greenery

1946, spring.

Justin was squatting in the fescue lawn in Lou Saint-Jean-de-Blay, France, holding the wild weeds with his gloved hands and holding a sickle in the other, cutting them down by the roots and throwing them into the side grass. Rattan basket.

The sun is dazzling, but there is no heat, and it is slightly warm on the back. Across the slow hill, there are stretches of tall white poplars growing and stacking on top of each other. They have been sitting like this since childhood. On the land of Ning, the crown is wide and the leaves are luxuriant, and the screen is vast.

When resting, Justin took off his gloves and sat on the slope, watching the gray-white bark vegetation swaying slightly in the breeze.

In the end, Justin chose to leave Germany. It was the eve of the outbreak of the Great War, and the world situation was in jeopardy. The Nazi party, which was in power for a while, formulated discriminatory tax policies for foreign-funded enterprises, and the corresponding regulatory measures were increasingly stringent.

Knowing the news of Wolfgang's death, Justin was completely silent, and he didn't have the slightest nostalgia after dealing with the matter. He withdrew the capital and sold the factory to a German businessman.

After returning to Orleans for a few years, the forces of German militarism rose and invaded other countries one after another. France also became the target of encroachment. His motherland was ruthlessly trampled by the German army. The Vichy puppet regime was established immediately, and the French had no right to speak.

Politics is in shambles, the economy is in disarray, luxuries such as pianos are out of the market, and factories are closed indefinitely.The world was in turmoil, and Justin felt tired. He didn't want to join the army to become a pawn of fascists, and he had no interest in the underground resistance organization. He chose to return to the countryside of Lou Saint-Jean-des-Blay, his hometown where he was born.

This stay lasted for five years, bathed in the tranquil and splendid mountains, Justin's temperament became more and more calm. The violin played the piano and danced happily. Justin just sat on the sofa sullenly, sipping wine one after another, seemingly drunk.It wasn't until his niece ran over to hold his index finger that he staggered into the dance floor, circling at the little girl's pace.

In the eyes of relatives, after returning from Hamburg, Justin seemed to be a different person, and he lost interest in many things. Justin's time seemed to be devoted to the land he designed and reclaimed on the back slope of the manor castle. On the golf ground, playing, weeding, clearing insects, and trimming the lawn are boring but true portrayals of him over the years.

Justin took out a soft pack of cigarettes, knocked out one, and soon the smoke burned out, twisted it on the bare stone, and then lit another one.

France has entered a period of post-war repairs. His parents asked Justin about his plans for the future. Justin replied that he might go to Germany when the situation stabilized. His mother was confused. Germany was defeated and occupied by multinational partitions. This is not true. Good for business, Justin said no, he was not doing business.

When dealing with Wolfgang's estate that year, Justin met with Wolfgang's parents. After assisting with the inheritance procedures, Justin accompanied the two old people back to their hometown, and thus saw Wolfgang's young child. He read through the thick diary in the house where he spent more than ten years when he was a child to a young man. The immature Wolfgang seemed to be lying obediently beside him, accompanying him to count the past events, and smiling at him from time to time. .

Everything seems within reach.

It's a pity that the world is unpredictable, and the two of them went on different paths too early. Fate made them meet and fall in love, but they didn't give them time to love each other.

How he wanted to hug Wolfgang, deeply, and tell him again that he loved him.

Justin took the diary and promised before leaving that he would visit the two old people again.

The haze of war has dissipated, and it is time to fulfill the contract.

Halfway through the train, a mother and daughter came up and settled the little girl. The woman struggled to lift the bag. Wolfgang got up to help and put the bag on the luggage rack.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The woman was slightly startled. The blond man in front of her didn't speak French well. She vaguely sensed that Wolfgang was a German, so she subconsciously hugged her daughter tightly.

Wolfgang just smiled, and he didn't care. The moment he flew to France, he felt the country's rejection of Germans. When passing through the border, the customs inspected his tourist visa and frowned for a long time, without hiding the suspicion in his eyes and disgust.

After sitting back in his seat, the train whistled and slowly drove out of the platform. Wolfgang took out a yellowed envelope from the pocket of his coat. The mailer's name and address were written in smooth pen writing on the page.

After the amount of power passed, Wolfgang did not reply to the letter. He burned all the letter paper, leaving only the envelope cover.Wolfgang had long been familiar with the foreign address on the cover page, but he still looked at it carefully, and the corners of his mouth curved gently.

The young girl, seven or eight years old, saw the good-looking uncle who was sitting across from her and smiled curiously. She approached curiously, looked at Wolfgang with round black eyes, and then looked at the old paper in his hand.

"what is this?"

"Envelopes."

Wolfgang turned it over and satisfied the little girl's curiosity.

"It looks so shabby, like grandma's apron."

"Erina! I'm so sorry, this child is so rude."

The woman apologized, glanced at the ink blot briefly, and was attracted by the date in the corner.

"1934? Is it a letter from more than ten years ago?"

Wolfgang nodded.

Looking at the address again, the woman asked, "Did you come to France to meet the sender of this letter?"

Wolfgang touched the string of signatures and said: "Well, an old man. The situation was turbulent, and we had to separate. After the war, I have been looking for opportunities to come to France."

There was a streamer in the strange man's eyes at this time, and there may be many stories hidden in it.

Separation, missing, waiting, sticking to...

The woman doesn't know, but the former enemy German must have the same consensus as her.

"Peace is nice, isn't it?"

The woman caressed her daughter's braid and said, "Especially for this child, peace is the most important thing."

After passing through the tunnel, there are patches of sycamore forests passing by outside the car window, which is beautiful and peaceful.

According to the court verdict, the sentence was as long as five years. In the second month of facing the quarry, Wolfgang knew that he would not be able to survive the five years, and despair followed him like a shadow.Fortunately, things took a turn for the better. Uncle Leo learned that Wolfgang would come to Abramlotz to take shelter from the wind. He was suspicious after a long time. After investigation, he found out that Wolfgang had been arrested and imprisoned. He bribed the concentration camp doctor and pretended to be After dying of illness, he brought Wolfgang all the way back to the manor.

At that time, Wolfgang's physical condition was already very bad, with multiple organ failures. In his memory, he was hiding in the basement of the winery castle, surrounded by the smell of barreled red wine with a special smell. He could only eat liquid food. If something went wrong, he would withdraw Su vomited bile all night, and the scorching heat in his stomach devoured his flesh and bone marrow. For many days and nights, Wolfgang huddled at the foot of the wall, his clothes drenched in sweat.

According to the official records, Wolfgang is already a dead person. When his condition gradually improves, he still has to go into hiding.Until the nightmare of the World War reappeared, a young man named Simon, blond and blue-eyed, was originally the son of a manor farmhand. He was wounded on the battlefield and returned to the manor to recuperate.Simon's leg injury recurred from time to time, and he died in the torrential rain overnight.Since then, Wolfgang has carried on the name and identity of Simon.

The two were similar in appearance, and after a little disguise, Wolfgang regained his freedom to a certain extent. He left the manor and returned to Zili, where he had been away for many years.Cousin Leo once told Wolfgang's parents that Wolfgang is hiding in Abramlotz, everything is fine, there is no need to worry, the parents were dubious until they saw it with their own eyes.

My mother mentioned a person who received an obituary that year. A French man assisted them in the inheritance procedures and told the whole story. The man looked depressed, but he did his best to deal with Wolfgang's funeral. With him, The two old people felt a lot of comfort.When the man proposed to take away Wolfgang's diary, the mother couldn't help asking about his relationship with Wolfgang.

The man replied that they were lovers.

Memories flooded in, and many emotions arose at once.

Wolfgang smiled and shook his head, this guy was going to miss him for the rest of his life.

And why doesn't Wolfgang miss Justin? For so many years, he has always had a regret in his heart. After the drunken kiss that night, Wolfgang knew that he had guessed correctly all along. Sting has him in his heart, and they are in love.

Wolfgang went to Hamburg and wandered around Justin's mansion, factory and other conceivable places. Seeing unfamiliar faces coming in and out, he guessed that Justin probably left when the war started.

In ten years, the huge hamburger has become far away.Passing by the Winfeetham Dorsett Hotel by chance, seeing that the lights inside were much dimmed, an inconspicuous memory flashed in Wolfgang's mind.During his sentence in the concentration camp, Franz asked him about Mrs. Fred, and he wondered why the two knew each other, but under the circumstances at that time, he could not allow him to think too much.

Wolfgang walked into the hotel and met Mrs. Fred. From this, he learned that from 1934 to 1935, Justin bribed the Gestapo several times in order to save him. After learning of the obituary, Justin was disheartened. He sold his assets and left Germany.

After listening, Wolfgang was full of thoughts about how sad Justin would be when the bad news came, much to his chagrin.

Wolfgang had the idea of ​​going to France.

Mrs. Fred said the timing was bad.At that time, the German army was defeated on the European battlefield, retreating steadily, the Allied offensive continued unabated, France was uprising everywhere, and the identity of the Germans was too sensitive, and reckless entry might endanger their lives.

Wait, the war will end one day.

It's just that no one can tell the time.

Later, the French resistance movement won, the Vichy regime collapsed, part of the German army was captured, and part of it was driven out of France. Wolfgang had no chance to go to France, but he still chose to stay in Hamburg, with his heart on the other side, as if Only here, the closest to Justin.

Immediately, the city of Hamburg was hit by an air raid. While sleeping soundly at night, there were explosions everywhere. The bombers dropped dense bombs, turning the city into a sea of ​​flames. Wolfgang, along with the chaotic crowd, hid in an air-raid shelter with thin air.

It rained in the middle of the night, the Allied forces withdrew, and the air-raid shelter was flooded. At dawn, Wolfgang walked out wet, and the city of Hamburg changed. The rain extinguished the flames, revealing the abrupt ruins. He sat beside the ruins of the harbor , the sea breeze passing by his side was cool, and the drizzle hit his face, looking at the vast coastline as far as he could see, thinking about his untouchable lover in the country on the other side.

Justin.

Muttering this name, the eye sockets were blown hot.

"Good luck."

After arriving at the destination, the woman took the little girl's hand and bid farewell to Wolfgang.

The closer the train got to the terminal, the more empty the compartment was, with only a few scattered passengers left around. Wolfgang leaned closer to the window, and there were still boundless sycamore forests on both sides of the railroad track. He nervously held his hands.

In the past 12 years, there have been many variables. It is hard to say that Justin is married and has a family.If it is true, Wolfgang will not complain or regret. The important thing is that he finally waited until the day when the war ended. He will tell him in front of Justin that he is still alive, and thank him for what he has done for him. , did so much...

Stepping off the carriage, Wolfgang lifted the lever, and on the other side of the platform, Justin leaned on the stone pillar and stroked the flint.

The flames ignited, but the smoke between the lips loosened.

Separated by two narrow parallel railway tracks, the two stood there, staring blankly at each other.

Looking at it, tears welled up in my eyes.