Chapter 6
By this time he had grown accustomed to the merging
and when his next life walked through him, he had no problem grasping who he
used to be. He was surprised to find that he was a woman.
Stephanie McCroft had just walked into her barracks and
noticed that it was unusually chilly even though the heater in the corner had
been on for quite some time. It was almost, winter so it wasn’t all that
surprising that the chill had swept into her quarters. She longed to take a bath
but at best it could only be a sponge bath with a rub down of eau de cologne.
There were no tubs to relax in.
The cold was welcoming to the medical staff though. It
meant that the flies would be killed by the oncoming frost. The flies had been
horrid. It was impossible to keep her patients comfortable without enough
cotton gauze. She prayed that the
trenches would stay warm so that the solders wouldn’t get sick. She limped
across the floor and flopped herself on the bed. There was much to think about
this evening. It had been a rough day today.
She was covered in
blood from the fifteen amputations that she assisted with. Those never got any
easier for her either. All the men who had been plucked off the battlefield
needed immediate treatment within the first twelve hours of them being
seriously injured. The constant irrigation of the wounds did little to help
these men. She was in charge of directing sterilization before being moved to
tend to the seriously wounded. The doctor began his work by extracting the
debris before introducing drains in each opening. These are rubber tubes and
the doctor used quite a lot of them. Every two hours a dark liquid called
“Dakin” is pumped in to keep the wounds in a constant bath of antiseptic. It
was a revolutionary breakthrough and the old school doctors of amputation’s had
been jealous. Sadly the men had not been found in time so their limbs could not
be saved.
It was a bloody war and the casualties from the trenches
had been staggeringly high that evening. Of course everything happened in
cycles. There would always be good days and bad day in the operating tents.
Stephanie was a nurse and despite the good she was trying to do, she wasn’t
happy. Tonight her nose stung from the smell of rubbing alcohol. Her ears hurt
from the injured crying for help. The wounds on the men were horrible and
disfiguring. The flies had been thick and it was a constant battle to keep the
maggots at bay. Sometimes the men would be brought in from the field with
parasite infestations that had already taken over. She wasn’t sure if she would
have night mares if she tried to get some sleep. She shuddered, thinking of the
injuries caused by modern warfare. It human body was too frail to be exposed to
land mines and machine guns. The way the body reacted to such things was like
dropping a rock in a bowl of jelly. It just went everywhere. She wasn’t sure
when the war would be over or at least, when she would be able to go home and
really rest. That was what she needed, just some time off to collect her
thoughts. Tonight though, she knew that she would never leave this horrid
place. She had already made up her mind.
It had been weeks since she could even go to a secured town
close by just to get away from it all. She had her secrets as well. She often
worried what would happen to her if anyone found out that she craved physical
embraces from the town brothels. It had been a while since she was able to
purchase female companionship. She had a lover back home that was passed off as
a room mate. It would be months before they could be reunited though. Oh how
she missed her and her long auburn hair flowing down the middle of her back. He
friend’s name was Cloie Daniels. Her skin would smell of roses gently kissed by
the wind after a summer thunderstorm. Stephanie missed that smell and the
warmth of her touch. Cloie never wrote her though. Stephanie hadn’t heard from
her since she signed up to join the war effort. The day that she left they had
had an argument. Cloie didn’t approve of women helping out on the battlefield.
This was a quarrel that would never be resolved. Stephanie had already been
gone for five months now and her nursing skills had come in handy. It was what
she was raised to do.
She always felt out of place though. Everything had always
been wrong for Stephanie. She should have been born a man. Why wasn’t she? Of
course, Stephen knew why as he quietly listened to her thoughts. All of his
other past lives he had been a man fighting for a war effort. Reality, karma,
or God had now thrown him/her a curve ball. He didn’t know if it was to teach
him a lesson or to try to make things easier. Stephen felt rather silly knowing
that he had always wanted to have a pair of breast to touch. They where now
right in front of him and they where his. He could not touch them though. He
couldn’t see how firm or perky they were since he wasn’t allowed to control the
actions of his former lives. He also
knew how it would end and thought it such a waist to throw those boobs away. It
did worry him though that he had fallen into this casual thinking of all his
former deaths. Someone was showing him this to help him grow. Sometimes though
you have to laugh in order to get through those lessons, and ridiculing himself
did help ease the pain.
Of course being in a woman’s body was extremely unnerving
to Stephen. The emotions that poured through her brain were overwhelming as she
sat on the bed crying. It was very hard to keep up with her thoughts. It was
like trying to chase after a dog that has just broken free from the house only
she wasn’t having a good time. She didn’t have her tongue hanging out of her
mouth like the dog would have. The dog would be happy to be free and she
wasn’t. Now he was feeling bad about comparing her to a dog. This was starting
to get to be too much being a woman. Her feelings coursed through his plasma or
whatever you want to call it. He needed to separate himself from Stephanie but
he couldn’t now. He had never considered this when merging before. He thought
he would be able to watch from the side if things got too intense. He was stuck
and would have to wait until she committed suicide to be free. He was not
privileged to that information until it happened. It was always a surprise how each one took
their life.
“I hope this is the
only time I’m a woman” he said to himself.How much time had passed he didn’t know. Almost instinctively he started
singing in his mind along with Stephanie. What inspired the song? Why now when it
was almost over for her. Then he found the reason in her mind. A patriotic salute
before she passed on was the only reason for the song. It was a lovely tune from long
ago called Mademoiselle from Armentieres. It was a patriotic salute to the boys on the
she called out the lyrics.
She sang intently not caring if anyone heard her. Even if they did, they would
have slipped into her quarters to sing along. It didn’t matter if you were a
medical professional, officer, or even a solder, they all welcomed a little liveliness
now and then to forget the troubles of war.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed in forty years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had the form like the back of a hack,
when she cried the tears ran down her back,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She never could hold the love of man
'Cause she took her baths in a talcum can,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had four chins, her knees would knock,
and her face would stop a cuckoo clock,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could beg a franc, a drink, a meal,
but it wasn't because of sex appeal,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
and eat a hog without peeling the rind,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war,
standing guard at the café door,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake,
and all we get is the bellyache,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
If he changes his underwear
the frogs will give him the Croix-de-Guerre,
Hinky-dinky, parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the groans and yells
but you'll never forget the Mademoiselles,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
we’ll all be back in a few short years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed in forty years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had the form like the back of a hack,
when she cried the tears ran down her back,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She never could hold the love of man
'Cause she took her baths in a talcum can,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had four chins, her knees would knock,
and her face would stop a cuckoo clock,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could beg a franc, a drink, a meal,
but it wasn't because of sex appeal,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
and eat a hog without peeling the rind,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war,
standing guard at the café door,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake,
and all we get is the bellyache,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
If he changes his underwear
the frogs will give him the Croix-de-Guerre,
Hinky-dinky, parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the groans and yells
but you'll never forget the Mademoiselles,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
we’ll all be back in a few short years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Stephanie knew exactly what she was doing when she took out
the needle. No one would be in to check on her for at least four hours. She
also knew that she was allergic to opium and how much to inject into her
fragile veins. It was all too much and she couldn’t take things any longer. She
jabbed the needle into her upper arm and squeezed.
“Instead of taking lives, I had the chance to give life. I not only could have had a family, but I also had the ability to give life. Stephanie didn’t seem to get any of this. Being a nurse helped, I suppose, but she denied herself the full experience of being a woman. She could have created a family for herself but she would not have a man as an intimate figure in her life. That was another wasted life, I think.”
“Instead of taking lives, I had the chance to give life. I not only could have had a family, but I also had the ability to give life. Stephanie didn’t seem to get any of this. Being a nurse helped, I suppose, but she denied herself the full experience of being a woman. She could have created a family for herself but she would not have a man as an intimate figure in her life. That was another wasted life, I think.”
she called out the lyrics.
She sang intently not caring if anyone heard her. Even if they did, they would
have slipped into her quarters to sing along. It didn’t matter if you were a
medical professional, officer, or even a solder, they all welcomed a little liveliness
now and then to forget the troubles of war.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed in forty years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had the form like the back of a hack,
when she cried the tears ran down her back,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She never could hold the love of man
'Cause she took her baths in a talcum can,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had four chins, her knees would knock,
and her face would stop a cuckoo clock,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could beg a franc, a drink, a meal,
but it wasn't because of sex appeal,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
and eat a hog without peeling the rind,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war,
standing guard at the café door,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake,
and all we get is the bellyache,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
If he changes his underwear
the frogs will give him the Croix-de-Guerre,
Hinky-dinky, parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the groans and yells
but you'll never forget the Mademoiselles,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
we’ll all be back in a few short years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed in forty years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had the form like the back of a hack,
when she cried the tears ran down her back,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She never could hold the love of man
'Cause she took her baths in a talcum can,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She had four chins, her knees would knock,
and her face would stop a cuckoo clock,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could beg a franc, a drink, a meal,
but it wasn't because of sex appeal,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
She could guzzle a barrel of sour wine,
and eat a hog without peeling the rind,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war, Parley-voo.
The MPS think they won the war,
standing guard at the café door,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake, Parley-voo.
The officers get the pie and cake,
and all we get is the bellyache,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
The sergeant ought to take a bath, Parley-voo.
If he changes his underwear
the frogs will give him the Croix-de-Guerre,
Hinky-dinky, parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the gas and shells, Parley-voo.
You might forget the groans and yells
but you'll never forget the Mademoiselles,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Parley-voo?
Just blow your nose, and dry your tears,
we’ll all be back in a few short years,
Hinky, dinky, parley-voo.
Stephanie knew exactly what she was doing when she took out
the needle. No one would be in to check on her for at least four hours. She
also knew that she was allergic to opium and how much to inject into her
fragile veins. It was all too much and she couldn’t take things any longer. She
jabbed the needle into her upper arm and squeezed.
“Instead of taking lives, I had the chance to give life. I not only could have had a family, but I also had the ability to give life. Stephanie didn’t seem to get any of this. Being a nurse helped, I suppose, but she denied herself the full experience of being a woman. She could have created a family for herself but she would not have a man as an intimate figure in her life. That was another wasted life, I think.”
“Instead of taking lives, I had the chance to give life. I not only could have had a family, but I also had the ability to give life. Stephanie didn’t seem to get any of this. Being a nurse helped, I suppose, but she denied herself the full experience of being a woman. She could have created a family for herself but she would not have a man as an intimate figure in her life. That was another wasted life, I think.”
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