| Fan Fiction |
by elmo
“Going off to Yorkshire?” Selena frowned at her friend when she brought up this topic during one of their breaks in between.
Myolie looked around them and hushed Selena to be quieter, “There’s no need for such a big reaction. A few days ago, the radio reported that the Nazis are expanding their attacks on cathedral cities, and Yorkshire’s one of the places being targeted. I’m worried for my family, so I need to go and check on them.”
“Are you going alone then?” Selena asked in a concerned tone since she knew it was unsafe that for a woman to travel alone in times like this, “Aren’t you going to ask Bosco along as well?”
Myolie paused for a while. She did think of that actually, but she was afraid to trouble Bosco further. He had been really supportive of her during the past six months. Knowing that it was impossible for her not to miss Raymond from time to time, Bosco would often initiate talking about Raymond and things related to him with her. She would hear stories of their childhood days in the orphanage to tales of the grueling trainings in the military school. Sometimes, Myolie would share about how Raymond often told her about the flying experiences in the Airforce, and the times he flew her high up into the sky. Gradually, she felt herself recovering from the loss, and the wound had almost healed already.
“I’ll think about it first.” Myolie finally replied.
When she stepped out of the cafeteria, Myolie caught sight of Bosco playing with a group of children in the field. Even though winter had arrived and it just started to snow a few days ago, it seemed that they did not fear the cold weather at all.
“Hey Myo! Come and join us!” Bosco shouted over to her when he spotted Myolie looking in their direction.
The children were cheering and requesting for Myolie to join them as well. She gave them a smile and walked over to join them in their baseball game. Bosco was pretty patient in teaching the kids in the correct technique of swinging the bat, which reminded Myolie of the baseball sessions she had with Raymond in the past. Raymond once casually told her that he would personally teach their kids his entire set of skills and groom them into future baseball players, but he was worried that they may inherit the wrong genes from Myolie whom he often claimed that she was a klutz in sports, deliberately making her pissed with him.
“Thinking about Ray again?” Bosco saw the dazed expression on her face.
“Nothing much actually,” Myolie smiled to reassure Bosco that she was alright, “Anyway, I’m making a trip to Yorkshire in a few days to visit my family. I was wondering if you can accompany me there.”
Bosco immediately agreed, “Sure, the security there isn’t safe during this period of time. I won’t feel safe if you’re to travel alone.” After that, he turned towards the bunch of children and said, “Alright, now get into your respective positions. We’re starting the game soon. Francis, come over here and stop pulling Lincoln’s shirt!”
Myolie let out a soft laugh. Bosco looked just like an oversized kid among the group of young children. Putting aside all her thoughts temporarily, Myolie yearned for some fun and laughter that afternoon.
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“You guys are setting off tomorrow morning? That’s fast!” Selena commented during their dinner.
“Yeah, we hope to rush back before Christmas. It won’t be easy locating my family since the communication system had been disrupted by the recent bomb attacks.” Myolie explained.
Selena looked at Bosco whom was busy gobbling down his food, “Bosco, do you mind helping me get a packet of milk?”
Bosco stopped eating and nodded his head. Myolie stared at her friend whom seemed to have a motive in distracting Bosco away from their conversation.
“What are you up to this time, Selena Li?” Myolie could not help but chuckle.
Selena leaned forward and lowered her voice, “It’ll be a good opportunity for both of you this time. Bosco’s a reliable man whom you can depend on for the rest of your life. Don’t let go of such a good catch.”
Myolie quickly avoided Selena’s gaze and pretended to act ignorant, “Bosco and I are good friends.”
Selena was amused by her usual excuse and rolled her eyes at Myolie, “I’m not asking you to marry him right now.” But she became all serious again, “It’s been more than half a year since he left. Maybe it’s time for you to think about your future. Bosco had always stood by you during this difficult period of time, and furthermore, he is Raymond’s best friend. I bet Raymond will be relieved to have you being taken care of by Bosco.”
Myolie sat there thinking hard. Selena’s words did make sense, but she was unsure if she was ready to commit herself into a new relationship yet. She was definitely grateful and touched towards Bosco’s support, and could feel that Bosco had a good liking towards her all this while.
“Selena, here’s your milk.” Bosco had returned.
Selena quickly grabbed her packet of milk, before making up an excuse to leave both of them alone together. Myolie was a little embarrassed by her friend’s action, and did not know what to say to Bosco. But it seemed that Bosco had guessed her thoughts already. On their way back to the dormitory, Myolie decided to make clear about her opinion on both of them.
“I like the way we are now, Bosco. I’ve no plan to change our present status quo, because I feel that I need more time to readjust my feelings. I hope that you won’t mind.” Myolie looked at him apologetically.
Bosco grinned and ruffled her hair lightly, “It’s okay. Absolutely no pressure from me, alright? I just want you to be happy, that’s all.”
Myolie smiled in relief at his understanding. Well, at least this might prove to be a good start in a possible romance between both of them.
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[Unknown Location, Night]
The merchant was rushing back to his home located in the suburbs of the country. He had just returned from a business trip in a neighboring country, Holland. Suddenly, the merchant thought he heard soft groans coming from the bushes along the road. Frightened yet curious, he decided to check out the source of the noises. He saw a man lying there among the bushes, being covered entirely in blood and his tattered clothes smelt of the salty seawater.
The merchant nudged on the semi-conscious man on his shoulder and spoke in his native language, “Are you alright?”
The man stirred a little but did not respond. His half-opened eyes kept still on the merchant, and seemed to be pleading for help from him. The merchant looked around the deserted surroundings before he finally decided to bring the man home despite catching a glimpse of the British Royal Airforce badge sewn on the man’s clothes. As soon as he reached home, the man told his wife to clean up the man’s wounds first and get rid of the pilot’s uniform as the top priority because he was certain that there would be soldiers patrolling around the area in search of this fugitive. Just as he had expected, a few hours later, the German soldiers came knocking on his door.
“Have you seen an injured British soldier around?” One of them demanded in German.
The merchant timidly shook his head and told the officer that they seldom had visitors in this village. The few soldiers scanned around, and seemed to buy the merchant’s words, before instructing him to inform them immediately should he see this soldier.
“How’s he?” The merchant asked his wife once the German soldiers left.
“Very bad. We may need a doctor.” His wife shook her head, “Look at the right side of his face. It’s been badly burnt, and might leave a permanent scar there.”
“The village doctor can be trusted, I think. I’ll get him here tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, we just have to make sure he doesn’t run a fever.” The merchant said, as he approached the unconscious pilot whom seemed to be mumbling in his sleep in English.
“Myo…Myolie…” His hands gripped tightly on the bed sheet.
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[Yorkshire]
Bosco and Myolie checked into a local inn, before getting hold of a map of the city.
“Ah-choo!” It was the sixth time she sneezed in the short span of twenty minutes. The long train journey plus the extremely cold weather had taken a toll on her health.
Stretching his hand over to touch on her forehead, Bosco said, “You’re having a fever, Myo.”
“I’ll be fine.” She pushed his hand gently, and sneezed into the handkerchief again.
“You’re going to get some rest, whilst I look for a doctor to check on you.” Bosco insisted, and immediately tucked her into the bed after putting their luggage bags aside.
She had wanted to reject his suggestion. After all, a doctor meant medical expenses, and truthfully speaking, they did not have enough cash with them thus having to share a room together.
“Have some sleep first, and don’t think too much. Let me be the one to worry.” Bosco smiled and patted on her head gently.
With that, after receiving an injection from a doctor, Myolie spent the rest of the day sleeping in bed. She did not realize that it was night, if not for her stomach which was growling with hunger. It was as if there was telepathy between her and Bosco, because the moment she sat up in the bed, Bosco came in with a steaming bowl of fish porridge for her.
“How did you get this?” Myolie asked, as she began eating the porridge.
Bosco grinned, “I begged the chef to cook it. Geez, he’s such a difficult man to persuade.”
Myolie was about to ask him how he did it, but Bosco interrupted her by showing her the places which he had visited in search of her family.
“I’ve already checked the home of your family, and it’s deserted for quite a long time. Because of the recent bomb attacks, I believe they will be taking refuge in the churches or cathedrals where food and shelter were supplied to these people for free. So I think we’ll start with the churches nearest to their home. Today, I’ve already cleared the northern part, and we can continue searching on this way. We should be able to find them soon.” Bosco explained as he showed her the map which had many markings and crosses made on it.
“You did this alone?” Myolie asked in disbelief.
Bosco laughed, “Well, actually I pleaded with the innkeeper to give me some information and latest updates of the city to facilitate the search better. If you’re feeling better tomorrow, you can join me.”
At that moment, Myolie felt extremely grateful for what Bosco had done. She wanted to hug and thank him for his effort, but managed to restrain herself from doing so. It was not the time for this yet, she thought. Later in the night, Myolie woke up to find Bosco missing on his bed. Wandering out of her room to the lobby, Myolie spotted the innkeeper and wanted to thank him for rendering help to Bosco earlier on in the day, but she accidentally overheard the conversation between the chef and him.
“Yeah, I told him to get out but he refused, so I decided to make a deal with him. I’ll cook the porridge for him, as long as he’s willing to wash up all the dishes for the day. And he agreed! I’ve never seen such a foolish man in my life before!” The chef laughed out loud, patting on his huge belly.
The innkeeper could not control his giggles as well, “He even kept pestering me about the directions around the city. If I had not pitied him for having to wander around aimlessly in the snow, he would most probably be lost right now.”
Upon hearing that, Myolie was utterly shocked. She then proceeded quietly to the back alley, where she saw Bosco washing the dishes outside the inn’s kitchen.
“Bosco…” She called out his name softly, as she felt tears welling up in her eyes at that moment.
Bosco looked up and was surprised to see Myolie standing there. Getting up, he walked towards her, wondering what made her cry.
“Myo, why are you…” Bosco started to speak, when Myolie ran up and hugged him tightly in her arms.
“Why are you so silly? Why did you do all this without telling me? Why are you doing all this alone by yourself?” She cried and demanded.
Bosco’s arms slowly wrapped around her body as he whispered in her ears, “It’s nothing really.”
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The incident the night before had pulled both of them closer, as Myolie found herself paying more attention towards Bosco’s feelings and needs. The feeling of security and warmth seemed to engulf her like before. Days went by as the search for her family continued, but it gradually became more difficult as the snow got heavier, hindering their progress greatly.
“Be careful!” Bosco managed to grab hold of Myolie in time before she fell.
“Thanks.” She smiled in relief as she regained her footing.
“It’s pretty hard to walk by yourself. How about this?” Bosco stretched out his hand in front of her.
Myolie hesitated. She was uncertain whether she should accept. It was like she was afraid of history repeating itself again when Raymond once held onto her hand and made her a promise.
“As long as you’re still holding onto my hand, I can promise you that I won’t ever let go of your hand too.” Bosco gave her a reassuring smile.
She looked into Bosco’s eyes, before her hand moved up to hold tightly onto Bosco’s, “Don’t ever forget your promise.”
“Let’s go!” Bosco grinned, as they continued their way on.
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[Hut, Night]
His eyes fluttered wide open. The surroundings looked unfamiliar. Where’s he now? Getting up from the bed, he felt thirsty and wanted to get a drink, but there was no one in sight. Making his way to the bathroom, the man turned on the tap and began drinking the water running from it. After quenching his thirst, he looked in the mirror and gasped in horror at the reflection before him.
“This is not me…Not me…” He shook his head in denial, staring at the huge scar at the lower part of his right cheek.
“Nooooo!” He slammed his hand into the mirror, smashing it into many pieces.
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[Late December 1941, Kingston’s Street, London]
“Dad, I’ve found this place for three of you near this camp to stay in temporarily. It’s safe down there, so you don’t have to worry.” Myolie told her parents and Nancy after they returned from Yorkshire.
As Myolie had hoped, they managed to locate her family in a church in the west part of Yorkshire after nearly a month’s effort, and together they came back to London.
“Alright, we’ll come and look on you occasionally then,” Myolie’s father said before turning to Bosco, “Please help to take care of my daughter, Bosco. I’ll be grateful for that.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle.” Bosco nodded his head firmly.
As Bosco helped to shift their belongings into the new home, Nancy pulled her elder sister aside for a private talk.
“So who’s this Bosco? I didn’t have a chance to ask you on the way back. I thought it was some Raymond before we left.” Nancy asked.
“Ray…Raymond has passed on. He died in a mission for the Airforce.” Myolie revealed sadly.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Nancy put her arm around Myolie’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
Myolie took in a deep breath and smiled at Nancy, “I’m okay. I’ve already straightened out my thoughts. It’s all in the past. Now, I just hope for all of you to be safe and sound.”
“And also for Bosco to marry you soon, am I right?” Nancy teased, making Myolie blushed into a deep shade of pink.
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“I’ll pick you up later in the evening then.” Bosco pecked on Myolie’s cheek before bidding farewell, making his way back to the medical camp.
When Bosco just returned to the medical camp, he was immediately being grabbed aside by Selena, whom looked flustered and nervous.
“What’s up with you, Selena?” Bosco asked, wondering about her strange behavior.
Selena hesitated for a moment before saying, “He’s back. He’s still alive.”
“What?” Bosco frowned.
“Raymond Lam is alive. He’s being treated by Dr. Kiln in the tent right now.” Selena revealed.
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lol ok, so Ray's back into the picture now!