What are men to rocks and mountains

The revelation

Havers had been... Where had he been? Well at any rate, wherever he was before was certainly not where he found himself at the moment. He coughed harshly, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. Taking big breaths of air, he steading himself on a nearby tree, struggling to get in enough air and get the burning sensation out of his lungs. He stood like that on shaky legs for a good few minutes, trying not to fall over, until he could finally breathe somewhat normally again. He'd looked up, then, and only then had he recognised the driveway to Button house. Confusion had settled in quickly, and he'd gone up to the house slowly.

That's how he currently found himself staring at the very confused face of a woman, who he had never seen around the house before.

"I beg your pardon ma'am-" began the lieutenant hesitantly before pausing. He didn't quite know what to say next. Or do next for that matter. In fact, he wasn't quite sure what was going on. He hadn't been at Button house for over two weeks, was this some sort of weird dream? No, it couldn't be. He could smell the rotting wood of the tree that grew alongside the front door. He could feel the dampness of the afternoon air- a mark of the afternoon sunshine, or at least that was what his mum used to say. It wasn't that it wasn't a relief to be on familiar ground once again, but how he had gotten back to his old station- while the last thing he remembered was being on the Tunisian front-line, was a complete mystery to him. He was however, of one thing and one thing only very sure. He had never seen this woman before in the entirety of his time spent at Button House. And she looked incredibly odd. She must either be incredibly rich or dirt-poor.

When the woman in front of him remained silent, instead gaping at him with an open mouth, he adjusted his posture and cleared his throat. He was an officer in His Majesty's force, he could deal with setbacks like these.

"I beg your pardon, but I don't believe we've met. Have you recently transferred to this station?" He managed to bring out as confidently and with as much authority as he could. He wasn't quite sure how he was back, but he was even less sure why. Would he still have his authority as a Lieutenant? Would the Captain have him back after his sudden departure three weeks earlier? His mind was racing with questions, but the woman in front of him didn't seem in a hurry to answer any of them. That was, until a few seconds later a man called out from inside the house, something about an organizer or something along those lines.

The woman turned back slightly but didn't take her eyes off of the soldier in front of her.
"No! This is... someone else" She shouted back. Following it up shortly with a softer voice. "Actually, may I ask who you are?"
"Lieutenant Havers, ma'am. I was stationed here up until two weeks ago? December 1st. You see I left for the front-lines of Tunisia. That's North-Africa ma'am." He replied. Something must have clicked for her, because Havers could see the lightbulb going on inside her head.
"I see... but December 1st? That's today." She said, confusedly checking her phone for the date. The Lieutenant said nothing but looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. Alison cleared her throat, clearing some of the tension, and spoke up again. "Could- could you just tell me what the year is?" She asked with an awkward smile.
"The year?" Havers asked, confused. An odd woman indeed. She must have been injured in the head. When she didn't elaborate further, he copied her awkward smile before answering.
"Well... 1944. '45 in two weeks, as a matter of fact. Now, I must admit I don't quite know how I got back here, but I would really appreciate if I could come inside. You may see my papers if you must." He replied, moving to search his pockets for his identification. It seemed the Captain had finally managed to get the funds for better security.

Behind him he could hear a vehicle pull up to the long driveway that led up to the house, but before he had a chance to turn around she woman gasped, her eyes flicking between him and the automobile behind him multiple times.