The Steps of a Dead Man

Prologue

'Mrs. Cornfield!' a happy cry radiated across the family, Tudor-styled home stationed in Hampshire belonging to the married couple George and Betty and their only son, Thomas, but everyone called him Tommy, who was away with British Army. The happy cry which had radiated belonged to the family's neighbour, who was also engaged to Tommy, her name was Sheila Howes, a bright and kind-hearted young woman, whose parents were almost always away around the globe. Sheila had received a happy hearted letter from Tommy, which had been sent from almost a week ago and had arrived at Sheila's house that morning, Sheila had let herself into the Cornfield's home and searched for them as she gripped the letter in her tight grip excitedly to express the news she had received. 'Mrs. Cornfield!' she called out again, hoping for a response. Although, she was able to find the source of where the elderly couple were, as she heard a rather loud blast coming from Mr. Cornfield's cellar, and opened the door and climbed down the small steps and found the couple. Mr and Mrs. Cornfield were bent over a table in the cellar, and Mr. Cornfield was wearing his beige overalls which he always wore when he commenced his hobby of invention, which was often, he was poking at a television and seemed to be switching channels, from skiing to football. 'Well, what do you think, Betty?' asked Mr. Cornfield as he didn't realise Sheila's entrance and he glanced at his wife beside him. 'Oh, George, I think Tommy will love it,' beamed Betty Cornfield. Sheila was unable to hold back her excitement as she beamed, 'I've had a letter from Tommy! He's coming home!' she announced proudly as the couple looked up quickly and George asked, 'What?' Sheila kept her wide beam as she pressed a relieved hand against her chest, 'Next month! Home for good!' Betty joined Sheila's beam as she leaned her head back in relief as she glanced at George, 'Oh, thank God!' she sighed in relief. 'He's got three weeks leave!' Sheila beamed, 'He wants me to go ahead with the wedding plans, right away.' Betty reached for George's hand, before she walked over towards Sheila with her arms out, excitedly smiling, 'Oh, my dear!' Betty embraced Sheila tightly. 'But, right away?!' Betty exclaimed brightly, 'Oh, there's so much to do, so much to plan!' Betty then glanced at her husband, who was glancing down at the television, 'Darling,' Betty chuckled, 'It isn't that much of a surprise, ever since they were children we knew it was inevitable.' George smiled and approached Sheila, 'It'll be the wedding of the year,' he smiled as he embraced Sheila and pecked her cheek. 'Oh, there's much to do, I must phone the Vicar and we must make out some wedding-' Betty planned excited, before George interrupted, 'The first thing you must do is to get a bottle of champaign.' Betty nodded, 'Champaign, alright, of course.' before she climbed the stairs out of the cellar and towards the kitchen. 'You won't be losing him all together you know,' Sheila chuckled as she took George's arm reassuringly, 'With my family right next door, you'll be sick of the site of us.' George smiles slightly as he ran his fingers through his white moustache and says, 'If it's what Tommy wants, that's all that matters. He's a very lucky boy.' Sheila smiled appreciated before asking, 'What are you working on now?' George turned and revealed the table holding the television, 'It's for Tommy, it's a stop-action device, I'll show you.' Sheila approached the table with a smile and bent over and focused on the television, as George clicked a button. 'Oh, that's fantastic!' she applauded. 'Quite simple,' George said naturally. 'Gosh, doesn't look it, how did you manage to make it?' Sheila asked leaning back up. 'It's on all the channels,' George said, as the channel switched again of a gathering of people covering somebody on the ground. 'Really?' Sheila asked. 'We've had enough of that,' George said glancing at the television as the gather of people on the television move aside revealing the face of someone of the ground, wounded. 'Hang on,' Sheila stopped George as she noticed the face of the wounded fellow. George noticed and paused, Sheila and George kept their eyes fixated on the television as their fear grew, as Betty entered with a tray of glasses and a bottle of champaign nattering on about the wedding, when suddenly the tray came tumbling down and the glasses crashed onto the floor, breaking into millions of peaces, as Betty's eyes had fixated on the television. Betty threw herself down the stairs and pressed her face against the television, lined with the painful face on the television and she screamed as she touched the screen, 'TOMMY!'