#ash-writes

Gabriel flicked the light back on and moved back over to his desk, picking up the receiver.

“Mason and Son’s.” Gabriel said. There was silence on the other end and for a moment, Gabriel thought it was a prank call. He was about hang up when a voice finally came through, distorted and crackling.

“Gabriel?” It was a man’s voice. “I would like to request a commission of your work. I had looked for your father but …”

“Yes … I’m open for commissions. What type of piece are you looking for?” Gabriel asked. His father had been dead for seven years now, it wasn’t strange that people still saw him as an ill replacement, and with no siblings to assist him, he was the sole owner of Mason and Son’s. “Would you be able to come by the shop tomorrow? We can discuss it then.”

“I’m afraid I am unable to make it. I am in Paris, in my present Eiffel Tower.” The man said making Gabriel tilt his head in confusion. The man spoke strangely. He glanced at the clock. 7:13 PM …. It was 2:13 AM in Paris … “Would I be able to email you the information?”

“Yes, but what are you doing at the Eiffel Tower at this hour?” He asked.

“I will email you the information then … And when you are finished, I will pick it up on Friday, at 3:07PM, no sooner, no later.” Gabriel again looked confused. That was oddly a very specific time.

“Okay … I’ll-” Gabriel stopped when the line abruptly went dead and he realized for the first time that he didn’t even know the man’s name. He supposed he would include that in the email. Though he hadn’t provided him with his email, which he also found curious.

Gabriel shook his head, it wasn’t as if he had a phone number to call him back at. “Come on Dino.” Gabriel said reaching for his hat on the coat rack, before he paused, realizing it wasn’t there. He looked down at his hat which was on the ground and covered in drool. “Dino.” He said annoyed as he picked it up. “What have you done to my hat?” He asked, shaking it off before quietly leaving the store.

The next morning Gabriel had arrived at the shop at seven AM as he always had, made himself a cup of coffee, and upon remembering the man from last night, he checked his email. Sure enough, there was an email. A very generic email.

[email protected]. This had to be a scam. As he read through the request, he absolutely knew it was a scam. This made no sense. Everything was very specifically sized to half the size of a standard pocket watch … Where would he get the parts for it? And he wanted it in only three days? This was insane. Reaching the bottom of the email … It got even more strange.

Requested in the piece, was a ‘liathem gem’ to be placed into the front plating of the watch. A what? At first he thought perhaps he meant lithium but that still wouldn’t have made sense. A quick google search showed that no such a gem existed.

He shook his head, and moved away from the computer to work on another project, leaving this scam behind him.

Almost as soon as he picked up his present piece, he heard the computer bing. Another email.

“You are wasting time on that. You have only three days.” Gabriel looked around the room, and glanced out the window at the empty street. Was someone watching him? He closed the curtains quickly, and moved back to the desk. Picking up the old cuckoo clock again, there was another ping from his computer.

“You are not listening to me.” The email stated simply. This had to be coincidence. Someone playing a prank on him, knowing he would not actually do the job. He closed his computer, and went back to the bench. He’d deal with that later, perhaps go to the police if it persists.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and knowing he did not have access to the internet on his phone, assumed it was his mother checking in on him as usual. He pulled out his phone, flipped it open and paused.

The phone number it came from was blocked, but the text message simply read “The police cannot help you.”

Gabriel felt numb as he looked around his shop. There was no way this person would have known he’d thought that. He hadn’t said it out loud … He had no idea what was going on, but a sense of unnaturalness came to him. He slammed his phone down on the table. No …. No he’d just leave the shop, he’d go for a walk … Take a breath … This had to be a dream …

His phone buzzed again and Gabriel shook his head. He wouldn’t answer it … He wouldn’t. But he was drawn to the sound as if he had no choice. He picked up his phone again and slowly flipped it open.

But the explosions were too damn loud, the screams around him ringing in his head as if they came from within and Edward couldn’t imagine Thomas anymore. Not the way he wanted to. Still …. ‘I will be back.’ That promise kept him alive. That promise kept him going. He waited for the last explosion to die down and jumped up from the trench right next to one of his comrades and ran, his gear weighing him down, and he wondered for the millionth time what the point was. Against the bombs, against the grenades against the bullets flying from the airplane above and the men in front of him … What little protection they had would do nothing.

Edward was terrified as bullets tore through the ground in a line next to him and he dove to the side, landing on his stomach before jumping back up again and kept running. Despite the pounding of his heart in his chest, so rapid he was amazed it didn’t give out, he kept pushing forward. He knew if he went back he would be shot by his own men … He couldn’t be a coward.

He knew his comrade …. What was his name? John? James? He thinks it’s James … He knew James was screaming something at him, but over the noise and the ringing in his ears he couldn’t hear anything. And then everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

He felt the ground below him give out, felt pain in his leg, was dimly aware of James falling after him, but they were falling. It felt like he fell a lot longer than he had but he hit the bottom within mere seconds, James nearly landing on top of them. Edward cried out in pain, the noise barely audible over the noise as James stood up, the top of the hole they’d fallen in a good four feet above James’s head. Way too high to reach the top.

“Are you okay?” James yelled over the noise. Edward nodded, but he knew his leg was bad. He could see red blood in the muddy water around his leg and he moved up into a sitting positon against the dirt wall. He nodded as he looked around. The walls were steep, and wet, the dirt lining the edges no use to hold, and still, James attempted. After a few moments James ducked, dibis flying over the hole.

“We’re going to get buried in here!” Edward said, his voice actually audible in a brief lull in the noise.

“If we’re not found and shot first.” James said looking around trying to find a way out. ‘I will be back.’ Edward closed his eyes. Edward had always kept his promises to Thomas … But right now … He felt like he couldn’t keep this one.

Edward was unsure of the time, his watch long since damaged in the last battle, and James did not have one either. It must have been hours as it was getting dark now, and the battle had quieted to a dull roar, sounding as if it had moved on. His leg was aching even worse than when they fell. James had stopped trying to climb out on his own a while ago. He’d gotten close, but gun fire had made him draw back before he’d made it out.

“It’s quiet.” Edward whispered. So quiet that his voice felt too loud in the hole. Neither of them called for help for fear that it would not be their own men to find them.

“It is …” James said staring down at the murky water that had been slowly rising since they’d fallen in. It was now up to their waist where they sat. Edward held his hand out to James.

“Help me up onto my knee …. You can climb up onto my shoulders … Get out.” Edward said. James looked at Edward, uncertainly. But they had to do something.

“I’ll find something out there to get you out.” James said grabbing onto Edward’s wrist and helping him up. They both knew that there would be nothing up there. Nothing but barbed wire, metal and dirt. Edward held all of his weight on his good knee and braced his hands on the wet muddy wall. This was it then … This is where he would die ... alone.

He closed his eyes as he heard the water moving behind him. He knew James was watching him, uncertain. “James, just do it. You have a wife and child at home.”

“And you have someone who loves you too.” James said, knowing about the hundreds of letters that Edward had sent home.

“He’ll …” Edward paused, blinking away tears. “He’ll be fine without me.” He said. “Now go …” He said. James hesitated another moment before he nodded.

“It was an honour serving with you.” James said moving towards him. “I will send help as soon as I find someone.” He said, though they both know the chances of anyone getting there, let alone getting there before Edward passed, was slim to none. Edward said nothing as James climbed up onto his shoulders and Edward groaned in pain as some of the weight went onto his bad leg. James was hesitating on his shoulders, and Edward knew he was scouting the area to see if it was clear. It must have been as James jumped off his shoulders, pushing himself up onto solid land and without looking back ran back across the battlefield.

Edward fell back into the water, laying back on the muddy wall, barely able to see anything. His only source of light was the stars above him, and he was grateful that it was a clear night.

He wondered, as he stared up at the stars if Thomas was staring up at them too. Looking out from the balcony of their apartment, watching the same stars he was. The only thing currently connecting them … The only thing they could feasibly do together while so far away. The last thing they would ever do together.

Edward hissed as he lifted his leg, bending it at the knee so that it was out of the water. He pulled a small notepad out of the front of his jacket pocket, luckily still mostly dry. He pulled the small pencil out of the coiled top and began to write as best as he could with what little light he had.

Dear Thomas,

I know I made you a promise, and I did everything I could to keep it. But-

Edward paused in his writing. What could he possibly say. There was nothing he could say and nothing he could do. He was going to break his promise and it was entirely out of his control. Even if James had managed to help him out, he wouldn’t have made it back on his leg … He would have just slowed James down, increased their risk of capture. Or worse.

No … This was for the best.

I’m sorry … I’m so sorry. I can’t even express in words. Please be assured that despite what happens to me, I am at peace knowing that you are safe. That you are at home, in no danger, and not here with me. I promise you I am not in any pain …

That part was a lie … God it hurt so much. But anything he could do to help ease Thomas’ mind … Keep his pain to a minimum … Even if it meant lying, he would give him that.

And I am not afraid.

Another lie. He was terrified, and in a way, he knew Thomas would know that ...

If you get this, and I pray that you do, I love you. I always have, and I always will. And I know you Thomas … I know you will cling to the memory of me but … I don’t want that. I want you to be happy. I want you to find someone who will be there for you … When you’re ready.

Edward angrily threw his glasses across the hole he was trapped in, and furiously wiped the tears from his face. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t right. He didn’t ask for this … He didn’t want this. He never wanted to serve his country, he wasn’t like James. James had volunteered … James wanted this. James was a soldier … Edward hadn’t had a choice.

He took a deep shuddering breath, tears dripping off of his chin as he started to panic.

I love you, so much.

-Ed.

The pencil dropped from his shaking hands, splashing into the murky water and sinking to the bottom as he shoved the paper back into his front pocket, as high out of the water as possible.

He leaned back against the wall again, the pain in his leg getting worse and he wished he could block it all out. Wish he would fall unconscious … Wish this wasn’t so slow.

He shivered as he stared up at the stars again, wondering if he was actually cold from the temperature outside and the water around him, or if it was from blood loss. He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that his teeth were chattering, he was shaking, and he was scared.

The little girl looked back at her mother, still in her pajamas and rubbing her eyes tiredly, her messy hair done up in a lazy ponytail.

“It’s Christmas!” she said looking back out the window, watching the yard where the snow was melting from the hot rays of sun outside. It had been a miracle it had snowed at all, and even as young as she was, she knew it wouldn’t stay.

“Christmas isn’t until tomorrow, dear,” her mother said padding into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

The girl’s eyes never left the window. Her mother was right … Christmas wasn’t until tomorrow.

“I know,” she said, in a tone that clearly meant she knew something her mother didn’t.

Her mother returned with her cup of coffee and sat behind her on the couch looking out the window.

“What are we looking at?” she asked and the little girl looked back at her smiling.

“You’ll see,” she said turning back to the window.

It was such a pretty image, her daughter sitting there, Pengu sitting stock still next to her as if he found the outside just as interesting as she did. She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick photo to send to her husband later tonight. She smiled sadly as she viewed the image and thought of all the ones she would take tonight at the Christmas Eve party, and tomorrow opening presents from santa. All sent to her husband electronically. She wiped a tear from her eye as the little girl jumped up from the couch.

“DADDY!!!!” she screamed running towards the front door.

Her mother was confused as she looked out the front window.

A man in a military uniform walked up the driveway and the phone fell from her hands, the screen cracking on the floor. She watched as the man scooped up his daughter, held her tightly in his arms, both crying and it took her a moment to find her feet.

She ran from the house and joined them outside, uncaring of the snow freezing her bare feet as she hugged the two most important people in her life, the dog barking and jumping around them.

“How did you know daddy was coming home?” She asked the girl who looked up at her with a smile.

“Daddy told me … Last week on the computer,” she said smugly, proud that she’d been able to keep the secret for almost a whole week. “Merry Christmas Mommy and Daddy!”