Tuesday 31 January 2017

The Evacuation Part 5

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for part one click here and part two here, part three here and part four here
For audio click here 
Iveta allowed the flow of the crowds to guide her. She was looking for David and Lucie but at the same time she didn’t want to see them. How could she face her husband and child knowing what she’d done to get herself there? She rubbed her hands again trying to rid them of the memory. She felt someone bump her from one side and then the other and she realised she’d stopped moving. She felt stuck to the concrete floor of the platform, trapped by the bodies that bustled around her and the noise that echoed through the vast hall. She felt like it was hammering her down.
Faces everywhere, but none of them her husband’s. She longed for his arms, longed to be held, but would she be able to hold him with those hands. She wrung them again, squeezing out the poison.
She turned her body, once, twice, three times. Turning around and around looking for the familiar, looking for the comfort of David’s smile. She was aware that she was attracting attention. People had given her a wide berth, ‘avoiding the crazy one’. She was turning round and round, scanning the heads, scanning the faces, listening for Lucie’s cry. He was here, somewhere. Somewhere he was here. But he wouldn’t be looking for her; he didn’t know she’d got on the train. She shook her hands, shaking off the imaginary gloop. She stopped turning.
“David” she yelled at the top of her voice and then slowly sunk to her knees and curled into a ball on the edge of the platform.

David allowed the flow of the crowds to guide him. He had flight tickets waiting for him at the airport, but he didn’t have a clue how to get there. He knew airport was Flug something in German, but couldn’t see any signs. So, for now, he’d just coast on the flow. He thought about Iveta. Where was she now? He’d try to get to a phone box and ring her, assure her that he and Lucie were okay. He couldn’t see any public phones either’ they weren’t the most common entity these days. There’d been rumours on the train that the borders would close the next night; Iveta might never get out.
He looked around at the other faces; grey, gaunt, tired eyes stared straight ahead. Of only one could be Iveta. He was aware of a disturbance to the right of him. He couldn’t see what was going on over the crowds, but there seemed to be someone in distress. He hoped some kind soul would help them out, but right now, he had his own little lady to contend with. The little one was having a grumble. He put both bags down on the concrete and took Lucie from her holdall. Her grumbling stopped and she smiled Iveta’s smile. David hugged his little girl as tears ran down his face and longed for his big one.

“David!”
David’s heart froze. It couldn’t be, but there was no mistaking that voice. He left his bags where they were and with Lucie safely under one arm, he barged his way through the crowds.
“Oi mate,”
“Be careful.”
“Watch what you’re doing.”
He ignored them all. He staggered through the forest of arms and legs and out into the little opening.
“Iveta?” she looked up. His last few paces were in slow motion; not quite believing what he was seeing. Iveta unfurled herself. He thrust Lucie into her arms and then bear hugged the two of them.



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