Writing for Fun
June 2017
Out Of The Mist - Bob Wendelkin
‘Come on June, it’s a lovely Summers Evening, and you promised you would come out for a sail,’ said Steven, June’s husband.
Steve had been a keen sailor ever since he could remember. Somehow it wasn’t just the pleasure of sailing but an inner need to be on the water. He and June had come over from Wales specially to go sailing on the Blackwater.
It was a beautiful warm evening and June, who wasn’t really that interested in sailing, settled back and even began to enjoy the sail. Steve was an excellent sailor and very soon their boat was skimming over the water and very soon they were close to Mersea Island.
‘Do you know during the war that island was very heavily fortified just in case the Germans decided to invade, my granddad was stationed there,’ said Steve as he put the rudder over so that they could sail closer to the island.
‘It was a terrible time for all people, I have German blood in my veins. Someone in the family did a family tree and a distant relation was killed in April 1945, but he was on the other side. My dad and his brothers on this side and he on the other. Just a matter of geography that determines your fate,’ replied June as she dangled her hand in the water.
‘Granddad said about this time in 1944 some 20 Germans were just dumped on the beach by their captain. They just became POWs, their captain did them a favour as they all survived the war.’
Steve swung the rudder over and they set sail for Bradwell. It was some distance away and so Steve and June just settled into enjoying the sail. As they sailed towards Bradwell they noticed that a mist was beginning to form seemingly out of nowhere. Gradually their boat was drawn towards the mist almost as if by an unseen hand.
‘Can’t you get us away from that mist, Steve? I don’t like it, it doesn’t seem natural,’ said June.
‘I’m sorry I don’t seem to be able to do anything, the wind has gone and it is just the tide that has taken over and we are just drifting. I’m sure we will be ok, we will just drift through this mist.’
Slowly their boat drifted further into the mist. The mist seemed to get thicker and they noticed that the temperature had dropped. June shivered and pulled her coat around herself.
‘I don’t like this,’ she said in almost a whisper.
‘These types of mist are always happening. Don’t worry,’ said Steve as he tried to reassure her.
As they drifted into the mist the shape of large boat seemed to form. It was large compared to their little sailing boat. Their boat seemed to be drawn to it almost as if by an unseen hand, soon their boat was scrapping along its side.
‘Do you know what this boat reminds me of?’ said Steve as he peered into the gloom.
‘It reminds me of a World War 2 German E-Boat. I’ve seen pictures of them in books. But these boats stopped about seventy years ago but this one looks quite fresh. I expect it belongs to some collector.’
Their boat continued to scrape along the side of the E-Boat until they came to a ladder which was hung over its side.
‘I’m going up, I know we might be trespassing but who cares we may never get another chance to see one of these boats.’
‘We can’t Steve.’
‘Come on, June you can’t stay on our boat, I’ll tie it up and up we go.’
Steve tied their sailboat to the ladder and cautiously both of them made their way up the ladder onto its deck.
‘Hello anyone around?’ shouted Steve.
There was no reply. Steve shouted even louder, still no reply.
‘I reckon that there is no one on board. Come on June let’s explore.’
The two of them made their way round the vessel until they come to a door that led into the interior.
‘Don’t go in, it might be a trap,’ said June trying her best to get Steve to leave the vessel.
Steve was too engrossed in his exploration, so holding June’s hand they went in.
Straight away they came to what was the crew’s mess. There must have been at least 15 Plates of food still on the table. Some had been touched but others had not.
‘Where’s the crew? it’s almost like the Marie Celeste,’ said Steve as he noticed that a calendar was hanging on the wall that indicated that it was July 1944.
‘Come on let’s go away,’ said June with a pleading voice.
‘Just a few more minutes, then we can go,’ replied Steve as once more he took hold of June’s hand to reassure her and also to give him some courage.
Down a flight of stairs they went deeper into the ship. Steve continued to shout out asking if anyone was on board. They came to a door marked KAPITAN.
‘See, I said it was a German boat. But what it’s doing here?’ said Steve.
The couple entered the cabin. There on the floor before them laid the body of a German Naval Officer, he had been shot. Behind a desk sat the Kapitan of the boat, on the table before him lay a pistol. The Kapitan seemed to be in a trance and was just staring into space. The presence of the couple standing in the doorway seemed to snap him out of his trance.
‘Who are you and what are you doing on my boat?’ said the Kapitan in German, but getting no response repeated it in English.
‘We were out sailing and were drawn to your boat in this mist, did you shoot him and where’s the crew?’ asked Steve.
‘Look at the date, it’s 21st July 1944. The Allies in France the war is lost and my friends have failed to kill that monster Hitler. Now the Gestapo will track us all down, families and friends and murder us. I couldn’t go back to Germany and I wouldn’t risk the lives of my men any more. I put them ashore on Mersea Island. There they will be safe until this abomination is ended.’
‘What about this body, who was he?’ asked June.
‘That turned out to be a piece of Nazi scum that tried to stop me saving my men. So as he tried to kill me, I shot him.’
‘Why are you so anti-Nazi’s and what caused you to hate Hitler so much?’
‘I was with my Brother in Germany and I saw a Concentration Camp and what the Nazis were doing to the inmates in my name. I’m a German and it made me sick and ashamed, what I saw. I knew then that Hitler should die. My brother was involved in the assassination attempt. As the radio said they failed, the war will go on and more people will die and I and my brother are dead men. Who are you?’
’We are from 2017, the war finished many years ago, Hitler killed himself in 1945. Germany was divided into four zones and it wasn’t until the collapse of the Soviet Union that finally saw Germany reunited. Because of your regrets I think you are forgiven and you can go to your rest,’ said Steve as he could see a way of bring peace to this man.
‘Thank you for telling me. Please will you leave my boat so that I can sort out my 1944 life.’
‘God bless you and go in peace,’ said Steve.
Steve took hold of June’s hand and they left the Kapitan’s cabin and made their way back to their sail boat.
They made their way back to the sailing club, not talking as each came to terms with what they had witnessed, each wondering did it really happen?
As they got closer to the club they could see an old man standing on the jetty looking hard in their direction. Soon with the aid of the tide they bumped into the jetty. Standing in front of them was the old man barring their way.
‘Did you see him?’ asked the old man with a slight accent in his voice.
‘What do you mean?’ answered Steve not wishing to be drawn into a conversation about what may have happened.
‘I can tell that you did it being 21st July, he was my Kapitan during the war.’
‘You knew him, what happened to him?’ asked Steve.
‘There was a heavy mist over the river that day which was unusual at this time of year, so the Kapitan decided to make a raid into the Blackwater. There we heard on the radio of an unsuccessful attempt to kill Hitler. The Kapitan seemed to change he ordered us to abandon ship. As we scrambled over the side we heard some shots. We thought that the Kapitan has committed suicide.’
‘No he shot a Nazi.’
‘Oh good, I never knew. As we got ashore the motor started and our boat moved out into the river. We heard the motor speed up and then a loud explosion as he must have taken the boat into a mine field.’
‘So he died in that mine field, the poor man, it can be seen that he was really a good man,’ said June.
‘The soldiers on Mersea came and made us POWs and all of us survived the war because of that man. I hope there is a Heaven for him. For me I am ashamed that I and many Germans fought for that monster Hitler, but we were so deluded.’