May arrived at lightning speed and with it came the fall of France.

It started slowly at first. The month began like any other on the farm, with chores, horse riding lessons, and the occasional escaped sheep or Goose jumping over the fence and into the pen. Other than the drone of planes overhead, there was nothing to suggest that anything big would happen in just a few days' time.

Dad got his deployment. He would be sent into the Atlantic ocean on a warship on the search for approaching German forces and helping France if they needed it. They would. By the time I received Dad's letter, he had already left and I knew he wouldn't be getting posted out in the middle of the ocean. I wrote to him anyway, sending it to the same address in the hopes he would see it when he got back. He would come back.

We had been following the news on the Germans' progression through France in the newspaper and occasionally the radio if we could find one. Jonathan said he would buy us our own radio so we wouldn't have to listen outside the town hall for the latest news on what had been happening. Alec said his brothers had both flown several missions over France to try and help, but the Germans just kept pushing and although we didn't want to believe it, we knew France would fall.

All I could think about was Dad. He was out in the middle of the ocean on a ship that would explode if it were hit. He would be our last line of defence against a potential German sea invasion and that put him even more at risk. Still, that was nothing compared to Eva.

One day, towards the end of the month, I was helping Jonathan with some tasks on the farm. He had noticed an issue with the fence in the sheep pen, a result of the sheep head butting it according to him. We were trying not to think of the war, but that quickly became impossible.

"Sybil!" a voice called in the distance. I turned around and put my hand over my eyes to shade them from the bright May sun. Eva emerged over the top of the hill, the wind catching her hair and whipping it around her.

"What are you doing here?" I yelled when she was close enough to hear me.

"They just said on the radio that Dunkirk fell. Or at least the army they're surrounded." She stopped running and stood in front of me. "Sybil, that's where Anthony is."

Eva looked at me for a few seconds, her cheeks flushed from the running and her hair knotted. After those few seconds, Eva fell apart. The tears that she must have been holding back when she ran cascaded down her cheeks and onto the collar of her blouse. Her body wracked with sobs and I took a step forward, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

"Take her to the house and have Barb put on some tea, I think she might need it," Jonathan said.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "We're almost done here and Eva is more important than a fence. Go."

"Thank you."

Jonathan smiled slightly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes the way it usually did and I knew why. I untangled myself from Eva and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, steering her down the track and towards the house.

We knew something like this had to happen at some point, one of us had to have a family member embroiled in war. One of us would not have a family member come home. Still, none of us wanted to accept that that could happen, but there it was in front of us. If Anthony had been surrounded, we both knew it would be unlikely he'd be coming home, but I had to hold onto the small slither of hope that he would. For Eva.

I led her to the house and opened the front door, helping Eva inside since she looked a little unsteady on her feet given the news. Inside, Barbara knelt on the floor in the living room with a brush and a bucket of water, scrubbing the floor. She looked up when we entered and furrowed her brows at the state Eva was in. I shook my head a little so she didn't say anything and walked Eva to the sofa where I sat her down and allowed Goose to ask for a hug. Animals were often better at understanding emotions than humans.

Leaving Goose and Eva on the sofa, I walked through to the kitchen with Barbara following me, a scarf tied around her hair to protect it from the water. She still held the brush in hand.

"What's going on?" she asked, watching me grab the kettle and fill it up at the sink.

"Anthony's in Dunkirk. They're surrounded," I said. I didn't need to say anything else.

"Right. You go back into the living room, I'll do that. I'm not sure what tea will do, however."

"It was Jonathan's idea."

"That man thinks anything can be solved with tea and biscuits."

Barbara shook her head a little and took the kettle from me, adding a little bit more water before placing it on the stove and lighting the flame. I left her to make the tea and returned to the living where Eva remained sitting on the sofa, staring at the wall. It didn't even look like she was blinking. Goose continued to nudge her with her nose, licking her hand to try and get her attention, but nothing worked. Eva just sat there.

I walked around the sofa and sat beside her, not saying anything and instead just allowing the silence to press down on us. What could I say? It didn't feel right to offer reassurance when we didn't know where the situation would lead or what would happen next. I didn't want to mention Dad and make it about me. I didn't know what to do.

Jonathan arrived a little while later, before the kettle had been boiled. In that time, Eva didn't move despite the constant pawing from Goose and the occasional whine. She didn't like being ignored. Jonathan slipped into the kitchen to help Barbara with the tea, although I didn't know how much help he would be. They both returned a few minutes later with the tea tray and a plate of biscuits, which I knew would be Jonathan's idea.

Eva didn't move.

I lightly brushed her arm with my hand to try and get her attention. She jumped and faced me, furrowing her eyebrows as though confused about why she was in our living room rather than with the Williams'. It was almost like her brain had completely stopped functioning.

"There's some tea on the table," I said, showing her the tray of mugs. Eva nodded and stared at them.

"I need to write to Mum," she said.

"Not right now, you need time to process," Jonathan said.

"No. I ... I need to write to her. She'll be going out of her mind and I know Dad won't be helping. I should be there with them." Eva looked at me wide-eyed; I could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest.

"Breathe, Eva. You won't be any good to anyone in this state."

"But-"

"For now, drink the tea and try to calm down."

Eva stared at me once again before reaching to take one of the mugs despite the fact that it would be far too hot for her to drink. She cradled the mug in her hand, though her fingers danced against the china so she didn't burn them. Jonathan took one of the biscuits from the plate and turned it over in his hands, not really eating it. None of us really knew how we were supposed to act or what we were supposed to do.

This was new territory for all of us.

The silence descended again with the ticking of the clock breaking through along with the occasional noise from Goose who had curled up on the floor in protest at not getting a fuss from Eva. Several times, Jonathan looked like he wanted to say something, but bit back a comment or was silenced by a glare from Barbara. We all just listened to the silence without moving, speaking, or even breathing too loudly.

Despite holding onto her mug, Eva didn't drink from it even after it had long since cooled down. Occasionally, she would furrow her eyebrows and mutter something to herself, but none of us would understand what she had said. I knew she wasn't talking with the intention of anyone hearing her.

A few years before, Eva's grandmother had died suddenly and it caused Eva to completely shut down. She didn't speak, barely ate anything and would just mutter to herself on a regular basis even though no one could hear her. It took several weeks for her to slowly ease her way out of it and I knew this would be the same, even though we had no confirmation that Anthony had died and would have to play the waiting game for more news.

After almost an hour of Eva not moving or speaking, Barbara made a noise and nodded her head towards the kitchen. I got up from the sofa and followed her and Jonathan behind the wall where Eva wouldn't hear us. Even if we hadn't gone behind the wall, I doubted Eva would take in anything we said.

"I don't feel comfortable sending her home in this state," Barbara said.

"Me neither."

"She can have my room," I said, "I'll sleep in here."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Definitely."

"Alright. Do you want to ride down to the village and tell Mrs Williams? Jonathan and I can stay here with Eva in the meantime."

"I can do that. I'll be quick."

"I know you will."

Barbara smiled. I left the kitchen and walked through the living room without Eva so much as turning her head. She didn't even look up when I opened the front door and slipped outside. Outside, I made my way down the track to the stables where Jigsaw watched me impatiently. I tacked him up in record time, climbed on and started one of my first solo rides into the village. Neither Jonathan nor Alec thought me to be experienced enough to go on my own, but this was a necessity.

The ride to the village ended up successful, although I had gone at a slow pace so that nothing happened. I reached the village square and scrambled off Jigsaw, tying him to a nearby fence and approaching the Post Office. Through the front window, I could see Alec and Mr Thompson talking to Mrs Williams who kept glancing towards the door, no doubt expecting Eva to walk in at any moment.

I walked in, causing the little bell above the door to chime. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at me and I could almost see the relief in Mrs Williams' face; she must have guessed the reason I would be there.

"Is Eva alright?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Not really."

"What happened? She read the newspaper this morning and ran off before I could stop her. I guessed she must have gone to your farm."

"Her brother, Anthony, is stationed in Dunkirk. She thinks the worst because of the news they're surrounded."

"Poor girl," Mr Thompson muttered.

"Barbara thought it would be best if Eva spent the night with us given the state she's in, she doesn't feel right sending her away."

"I understand dear, it might be better for her to have you around here anyway. She can stay as long as she needs. Will she need anything?"

"She can borrow my things."

Mrs Williams nodded. "Alright then. Give her my love and tell her we'll see her soon."

"I will."

She smiled, but like Jonathan, it didn't quite reach her eyes the way it had done in the past. One small piece of news could dramatically change the way people smiled. I had never noticed before.

I left the Post Office and returned to Jigsaw who had started to tuck into a nearby bush, plucking leaves off and chewing on them slowly. He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching and shook his head, tugging a little to let me know that he didn't appreciate being tied up.

"Sybil," Alec said behind me. I turned around. "How are you dealing with the news?"

"As best as I can. Eva's more important."

"You have to look at yourself too, what with your dad and knowing Anthony, I know this must be hard."

"I'll be fine."

Alec nodded, but I knew he didn't believe me.

My feelings would have to wait. Eva needed me.

~~~

A/N - Chapter Thirty-Six is here! I think I'm almost finished, I can't tell xD

Questions! Do you think Sybil handled the situation well? Is she right in putting Eva first?

Comment below!

First Published - November 17th, 2021