“Emma my dear, can you hang up the laundry outside, please? I’m quite busy with preparing lunch.”

“Of course, Aunt Caroline,” Emma responded to her aunt, making her way towards the bathroom. She took a hold of the laundry basket where the freshly washed laundry was neatly folded and put in, then carried it to the backyard. The weather was beautiful, a perfect summer day and the sun was shining warmly on the sky, not even a single cloud was to be seen.  Emma loved days like this. It changed her mood to a better one. And now that war had taken place, she needed a little distraction even more.

She walked through a sea of different flowers, feeling them brushing her uncovered legs and the touch left a comfortable sensation behind. When she arrived at the hanger, she placed the basket on the ground, bent down and grabbed the first piece of clothes and hung them up, attaching it with two clothes pegs. As she continued doing her task, her mind easily drifted to the young man that she loved with all her heart.

It was not a long time ago that he left off for war but for Emma it felt like a whole eternity. Living without him for a special amount of time was a deep agony. She missed him being around her. His smile, his eyes, his hugs and even his terrible jokes. When Ben told her and his family that he was going to fight against the Germans, it crushed Emma’s heart. She knew letting him go was a huge risk, he might never come back to her, safe and sound. And they were very close with each other.

Emma had been so excited to finally settle down with him, living a life as a normal brother and sister. But Ben was needed, she was aware of it, every young man in the village they’d been living in was needed there to help their French brothers. And Emma could do nothing against it. She knew pretty damn well that if Ben wouldn’t leave, people would talk about them behind their backs, even shaming them that their children had to fight but Ben was not.

Aunt Caroline took the news more badly than Emma. She fainted right after Ben made the announcement and when she woke up again, it took all of their strength to calm her down. Emma couldn’t blame her for it, she raised her nephew after all and if Emma was a mother, she would have probably reacted the same way. She promised Ben that she would stay with the family as long as she could to take care of them and support them, but he had to promise her that he would come back home to her.

“You have to!” she forced out crying, clinging onto his body. “You have to come back to me. Otherwise I wouldn’t know how to live without you.” He kissed her deeply as a promise for his return.

“I’ll see you hopefully soon,” he told her before he left the house.

Not a long time ago she had received his last letter. He told her that he was alright and a heavy stone fell from her heart. He described the hard times he went through and how many times he had faced death but still was alive. “For you,” he wrote. “I’m alive for you, my darling sister.”

Emma couldn’t remember how many times she read all of his letters with tears in her eyes. Reading his own words felt like he was still there with her, whispering them into her ear. This was the only way she could calm down for a while. Plenty of times she had raised her hands up to the sky, praying to god that he would send Ben back to her. She knew Ben was strong and willing to fight. He had the heart of a lion. 

She had read in the newspaper that three hundred thousand soldiers were saved and made their way home to their families. If Ben was among them, she couldn’t know. They had fortunately not received any bad message of his death. So she hoped whole-heartedly that he was in one of those trains that carried him back to her.

Emma pitied the fallen soldiers. Their families were waiting for them like she did, but the only thing they would be confronted with would be an announcement that their son couldn’t make it. She respected their braveness, and she would always keep them in her prayers.

While Emma was still doing her task and being deep in thoughts, a young soldier was sneaking his way toward her, paying attention to not making any sounds that would reveal his position. He held a large bouquet of her favorite flowers in his hands. Seeing her again in real life after countless nights of dreaming about her made his heart jump in his chest and he was more in love with her than ever. The last steps were always the agonizing ones but he also crossed this obstacle.

Emma suddenly felt a pair of hands covering her eyes, preventing her from doing her work.

“What the hell?” she exclaimed, as she saw nothing but darkness, her body stiffening immediately from the touch.  “Who in god’s name is that?”

“You can guess three times,” she heard someone whisper into her ear delicately. A wave of different emotions was overwhelming every part, every cell and every fiber of her body. Happiness, excitement, love, relief. Everything at once. She knew exactly who was right behind her.

“B-Ben?” she whimpered, tears flooding down her cheeks. The hands released her eyes and she was able to turn around. And as she looked into two familiar green eyes that she longed to see so terribly, she could finally breathe again.

“Oh my goodness!” she gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Heavy sobs left her mouth and before the young man in front of him could respond, she threw herself at him, crying on his shoulder.

Ben wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, pulling her towards him. Having her in arms again after all the horror he went through was an indescribable feeling. Both clung onto each other like their lives depended on the other one. Once Emma backed away slightly, she took his handsome face between her hands.

“You came back. You really came back. Dear god, I can’t believe it!” She peppered every centimeter of his face with affectionate kisses before she captured her lips with his cheek. “Oh my god! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so so much!” She hugged him again tightly.

“Take it easy, sis!” Ben laughed. “Let me breathe.”

“I’ve been worried sick about you!” Emma admitted, easing her grab on him. “You didn’t send any letters anymore and I thought I lost you. Oh my god!”

“It’s over now, sis. I’m here. I’m back and I’m not planning on leaving any time soon.” 

He kissed her cheek lightly. “I kept my promise, didn’t I?”

 He handed her over the bouquet of flowers which created a smile on Emma’s lips.

“I love you, Ben. So much.”

“I love you too, my darling,” he said. “Where is Aunt Caroline? I missed her terribly.”

“She’s inside, preparing lunch. God, she will be out of her shoes when she sees you again.” She intertwined their fingers and dragged him into the house. “Come on, let’s go surprise her. She’ll love this one.”

When they entered the house, Emma called after her aunt. “Aunt Caroline? Are you still in the kitchen?”

“Yes, love! Lunch is almost ready. If you could help me lay the table, that would be very lovely, my dear.”  

Ben's eyes shone brightly as he heard the sound of his aunt’s voice again. It was not only Emma’s but her voice in his head that encouraged him during the battles. He indicated Emma to be quiet whereas she nodded with her head.

He slowly stepped into the kitchen where his lovely aunt was doing the last preparations for the meal. Aunt Caroline hadn’t noticed him yet. She was quite busy running back and forth, looking for spices for the salad.

“What smells so good in here?” he asked innocently, making his aunt freeze in her position. She thought at first that she misheard his voice but when she looked up to the door where the young man stood, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Her whole body began to tremble.

“Oh My God!” Aunt Caroline exclaimed, running towards her nephew. “My sweetheart, my nephew!” she cried.

“Hello, Aunt Caroline,” Ben mumbled, hugging her and kissing her head gently.

“Oh Ben, you’re here! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She was looking for any bruises on his skin.

“Aunt Caroline, I’m fine, don’t you worry.”

“Ben,” the older woman sighed. “I missed you so much, my angel.”

“I missed you too, Aunt Caroline.”

Emma was gazing at this aunt-nephew moment with new tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

“You won’t leave again, will you? You’ll stay here?” Aunt Caroline asked worriedly.

“No Aunt Caroline, I’ll stay here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Aunt Caroline sighed in relief and led her hands to her face to wipe away all the tears that ran down her cheeks.

“Oh my, you’re surely hungry, aren’t you? Where is Emma? Emma?!“ She looked at her.

“Yes?” she asked.

“The table. The table is waiting for you!”

“Your wish is my command, madam!” she saluted with a laugh and with Ben she prepared the dining table where afterwards they had a very nice time together.