Monday, September 16, 2013

A/U

I CANNOT BELIEVE I ACTUALLY WROTE A "GERMAN" STORY LOL
Granted, this was back when i was still in high school.
Even if this is completely taken out of context, and the German phrases used in this piece of work are not accurate and... GOD, but I wish I could write again.
I used to always steal Final Fantasy characters to write about, huh?
Why am I suddenly feeling like Cloud--err, Kraut, who lost his best friend?
Probably, I really am that way...





Under the heat of the summer sun, the dark-haired boy brushed dirt off the tombstone. Sadness reflected in his deep blue eyes as he read and re-read fading words etched onto the granite.  

Zach Gerecht - a beloved son, a brave soldier, a best friend.  

Two years had passed, but Kraut Berlin remembered his friend as if it had been only yesterday. Kind eyes, a gentle smile. Zach had always been laidback. Caring. Quick to spring to the defense of others. 
             
Sighing, the soldier sat down next to his old friend’s grave. It was quiet and peaceful, one of the reasons he liked visiting the cemetery on weekdays. Hardly anyone visited then. On a regular weekend the graveyard would be filled with muffled sobs, sad children and grieving families. Today, on a Monday, it was quiet and peaceful. Just his best friend, himself, and the faint whisper of wind on the treetops.

Kraut looked at the sky. It was clear and blue, the same as it had been on that day. Maybe it meant something. Kraut was certain Zach was in heaven as a schutzengel, watching over many loved ones. It was this belief that kept the grief at bay, kept it from consuming him, from destroying him completely.

“I’m a soldier now, Zach.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m going to fulfill the dreams we had. I’m going to live for the both of us. I promise.”

He wished he had thought to bring flowers, but there was always next time for that.

After a long moment of silence, he got up. There wasn’t much left to say; Kraut wasn’t a man of many words to begin with.

He started down the walkway with a heavy heart.

Near the exit gate, he saw the slender form of a girl several graves away. Her hair feathered out past her shoulders, down to her back. She was kneeling over the small grave of a child, where a plate of little cakes sat neatly on the footstone. He thought she was a relative come to pay respects. That opinion quickly changed as he watched her pick the plate up with dainty fingers, shamelessly cramming pieces of the offering into her mouth.

The thought that it could have been Zach’s grave made Kraut’s hair stand on end. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The girl looked up. She chewed slowly and deliberately, allowing herself time to give who had spoken a thorough inspection. Finally, she swallowed with a lick of her lips and smiled.

Hallo, hübscher. What does it look like?” She tilted the plate and winked. “I’m having a little snack.”

“You have no right eating that,” Kraut said stiffly. “They were left for someone dear.”

“Who’s going to miss them?” the girl wanted to know. “But more importantly…” 

She sprang to her feet. “Who’s going to stop me?” 

The girl stuffed the rest of the cakes into her mouth and took off with a laugh, clutching the plate as she ran.

“Stop, thief!”

“I’ve been called worse than that!” She giggled back at him. “Try harder!”

Kraut hesitated before hastily following suit, trailing closely behind her. He’d never seen a female cover so much ground in such a short time. Many recruits couldn’t move at that speed yet. She darted nimbly between shrubs and trees, maneuvering through the maze of graves like a fox.  

Drawing back on training drills, he broke into a run and slammed against her before she could get too far. That was usually the best tactic, engaging the target immediately. Blitzkrieg.

“Omph!”

The plate went flying. The pair skidded across the grass, a messy tangle of limbs and short breaths.

Dazed, the girl shook her head and found herself pinned to the ground.

“You must be in the military,” she mused, “otherwise you never would have caught me.”

He remained silent. She stared back indignantly.

“What happens now?”

“You return the cakes you stole.”

“I already ate them, remember?” She suddenly beamed at him. “But if you really want some…”

She jerked up and kissed him, catching him by surprise. His grip on her shoulders slackened. That was all she needed. 

She scrambled out of his hold and sprinted away.

Tschüss, hübscher!” She called back to him as she scaled up over the cemetery fence. “See ya, handsome!”

He watched her go, breath caught up in his chest.

…Scheisse.  

. . .

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for almost an hour.”

Krachtallie crossed her arms at the sight of her friend. The two girls had decided to meet up at the marketplace to catch up on the latest gossip. Smaller towns thrived on it. Not that Krachtallie held much interest in petty rumours; no, it was largely for her friend’s benefit that she even agreed to come.

“Verzeihung! I stopped to play tag with a soldier boy on my way over.”

“Oh, Karelosina…”

“He was handsome, too! Not very bright though.” The girl laughed, wasting no time in linking arms with her companion. They started down the bustling street. “But never mind that! How was your hot date with Brutus last night?”

“We didn’t have a ‘hot date’,” Krachtallie said flatly.

“Well, isn’t that disappointing.” Karelosina patted her friend on the arm dismissively. “Cheer up, darling. The world is filled with Brutuses.”

“Karelosina! Krachtallie!” A young lady tending a jewellery stand called out to them. “Guten tag!”

“Hey!” Karelosina’s eyes lit up. “Got any juicy news for us?”

“Did you hear about the party at the Munich house?”

“Ooh, Nacht Munich? Heisser typ!” Karelosina laughed. “Total hottie.”

“He’s a certified doctor now, you know. Word has it he became a doctor for the sake of his mutti. Mrs. Munich is always sick with something or other, the poor thing,” Jewellery girl sniffed. “It’ll be so much easier for him to take care of her now.”

“Really? What a sweetheart.” Karelosina promptly elbowed Krachtallie. “Maybe you should set your sights on Arzt Munich and forget all about Brutus!”

“She’ll have to get through us first, ja?” Jewellery girl joked.

“Obviously! That’s not even up for question.” Karelosina grinned. “Do you think he’ll be willing to give check-ups for free? Up close and personal check-ups?”

“I wish! Don’t you, Krachtallie?”

The brunette sighed at the question. She didn’t understand everyone’s fascination with the Munich boy. “Not really. Ha-ha.”

“You’re such a killjoy.” Karelosina yawned at Krachtallie’s evident disinterest. “So Monika. When’s this party of his happening?”

“In a couple hours, I think. Why? Planning to check it out?”

“Hell yeah. Talk to you soon. Tschüss!

“I doubt they’ll let us in,” Krachtallie spoke up, as they went on their merry way again. “Those parties always invitation only.”

“Gott, Krachtallie! Have you forgotten who you’re the daughter of? One of the best nurses around! She musthave treated Mrs. Munich before in the past. But you’re right, that alone won’t be enough to get us in—which is why I took the liberty of creating an ingenious plan.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“We’ll head to your place first,” Karelosina continued on excitedly, as if she hadn’t heard anything. “Then, next stop: Munich!”
           
. . .
            Kraut’s mother greeted him warmly the moment he stepped into the house. He found it slightly odd how he seemed to be the only one out of his friends that still received hugs and kisses from his mother, but would never dream of complaining.
            “Welcome home, darling!”
            “Danke, mutter.”
            “Kraut, my boy!” His father entered the foyer as well. A charismatic, respected figure in the world of politics, Kraut’s father appeared stern, but was a compassionate man with a heart of gold. He was more than proud of his son and wasn’t afraid to let everyone know it. “How was your day?”
            “Good.”
            “You have something on your face, honey.” His mother brushed something off his lower lip and inspected it. “It’s a cake crumb! Have you been eating sweets today?”
            Kraut froze on the spot. “No.”
            “Well, whether you have or not, I hope it hasn’t spoilt your appetite for tonight,” his father chortled. “Mrs. Munich has so graciously invited us to their dinner party!”
Kraut knew his parents held the Munich name in high regards. The Munich and Berlin families were two of the oldest—and wealthiest—families in the area. Only a small handful of families held the same influential status and good fortune.
            “You can catch up with Nacht! Oh, you  two were such good friends when you were little,” his mother recalled. “I remember you used to play together for hours at a time!”
            “That was a long time ago,” Kraut said stiffly. “We haven’t spoken in years. He had his medical training, and I—”
“—moved on to become a first class soldier!” his father interrupted, positively bursting with pride. “Oh, my dear, dear boy!”
Kraut braced himself for a potential bear hug out of the blue. It had happened several times before; the most memorable of them being when he had graduated from the academy. That had certainly been hard to explain to his peers. Fortunately, his father managed to compose himself. Kraut relaxed.
“Anyway, get changed and rest up, darling.” His mother shooed him towards the stairs. “Tonight will be simply wunderful!”
As he climbed the staircase up to his room, Kraut could only hope his mother was right. His parents didn’t know it, but differing career goals hadn’t been the only contributing factor to the death of his friendship with Nacht.
He shut the bedroom door behind him and caught sight of the freshly changed bed sheets. His whole room had been tidied while he had been out. Sitting atop his desk was a vase of crisp white flowers.
Kraut picked up the note lying next to it. It bore his mother’s writing. 
Please bring this to Zach the next time you visit. Love mother and father.
He should have been happy, but his stomach dropped instead.
Soon he’d been the one heading into major battles. His elevated rank prolonged that day, as the Fuhrer’s tacticians usually sent waves of grunts in first to exhaust the opposing army. But it would arrive sooner or later.
            It pained him to think of his parents leaving flowers for two.
           

Karelosina had somehow convinced Krachtallie to talk her mother into letting them borrow two nurse’s outfits. They weren’t very flattering—more or less simple white robes—but she had modified them somewhat by pinning up the hems to make them shorter, allowing a glimpse of the completely different outfits worn underneath.
            “Are the garters really necessary?”
            “Hey, don’t go complaining! It was either fishnets or garters, and you chose the garters. Besides, I’ve already put the fishnets on, so it’s too late to switch.”
            “I didn’t want to switch.”
            “Good.” Karelosina pulled up the zippers on her boots. “So you won’t believe the wild things I’ve heard about Nacht. No one dares to accuse him of anything in public, because their family is so influential. I know you hate gossip, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from it, it’s that at least a fraction of it is true.”
“Look, whatever Nacht does is really none of our business. We don’t even know him.”
            “Our aim is to change that.”
            “Your aim is to change that.”
            “Krachtallie.” Karelosina’s tone grew hard. “Lighten up, okay? Let’s just have some fun tonight. God knows we need it. It’s not like we have anywhere else to go.”
            “…Fine.” Krachtallie relented after a long pause. “But only because I’ve always wondered what an underground club was like.”

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