A soldiers wife found a new way to cope with life during the war.
Howard and Mae were only married two years when the war came .
Most men answered the call and went out to fight for Australia .
Howard was one of the number who were proud to serve their country . The day the local lads marched off a large crowd gathered to give them a good send off . Howard stood proudly to attention with his twelve pound rifle resting on his shoulder . The order to stand at ease and fall out came and Howard made his way over to say goodbye to his wife .
Not knowing if they would ever see each other again Mae and Howard looked into each others eyes searching for the right thing to say .
“I love you Mae .“
Said Howard .
Mae smiled and held her husbands hand .
“I know .“ She said.
“You won’t forget me .“ Said Howard .
“As if .” Came the urgent reply .
“Don’t forget to write .“ He said .
“Don’t you forget to come home soon .“ She said .
“I won’t .“ He said .
“ Keep away from bullets and things .“ She said .
He held her close and with a lump in his throat he replied .
“I will darling .“ She started to get teary but remained strong for his sake .
“You won’t be that far away .“ She said .
“We’re always just a thought away darling. “ He said .
The order was given to fall in and Mae and Howard held each other close . Looking into each others eyes they kissed and in the background the sound of a heavy truck shattered the moment . The troop carrier pulled up in front of the community hall .
One by one the small infantry regiment climbed on board . Howard climbed on last at the back of the truck staring into space .
As the trucks engine roared into life Mae looked at Howard and saw how sad he looked . She tried to think of something to say that would lift him .
Suddenly from somewhere deep down inside her heart she found courage and shouted out ,
“Howard ! Remember Australia loves you . And so do I .”
Howard looked at Mae and gave her a big smile . He made a fist and punched the sky and then he waved and within a few seconds the truck was gone .
Everyone in the street stood there stunned and silent .Some were crying while others comforted one another . Hugs and sympathy were offered , with some morning tea in the community hall for anyone who wished to stay .
Some of the ladies had already begun their own personal war effort by asking for donations of warm blankets and clothes for the soldiers .
After an hour or so Mae decided to head for home as she was tired and felt a little nauseous . It was a long walk home in the dust and heat and she felt weak . Her thoughts remained fixed on Howard every step of the way and as she approached the old homestead she noticed there were some kangaroos sitting around the veranda .
Sometimes Roo’s would come looking for a feed . But , today Mae was not really up to feeding kangaroos or having visits from anyone or anything .
Immediately she opened the front door and went in and took the shotgun from above the fireplace and returned back out to the veranda . Lifting the barrel into the air she let both barrels go .
The kangaroos hopped off into the scrub . Mae reloaded two more cartridges and fired off another two rounds .
““Keep off the veranda ! Bloody pests .“ She screamed .
Feeling a little better now, she placed the shotgun on her shoulder and sat down on the rocking chair on the veranda . After a few moments she stood up and walked to the front gate and shouted ,
“You can’t say that you haven’t been warned .“
That evening the house was quiet .
She had never heard it so quiet before . It was almost like as if the whole world had come to an end .
She went to bed that night with fears running through her head . Deep in thought she was fighting a war of her own and in the morning she headed back out to the veranda and threw up . She was feeling sick and didn’t know how she was going to cope on her own . But somehow she had to and in the loneliness she crawled into an empty place in her head and heart and made a shelter there away from the fear .
Almost a year had passed since Howard had been gone and her attention was now fixed on the baby . A boy named Darwin had been born . The news of Darwin’s birth had given Howard some extra incentive to get home alive to Australia .
Mae had took in a stray dog . She called him Smoke . It kept her company on the front veranda .Smoke often chased away the large frilled neck lizards that liked to roam there after dinnertime . Smoke could smell the scent of a lizard even in it’s sleep . Sometimes it seemed Smoke was sleepwalking and barking , as it went chasing lizards .
Mae would shout ,
“Lie down Smoke . You’ll wake the baby .“.
Smoke would come running back over on to the veranda and curl up and go back to sleep .
When the baby screamed for a feed she wished Howard could have been there to help around the house . But no , Mae tried not to feel sorry for herself and kept busy with the work that had to be done .
She cradled Darwin in her arms and whispered secrets of other wars ,
“Aw poor baby . If its not one thing it’s the other . Sure life’s a hard battle isn’t it my little son .“
Mae’s soft voice stopped the crying and the baby was settled again .
After Darwin’s morning feed Mae would take down the old steel tub from the wall and fill it with water . In the heat of the day she gave Darwin a splash bath and then wrapped him up in a blanket . Then she would empty out the bath water onto the vegetable patch . The corn looked well and each morning she could see the green stalks grow ears and cobs began shoot .
The chickens regularly laid eggs and omelettes were on the daily menu .
She had kept all the letters Howard had sent , as time passed . Each letter was as precious as the first . When they arrived her excitement was always torn with impatience as she frantically opened the envelope to read the latest news from Howard .
A couple of Howard’s letters were special and she took those ones out from time to time to read them again .
“My darling Mae . Hello . It’s quiet tonight and I thought it would be a great time to write to you . I am doing fine . Lots of Aussie lads here with me seem to be young bucks, just out of school . I’ve made a good friend . His name is Norm and he is an artist . Often during the day he does drawings of the places we have been through . Today we are camped near a field that is scattered with tulips . I am sending you a sketch of them that Norm has done. He asked after you and Darwin . I miss you lots . Give Darwin a big kiss and tell him I can’t wait to see him .
Love you always
Howard .”
Mae never suspected for a moment that Howard disclosed the real truth from his young wife He knew each letter was checked and censored and so declined to tell what was really going on . If Norm had sketched a real picture of where they were it would have shown a much different scene . In a cold and damp battlefield Howard and the other soldiers were huddled together in trenches . They were under constant attack from the enemy and many had been killed .
Each day Mae told Darwin all about the wonderful things his Dad was doing for Australia . The little nipper tried to talk but didn’t make much sense . Mae took him up and gave him a cuddle .
In the evenings Kangaroos continued to come , each time they did she put the baby in the cot and grabbed the shotgun . Letting go both barrels she would shout ,
“Get off the bloody veranda !“
One of the Roo’s hopped off in such a hurry that it knocked over the fence. .Mae stood there and took a deep breath and whispered ,
“Relax Mae . It’s only a fence. “
Inside the house she would go to comfort Darwin who screamed each time she fired the shotgun .
The dark night fell as Smoke began to bark at the moon or another lizard or another fence post or a shadow or another what ever . Mae opened the window and shouted ,
“Ok Smoke we get the message . Go back to sleep .“
After Smoke was quiet and Darwin was sleeping she lay down on the bed , but found sleep wouldn’t come . She got up and did some knitting . She thought about Howard and dropped a stitch and wished she hadn’t . Then her eyes began to go together . She awoke in the morning with the needles still in her hand and a stiff neck .
She remembered Howard had said they were just a thought away and in the early morning sun rays that splattered across the sky, she let her thoughts drift across the horizon to Howard . Then she put the kettle on .
Darwin awoke and she went in to comfort his crying . She lifted him and threw him up in the air . He squealed as she caught him and kissed his chubby cheek’s . Again she threw him up in the air and he let go another squeal in wonder .
Early next morning the kangaroo’s were back on the veranda . Mae began to realise it would be easier to put up with the Roo’s that constantly chase them off the veranda .
At the end of that week the Roo’s had scattered a picture of poo and leaves all over the front yard . As the kangaroos hopped back and forth from the veranda Smoke barked as the postman arrived. She opened the letter from Howard and read it aloud .
“Hello my Darling ,
I have so much to tell you but so little time to write . We are all in good spirits and getting lots of sun . The beach is near to where we are stationed . There are these beautiful purple flowers scattered on trees all over the hills where we are camped . Norm has done a sketch again for you . He really has a wonderful talent . When he comes home he says he will open a studio and begin painting his images of war on canvass . Maybe he will have an exhibition and you and I will go there . All the lads are still waiting for orders and we still haven’t seen the enemy . I miss you heaps . One day soon I will come home to be with you and hold our son .
Lots of love from Howard .”
Mae stood up and looked up at the sky and whispered ,
“Remember, Australia loves you and so do I Howard . “
She placed this letter in her special box with the rest . After finding another empty frame and put the sketch of the beach in it and hung it beside the other drawing . The baby started crying again and she went in to settle him down . She lifted him and brought him out to the veranda and they both sat there for some time . Mae looked out at the distant horizon thinking of Howard and all the boys over there and sent out a loving thought . She tried to imagine what it would be like over there .
She always remembered the words Howard had said ,
“Remember we are always just a thought away”
She thought about him and all the other soldiers who had to leave their loved ones and to go war and fight for Australia . A half a dozen white kookaburras glided over the house and perched on the gun trees around the property . Their squawking brought Mae back to reality again .That old familiar call stirred her into action again .
It was time to get the nappies on the line and get the ironing done . The sink was still a mess and there was cleaning to be done around the house .
She put Darwin into his play pen on the veranda where he smiled and made funny noises .
“Be happy my little man . Its just you and me for now . Oh please God bring Howard home safe . “
She said . The little nipper tried to talk but didn’t make much sense .
Some nights Mae cried softly in the silence but never allowed herself to fall into despair . She kept busy and knitted and stitched . She made new curtains and the little home was always spotless .
As time passed the Roo’s became regular visitors on the veranda . Mae was used to their company and gave them what ever scraps of food she had . Smoke had no worries about them being on the veranda . He even got used to the lizard .
Mae had started a garden and for some strange reason the kangaroos kept away from her vegetables . A new bond of trust that had developed between them . Sometimes she found herself talking to the kangaroo’s who sat close to her on the veranda . The Roo’s had become more than just friends .
One day as the baby was crawling around the yard , a black snake appeared on the scene . Before Mae could reach her little child, one of the Roo’s brought its tail down heavily on the snakes heads and proceeded to jump on it . When the danger had gone the Roo hopped away . Then another day some brumbies had strayed into the yard only to be confronted by the kangaroo’s who chased them off into the scrub . Mae was astonished and as crazy as it would seem, the kangaroo’s had become her protectors . She gave each of them a name and after a while they even responded to that .
She wanted to tell everyone about the Roo’s , but she though if she did people might think she was a bit weird . Some days she felt Howard’s presence so near, that she almost heard him speak to her .Sometimes the loneliness was too much .
She found she could talk to God about things and felt the urge to build a shrine somewhere in the garden . The shrine became a tribute to all the Aussie soldiers . She made it with bush rock and cement . She carved out some figures out of wood , Then after painting them she placed those inside the shrine along with a wooden cross .
Mae woke up one morning and heard the sound of scratching and digging around her shine . Cautiously she looked out the window and saw the Roo’s digging up all the soil around the shrine . Mae was furious and ran outside screaming .
“Hey John what are you doing . Stop that Jake . Get away from there ! ”
The kangaroo’s hopped off and Mae stood in wonder .
Suddenly in an instant she knew that the war was over . She kissed the ground and ran inside the house . She lifted the baby up into her arms and threw him high into the air . He screamed in delight and she caught him and again threw him up into the air .
That same day the local fire truck pulled up in a hurry at the front gate . Mae looked out the window and saw one of the ladies auxiliary run from the truck with her arms in the air . She was shouting .
”Mae . Have you heard the news?“
She said .
“What news ?”
Mae replied .
“Its over . The war is over . The boys are coming home .“
The two ladies threw their arms around each other and danced like never before .
Sure enough later on that week as Mae was sitting on the veranda , an army truck pulled up and Howard got out . They both ran into each others arms They cried and they laughed as baby Darwin came crawling down from the house . That evening as they all sat on the veranda, a few of the kangaroo’s hopped by the old house . They lay in the last rays if the sun until it was time to leave .
