The red Nebraska sun had dipped down to kiss the tops of the corn stalk sentinels, silhouetting them against the burnt orange sky as they marched off to the horizon. Howard slowly meandered back to the farm house, a rivulet of sweat slipped down his neck under the collar of his work shirt and his muscles ached from a long day of working the fields with his brother. As he neared the rickety old porch he spotted his sister bent over a bucket shucking fresh picked ears of corn. A soft breeze floated past, carrying the sound of Lorna Belle’s gentle voice.
“You are my sunshine…”
Lorna Belle looked up at the sound of his voice, a radiant smile outshining the setting sun. “Howard! You’re back just in time to help me.” She patted the wooden step twice in invitation for him to sit.
Though his muscles cried for a break and the skin on his fingers stung with the fury of hundreds of tiny cracks and cuts, Howard graciously obliged his little sister. Together they freed the golden kernels from their rough green robes and continued to sing her favorite song, she in English and he in German. After a time, Lorna Belle paused and looked at her brother with deep consternation.
Young Howard and Lorna Belle
“Hey Howard, how come you decided to learn German? I thought they were our enemies in the Great War and Len says they’re making trouble again in Europe.”
“They were and they are,” Howard nodded, “But as I see it, just ‘cause someone was our enemy once, doesn’t mean they always will be. I’m going to be a chemist one day and there have been a lot of important scientists from Germany. And, if we end up going to war with the Germans again, I figure I’d be better off being able to talk to the people I’m fighting.”
Lorna Belle scrunched her nose the way that made Howard laugh. “I guess that makes sense. But, Howard…” She got a very serious look on her young face, “I sure hope you never have to go to war against the Germans, or anyone else.”
“Why’s that?”
“Don’t worry Lil’ Belle, I’m sure you won’t have to worry about me going off to war anytime soon.”
Lorna Belle began singing again, this time her voice full of sadness that dripped from each melodic word, culminating in the final line, “Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Howard looked over the rows of corn and watched their silhouettes morph in the fading light into crosses and half moons. He looked down at the cornhusk in his hand and realized it had become his crisp military hat. Lorna Belle’s voice faded into a far off memory and he looked down at the stone marker that bore her name.
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