Song: Coming Back to Life574Please respect copyright.PENANAssKKHfmNq9
Band/Artist: Pink Floyd574Please respect copyright.PENANAs18s6ZIGC9
Verse: 574Please respect copyright.PENANAP5IMkgsXyj
''Where were you when I was burned and broken574Please respect copyright.PENANArIopxl0MGS
While the days slipped by from my window watching574Please respect copyright.PENANADcbV368VHP
Where were you when I was hurt and I was helpless574Please respect copyright.PENANAadXRUHfomO
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me574Please respect copyright.PENANABQaZBgxD19
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words574Please respect copyright.PENANAlcZd3BEvlF
Dying to believe in what you heard574Please respect copyright.PENANAzsVJ6nN1xd
I was staring straight into the shining sun''
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The silhouette of a man stands in the doorway of my dimly lit bedroom but I pay him no heed. I don't need any light to know that it's my accursed 'friend', Wilfred.
"Go away." I hiss.
He ignores my words and walks into the room, his boots thumping against the floorboards. Wilfred grabs the chair from my desk and sits across from me. His mere presence irritates me so I avoid his gaze.
"John--" He starts.
"No." I snap. "Just no. There is nothing to be said."
I glare at Wilfred and he leans back in my chair as if my glare repels him. "John please let me explain. Hear me out."
I ball my fists in my lap and clench my jaw as anger suddenly wells up from the deepest, darkest recesses of my heart. "You left me behind." I spat.
"I had to!" Wilfred protests. "I had no choice."
"You left me to die on the bloody plains of South Africa at the hands of the Boers!" I snarl. My eyes sting with tears and I bite my cheek to stop myself from crying. "You left me alone Wilfred. You abandoned me." I took a deep breathe as the memory of what had transpired came back to me.574Please respect copyright.PENANAE4OsrwhCjD
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The heat and the insects in South Africa were unbearable. That combined with the tension that hung thick in the air only made matters worse.
The Boers couldn't win against us in traditional warfare so they converted their tactics to guerrilla warfare. It was an indecent way to fight; the Boers would ambush us when we least expected it and it left you feeling at the end of your tether.
I laid in the dirt for hours after a Boer attack, my mind whirling from the recent events. Or was it the heat that caused my head to spin? In any case I was wounded and alone.
Wilfred had left with the few survivors. I clung to his sleeves, begging him to help me, just to take me with him, to do something. But no, he shakes me off and runs without looking back. I watched him until he vanished from my sight completely.
It turned quiet. So quiet that I could hear my blood roaring in my ears and my heart beating in my chest.
There's blood all over the front of my tunic and I was close to losing consciousness due to the sharp pain. I began to think that I was going to die here alone and helpless.
I can't tell how long I lay there in agony; it seemed that time had lost all meaning. I thirsted for water but was too weak to get my canteen.
Just when I was ready to let go and accept death, I saw the blurred visage of a fellow soldier.
"Bloody hell," He cursed. "You're a right mess."
I wept in relief. "Help me." I choked.
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"John?"
I didn't realize I had lost my focus. I avert my eyes back to Wilfred's face and scowl at him.
"John if I could take back what I did I would. I could have taken you with me but I ran off like a coward and left you to the Boers and God knows what else in that dreadful place."
I sneer at him. "Do you have any idea what I went through? The exposure to the elements, the possibility of being eaten by wild animals, and the Boers who decided not to help me? You don't understand."
Wilfred visibly deflated. "I'm sorry."
I felt like I should drop it but I couldn't. "You were there and then you ran off when I cried for help. You looked right at me and ran. You're a coward!"
Wilfred squirmed under my scrutiny. "I thought you would die eventually and there was nothing I could do for you."
"That's what the others told you." My voice sounded far more acidic then I intended but I really didn't care.
There was a long silence then
Wilfred clasped his hands and hung his head. "Tell me John, what can I do so we can past this?"
I wrinkle my nose at him. He sighs at this and gets up. ''I can see I'm wasting my breath.'' Without another word he leaves me to my misery.
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I was in hospital for many weeks, nursing my anger until it turned into hate and that hate choked out any feeling of goodwill for Wilfred like a vine.
I hate you. I thought.
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I sit in silence for a few moments before I get up and chase after Wilfred. My anger was unfair but I couldn't let go of it. I know I should but I can't.
I had no one in those proceeding weeks after I was wounded. I was alone and the hurt I felt needed to be latched onto someone. It was unfair of me.
Wilfred stood in the living room staring out of the bay window. I took a few tentative steps. ''Wilfred?''
''Changed your mind? Feel like taking your anger out some more?'' He turns and give s me an icy glare.
''I hated you,'' I said softly. ''I hated you so much.''
''Sounds to me like you still hate me for reasons unknown.''
''No,'' I insist. ''That doesn't mean I'm not angry with you because I still am but I'm being unfair by not giving you a chance.''
Wilfred snorts. ''Why did you change your mind so quickly?''
I look to the floor. ''You're my closest friend. Anything that happened in South Africa should be put behind us. It's not going to be easy for me but I'll try. As hurt as I am, I'll try.''
Wilfred merely nods. ''Good to hear.'' His voice shows no hint of emotion.
''Wilfred.''
''I have to go John, I suppose I shall see you again.'' Wilfred takes steady strides to the front door. Putting on his coat and hat, he tips his hat to me and leaves.
I go to the living room window and look out onto the spring day. The sun is out and is bright as ever, but it does nothing to improve my mood.
I feel lost and I feel helpless all over again.
-*-*-*-*-574Please respect copyright.PENANAPlsLD3miDN
Based off of a Pink Floyd song, this is the rabble my brain has come up with. I hope you enjoyed it.
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