Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne

Author:John Boyne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

CHAPTER 8

ARE WE DOWNHEARTED?

No other passengers left the train at Ipswich, and Alfie looked around, surprised by the station, which didn’t seem like a station at all; there was no seating area, for one thing, no ticket counters, and no shoeshine boys waiting for customers. The train had simply stopped and let Marian and Alfie off.

“Of course, this isn’t the real stop,” said Marian, noticing the bewildered expression on the boy’s face. “But most of the trains don’t pull into the real stations anymore so there’s less risk of bombing. They stop near or nearabouts, and one has to walk the rest of the way. It’s actually quite convenient for us, though, because the hospital isn’t far from here.”

“But how does anyone know where to board?” asked Alfie.

“They just know,” replied Marian with a shrug. “Word spreads. And if you don’t know, then you just keep going to the next stop, wherever that might be.”

A narrow lane bordered by hedges guided them toward a crossroads, and from there three separate paths led in different directions with no signposts to indicate which way they should go next.

“They’ve all been taken down,” explained Marian. “There’s scarcely a signpost left in England, or haven’t you noticed? We don’t want any infiltrators to find their way about, you see. There are spies everywhere, or so we’re told. I’m not convinced, but who listens to me? Lucky I have a good sense of direction. I might have been a bloodhound in another life.”

She chose the path to their immediate right and kept up a good pace, chattering away about this and that as Alfie ran to keep up with her. She was right, though: it wasn’t far to the hospital, and within a few minutes the broken stones sprouting with grass and weeds beneath their feet gave way to a more conventional road, and in front of them, finally, stood the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital.

Alfie felt apprehensive as he stared at the imposing walls that ran around the grounds, the long driveway that led to the main hospital, and the enormous pale-yellow-brick building itself, which looked more like a castle than anything else.

“Are you quite all right?” asked Marian.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure you want to be here? There’ll be another train heading back to London quite soon, you know. You could just go back to where we got off and start waving your arms around like a lunatic when you see one coming into sight. It would certainly stop for you. Well, probably anyway.”

“I’m sure.”

“Shall we go up together, then?” she asked. “There’s no point standing here and staring at it like it’s a picture postcard.”

“I think I might wait here for a little bit,” replied Alfie, holding back, feeling that it might be best if they parted company now.

“Nonsense! I can’t leave you here all alone. Aren’t you going to tell me who you’re visiting anyway? Perhaps we can find a nurse or someone to help you out.”

“I’d prefer to go up on my own,” said Alfie.

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