The people came out timidly at first. Only a few brave heads. Looking at the expanse of no man’s land that lay silent before them, uncertain what to do next, go further into the deep or dig in and make a place for themselves in the sand.
The hell explosions were quite now. Birds returned and alighted on branches, tweeting their sounds for a new day.
The sun rose higher in the sky and more came out of their dorms and bunkers to greet the new and different day. A day like no other.
Today, the shelling and the guns were replaced by wind and salty sea breeze. Disfigured bodies had been replaced with beautiful bodies. Lythe, thin, tanned, nourished and perfect.
More people came out. Families set up blankets, and the ladies buttered baguettes while volleyballs nets appeared. Children racing their bikes and playing on paths like hadn’t been possible before.
Normality returned A woman walked by wearing a silver sparkley cap and a fukabanana shirt, holding the hand of an absolute ape sporting a completely tattooed arm.
Writing this just after the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month as the beach celebrated Armistice Day, I think it was only me who noticed.
