WWI trenches It was another cold night in the trenches. Not a night went past where I wasn’t lying awake thinking of what I had seen, flashback after flashback. Lying there knowing what I know; it was a mine field in my own head. Lying there with a cold sweat, paranoid of what’s going on around me. The smell of smoke and blood was hovering in the air. I couldn’t escape the clutches of my own thoughts. Everyone hated lying in the dirt with no way of warming ourselves up or anyway to get out of my head. Sounds of rats scurrying around looking for anything to eat, the aura of pain all around, in myself and in others, not just physical but mentally too. The rotting stench of corpses was deathly. I thought about what happened in their life, and what they would be doing if the war wasn’t happening. Then I just spent time wishing the war would end. Who knows how many lives need to be taken before they understand it needs to stop? The only thing I and everyone else wanted to do, was go home.
I longed to be with my family: my beautiful daughter and pregnant wife. I knew what would have to happen to get myself home, obviously it would be wrong but it’s getting too much to carry on grinning and baring. I want my life back and if I stay here, I'll never get it back. I know it’s the act of a coward, but I have too much to live for, I can’t let my children grow up without a dad. I took a deep breath and told myself it would be worth it in the end. Living with uncertainty was like a death in itself.
I got a white piece of cloth and wrapped it around my hand, the cloth was usually used for cleaning blood so it wasn’t exactly white anymore, but it would do. Me being me, I started shaking, feeling really sick. I covered my eyes with my right hand and forced myself to raise my left hand very slowly and steadily. Once it was fully extended, I was close to bringing it back down, but before I could do anything BANG! It burned more than fire itself. I screamed: I had never felt such pain like that before... although... it was worth it to feel the security that I was going 8 home...finally. By Sophie L5