Flowers, Swords and France

[The author wrote this chapter while listening to Swan Lake, and the effect is good. ]

If it were the same as usual, today Charles would still stay in the study, carefully handling his documents.

Suddenly, there were several knocks on the door.

"Come in."

The footsteps were very light, it should be his sister.

"Fran, what's the matter?" Charles asked without turning his head. "Brother has something to deal with now, I'll help you later."

"I have something important, brother." Fran replied in a low voice, and the voice seemed a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Charles was a little strange.

Suddenly, he found himself hugged by his sister. Feeling the soft touch from behind, Charles couldn't help laughing.

"Fran, what's wrong?"

"Brother, don't get married, okay?" The sister's voice was as thin as a mosquito.

But I don't know how much expectation and anxiety it brought.

Charles' smile slowly solidified.

"You...how did you know?" After a long while, he asked.

"Brother, don't get married, okay?" Fran didn't answer the question, but repeated it again. "Let's live like this forever, okay?"

Charles was silent.

After a long time, he answered. "No, no, Fran."

"Why!" Fran's voice was a little anxious, "What's so good about her, how can she be worthy of marrying you!"

"There is no such thing as worthy or unworthy..." Charles lowered his head. "Anyway, I have decided that I must marry her."

After saying this, he suddenly felt relieved in his heart - the kind of words that had been buried in his heart for a long time, and the feeling of being vented out.

However, even after saying this, he did not look back, perhaps he did not dare to face his sister.

Perhaps, he was afraid that after seeing his sister's face, he would soften his heart again and shake his previous determination again.

Another awkward silence.

"Is it irreversible?" The sister's voice became lower and lower, and the pleading and sadness in it became stronger and stronger.

Under this pleading, Charles suddenly had a flash of impulse and wanted to agree to her.

After a moment, reason returned to his heart.

No, I can't be soft-hearted anymore. A short pain is worse than a long pain.

"It's irreversible." Charles answered with difficulty but firmness. "But don't worry, my brother will never alienate you. I said I'll prepare a dowry of 100 million for you, and it will definitely not be less..."

"clang!"

He suddenly felt a chill coming from his abdomen.

He slowly lowered his head, and then he found that the tip of a hatchet was exposed from his abdomen.

"clang!"

The sharp blade suddenly pulled out of Charles' body, bringing severe pain and taking away a lot of blood.

It hurts so much!

He lay on the floor with his back facing the sky with the knife pulled out.

The face of his sister slowly appeared in his sight.

She was still so beautiful, although her face was stained with blood, and her green eyes were filled with endless black air.

So beautiful...

Charles couldn't help laughing. It was not until this moment that he understood what had happened.

Sure enough, a short pain is worse than a long pain...

"Why!" As the blade pierced into Charles' body again, Fran's questioning also reached his ears.

"Why!"

"Why!"

"Why!"

After repeated questions and stabbings, Charles could no longer tell what pain was, and perhaps he could no longer feel pain.

He had never expected that his life and ideals would suddenly come to an end in this way. Why? He wanted to ask this question himself.

There was no answer, and perhaps there was no answer from the beginning.

What is death? Is it endless darkness or eternal sleep?

I don't know, but the time to know is getting closer and closer.

The girl's tears kept flowing, slowly blending with the blood. "We should have been together forever, you promised me! Why! Why! Brother, why!"

Blood splattered, staining the girl's face, hands, and clothes with red spots.

The girl's sharp and crazy questioning resounded in the study. "It's obvious that only you and I can be together, and it's obvious that you can only be mine... Why... Why!"

Looking at his sister with tears streaming down her face, Charles didn't say anything. There was no panic or hatred in his heart. He just smiled and looked at his sister who kept swinging the knife at him.

Did she die like this?

Well, let it be.

Charles felt that his life was slowly fading away as the blood flowed out.

No, no! There's one more thing!

He remembered something very important, but then he found that he had no strength left.

What should I do? What should I do?

He mustered up his last remaining strength and slightly raised the index finger of his right hand.

One centimeter, one centimeter, his hand became heavier and heavier, and it seemed that he would never reach the end.

However, he finally pointed there.

Great!

It's really great! His heart was filled with joy at this moment.

Then, he looked at his sister again.

Fran, live well, even without your brother's help, you have to live well. He said this with his eyes.

The pain became less and less, and the heartbeat became weaker and weaker. Charles found that a white mist suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, which became thicker and thicker. Gradually, he could not see his sister clearly.

Let it end like this.

He closed his eyes with a smile.

…………………………

The killing was finally over.

Fran, who had exhausted all her strength and stabbed her brother countless times, had already thrown aside the hatchet that had drunk all the blood. She had been squatting in front of her brother's body, burying her head deeply between her legs.

My brother is dead and he has left me forever.

Why...why...why is this happening?

Brother, brother...

She raised her head and looked at the body in the pool of blood again.

Will my brother say goodbye to me forever like this? Is it true that I will never see my brother again?

Why...why is this happening...

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

What should I do, what should I do in the future?

Simply, leave this world with your brother.

The girl's eyes returned to the hatchet on the ground.

Suddenly, she found that her brother's finger was still raised, as if he was pointing somewhere.

She turned her head and followed her line of sight to find it. That's my brother's usual mailbox.

My brother never forgot to point to the mailbox before he died. Why?

With curiosity, she stood up with difficulty, and then moved step by step to the letter box.

Opening the mailbox, she found stacks of carefully wrapped certificates of deposit, bonds, promissory notes, and stocks.

Until the end, my brother was still worried that he would not have a good life in the future.

Tears welled up in her eyes again, obviously she had cried until she couldn't cry anymore.

My brother! Why is this happening!

"Brother, I will live well." The tearful girl murmured to herself. "I will let everyone remember you."

…………………………

port of calais

A girl was carrying an exaggeratedly large suitcase and was moving forward with difficulty.

"Do you need help, miss?" a young man asked in a low voice.

The girl's reaction was beyond the young man's expectation. When she heard the voice next to her, she immediately turned her head and looked over. Her eyes were wary and suspicious.

This girl is so beautiful!

"Miss?" The young man couldn't help but ask again. "Do you need help?"

The girl forced a smile. ""

She pointed to a ship in the distance. "I'm going to America in it."

The young man followed her finger and saw a large ship, a passenger ship that seemed to be about to set sail.

"Are you going alone?" He was a little surprised. After all, going to America alone in this era is not an easy task.

"Yes, I will go alone." The girl nodded, "My family members have all passed away, and I want to go to my relatives..."

There was endless sadness in her eyes, which made the young man's heart tighten.

The young man took the suitcase and ignored the other party's horrified gaze. "Let me carry it for you!"

It's so heavy. What's inside?

"Here are my painting tools and some other souvenirs..." As if aware of the young man's curiosity, the girl said leisurely, "I'm afraid I will never come back."

The young man's heart tightened more and more.

Without saying a word, he lifted the box and walked forward, as if he had endless energy in his body.

When he reached the hanging ladder, he put the box down. Then the girl handed the ticket to the crew. After the crew verified that it was correct, they helped carry the box onto the ship.

On the deck, the girl turned back to the young man and waved.

Inexplicably, the young man felt that there was sadness in the girl's smile.

"This is really a good ship!" Looking at this large passenger ship that has been repainted, with tall masts and full sails, the young man couldn't help but sigh.

The ship gradually sailed away from the port, getting further and further away, until it disappeared.

On the deck, the girl quietly watched the sunset gradually setting on the sea level, and then gently opened the suitcase.

"Brother, let's go to the New World together as a family!"

==========================

August 25, 1944

New World, White House

Secretary of State Hull opened the office door with excitement and shouted excitedly to the middle-aged man sitting behind his desk.

"Mr. President, I just received a telegram that Paris has been liberated! The Nazis are about to be finished!"

The President of the United States gently took the message and read it slowly.

His movements were gentle, his attitude was calm, and he had a kind smile on his face. The wrinkles that gradually appeared and the blond hair that slowly turned to gray could not hide the handsomeness of his youth. However, even the president, who has always been calm, couldn't help but clapped his hands excitedly after reading the telegram.

"Great job, kids!"

"Shouldn't we celebrate?" Mr. Secretary of State made a rare joke.

"Yes, it's worth opening the champagne to celebrate." The president nodded, then pressed the bell and gave instructions to his secretary.

Then he stood up and stretched. "I'm going to have a good sleep tonight."

"It's your power."

Mr. Secretary of State replied with a smile.

The President walked to the window, looked at the sky outside, and then back again. "Yet we can only celebrate for one day, the Germans have not been defeated, and they will not be defeated until every one of his cities has been blown to smithereens."

"We will redouble our efforts." The Secretary of State nodded again, and then he followed the President's line of sight and saw the painting on the wall.

The churning sea, the lonely boat in the storm, and the captain who looks inexplicably similar to the president.

Then, he asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time. "Mr. President, please forgive me for being rude, but who gave you this painting? It is really well painted..."

"It was not given to me by someone else, but was painted by my great-grandmother, and then passed down to me. My great-grandmother had passed away before I was born. According to my father, she always told her sons and grandchildren a story about one of my ancestors. But since she passed away, no one in the family told these stories, after all, it was a long time ago... She also often said "beat the Germans, beat the Germans!" God knows why she hated the Germans so much." The president replied with a smile.

"But everyone says that this painting is well painted." (To be continued.)