1940s: A Mournful Return
Contrary to Anna's hopes, the new year does not start with news of peace, but with news of another death. Harrison, Frank and Emily's son, husband of Bernadette and father of Pearl, who just turned three and has never known her father, died in the final push to secure Tomarang.
Hearing the news, Anna rushes to the base where Harold and Harrison served, comforting Harold on the loss of his brother.
"Could you bring him home?" Harold asks her. "I don't just want him to be sent." Yet, Anna hesitates, because going home means giving up on Thomas and making sure he's not left behind. "I'll take care of Thomas." Harold promises.
"Do you know where he is?" Anna asks. This time it is Harold who hesitates, but in the end, he tells her where to find him.
Anna doesn't waste a second to go and see Thomas, giving him a huge hug when she sees him, she almost doesn't want to let go. He shows her arround, even lets her take a few pictures for her articles, and introduce her to the soldiers in his unit. But most of all they talk, and he, like Harold urges her to go home with Harrison's ashes. "But what about you?" Anna asks.
"I'll be fine or I won't, nothing you can do can change that. Either way, I'm not staying here. The battle of Tomarang is all but over and most of us are shipping out within a day or two. No locations being given, I think Harold might have an idea, but he wouldn't be allowed to tell." It strikes Anna that more than anything, Thomas has grown up. He was on the verge of adulthood when he rushed head first into this, but now she's facing a man. Reluctantly she says her goodbyes, hugging him hard before she leaves to arrange for her trip back home.
Back at her hotel, Anna arrange payment for the room and pack up her things before heading out on one last trip around the place. The hotel staff has spoken about a stature, and a place where you can see a tiger. Obviously Anna needs to see both. She finds the statue first, then the entrance to an old temple where the tigers live. Satisfied, she returns to the hotel to type up her last notes before heading home. She takes the opportunity to write her mother with the news, telling her to make the trip back to Willow Creek.
The trip back is long and hard, and Anna is tired and weary. Through Harold she manages to hitch a ride on a military plane some of the way, with but several stops and some of the route by boat before she can even set foot in the US. After that there is the long train ride to Louisiana, before she can finally knock on Bernadette's door and deliver Harrison's ashes to her.
Bernadette is devastated, and because she is, little 3-year-old Pearl cries too, even if she has no way of understanding what she is crying about. For her daddy is a concept rather than a person, and so she cannot really miss him. But sha can understand that mommy is sad, and that's really all she needs to know.
The next few days goes fast. Yet another funeral, with yet another eulogy made by a widow left behind and the family grave is growing ever more full of graves. At a distance behind the other mourners Frank is breaking down in grief and tears. He might not have been one of the most present fathers, but he always loved his children.
After the funeral the family gathers at Frank's and Emily's, but it's a decimated gathering. Three dead young husbands, one elder who is gone, and so many who cannot be there. Frank is barely hanging on, longing for the bar and the oblivion that comes with alcohol. Anna just wants to go home to Johnny and the horses.
As soon as the funeral is over, Anna is on the next train home, finally able to reunite with Johnny after so many months apart. As Johnny comes running to greet her, Anna throws herself into his embrace, kissing him long and hard. While it does make her feel guilty about Thomas, she is honestly relieved and happy to be at home.
It's a return to familiar things. To the hard work with the horses, to the training and the life of a rancher.
But in the evening, as they gather round the radio to listen, hearing names like Iwo Jima and Okinawa being mentioned, Anna cannot help but to ask herself if she made the right call. "Was that where they were sending Thomas?" Johnny asks. "I don't know," Anna says. "He didn't even know."
That night, as the others are sleeping, Anna sits down by the typewriter, writing her last articles of the war. She has a deadline to keep and sleep will need to wait for now. She might not be able to do anything for Thomas, but she can write about the war while hoping that Thomas is still okay.
Hearing the news, Anna rushes to the base where Harold and Harrison served, comforting Harold on the loss of his brother.
"Could you bring him home?" Harold asks her. "I don't just want him to be sent." Yet, Anna hesitates, because going home means giving up on Thomas and making sure he's not left behind. "I'll take care of Thomas." Harold promises.
"Do you know where he is?" Anna asks. This time it is Harold who hesitates, but in the end, he tells her where to find him.
Anna doesn't waste a second to go and see Thomas, giving him a huge hug when she sees him, she almost doesn't want to let go. He shows her arround, even lets her take a few pictures for her articles, and introduce her to the soldiers in his unit. But most of all they talk, and he, like Harold urges her to go home with Harrison's ashes. "But what about you?" Anna asks.
"I'll be fine or I won't, nothing you can do can change that. Either way, I'm not staying here. The battle of Tomarang is all but over and most of us are shipping out within a day or two. No locations being given, I think Harold might have an idea, but he wouldn't be allowed to tell." It strikes Anna that more than anything, Thomas has grown up. He was on the verge of adulthood when he rushed head first into this, but now she's facing a man. Reluctantly she says her goodbyes, hugging him hard before she leaves to arrange for her trip back home.
Back at her hotel, Anna arrange payment for the room and pack up her things before heading out on one last trip around the place. The hotel staff has spoken about a stature, and a place where you can see a tiger. Obviously Anna needs to see both. She finds the statue first, then the entrance to an old temple where the tigers live. Satisfied, she returns to the hotel to type up her last notes before heading home. She takes the opportunity to write her mother with the news, telling her to make the trip back to Willow Creek.
The trip back is long and hard, and Anna is tired and weary. Through Harold she manages to hitch a ride on a military plane some of the way, with but several stops and some of the route by boat before she can even set foot in the US. After that there is the long train ride to Louisiana, before she can finally knock on Bernadette's door and deliver Harrison's ashes to her.
Bernadette is devastated, and because she is, little 3-year-old Pearl cries too, even if she has no way of understanding what she is crying about. For her daddy is a concept rather than a person, and so she cannot really miss him. But sha can understand that mommy is sad, and that's really all she needs to know.
The next few days goes fast. Yet another funeral, with yet another eulogy made by a widow left behind and the family grave is growing ever more full of graves. At a distance behind the other mourners Frank is breaking down in grief and tears. He might not have been one of the most present fathers, but he always loved his children.
After the funeral the family gathers at Frank's and Emily's, but it's a decimated gathering. Three dead young husbands, one elder who is gone, and so many who cannot be there. Frank is barely hanging on, longing for the bar and the oblivion that comes with alcohol. Anna just wants to go home to Johnny and the horses.
As soon as the funeral is over, Anna is on the next train home, finally able to reunite with Johnny after so many months apart. As Johnny comes running to greet her, Anna throws herself into his embrace, kissing him long and hard. While it does make her feel guilty about Thomas, she is honestly relieved and happy to be at home.
It's a return to familiar things. To the hard work with the horses, to the training and the life of a rancher.
But in the evening, as they gather round the radio to listen, hearing names like Iwo Jima and Okinawa being mentioned, Anna cannot help but to ask herself if she made the right call. "Was that where they were sending Thomas?" Johnny asks. "I don't know," Anna says. "He didn't even know."
That night, as the others are sleeping, Anna sits down by the typewriter, writing her last articles of the war. She has a deadline to keep and sleep will need to wait for now. She might not be able to do anything for Thomas, but she can write about the war while hoping that Thomas is still okay.
Comments
Post a Comment