1917, SINCERELY YOURS

the larks, still bravely singing, fly

THE DUST HAD hardly begun to settle when the pair moved on away from the battle site.

"Was there just one?" Tom asked, he had a habit of leaving his mouth open and William only then noticed.

"No, there's more." Will answered, his life was worth more than that letter but he still wondered what more it could have said. What words were written and will never be read.

The bunker had collapsed and revealed a quarry, with holes and entrances like the burrowing of insects. It was of an immense size and for not the first time in the war, the soldiers felt particularly small as they walked.

"Thank goodness. I wished I grabbed it out of your hands or something, mine were shaking though just like before ." Tom whispered the last part as he wiped his nose with his hands and his hands came back ashy.

"And I wished you picked some other bloody idiot!" Will wasn't a shouter, he normally was able to keep control of his temper. But this time it was too much, it was always like this. One sentence, one moment and his whole mood changed. He walked a little faster, not looking back at Tom.

"What are you on about?" Tom's eyebrows met at the middle of his forehead as he tried to catch up so he could walk next to his friend.

"You heard what he said, a suicide mission. Why didn't you pick somebody else?" Will's voice had a gravel edge to it, one that knew how to cut deep.

"What? Someone who didn't have a nice nurse that cares for them? That you what you mean?"

"You watch your mouth." William stopped in his tracks and turned back, poking Tom in the chest.

"Make me," Tom hit away William's hand and grabbed it as it fell, "Has it never occurred to you that maybe I have somebody besides you, somebody that I would do anything to get a letter from. Have you ever thought about that Sco?" William doesn't reply, "No, I didn't think you did." He drops his grasp on William and like that his anger has seemingly been pushed back inside of him. 

"Let's just fire the flare and get out of here." William searches in his bag for it. When he finally finds it he let's Tom do the honours.

He shoots it high and the sound radiates around the amphitheatre like quarry

"If I imagine hard enough it's just like Bonfire Night." Tom looks at William and the small smile is enough to set them back on their path, "You know I almost lost my eye with a sparkler once."

"Whatever you say mate." William teased him as they leave the German complex.

They're welcomed with the first sign of pure life, a bunch of daisies growing out from the rubble. It already seemed like a lifetime ago that they were sitting in their own English field.

"Don't tell me this mysterious person is also apart of your imagination too." William said but he did truly want to know, they had never discussed anything like this before and it was nice to have a slight distraction that wasn't exactly Clarice but something similar.

"Seems like the roles have reversed them." The ground beneath them was turning into grass. Tom found he had to enjoy the little things like they were monumental otherwise there was nothing worth celebrating at all.

"Seems like they have." William agreed.

"What about a deal? You read me some of those letters and I'll tell you about my love life." Tom suggested to William who walked behind him.

"You mean alleged love life. I mean you're eighteen for goodness sake and you look like that, I'm pretty sure the most affection you have ever received must be from your gran."