The Lost Diaries of John Smith - Part FIVE

thebitcoinbomber (25)in #writing • 7 years ago

ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Dear Amy

Your appeal for information was posted on the British Red Cross Bulletin Board here in East Kilbride.

I met John while we both worked down the mine near Harthope Burn in Northumbria.

John mentioned that he rescued a little girl and then looked after her for several weeks until being reunited with her father in a displaced persons camp. John mentioned that he discovered the girl in a thunder storm crying over her dead mother, so I think your John and my John are the one and the same.

John buried your mother at the base of a small hill, but didn’t exactly know where. He said that you would often sit next to the grave and talk to your mum as if she was still alive. You drove him potty sometimes, but without each other neither of you would have survived.

I first saw one of those giant ships three days after the fireball and both me and John ended up working for ‘them‘. I still find it strange that many, including those who saw these giant ships floating overhead, are still unwilling to talk about aliens from another world. Perhaps we were or still are preoccupied with staying alive, or maybe aliens are just too alien a notion to accept?

What is strange to think now is that the aliens never appeared to be aggressive or frightening. We accepted them being present. Yes, some thought that we had been invaded and were being forced to work down the mine, but the truth was stranger than fiction. Maybe we felt we had no choice. Some thought we had become the vanquished in some alien invasion.

At first the miners would surface after each eight-hour shift to rest. It was only when the cooks and support staff moved underground that I met John. We finally ended up sharing a cosy corner near the canteen, where we became close friends.

We were allowed to surface for fresh air and to exercise, but the ventilation system meant that apart from sunlight all our needs were met by both the army and alien technology. The air was always refreshing, even several thousand feet underground.

What I admired in John was his ability to do his job and help others at the same time. He prevented a lot of friction between those press-ganged and the army, and I even think he got on with, or was able to communicate with the aliens themselves. The time when we needed each other most was at Christmas, and John was there to help those who really had lost everything, and who found it almost impossible to cope, me included. He prevented a lot of suicides and even persuaded the army to find a priest to help out over the festive period.

While I would go on about what had happened to me and my family (all of whom were killed), he kept his past very secret. Although I knew him quiet well and we trusted each other, he never did mention his past and I cannot remember him telling me his surname. Sometimes you could tell when he was thinking about what happened on that day, but he would never mentioned or put into words how he felt or what he experienced. Maybe he had something to hide, or more probably he felt guilty in having survived, or perhaps the pain of remembrance was just too unbearable. Whatever his past or his guilt, he made up for his own perceived failings by helping others both before and during his time down the mine.

I’m not sure if you know about the explosion in one of the other mines. There were in fact eight mines spread around a large area – each a day’s walk from each other. In one of the other mines, a build up of methane resulted in an explosion, which killed nearly a hundred workers. Shortly thereafter I was moved to the affected mine to replace those who had died or who were badly injured. In total it was thought that roughly 1000 men and women lost their lives in the mining area, though a lot of what happened and indeed why we spent seven months working underground still remains secret.

All I know is that after seven months all mining operations ceased.

The army weren’t authoritarian, but neither were they able to think beyond the task in hand – that of helping the aliens dig this giant hole in the ground. John was able to help with the mining operation by reducing accidents and he saved many lives in doing so. In the end he was able to organise those working with the alien mining technology so that accidents became a rarity and not the norm.

In April 2015 the mine which I worked at closed and I was evacuated to Scotland, along with around 200 others, including many who suffered from “black eye”, which you also might have heard about. Because of the explosion my time underground was limited and so my eyes remained clear though my skin did become greyish in colour. On reaching Scotland I was released after spending ten days in hospital. With help from the Scottish Government I was able to find a job through the Emergency Labour Exchange, as a cook in an feeding centre near Glasgow. Like many, I kept myself busy trying to stay alive and while things have greatly improved of late, life is still tough.

Finally, I’m enclosing John’s diary that he wrote while working down the mine. He asked me to keep it safe, and although I would like to keep the original, I was able to secure a copy through a friend with the right connections (there aren’t many working photocopiers in our corner of Scotland).

If you do manage to find John, please pass on my details and accordingly I wish you luck with your search, and if you ever find yourself in Glasgow please pop round. I’m glad that you survived as John frequently spoke of you and often wondered what happened to the little girl who kept him going, and who he felt much solace in reuniting with her father.

Best Wishes

Miranda Thomas

Me thinks "The Lost Diaries of John Smith" would make an excellent TV series! I'm just saying...