Home Again - Pierre

Pierre sat quietly and stared out the window. Rain streaked across the glass paned windows of the train as it sped across the tracks. A whirlwind of thoughts came through his mind as he recalled the last few months. World War II had just ended and life had started to return to normal. The train is headed toward Strasbourg, France where his mother awaits his arrival. This is the first time in eight years that he will see her. Now that his father was dead someone had to take care of him, and his mother is his only living relative that they could find.

Eva, his step mother, he missed most of all had died with his father. They did everything together, from going to the park to helping him write letters to his mother in France. April 30 only seemed like yesterday, but it had already been a month.

Pierre noticed that the train had slowly come to a steady stop. He stood up and took a hold of his small suit case. He had little to take with him since they were always moving from one place to the next. When the war had been raging his father was extremely busy, especially traveling all over Europe. He really had no idea what his father did; Eva always avoided the subject when he was around. As he made his way down the aisle he glanced out the window to see if he could see her. He saw no one. A man held out his hand so he could step down the steep stairs.

He walked around in the swarming crowd of people trying to find her, and he was slightly becoming frightened that she hadn't come to see him. He cast his eyes down to the ground as he weaved through the people. Then he knocked into someone and he looked up to apologize. He looked up to a small, petite, blond, middle aged woman. She had a knee length khaki rain coat on with black pumps to match the simple black dress underneath. Her face, light with makeup and bright blue eyes, studied Pierre for a moment only to realize that he'd found her.

"Pierre?" she said questionably.

Not waiting for an answer, she pulled him into a tight hug. She smelled like lilacs, like the ones he and Eva used to collect in the spring. When she finally let go of him tears were streaming down both of their faces.

"I've missed you so much. You're going to love it here. I can't wait to show you everything. I've even decorated you a room in my small little house," she said through sobs.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd of people into the busy town. Cars, bikes, and people bustled through the stone streets, the rain stopped no one. Pierre looked around; even though the sky was gray he could tell the town was a beautiful place. They walked a ways up the street to a more residential part till they came to a small cottage looking house. It had hundreds of colorful flowers growing throughout the small yard.

His mother swung open the small gate on the white picket fence and