I have just returned from a visit back home to my childhood location, I am 57 now but it brought back so many memories of the days of my youth, we lived in a remote part of the country with our nearest neighbour some 25 miles away, my family consisted of Mum, Dad, my older brother and two younger sisters, Jeff my brother and me were almost inseparable when we were young, doing every thing together, he got called up and went off to war in 'Nam, leaving me at a very loose end, he was five years older than me, most of the people I knew found their little sisters annoying but Jeff loved me so much, and included me in all his games, and adventures, I worshipped the ground he walked on.
We received a letter one day from the military telling us that he had been injured and was in hospital, but not much detail, I was grief stricken, he was my soul mate we talked about every thing and shared so many innocent dreams and plans, after about two weeks of not being able to eat or sleep I begged my Dad to let me go to him, but just as I had worn him down another letter came advising us he was being sent home to convalesce, I went with Dad to meet the train it took most of the day to get to the town, Dad booked into a motel so we could return the following day, when Jeff stepped off the train my heart stopped that strapping fit man who walked with a limp looked more like Dad than my wonderful big brother.
The journey home took most of the following day, when we arrived Mum sent Jeff straight to his room and told me to take him some supper, he sat in the bed looking so old and tired that I cried with him for hours, but persuaded him to take the thick broth my Mother had made for him, over the next few weeks I attended him day and night, I even moved a little bed into his room to be there when ever he needed me, I wanted to be as wonderful a sister as he had been brother to me all those years when I was probably an annoying little brat, nothing out of the way of course we were fairly strict Methodists and even though I helped him to wash and dress it was all very proper, I always averted my eyes when he was naked and deliberately didn't do anything that might embarrass him, as the days became months he got stronger and I moved back into my own room, we used to take short walks every day to build up his strength.
He was discharged from the military, so started to help around the farm, Dad wasn't getting any younger and needed more help than I could give him, despite my working full time on the family farm, my eighteenth birthday was one of the biggest parties ever, people came from miles around it was like the summer fair, several of the young men asked me to date them as it was one of the few occasions when we met other people, I took quite a few names and addresses that day, and a lot more kisses, perhaps I would get in touch with them sometime but for now my entire life was getting Jeff back to full health, we walked further each day till at last he could manage the place that was so special to us as kids it was a small wood about two or three acres with the river running through it, we sat on the bank thinking of all the good times we had enjoyed at this spot, he looked at me and said do you still swim in here, I said no not since you left, he said why don't we take a dip now it will refresh me for the walk home, I told him we had no swimming costumes with us, he smiled and said we didn't have any then either, that of course was true we simply went skinny dipping, like most other country folk, well kids at least, he said come on Sis we can soon dry out in the sun, and proceeded to take off his clothes.