Archived Articles

A SHORT STORY. REFLECTIONS OF YESTERDAY

Date added: Saturday 17th January 2009

REFLECTIONS OF YESTERDAY

PART ONE.

THE ARRIVAL.
Cold winds blew around the railway station as Joe made his way slowly to the platform that would take him to the train that would eventually take him home. As he put his one bag of belongings at his feet, he thought of home. Where was home he mused, what was it like? Who lived there? Questions Joe needed answers to, but for Joe those answers were not going to be easy ones to find.

Standing there alone on that cold bleak dark platform, he began stamping his feet and hugging himself to try to keep warm, he looked away to his right, his eyes following the track into the distance willing the train to come. He saw it first, rather than heard it or rather he saw the light.

As the light drew closer he started to shiver, not with the cold but with a cold desperation in his heart, “Oh God, please, not that light again, not again. As the train drew closer Joes heart raced, his pulse quickened, and he felt a dryness in his throat, he wanted to scream but no sound came from his lips, he wanted to run, but where to hide from this nightmare that dogged him. As the train passed, and drew to a halt the light disappeared from view and those dreadful images and memories of pain withdrew into the darkness of his mind, waiting, just waiting for another moment to again attack his sanity.

With a screech of brakes the train halted, and from the carriages at the front of the train distant figures dismounted, and vanished from view into the blackness of the station night, leaving Joe standing alone again. “Are you boarding son?” Joe heard a voice say but nothing registered in his mind, “son are you boarding” the voice quietly asked again, and this time a hand gently shook Joes shoulder.

For a moment Joe was frozen to the spot, for to him it seemed an eternity, but in reality it was just a second, Joe turned toward the sound of the voice and saw the station master standing there with a concerned look on his face, “are you ok son?” he asked, this question brought Joe back to reality, “err yes replied Joe, I am going home” “well get on board son, or you will be left behind”. With that command somehow ringing in his ears Joe boarded the train as it began to move out of the station. The station master called out to Joe as he shut the carriage door, “where is home son” and Joe replied in a faltering voice “I don’t knowwww, not till I get there” and with that final reply the station master disappeared from his view.


PART TWO.

THE JOURNEY.
It wasn’t the best of journeys for Joe, not by a long shot, since boarding the train the weather had turned drastically, it had started to snow since leaving the station and now it was falling thick and fast almost at blizzard proportions as he peered out of the window into the blackness. He slumped back into his seat feeling cold, miserable and dejected, “is this how it’s going to be from now on? Just drifting, from town to city, searching but never finding, seeking but forever lost, in a world not of his making, a world in which he was locked into in his own mind.

Mile passed into unending mile as the train thundered onward into the night, Joe slept fitfully and frequently stirred into a half awake state, never dreaming and barely conscious of his surroundings. Joe awoke with a start as the train rounded a bend high up in the mountain pass, as it turned into the long straight track ahead he glanced out of the carriage window as another train roared towards his, as it passed by Joe, the lights of the express flashed and lit up his carriage.

Nooooo, nooooo Joe seemed to hear himself yell, NO not again, Joe felt that awful sickness again in his stomach, but this time much more severe, so much so that he passed out into what seemed oblivion and blackness.

JOE! JOE, wake up, he felt a hand on his shoulder shake him gently, he was about to cry out aloud and felt another hand smother his shout into a choked silence, shushhhhh Joe half heard a voice whisper in his ear, be quiet or they will find us. Whatttttt, where, who are you he heard himself say.

Where the hell Am I, what day is it, all questions that Joe had no answers for. His mind clouded, and confused, his vision finally cleared and his brain focused again but he wished it hadn’t because he was no longer on the train, oh my God this cannot be happening to me, why is it happening, why? Again he heard the voice, “Joe get down, get down you’re making yourself a target. “A target, me a target?” thought Joe, this makes no sense. He reached down to push himself into a sitting position on his seat and felt his hands sink into something warm and soft to the touch, the sensation to his nerve ends of the fingers made him sit bolt upright and forced his eyes open, “this just cant be happening” he thought as he looked at the sand falling through his fingers.

By now Joe was more than focused and he looked around his surroundings, and what he saw was unbelievable, even to Joe’s confused state of mind. He was once more back in the sands of Afghanistan, that living hell hole which he thought he had left behind after the roadside bomb that blasted him which had been remotely triggered by an unknown hand.

Again he heard that unseen voice, “Over here Joe, this way” he looked in the direction where the voice was coming from and saw nothing, nothing that is until a figure emerged as if by magic alongside him. To say he was somewhat surprised is an understatement as the recognition grew in his mind that he was looking at his comrade Jack, the Jack who he thought had been killed in that drastic and dreadful ambush two months previous, that self same ambush that has now locked him into terror, a terror that comes back to haunt his waking and sleeping hours each day, this was the Jack who saved his life, how Joe wished he hadn’t.

In his own mind Joe remembered. Keeping his head down he wriggled across the sand, goddamn it he thought where the hell are they? “Jack, where are they? I don’t see em. Jack grabbed hold of his arm, down there mate, in the gully, we are going to surround them, sarge and the others are working their way round the other side to flush em out.

So many thoughts flashed through his mind as Joe waited along side his friend and comrade, merged invisible into his surroundings, a far cry from his mundane job which he left behind him, a job in which he felt no fulfilment in giving of his best, after all he thought, what satisfaction could I have got tied to a desk job, stuck in an office five days a week.

The wind began to whip up the sand around them and it stung Joes face, you never knew just what it would do in such mountainous regions as his company was deployed in, one day it could be hot, very hot, and then it could be cold, and winter! Well that was a different ball game entirely. The temperature dropped drastically then, and he was so glad to have received parcels from home, and the warm thermals someone had sent, the guys are so grateful for the support of the folks back home, we don’t feel so alone when we get post sent in to us he mused.

As he continued to watch and observe he saw movement away to the left, he nudged Jack, look he whispered they are on the move. Jack also looked to where Joe pointed, yes you’re right, maybe they spotted the sarge and the guys before they could reach cover, we best make our move now then and spring the trap.

Moving among the rocks they crawled their way closer to where they had seen the movement, ever conscious of their surroundings and possible ambush, we better split up Joe whispered, yeah ok replied Jack, we will have more of an element of surprise if we do. As they were about to break their cover a blinding explosion shook the ground, and a shockwave of light and sound hit the pair, Jack was lucky as he just about made it to the protection of a rocky outcrop, but Joe wasn’t quite so fortunate, he caught the blast in the face as he dived for cover.

For some time life seemed to have stopped for both of them as blackness once again surrounded them as the blast subsided. It was only seconds, but for Joe it seemed an eternity to his battered mind. Jack scrambled to where Joe lay, Joe are you hurt bro, are you hurt?

Joe was unconscious as his friend checked him over, thankfully there was no sign of injury other than the blast burns to his face, thank God said Jack at least he will be able to walk, we must just wait here till rescue comes, if it comes that is. The hours passed, hours into days as they waited until the coast was clear, Joe meanwhile had regained consciousness if that is the best way to describe it, it was a half life, a turmoil in Joes brain because the explosion had done something to Joe which was not evident on the surface, and would not manifest itself into reality for some time to come.


THE FINAL CHAPTER

THE END OR THE BEGINNNG?
Unbeknown to Jack, and to Joe in his fitful slipping in and out of consciousness, his platoon had completed their mission against the Taliban with great success and were searching for them both to bring them back to base, come on Joe we must move now mate, so putting his arm around his friend he half carried, half supported him to where he knew would be a safe place to wait to be picked up.

In the great scheme of things Joe should have been reinstated with his company back at barracks eventually, but life has a habit of being cruel and unkind to some does it not.

Joe knocked on the door of the medical officer’s office at base some months later, and waited patiently for the call to enter, “Come in.” Joe walked in and saluted the officer, sit down Joe, thank you Sir he replied and sat down in front of him.

Joe, I have something to tell you and there is no easy way for me to say it to you. Please go ahead Sir, I can take it, and sure he could Joe was a soldier wasn’t he? “Joe, I am going to have to discharge you from the service!” To Joe that was a bombshell; true he didn’t feel the same as before, but, DISHARGED!! He sat quietly, very still, as the medical officer described his condition in words that he could understand, and it was words that Joe did not want to hear, NO WAY.

The officer went on” Joe you have been severely injured son, not physically but mentally, I am so sorry son, there is nothing that medically that I an do for you, the blast you received has damaged your brain, I can of course prescribe drugs for you but that will not cure it, only keep it in check, I am so very sorry.

So this is it thought Joe, the end, my military career finished, my life gone forever, where will I go what will I do? With those thoughts ringing in his ears Joe awoke with a start as the train jolted to a stop at the next station en route to WHERE?????