Mr Unknown 1

My English, grammar, punctuation, and sentence construction are bad. Please read on.

Mr. Unknown (Re-written)

By Loony123tunes

My name is George Harrison and what I am about to tell you might alarm a few of you. When I was a toddler, my mother took me to nursing school. I looked at my mother and wondered what was going on. She was talking to another mother. She had with her a little girl at her side. I was asked to look after the little girl in the nursery school. I nodded to my mother and the little girl's mother. We were like a pair of magnets all day long and her name was Mary.

I did not know at the time, but Mary lived ten houses down the street from where I lived. As time passed my mother and Mary's mother took it in turns to take us to school. Our mother became great friends and so did our fathers. I was so young I did not know the meaning of love at first sight.

We played together after school and at weekends we never strayed far from one another as we were growing up. From nursery school to primary school, we were always together. After primary school, Mary went to a girl's school and myself to a boy's school. We walked to school together in the mornings.

From when I was twelve, Tom Jenkins bullied me; he was bigger than me. Mary was to never know.

I only kissed Mary twice a week. It was time for me to kiss my Mary with love. I plucked up the courage and held her and our lips met. We both left school. I went into automotive engineering. Mary wanted to become an Accountant. When I was studying in the first year the engineering technology, I soaked it all up in seconds. It was second nature to me.

When at home and not seeing Mary, I read engineering book after book. When I was at college and asked a question, it was always three years ahead of where we are currently. I sat my first exam and passed first. I was always years ahead of my other classmates. I was so far advanced in mechanics, and electronics that I started to study jet engines.

My father and mother had to drag me away from the books, and we went shooting and fishing at weekends in the summer. Mary and her parents came, and we shared a six-berth log cabin. My father was a good shot and by the time I was eighteen, he gave me his rifle fitted with a scope. He bought a new high-powered rifle for himself. My father's rifle adjusted the scope and zeroed it in to suit me. I had to reset it as I was growing. I went to the TA's. That turned out to be a mistake.

By the time I was twenty, my father gave me his new high-powered rifle. It was for my twenty-first present. Mary and I then became well-qualified, and we were in love. There was only one outcome: to get married. And we did just that. At twenty-one and a half. We went on a two-week honeymoon.

When we returned to our four-bedroom house all our wedding day clothes were there. Mary's mother had put them there. Mary's wedding dress, veil, shoes, underwear, something borrowed and something blue. Next to Mary's clothes were mine, a three-piece suit, shirt, tie, shoes and socks. We looked at our second-hand dressing table from her great aunt. There were Mary's pressed flowers next to my buttonhole flower. Stacked next to it were all our wedding cards, telegrams and all the place name settings. And last of all the bride and groom figures from the top of the cake with our place names on.

My Mary ran to the phone to thank her mother for what she had done. Mary opened up the deepest honeymoon suitcases and emptied them on the floor. The first thing to go in was my wedding clothes. Then my Mary's clothes. Then the cards and the two figures. She packed the pressed flowers in paper bags they were the last to go in.

All the time she was packing the clothes away a tear or two came. When she shut the suitcase, she turned to me saying when we were old and grey. We will look at them and remember our wonderful day. All I could do was hold her tight and kiss her for all my worth.

Twelve months later I was the proud father of twin boys. My Mary had a problem after the boys had been born, she could not have any more children. That was tearing us apart, but life had to go on.

I always wanted to join the army. My father tried to talk me out of it and Mary's father tried to do the same. My mind was made up. I went into the army. My TA file went with me, and I finished basic training.

Because of my Engineering ability. I was going to be transferred to the Engineering section. And they also knew I was a crack shot. I was issued with a sniper's rifle. Then the unforeseeable happened WAR BROKE OUT.

We had orders. I went home for twenty-four hours to see Mary and the two boys before I left. We made love as soon as the boys were asleep. Holding my Mary so tight I kissed the boys and then my lovely Mary. Tears flowed from her eyes. She called out to me please be safe. I turned and looked at her and replied I will.

My transfer papers never turned up. Someone had failed to write out the transfer papers. So, I went to war. I killed twenty. The first and second one I was sick as a dog. It was a matter of kill or be killed. War was dreadful. The things I saw would haunt me for the rest of my life. But they had to be shut out of my mind. Time passed and I sent letters home and I received my letters. Photos of Mary and my boys were next to my heart.

We were in camp and there was a makeshift shower. We took it in turns to take a shower. Then it was my turn. I stripped off and removed my dog tags. Then we were under fire with half a dozen explosions!!!

I woke up in the hospital days later. The Army nurse called for the Army Doctor and he examined me. All I had was a screaming headache.

"Soldier, what is your name," he said to me.

I opened my mouth to speak and gave him my name, rank and number. Nothing came out. He asked me again.

"It's on my dog tags," I said.

I went for where my dog tags should have been round my neck and they were not there.

"Don't worry, Soldier. It will come back to you pretty soon. You have been hit on the head, and you have lost your memory for a while," he said.

In days I was up to my feet the only personal effect I had was a wedding ring. I was married but to who?

I asked about my mates. I was told they were all found dead spread out all over the place. I was the only one they found alive. I was the lucky one. Session after session they tried everything in the book to get my memory back. But it refused to come back. At the top of my bed, it said: "UNKNOWN."

They had to give me a name. I picked up a magazine and looked for a name. So, I called myself Jim Taylor. While I was in the Army Hospital, I fixed all the broken beds that were not working. They knew I had mechanical and electrical skills. From time to time. I would raise my arms holding a rifle. They never gave it a second thought.

At last, I was sent home (back to my country) with my new name Jim Taylor and wearing my wedding ring. The army looked after me and I went back to work fixing cars.

I went to every Army camp in the country at weekends. To find out my true identity. Went into pubs hoping someone would recognize me. The weeks dragged by turning into months and then into years. Although I called myself Jim Taylor, to me, I was still Mr. Unknown. I was married and where was my wife? You might as well know I stared at my ring and cried my eyes out time after time.

The years passed and I was under a lorry fixing the prop shaft. I let go of it, and it hit me on my head. Knocking me out cold. I woke up in a local hospital. I knew it was not an Army hospital. It was late in the day, and night was coming up fast. The nurse told me to lay still, and she went to the doctor.

He came and examined me.

He said to me," How do you feel Mr. Taylor."

I shook my head saying, "My name is George Harrison, not Taylor and what's wrong with me doctor."

"Mr. Taylor, you had an accident while you were fixing a lorry. A prop shaft knocked you out," he said.

"Yes, I remember that I was under a lorry. But my name is George Harrison, not Taylor. I must telephone my wife and she will be worried about me," I said.

"Mr. Taylor, I have to run some tests on you. It seems you have lost your memory and you think you are a Mr. George Harrison," the doctor said.

"Doctor, my name is George Harrison, and I am in the Army," I said.

He looked at me. He was very concerned. Then he went to the medical box and picked something up.

"Doctor, my real name is George Harrison, I can prove it to you."

He could feel the panic in my voice. And he was ready to give me an injection to calm me down.

"Doctor, my wife's name is Mary and our telephone number is. My mother and father's telephone numbers are. And my Mary's mother and father's telephone number is.

Hang in a minute where is my wallet? They handed me my coat, and I pulled out my wallet and a letter. I handed the letter to the doctor saying please read this it is from the Army. The doctor stopped and read the letter. Then he told the nurse to go and call. The head of administration tells them to return to the Hospital immediately.

"Sir I am going to give you an injection and while you are resting, we will send for your wife," the doctor said.

The doctor did not call me Mr. George Harrison or Mr. Jim Taylor, it was now Sir. There was something in the letter about the reason why. I fell asleep after about fifteen minutes.

The following morning when I was awake, the room was full of people. A new nightmare in my life was about to begin. A hospital doctor examined me then I walked in the Army Doctor and high-ranking officer. He examined me. Then they all made a circle. All I wanted to do was get out of bed eat something and get home to my Mary.

The Army Doctor asked for everyone to leave the room except for the Hospital Doctor. The Army Doctor pulled out a file and a high-ranking officer stood there. The high-ranking officer started to ask me a load of questions. The date I joined the Army, where I did my basic training and so on and then my name rack and service number. Every single detail confirmed I was Mr. George Harrison and my next of kin was my Mary.

I had not noticed the Hospital Doctor had his hand behind his back.

"Mr. George Harrison. I have to give you an injection. It has to do with the knock on your head," the doctor said.

In went the needle and the high-ranking officer started to do all the talking. What was in the needle was something to relax me.

"Mr. George Harrison. Please listen to me and try to understand what I have to tell you. I see your transfer papers never turned up. Because someone had failed to write them out. You should have not been in combat seven years ago. In combat, you had a knock on the head and you lost your memory. We always had a feeling that one day your memory would return. That is why we asked you to always carry that letter with you with all the details on it.

Mr. Harrison, you came under fierce fire and you were the only survivor. You were naked and no clothing was found. The medics brought you into the Army Hospital and when you woke up you had lost your memory. We informed all the soldier's families of their deaths in action. But the records show you were a member of the group. Nobody could find your body. Because of the fierce action, it was assumed you had received a direct hit like three others.

The Army had to inform your next of kin. Your wife sent a telegram to inform her that you were missing and killed in action."

I screamed the room down. "No, no, no not my lovely wife thinks I am dead. It's not true I want to see her where she is."

I screamed and screamed the room down. The injection was helping me, but my mind was on Mary and only on her. I wanted to get up and find my wife and put things right.

The Army Doctor went out of the room, and he returned with my father.

"Dad is Mary with you," I screamed out to him.

My father looked sad. I had never seen him look that way before. All he did was hold me tight.

"No son but your mother is here and she wants me to talk to you first."

"Dad, whatever you have to say to me, I want my mother to hear it as well. Is Mary with her?"

My father asked my mother to come in, and Mum held me. The way I remembered the way she used to do it when I was a little boy. Her love was screaming out to me, and she was starting to cry.

"Mum, mum don't cry I am alive where is my Mary."

Mum sat on one side of the bed and Dad on the other side both held my hands. The Hospital Doctor told Mum and Dad. That he had given me an injection to help keep me calm.

Then he said, "We will be outside if you want us."

My father did all the talking. Another nightmare was about to begin. And this is what he told me.

Mary does not live in the house you both lived in. She has moved to the other side of town. We see your boys every other week, and they are the twin of you. They are great kids. Mary moved in with her parents soon after she got the telegram. Saying you were missing and killed in action. She has prayed and prayed for seven empty years that the Army was wrong. This son is going to break your heart. Mary remarried a month ago. The boys needed a father. She was having the age-old problem of money troubles. Mary had to sell the four-bedroom house and move into rental housing. We did all we could, but the boys needed that little extra thing: a father figure. We never accepted that you were dead nor did Mary, but she had to do something for the boy's sake.

I stared at my father and then at my mother she nodded and burst into tears. My head fell into my hands, and I sobbed my heart out. I screamed out for the Army Doctor and high-ranking officer to come back in. They stood at the bottom of the bed looking at me.

I said," The Army has screwed up my life good and proper first of all. The jerk who failed to write out the transfer papers. His officer should have noticed right away that it was the Army's fault. I went into combat. The Army got their reward. I killed twenty. I have lost seven years of my life. You lot should have taken photos of us before we left. That would have helped the Army identify me for sure.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN MY LIFE. IS MY WIFE AND MY TWO BOYS. AND BOTH OUR PARENTS.

MARY THINKS I AM DEAD. AND WHAT ABOUT MY SONS THEY THINK I AM DEAD. BUT I LAY HERE WITH MY LIFE IN PIECES BECAUSE OF THE ARMY MISTAKES. TO HELL WITH THE ARMY."

The Army Doctor and high-ranking officer could not defend the Army, and they knew it. They walked out and left me to deal with the problem. My life was now in shreds, but I wanted to see my Mary and tell her what had gone wrong. A new nightmare was about to begin. And I had no idea how it was going to end.

My father and mother stayed, and we talked about the years before but we always came to my Mary and my two boys. As the day went on the hospital doctor wanted to make sure I was ok before I could go home. That was to be with my parents. When my parents left, I cried myself to sleep. I stayed in the hospital until five pm the following day and my father took me home.

Life was hell all I wanted was to see my Mary. But my parents did not know the address so I had to go to Mary's parents' house to find out. Another nightmare was to come thick and fast. The three of us sat in silence for most of the night. When I spoke, my parents gave me an answer trying not to upset me. I understood why.

The following day the three of us went to Mary's parents' house. They had moved. My mother and father knocked at the door I sat in the car. Mum and Dad went inside and I sat and waited. Then there was a scream from Mary's mother. She had just found out I was alive and sitting in the car. She came out of the house crying her eyes out with joy that I was still alive and well. Mary's father was close behind her. All they wanted to do was hug me to death. The five of us all sat down and they wanted to know what went wrong. All I wanted was nowhere Mary lived.

I said," I want to see Mary and go and see her the right way. And yes, my parents have told me she remarried a month ago."

They were uneasy all the time. But I asked over and over again for Mary's address.

They said to me," Can you please meet Mary in this house first before you see the boys and to meet her husband."

"Yes, can we see her tonight at six, please? I said it as best I could.

Her parents arranged it but did not tell Mary why they wanted her to come to the house that night. I marched up and down the rest of the day thinking what to say to Mary. You think war is hell, but nobody knew what I was going through second by second in my hell. The time drew near. I washed, shaved and put on the best clothes I had. I went to Mary's parent's house alone before six and sat down in the kitchen holding a beer.

I heard a car pull up and the door slammed shut. The memory of Mary's walk was there in a split second. Mary's mother opened the door.

"Mum wants all this about you wanting me here tonight," Mary said.

Mary's voice was pure music to my ears, and a lump was in the back of my throat. Mary sat down on the couch so I could sit next to her. It was facing the kitchen door.

Mary's father spoke to her saying, "Would you like something strong to drink."

"No Dad, what's wrong, are you ill, "Mary said with alarm in her voice.

Her father said," No, but Mary, please prepare for the shock of your life."

"Come on Dad it cannot be all that bad what is it," Mary said to her father.

That was my queue to come in. I opened the door and Mary let out the loudest scream anyone could give out and fainted. I ran to Mary, and her parents did the same. We looked at each other all thinking what went on inside Mary's head. Then at last she came round. She looked at her parents with a shock on her face. Then my Mary turned to me, her eyes opened wide and her mouth did the same.

" Dad gives me that strong drink now," Mary said to her father.

Mary's eyes were now fixed on me. Neither of us knew what to say.

I said," How beautiful you look."

Mary burst into tears. I knew her too well. I sat beside her and held her hand. I wanted to kiss my beautiful-looking wife. She threw her hands around my neck and held me. I held her as tight as I could. We broke and looked at each other as though we had never seen each other before.

Then my Mary spoke to me with her first word. "George."

My name spoken to me by my wife for over seven years brought me to tears. Mary followed suit and we cried together. Mine was pure joy. But Mary had remarried the next nightmare chapter in my life and my Mary's was about to begin. And we had no idea where we were going. I was speaking to her for hours telling Mary everything.

Then the phone rang. It was Mary's husband on the phone asking when she was coming home to him and the boys. Mary's nightmare was there full in the face. Now remarried to her new husband and is still married to me. What a mess.

Mary told her new husband she would ring back in a few minutes. She looked at me and then at her parents Mary's mind was spinning. I knew from what her parents had told me that she still loved me and always will. Mary could not go to her new husband; she knew the pain would kill me. She slumped on the couch and cried. Saying what am I going to do over and over again?

Her father spoke. Saying," Mary you cannot go back to Tom and the boys. You will have to move away from him tonight. You are staying here from now on. I will go and get the boys. Ring Tom back and tell him I am coming over to pick up the boys."

Mary did what her sensible father told her to do; she rang Tom, her new husband. She put the phone down and burst into tears.

"George, what do I have to do? We have to get out of this mess."

"Mary, I have to leave. I don't want to but I have to leave if I see the boys the nightmare will be twice as bad. I will find a lawyer tomorrow, so the legal system can sort this one almighty mess out."