Dawn Redemption

"Huh? Is it raining?"

Fein had things in his mind, and he didn't pay attention to the outside of the window when he left the office after get off work. He didn't realize it until he went downstairs to the gate and was drenched in the rain with a dazed face.

Fortunately, there was still an umbrella in the office, so that he wouldn't be allowed to drench all the way back like this.He quickly went upstairs, took the umbrella from the office and opened it to go home.

The raindrops are falling on the umbrella surface, which is different from the crisp sound of falling on the ground. It is a very dull sound when it hits the umbrella cloth, just like this dull weather, which makes people feel inexplicably gloomy.

The entire dilapidated city was shrouded in lead gray rain and fog. This rain did not wash away the dust after the Berlin disaster as expected, but made the air even more cloudy.And it's getting bigger and bigger, as if everything is going to be mixed in, more disordered and chaotic.Something seems to be brewing in the haze, but no one can see it anyway.

Finn sighed, and moved his gaze away from the edge of the umbrella. He didn't want to look at the hazy city in the rain anymore, so he had to shift his gaze to the road in front of him.Large and large raindrops pooled on the edge of the umbrella and hit the feet, and the splashed small water droplets left water marks on the leather boots.

Fortunately, he was more used to wearing breeches and boots. If he had worn leather shoes and suit trousers in the morning, the trousers would have been soaked.

"Little bastard, be careful!"

"sorry sir!"

Finn heard shouts in the distance, and then the sound of treading water rushed towards him. When he raised his head and had no time to dodge, he saw a small shadow running towards him.

"sorry sir!"

The drenched little guy hurriedly prepared to continue running as if he could only say this sentence. Finn stopped after he stood still and saw the man's side face clearly:

"Leo?"

"Huh?" As expected, the boy froze, turned around and stared at Finn, his eyes were still full of doubts for a moment.He didn't have an umbrella, and it seemed that he had been drenched all the way. Although he was wearing a hat, the non-waterproof cloth hat obviously couldn't protect him from the rain, and the hair leaking from the brim of the hat dripped down and dripped all over his face.

Fein was a little surprised by his strangeness, and moved the umbrella forward to keep him from getting wet: "We met before, forget? That night..."

"Oh oh oh!" Leo quickly beat his palms to show that he remembered, and hurriedly raised his hands to salute, "Long live, Hitler!" Fein was not hit this time, but a lot of water droplets Throwing it in Finn's face.

During this period of time, Leo has changed quite a lot. He feels that his hair has grown a little bit, and his height has also jumped up a bit compared to before. More importantly, compared to the childishness he saw that day, now he still looks like a teenage boy despite his eyebrows and eyes. The appearance, the face has the kind of strength that an adult man would have.

However, this rushing energy has not changed, it is exactly the same as last time.

Finn wiped the water from his face: "Where are you going? Don't you have an umbrella, how about I take you?" "Ah, sir, is it convenient for you?" Leo was a little flustered, and suddenly remembered that he should take off his hat, and put The hat was taken off quickly, and it could be seen that even the hair on the top of his head was soaked.

"Well, I'm off work. Don't worry about catching a cold just because you are in good health." Finn said.He felt that after coming to Berlin, he would only feel relaxed when facing this little boy, without the uncomfortable feeling of being restrained.

"Then thank you." Leo smiled, showing two rows of big white teeth, "My family lives near the Brandenburg Gate, thank you."

Finn shrugged and motioned for him to follow, luckily his umbrella was big enough to cover both of them at the same time.He remembered that when he went to the store to buy an umbrella last time, he picked one in a hurry, and after paying the bill, he realized that he bought a big one, but he was busy doing something at that time, so he didn't change it, and he has been using it until today.

He remembered that he and Noah encountered heavy rain on the road in the suburbs. The awning was broken and there was no umbrella. They held Noah's coat in the pouring rain and waited for the sky to clear.He couldn't believe that it was only a year ago, and it should have been a long time ago when he thought about it.

"Is there anything important?" Finn was afraid of delaying his work, so he tried to speed up his pace as long as Leo could keep up.But it seemed that he was overthinking. Leo was full of energy and could keep up no matter how fast Finn walked.

"Actually, there's nothing particularly important, sir. I just want to go home early and spend more time with my parents, because I'm leaving tomorrow..." Leo scratched his hair and combed the wet hair with his fingers. Kai, "I don't know when I will be able to come back."

Finn looked at Leo whose hair was about to be crumpled into a bird's nest by himself: "My name is Finn Yannick, don't call me sir." Seeing Leo nodded, he was relieved, "You want to leave? where?"

Leo showed a very passionate look, but Fein still saw his covert sigh: "Support the front line! Go up and replenish the armored division."

Fein was shocked: "How old are you? Have you ever been on the battlefield! That's no joke!"

Leo glanced at him, not sure whether he agreed with what Fein said or dismissed it: "I know. But the officer has said that the youth regiment is the reserve force of the regular army. We have learned and mastered it in the youth regiment. Everything that needs to be learned. And now the empire is employing people, and it is time for us to contribute our strength to the country I love!"

If this sentence had been placed several years ago, Fein might have been shocked by this frenzy.

But he wasn't the Finn he was then, either.From the initial surprise to such enthusiasm, to indifference, and finally to complete numbness, just like now.

He also heard Noah say the same thing, remembering that Noah said that no matter what kind of work he wanted to do, he just obeyed the arrangement above and fought for his motherland.

Has come to this point, is it really worth it?

Even a kid like Leo...

If even the children fall under the artillery fire at the forefront of the motherland, where is the hope of this country?

Leo originally wanted to talk to Finn with great interest, but when he looked up, he found that Finn's blue eyes were as deep as a bottomless pool, and his expression was extremely heavy.Leo had to walk with his head down, swallowing his words.

The continuous rain showed no sign of stopping at all, and the Brandenburg Gate in the distance also became blurred in the rain, standing there gloomyly.The Brandenburg Gate, which symbolizes the victory of Prussia, always looked like a triumphant soldier standing upright, but now it looks like a defeated knight walking alone in the rain.Even the goddess statue on the top of the door is no longer as glamorous as it used to be.

"I live here." Leo pointed to the side, and Finn finally recovered from his distraction.He found that once there was no work on his head, he would have such long meditations and then wander, and it became more and more frequent.

Fein followed Leo's instructions and sent him to the door of his house. It was a very delicate small building, which was different from Fein's imagination. He felt that Leo's family situation was much better than he thought before. If it wasn't for compulsory enlistment, Maybe I will study hard and grow up.

But at this time, how many children still have the opportunity to study seriously?

Leo bowed to him mischievously: "This is it!"

"Go in quickly and spend good time with your family." Finn sent him to the dry steps in front of the door, and walked down by himself when he saw Leo standing in a place where the rain could not reach him.

Leo waved his hand: "Thank you, Mr. Yannick! May you be happy!"

Finn smiled wryly, and turned his head: "That's unnecessary. It's you, don't underestimate the battlefield, it's completely different from the drill. When necessary, remember to protect yourself."

"Okay! I will work hard!" Leo smiled happily.Finn was still not at ease, but he couldn't do anything more, and he himself was equally small.

He had been standing under the steps with an umbrella, listening to the crackling of the raindrops, and seeing Leo walk in the door and making the sound of closing the door, he turned around and returned with peace of mind.He walked far less hastily than before, under the protection of an umbrella, it was like walking in the rain, and his mood was far less leisurely than his pace.

Those who were unlucky and didn't have an umbrella ran in the rain, using books, briefcases and other items to keep out the rain.Finn walked among them, feeling pity and having no time to care, but to keep going his own way.

He walked back down Wilhelmstrasse, the most politically charged street in the entire German Empire, which made Fern feel very uncomfortable.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Propaganda, the Ministry of Finance... and the balcony of the Prime Minister's Office... Thinking of the person who once stood on it, raised his arms and looked down at the crowd passing by below, Fein felt inexplicable about that empty balcony Feeling disgusted, walked past there quickly.

As if destined, all the time points and events seem to have been fixed. Finn is like a puppet manipulated on the stage. into a complete line.

If he hadn't forgotten to take his umbrella, if he hadn't sent Leo home, if he hadn't slowed down and walked back slowly, if he hadn't chosen this path, wouldn't it have happened according to the original story line?

But he did, so it happened.

Finn passed the Prince Albrecht Street, and saw the entrance of the security department from a distance, saw the place where he worked every day, and slowly stopped in his footsteps, standing still.

The hand he was holding the umbrella almost lost his strength and couldn't hold the handle of the umbrella.

Finn couldn't think anymore.It was as if his soul had died at this moment.

Behind that car, the man who came down the steps, his side face traced by firm lines, he absolutely could not have mistaken it.

Such a long time, such a far space, seemed to shrink at this moment, and finally exploded suddenly due to this drastic change, turning into falling ashes.

He froze in place, at the end of time, at the end of the road.He gently traced the name with his lips, his voice trembling, because even he himself couldn't believe it.

"Noah..."

But tens of meters away, the person whose name was called could not hear it.

Finn even lost the ability to lift his feet and take a step, and could only stand in place like an ancient stone statue.

Watching Noah and the people around him salute, he didn't even notice that he was standing at the end of the long street.

Watching the driver help him open the car door, Finn couldn't recognize if that person was Florian who had been helping Noah drive.The sound of the car door closing was clearer and more practical than his vague call just now.

The car started roaring, and it wasn't until this time that Finn was awakened by the noise and thought of chasing after it.

He didn't want to be like this. After receiving a call from Noah inexplicably for several days, he couldn't even say a word, and watched him leave without even seeing him face-to-face.

He didn't want even a rare reunion to be so tragic and dramatic.

He hesitated a little in the first few steps, and then he got up quickly, turned into a trot, then turned into a big-stride run, chasing the car heading into the distance.

Even if there were people watching in confusion, even if the water splashed high when he stepped on it, even if the soles of his feet hurt from running in heavy riding boots so that every step was painful, he didn't want to stop.

Why can't he be more selfish?Why should he keep restraining himself? !

He still wanted to shout his name hoarsely, to let Noah know that he was behind him, but he still only released the shout in his heart.

If you can't catch up again, if you wait for the speed of the car to increase, you will have no chance.

Seeing it, the car drove through the intersection and turned to another street, which was blocked from sight by the building.

There are many things I want to tell him.

There are still many questions I want to ask him.

Finn couldn't feel the exhaustion of his energy, he just chased after him crazily.He ran too fast, and the wind that hit him pushed the umbrella back violently, and the heavy rain fell on his face and hair.The wind blew his hair completely messy, and the eyes were so uncomfortable that he almost shed tears, but he still opened his eyes stubbornly.

The umbrella that was blown to the back blocked the wind, creating huge resistance and dragging him backwards. He simply let go of his hand, letting the black umbrella sway backwards for a short distance like a bird falling in a strong wind, and then Weakly fell to the ground.

With nothing to stop him, the rain fell on him, quickly wetting his hair and dyeing his uniform a darker color.A thin stream of water dripped from the corner of the clothes and fell to the ground.

Finn ran across the corner, the black car continued to accelerate, and the distance between them was stretched farther and farther.At the same time, the tearing pain reappeared in Finn's heart.It was as if his chest had been torn in half, his flesh and blood were bloody, and he couldn't wish for death but could only endure such pain.

The whole body has been soaked by the rain, and the body has become heavier.

Water flowed into the eyes, I don't know if it was rain or something else.There is only a hazy piece of the world in front of me, and the only thing that can be seen clearly is the car that is getting smaller and smaller in the field of vision, and I don't know where it is going.

"Noah!—" He couldn't bear it anymore and shouted.He took another deep breath and managed to maintain his running speed, but no matter how manpower was, it was impossible to wait until the machine was running.

His hands stretched forward, though he couldn't catch anything.

"Noah! Noah!!"

The cold wind poured into his throat, it felt like swallowing a mouthful of ice scum, but Finn still endured the pain and screamed stubbornly.

Why arrange an encounter, why let this happen if you have to miss it!

He didn't even have the language to organize a meeting with Noah.Perhaps in his subconscious mind, he had already anticipated such an ending.

So, when he saw that the car had picked up speed and was driving towards the end of the street, it had already stopped.

His figure is getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror on the side of the car, but he doesn't know if he can attract the attention of the people in the car.When he was almost like a speck of dust stuck to the mirror and could be ignored logically, the car completely disappeared from his field of vision.

But his hand was still stretched forward in a daze.This scene seemed familiar, and he thought vaguely that he met Noah in the dream that day, and he did the same after waking up, stretching his hand towards the front where nothing existed.

He would rather that everything that happened now was also a dream.He would rather the rain could wake him up now.

Because if that was the case, his heart would never be throbbing like it is now.

If that was the case, he wouldn't be like he is now, and he would rather never know Noah in his life.

He stood in the middle of the road and slowly lowered his head.The rain dripped from his hair, chin and fingertips, like a stone statue in a dark place, damp and covered with moss all the year round.Passers-by walking around might give him a puzzled look, but quicken their pace because they are anxious to go to a place where they can shelter from the rain.

Just like that, Fern stood in the torrential rain.He has never been so embarrassed, and he doesn't care about his embarrassed appearance.

"Noah..." Finn raised his face, facing the gray sky.

His eyes were as hollow as dusty glass balls, losing the last gleam they should have.The eye sockets are like cups filled with water.

The rain splashed wantonly on his face, and no matter how much it dripped into his eyes, more water trickled down from the corners of them.Anyway, no one would care if it was rain or something else.