father - home

"You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that travels by night, nor the poison that destroys at noon. Though a thousand fall on your left, and ten thousand fall on your right, But this plague shall not come near you." (Note: "Bible? Psalm 91")

Throughout the night, from late night to dawn; I sit, kneel, or linger; beside the bed, in front of the window; or close my eyes, or watch, or look up; in light sleep, disturbed by nightmares, breathless; among dark clouds, The full moon comes and goes, sometimes dark and sometimes bright.I repeated the same sentence silently over and over again, praying ten times, twenty times, a hundred times, waiting—"You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the flight of the night or a poisonous disease that wipes out people at noon. Though a thousand people fall on your left and ten thousand fall on your right, this plague will not come near you."

Christmas, after all, is Christmas: the prisoners' eyebrows and eyes are relaxed, and there is a little breath of life on their faces; the guards are not so fierce, and they avoid punishing anyone on this day; work ends two hours earlier in the afternoon, which is considered a holiday surprise.I have a feeling of flying through the clouds all day long, until I reluctantly leave the laboratory at dinner, still immersed in tenderness and sweetness.

Today, the battalion commander, Captain Alek Piolkowski, invited all the officers to dinner, and I had to go.

The restaurant is decorated in a festive atmosphere.Colorful paper tapes were hung on the roof, dotted with balloons, and the dining table was rearranged and connected into a big "T", covered with white tablecloths and many candles. One side of the "T" table should be the rostrum. The battalion commander, Captain Alec Piolkovsky, sat in the middle, and the six lieutenants were supposed to be with us.Behind it hangs a huge swastika flag, flanked by rows of smaller ones.The swastika flag is brightly colored and the pattern is very decorative, but hanging here is too eye-catching and nondescript.If it weren't for the huge Christmas tree in the corner, people would have thought it was a meeting, not a Christmas dinner.

Ernst was not there when I arrived, and neither was a lieutenant.

I came up to Captain Piolkovsky, stood at attention and saluted. "Merry Christmas! Sir!"

The captain greeted me kindly. "Ah, Lieutenant von Meissenbach, you are back so soon, how are your parents?"

"Thank you! Sir, everything is fine." I sat down next to the captain.

This is a courtesy, all those who have gone out on Christmas leave must return to camp before seven o'clock this evening, and it is almost eight o'clock now.However, these courtesies cannot be completely regarded as hypocrisy. They are the lubricant of human relationships, not to mention that in many cases, the speaker is sincere.Because of my special status, the captain was indeed very laissez-faire with me.If I really didn't come back on time, he wouldn't hold me accountable.

The officers arrived one after another, and it would be eight o'clock soon. Ernst hadn't come yet, so I was secretly anxious.

Almost stepping on the second hand, Ernst was the last to run into the restaurant.Captain Piolkovsky was also standing up at this moment.

"Sorry, sir, for the delay." Ernst saluted Captain Piolkovsky.

The captain raised his hand casually, and said gently: "It's okay, Ernst, today is the holiday, so there is no need to be too strict. It's just that Lieutenant Von Meissenbach seems to be waiting in a hurry."

Ernst glanced at me as he sat down.That look... I muttered to myself, he seemed to have something to say.But at this time, the captain had already started to speak, and we had to sit upright, even if we were next to each other, we couldn't whisper to each other.

I was thinking about things, and I didn't catch what the captain said at all. It was nothing more than greetings, encouragement, and Merry Christmas.Then, with a neat "wow!" sound, I also jumped up reflexively, "snap!" I stamped my heels and swung my right arm, "Hi! Hitler!" The shout was deafening, and the balloon on the roof I was so shocked that the branches and leaves of the Christmas tree trembled.

The moment he sat down, Ernst saw the opportunity and whispered to me: "Schenk is back."

I was surprised!I knew Schenk was coming back, but I didn't know it was today.Why is Ernst so nervous?Could it be... that's right, since Shen Ke has come back, he should come to the dinner party, what about others?

"He knows where..."

"I told him," interrupted Ernst, "he said he'd be right here."

Oh, I nod.Shen Ke probably wouldn't trouble Zhao as soon as he came back. How could he miss such a dinner party?

The dishes began to be served, cabbage soup, steamed fresh salmon, roast pork... I ate very little, and kept my eyes on the door.

Why not come?I've never looked forward to seeing Shenk more than I do now.I was apprehensive, fidgeting, and unconsciously put down the knife and fork in my hand.

"What are you doing?" Ernst lost no time in handing me the champagne glass.

"No! I have to go and see."

I wanted to stand up, but Ernst immediately held me down and growled, "You're crazy!"

Yes, the captain is starting to toast, and it is absolutely impossible to leave now.I swallowed, forced myself to calm down, nodded to Ernst, and took the goblet.

I was stabbed in the lower back, and when I turned around, the captain was already standing behind me with a smile on my face, so I quickly stood up.The dining room was so noisy that my head was buzzing and I couldn't hear what the captain was saying.That is, a toast, nothing special.I want to smile, but I can't control the muscles on my face, that expression must be... staring, I can't see anything except the captain's smiling, sharp blue eyes like a sword, clink glasses mechanically, tilt my neck, and do it And clean, champagne into the throat, swallowed whole, can not taste any taste.

The captain continued to toast, Ernstella and I sat down, the atmosphere in the restaurant became lively, and the gramophone played Strauss' waltz, march and brisk toast songs.Someone sang along.

You, you are in my heart,

You, you are in my soul...

The captain had already walked to the vertical end of the "T"-shaped table. A group of very young junior officers, with rosy faces and golden hair, champagne swept away their shyness. Together with them, the captain toasted and sang:

You, what misfortune you have brought me,

You don't know that I have a deep love for you.

Yeah yeah,

Yeah yeah!

You don't know that I have a deep love for you.

"No!" I stood up abruptly, "Please ask me for a vacation!"

Ernst grabbed me in panic, "What should I say?"

"Anything!" I shook off Ernst and rushed out the door recklessly.