Chapter 9: Friendship

London, England

December 11, 1943

Remembering your words, my beloved Patrick:

They fill my life like the most beautiful rainbow, unfolding your unmistakable warmth that guides a shipwrecked sailor; caught in your gaze that, without mistake, I look at again and again.

Images that strengthen your love for me, and how much you love your work.

More than that, it's the respect you have for those who fight by your side. The letters I read over and over again, waiting for your arrival, in the infinite depths of my soul that feel like the solitude of the countryside. Where are you? It's like a desert, as if my love could have a medication for this suffering that not only I experience, but all those who go missing.

On this afternoon, as the sun sets, I gather my strength to wait for you. Drawing inspiration from my visits to the orphanage, I look at the children's stories, wanting to distract them a bit. Especially a boy named Aaron, the most tender and intelligent creature; he always has a smile and greets me with a hug. He loves the desserts I bring him, while Helena, my dear friend, says that I care for this child as if he were my own, and my love, this child has been here for two years, out of his five-year-old life. I have spoken to my old friend about his adoption, and he is already processing the paperwork, I would like you to take him to the sea. How I love him! Tender, with curly hair and big eyes.

There is so much work in this place, and in the hospital, the soldiers who have arrived tell many stories; I fear that something will happen to you, so I ask you to be careful, knowing that there is a virus that is spreading among the ranks. Love, do you know how important you are to me? I tell you that the roses we have in the greenhouse will soon bloom.

As I write these words to you, my little Sasha is by my side, an inseparable dog. How much I love you! You are the dew, whose love sustains me. You are like the sun that with its warmth sustains the life of the swallow. Waiting for you is someone who loves you with kisses from my heart, Eugene.