voice more. “ Nurses, doctors when they touch me. I...I know things. I can tell what they're thinking or what they've done. Ma, what does this mean? It just keeps getting more clear.“Sitting forward in his chair, he continued. “Hitler's going to do himself in, not just him. Goebels, their families...I saw it, Ma. You gotta believe me.”

Leaning down close to his ear, she whispered “Keep your mouth shut son. You'll end up in the asylum with your daft aunt. Be a man, for once in your pathetic life and get your sorry self out of here.” Looking towards the door, she continued, “Marry that one. She seems to love you, although I don't know why."

The relationship changed into something more as Nurse Adams cleaned and dressed his wounds. She grew to know CJ as more than a patient, and he trusted her to show his true self. CJ proposed to Nurse Deborah Adams and they made plans to move to London, to start a new life together.

CJ and Deborah, exited the Tube station at Kings Cross in the sweltering heat, Deborah slowly guiding him up the steps to the street. CJ, determined to be independent, slowly but lovingly pushed her arm away. “I have to do it on my own, sweetheart. My students need me to show them blindness does not make you a cripple. “ Heading up the steps out into the August heat, CJ stopped and fell to his knees. “A fire. In this Tube station. So many dying and screaming.” CJ dropped his head in his hands, sobbing.

“You need help, real help. From your family. It's time you saw Aunt Helen. She wants to come for tea."

"Shes a lunatic. A nutter that one. No."

“I’ve already arranged it. She's at our flat now . Listen to her. There are things you need to hear. Things that will help make more sense of your gift that we are both trying to understand.”

“Its a curse not a gift and Im not going to end up in the asylum in Londonderry like my relatives. So a not a blessed word to anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

Pulling himself together, he wiped his face with his sleeve. “London doesn't need another crazy war veteran. I'm blessed that I found a position at the Darrow School for the Blind. Let's not ruin it by calling attention to this curse, or whatever it is. Please don't speak of it again, Deborah.”