Berlin blood

“Tilike, it’s you,” Hilda said breathlessly. — Of course I am, but who else? True, I am a little crippled and crippled. But the same Tilike who stood in front of you back in 1939 — they looked at each other and couldn’t stop looking. — What’s the plan? — she asked him after a while. “We need to be in Austria, but first we need to cross the border undetected.” And given the fact that I ran away, there may be problems. Hilda pondered the possible paths as she got here. They all required preparation, time that they seemed to have no time at all. — How will we cross the border and the country? “It will take more than one day if you walk,” she asked worriedly, hoping that Thielike still had a plan. “We could take the train, but I don’t want to show up in public again.” There is a place nearby where company cars often stop. We’ll steal one, you’ll get behind the wheel, you’ll say that we’re going to the hospital to treat me. Hilda searched hard for the omission. — What about the pass? I don’t think we’ll get through that easily. — Oh, don’t worry about it, I did everything. All documents. — Okay, let’s go. Will you still be in shape? “Hilda looked at him. — Yes, in Austria I’ll change into civilian clothes when we’re at the border with Italy. Hilda nodded. They moved towards the car, which was parked not far from the border. People were just getting out of it, and as soon as the last one was out of sight, Hilda looked out from the undergrowth, she had to sit down and start the car. The girl did not have enough driving experience, but she concentrated all her strength on remembering how to do it. “On my command,” Thilike whispered to her. — One two Three. Let’s go. They crept up to the car, got into it and began to start it, but the wires did not want to ignite. When they were almost desperate, they gave in, the car started up, and they drove off. Control was difficult for her, Hilda jerked the steering wheel sharply. But even extreme concentration did not eclipse the anxiety. Hilda broke out in a cold sweat: she stole a car, escaped from the hospital and killed her friend. Too many crimes in her twenty-one year life, and too many in one week. — Are you worried? — the man asked, noticing her confusion. “Wouldn’t you be worried?” — she answered nervously. “Stealing a car, running away from work and…” she faltered. — And what? — Thilike was waiting for the continuation. “And killing my friend,” Hilda finished and there was silence. But she was immediately disturbed by laughter and Tilike’s attempts to look at Hilda. — Yes, we are a good couple. “Very, simply lovely,” she said ironically, but more easily. Hilda did not look up from the road as they approached the checkpoint. Both made serious faces. They stood at the end of the small procession, Thielike looked out the window: the border guards did not inspect cars for departure, they only checked documents. Well, if it stays that way, they have no idea what might be in their trunk. It was their turn. Both sighed heavily. — Hello, for what purpose are you crossing the border? — one of the inspectors turned to Hilda. “I…” Hilda hesitated, but pulled herself together. “I need to take the officer to the hospital nearby.” — Do you have documents confirming this? “Yes, of course,” Thilike intervened in the conversation. He handed the previously prepared documents to the border guard, who looked and, not finding anything suspicious, ordered the barrier to be opened. The car drove by and both exhaled, especially Hilda, who until recently did not believe that she would be able to drive using fake documents. “You just…” Hilda laughed as soon as they pulled away a little and steering became easier. The tension disappeared. — Yes, I know, I’m handsome, and we look alike. — Yes, for sure, we are similar. Where have you been all this time? Where did the war take you? — Hilda decided to start a serious conversation. — Many places… In Poland, in France and also in Russia, from there I came with my first wounds: scars on my face and loss of fingers. Then I became an adjutant, quiet work… Then I was sent into battle again, and after that you already know that I finally met you. “I’m sorry that everything turned out this way, I didn’t want you to go to this war,” Hilda admitted. “I would love you even without awards and titles.” I wanted you to be next to me. “Is that why you went into nursing, hoping to meet me?” — Tielike looked thoughtfully. He saw how hard it was for Hilda to talk about this, but he felt that they both needed it. “I thought that I would become closer to you if I also saw the war, but it didn’t work out that way.” — Where were you sent? — To the camp as a nurse. When we were brought there, it was just being completed. I didn’t see enough while working there,” Hilda turned her head a little, she didn’t want to cry in front of Tielike, not now. — I can imagine. And where were you poisoned then? — the man became interested. “I lost my memory there and went with Jacob, the guy who didn’t leave me, to the hospital, where I met you. Hilda kept silent about what life was like with Jacob, depending on a stranger who was also lying. — But how did you remember me? “Your pendant,” she pointed to her neck. “You wanted to give it to me, didn’t you?” Thilike smiled. Here’s how. — Yes it’s true. I wanted to give it to you then, but I didn’t dare, I thought you would be there,” he picked up the pendant with his finger. “This wouldn’t have happened,” the girl straightened her hair. They were silent for a while. Everyone gathered strength to continue this too honest conversation. — Hilda. Forgive me,” Thielike said this absolutely sincerely. — Forgive you? For what? — Hilda asked in surprise, stopping the car. They were in no hurry to get out, sitting in the comfortable silence of the silent car. “I always wanted to protect you, to be a wall… I understood this even before the war, when, sitting in that cafe, we talked about all sorts of nonsense. I went to war thinking that I would become stronger. But now I am deprived of what I had before. I’m helpless. “Tilike…” Hilda searched for words. -You are not helpless. You have become my support, you are mistaken if you think that you are weak, you are not. You are a strong warrior who has endured a lot. I wrote to you all this time, I lived in the memory of our meeting, in the hope of the next one. Tilike, the weak is not the one who cannot protect another physically, but the one who hides behind the backs of the weak. — Is it true? — Tielike could not contain the irony. — Well then you just have to be with me. “True,” Hilda said seriously, looking into his eyes. They moved closer to each other. Thilike rested his shoulder on the seat to keep from falling. Their lips touched in a tender kiss, both wanted to leave the rudeness of the war behind, to give affection, not pain. Then, getting out of the car, they sat on the grass and looked at the stars, discussing the future. They knew that the war was now over for them, and did not talk about it. Both wanted to be in Austria, in a small town, where nothing would remind them of the terrible experience that made them stronger. Both wanted to direct this power somewhere, in a peaceful direction, so as not to harm anyone else. In the meantime, they lay side by side and looked at the stars. *** Austria. January 1944. A soft wind envelops the room. The sun’s rays penetrate into a small room. In the corner of the room there is a bed on which a girl sleeps. She closed her eyes against the bright sun and turned on her other side. On the right, at the table sits a man with scars, but he looks happy. He writes thoughts on a piece of paper, expressing them clearly and clearly. “I never thought that I would sit in an apartment and look at the mountains — they are beautiful and endless. We managed to escape, and our lives turned out quite well. Hilda got a job at a local cafe, and I write short stories and sell them. We live modestly, but we have enough. We have enough to forget about our past, but not to forget about the experience that it gave us. I am happy and feel that my soul is exactly where it needs to be, and with the person I want to be with. I don’t think I will return to Germany, and especially not to Stuttgart, where our love story began. Maybe only after the war. We follow the news, but we never discuss what is happening. We both understand that we escaped in time. Although Germany remains my homeland for me, the state that it now represents does not suit me at all. Well, I hope that everything will change.”