"Lads, we are home!"
As the train pulled into the station, confusion crossed my mind but was soon cast away when I realised where I was.
I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. They weren't last time because Alice...
Was having the twins!
Heart thumping, I raced out of the opening doors and through the crowds of people, each one, different emotions present.
I ran all the way home and burst through the old oak door leading into the house. Up the stairs and into our room.
I stood in front of her, relishing her excitement and sadness to see me.
"Told you I would come back," I said. Enjoying saying those words again.
The twins were born and were called...
James and Mary, not Eva and George. Amazing how going back in time can change things!
I don't wake up in the night, sweating and scared anymore. I'm not awkward around the twins. I'm the man Alice lost but found again.
On the day I came back, I gave Alice a present. Something that will never be forgotten. A poppy.
She said "Oh William it's beautiful!"
"This poppy will go down in history," I said. "It grows amongst the dead and dying."
"It's the flower of the end."
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As he stands proudly, a poppy on his chest, Jack bows his head to fallen soldiers. Tears run down his face and he does not try to hide, he does not look away, he does not bury his face. He is proud to shed those tears. His grandfather, William Brown, was among the many who were trapped on Dunkirk. A wave of memories with him and his grandfather surge with the power of an ocean and he is engulfed with grief. His grandfather was an eccentric old man who always said to Jack. "Be careful what you wish for." He never understood why, until today. "I wish I could go back in time and see my grandfather again." Jack said to his mother. The next morning, Jack knew what his grandfather meant.