War Angel

It was a beautiful day, and I was in my bedroom playing with my baby sister Katie and her dolly she had named Cherry. I was sixteen. Katie giggled as I tickled her.

She looked like a little angel with her brown curly hair framing her already beautiful face. Her blue dress made her sky blue eyes sparkle even more. Finally I stopped tickling her and lay beside her on the bed.

My blond hair was in my face, so in order to make her laugh again, I shook my head back and forth and made funny faces as my hair kept getting into my face. She laughed hysterically. Dizzy, I stopped and brushed my hair out of my face with my hand.

We both laughed, and when the laughter turned to silence, we stared at the plain white ceiling."Molly?" Katie finally asked.

"Yes, sweetie?' I looked at her.

She was holding Cherry tightly. "When will Charlie be home?"

My heart stopped for a moment, and my mind whirled. Our twenty-one year old brother Charlie had gone off to fight in the war against the Germans. My friend Jake also had a brother in the British army, who was a good friend of Charlie. His name was Tommy.

One week ago Tommy came home to check on Jake and their Mum. He had brought with him Charlie's favorite cap and a golden necklace with a heart charm on it.

I still remembered the look of sadness and grief on Tommy's handsome face when he handed me Charlie's cap and explained to me how my brother died. There had been a bombing raid on the military base where they had been stationed. Tommy looked and looked for him, but all he found of Charlie was his cap. His blue cap he had bought on his trip to the U.S a few years ago.

Tommy also gave me a golden necklace with a heart charm on it, and Cherry. "These are for you and Katie," Tommy had said, "Charlie wanted me to give these to you, and this note."

He handed me a note that had my name on it. I opened it up and it said,

My dear Molly,

If you are reading this, I'm probably dead, or dying. Molly, tell little Katie that I'll see her soon, right now, she's too young to understand what has happened. I'm sure good ole' Tommy gave you this. Bless his heart. He's going to keep an eye on you girls for me, because I'm not around to keep those boys that will be eyeing you and Katie when she's older, away. Try to be strong for me, and Katie. You and Katie both are beautiful girls, and I'm sorry I can't be there when you become a woman. Just know that I love you, and Katie and Mum with all my heart and soul. I'll be watching over you in Heaven. The doll is for Katie, and the necklace is for you. Wear close to your heart, because that's where I will be. I'll always be at your side, even if you can't see me. The Germans are starting to target cities to bomb now. I fear that our home might be on the list, and the bombers will come very soon. If you ever hear a loud rumbling sound, like a motor in the sky, run. Get underground, because that's what bombers sound like. Go to the bomb shelter Tommy and I built. It's got just about everything you will need. Just remember food and water. Take good care of Mum and Katie for me. Be strong, Molly.

Love,

Charlie.

When I showed the note to Mum that evening she had gotten home from work, we cried there, in the kitchen. But the next day, we had gathered all of our most precious belongings and put them in the shelter. We had even stalked the food pantry and water bottles. I still couldn't believe my only brother was dead, first Daddy, who died of sickness, and now Charlie.

My heart still ached for him. I really missed him. I shook my head, trying to shake away the awful memory. Part of me didn't want to believe that he was dead, but how could I tell Katie? She was only four, too little to understand that her big brother would never come home and hold her in his arms.

I choked and looked at her, and tried not to let the tears fall down my face. I touched her cheek, "He'll be home soon, sweetie." Her blue eyes met my green eyes. She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I kissed her back and then, that's when I heard it.

A rumbling sound, like that of a monster, but it was worse than a monster. My heart skipped a beat. Bombers. "Molly what's that noise?" Katie asked, and she began to shiver. The sky went dark.

My mind whirled, what would Charlie do? "Katie," I said gently, "We've got to get out of here."

"Why?" she sat up, and squeezed Cherry. I didn't answer; I just grabbed her and ran down the hallway. I could already hear the bombs exploding all around. The house shook but I kept running.

Katie was screaming, but I could barely hear her shrieks over the explosions. When I reached the back door I hesitated. Should I stay in the house? Should I run outside and risk getting crushed by a bomb? Another bomb shook the house and I smelled smoke. The house was on fire.

I opened the door and holding Katie tight, I ran to the shelter. The bombs were everywhere, people screamed, and planes roared. The shriek of bombs shook the ground, and smoke filled the air. I stumbled to the ground, almost dropping Katie. With Cherry in one hand, she clung to my neck. I didn't know it was from the smoke, or Katie's frightened death-grip that was choking me.

I pushed myself up and ran to the shelter. Just ahead, I saw two doors jutting up out of the ground, like the doors to a basement. When I reached them, my ears were ringing, and I had dust in my eyes, smoke burned my throat. I felt like I couldn't breathe, but I had to get Katie to safety.

I put Katie down and using all my strength, pulled open the shelter doors. I picked Katie up, her mouth was open in a silent scream, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

I put her on the first step of the shelter. "RUN!!" I screamed. She ran down the steps and I followed.

After I shut the door, a bomb must've hit nearby because the ground shook and I fell down the stairs. I hit my head on something, but it was too dark to see anything. I felt around ignoring the blood running down my face, and found what felt like a bed.

I felt around on it, and found Katie. I picked her up in one arm, and with the other, I felt around and found the blankets. I pulled them off and sat on the bed. I wrapped them around me, trying to shelter my sister if anything fell.

My whole body ached from running and carrying Katie. My ears were still ringing, I and breathing was still painful. The sound of bombs rang in my ears, and I could still hear people screaming.

I prayed to Charlie to protect us to save us from this awful horror. I felt someone's arms wrap around me, and for a moment, everything was quiet. "I've got you, Molly. I'm here. You're going to be fine." That was Charlie's voice, whispering in my ear, "This will all be over soon. I'm right here, sis."

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know you are, but I'm here now," Charlie whispered back.

Suddenly a bomb hit nearby and the whole shelter shook, bringing me back to this awful reality. Katie screamed and I held her tighter, "It's ok, we're going to be fine. I've got you, Katie. I won't let anything hurt you."

For hours I whispered those words to her and for hours the bombs poured.

Finally, everything went quiet. Katie's soft sniffles where the only thing I could hear. We sat still, and the only thing we could hear was breathing. Suddenly, I heard a door creak open, then steps coming towards us. "Katie? Molly?" It was Mum's voice.

I saw her in the faint light of the candle in her hand. I stood up, and held Katie by the hand. "Mum" I said. She looked at me and her eyes widened.

"Oh, Molly," she gasped. She put the candle down and ran to me and hugged me. "Thank goodness you girls are alright," she sobbed.

I felt tear roll down my cheeks. She stopped hugging me and looked at my face. Her eyes widened and she touched my forehead, "What happened?"

I smiled, "I fell and hit my head on something." She smiled at me, and then picked up Katie.

The little dear beamed at our mother. "Mummy guess what," she chirped, "Charlie was here." Mum stared at her.

"What do you mean, honey? Charlie is on a trip."

Katie frowned, "No he's not! I heard him, he was here, and he held me."

Mum looked at me, "She's right Mum," I said, knowing she probably thought I had hit my head way too hard, "I heard him too."

Mum shook her head. "Now what do we do?" I asked. "We'll stay here for the rest on the night, just in case." Mum said. I nodded. "You and Katie take the bed," I said before Mum could assign where I would sleep, "I can sleep on the floor."

She opened her mouth in protest, but I gave her my best stubborn look. She sighed, "Alright." The next thing we did was eat. We ate very little of what food we had, but Mum let me drink a whole bottle of water when I told her that I had inhaled a little smoke.

Later that night, when Mum and Katie where asleep, I got up. The candle was still burning, but it was almost out. I picked it up and as quietly as I could, I crept up the stairs and opened the shelter door.

When I reached the outside, it was like stepping into a new world.

Buildings that once stood tall were now piles of rubble. I looked up at the sky; there were no stars, and only half a moon. I didn't blame them for hiding amongst the clouds. Who could look at such a thing? A peaceful city, burned to the ground in just hours, for no good reason at all. What had the people done to Hitler? Why was his evil army attacking innocent people?

I thought of all the innocent people who were either trapped or dead. What about my friends, Jake, Isabel, and Emily? Where they alive? Where they hurt? Where they trapped?

Overwhelmed I fell to my knees, and held my face in my hands and cried. I cried because I was scared, and confused. What had the people done to Hitler? Why was his evil army attacking innocent people?

I felt someone touch my shoulder. I looked up, and though he was faded, I saw him. I saw Charlie, standing in front of me. If it wasn't for angelic glow and the fact that I could see right through his belly, he looked so real. His blond hair, his strong arms, his green eyes-they all looked real. How could I see him? He was dead.

He was wearing his military uniform. He smiled at me. He took my hand and pulled me up to my feet. He felt so real. Maybe I had hit my head too hard.

He kept smiling, and touched my face. His hand was warm, and gentle. Our green eyes met for a moment, and I nodded, understanding what he was trying to tell me.

He stepped back, and I could see his angel wings. He winked at me, and then I blinked. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

I walked back down into the shelter, and began to pack up the few belongings, food, and clothing, Mum, Katie, and I had left. In the morning, I would take Katie, and Mum and find our friends, and then, I wasn't sure what to do, all I knew was that with Charlie gone, I was the next in line to take care of Mum and Katie.

That's what Charlie wanted. He wanted me to get the rest of our family to a safe place. We could re-locate, and maybe help re build the town when the war was over, or we could go to America. When I finished packing, I looked up at Mum and Katie.

Mum's brown hair was in her face, I brushed it away. Katie shivered in her sleep; I touched her face, and kissed her forehead. I lay down on my pillow and put my hand around the heart charm that was on the golden chain Charlie had probably spent at least four months pay on. "Thank you," I whispered. From that moment on, I knew that my brother, my War Angel, would protect and guide me throughout this war.