Chapter 3: Met A Lady

Schneider strolled back to his cottage. The town seemed more like a home to him suddenly and he felt that it was a gift that the army gave him. More freedom, relaxing life and now, he made a friend. Arendarski was warm and cheerful, he was just like Schneider’s father besides being his trustworthy friend. Every word he told Schneider was like a constructive advice……

The next morning, Schneider went to the restaurant soon after he had reported to headquarter. He hurriedly walked to the restaurant but this time, the first thing he saw when he entered the restaurant was not Arendarski , nor the tables and chairs……but a lady. A young and simple lady stood in front of his eyes.

He saw nothing interesting at first so he continued to walk to the last dining table he last used. Arendarski did not go to Schneider this time, he asked the lady there to serve him instead. Schneider thought she was just another waitress, so he did what he usually do. Later that day….after he finished his meal, Arendarski came to him with that waitress. “ This is my daughter, Helena, she is a good helper.”

“Yes….I can…see that.” Schneider stammered. Schneider stood rooted to the ground but he managed to walk silently towards his usual seat and sat there. Schneider rested for awhile, then Helena came and served him while he paid the money directly to her…..All of a sudden, the moment Schneider handed the coins to Helena….time slowed down…..A strange feeling got into Schneider’s heart….like he was back to Vienna….back to his beloved mother as a child.

Arendarski went to rest earlier that day. Schneider stayed in the restaurant till evening, he went off with a no expression on his pale face. He did not say anything nor he look at Helena when he left. The next day, Helena and him had their first conversation. They got to know each other better but they always do not have any common topic to talk about.

Chapter 2: In The Restaurant

Walking on the street, Schneider saw a ruined church, a few more similar cottages and huts, a small bread producing factory and lastly, a cozy restaurant located at the southern end of the town…..“nameless, the restaurant seemed” Schneider thought to himself. He strolled in and found himself in an empty middle-aged tavern. He walked slowly to a dining table and sat there motionlessly with his sniper rifle leaning against the back of his chair.

Arif Schneider was staring at nothing but air……He stared for a couple of seconds only but time seemed to have froze for him……All the memories came back, reminding him a place called Vienna, his home……the film strip in his brain was playing in the speed of lightning. “How did I come to this……?” whispered Schneider to himself in a restless tone. Just then, the owner of the restaurant came to him and says “Would you like to order something, sir?” “Yes….can I have a bowl of hot potato soup?” Schneider replied with little feelings, his eyes were still set on the invisible air while his mind was still in his true home.

Vienna, mother, friends……and that wooden door….Schneider could almost feel the handle with his hands. “Excuse me sir, here is your soup” the owner got Schneider’s attention with an old and father-like voice as the bowl of soup was presented in front of the young soldier. “Thank you very much” Schneider thanked the old man while the “overcrowded pearls” in his eyes fell onto the rough surface of the wooden table. The old restaurant owner was surprised. “Oh my……I can’t believe that you actually thanked me” the old man exclaimed. Schneider gave a blank look at first and sighed later because he knew that no German would show their manners towards other races nowadays.

The restaurant keeper was surprised not only because of Schneider has thanked him but was also because Schneider was the “first crying German” he found for the past five years. “Sir, I am Arendarski…. looks like you are new in town….erm…is there any problem that is bothering you?” the owner of the restaurant asked. “Sit down and talk, mister Arendarski.” Schneider asked politely. So, the restaurant’s owner, Arendarski sat opposite Schneider and they started a conversation.

“You can stop calling me sir, call me Arif instead, mister Arendarski?” Schneider told Arendarski. “Well, you should stop calling me mister, will you?” Arendarski joked. There was a sudden silence between the two friends……Both of them stare at each other for quite a moment.

The two friends talked for the entire day as if they were old friends who have not met each other for a very long time.“ Well, it seems pretty late, huh? ” Arendarski smiled. “Yes…I should go.” Schneider replied slowly while he stood up and picked up his rifle. “Still snowing…” Schneider looked out of the window as he thought to himself. “See you tomorrow!” Schneider left after hesitating at the doorstep to bid Arendarski farewell.

Chapter 1 : Here I Am

It is not surprising that most of the people in this world have goals and dreams in life....but how many in this world will sacrifice anything in order to get what they want?......sacrificing everything to succeed is nothing great...but to give up dreams for some things is the greatest decisions a person can make........

It was almost two years since Arif Schneider joined the Wehrmacht(Germany's armed forces) as a replacement after the defeat at Stalingrad in Russia. Luckily, he was not in a combat unit where lots of "shows" of killing and dying being put on every moment....He stayed in a not very well-known place called Katowice which was located at the south-western end of Poland. He joined the army because of his mother's decision....which was to let his only son to gain more experience in life...although it did not seem to be the right time......

After some time of quick basic training, Schneider was sent to a unit guarding areas around Katowice. He was quite unhappy at first because of the unacceptable attitude of the German army towards the Polish people..., soon he was ordered to be separated from his main units...Away from his platoon....he was to go out of the city......to stay in a tiny town in the outskirts of Katowice as a scout where he have to report back to the city's battelion headquarters at least every morning to give relevant information on the things he see through his binoculars. The first day at the town was a busy one....because he must settle his "territory". "Here I am....I cant believe I ended up here......this dark, old and dusty big Polish cottage....." sighed Schneider. It can be easily understood that he has been watched by his commanding officers that he was influencing his buddies with his justified thinking hence, since they were told that the Russians were closing Warsaw, they urgently needing someone to scout...so battelion headquarter chose him, Arif Schneider to go.....because it was a good way to stop his demoralising speech to his fellow Aryans too.

Life became more unstable for Schneider now but at the same time, quite boring though....reporting to the "blutlich schwein" who will be the officer listening to his effortless "chanting" because the Russians were still far from here, there was nothing for him to see hence nothing to say too. That "bloody pig" he was refering to was a podgy man and Schneider just hated to see his face every single morning right after breakfast. Besides all the discontented feelings, he had more freedom now, just too much free time for a man full of ideas so he always walked around the "deserted" town. The town was quite "deserted" because there were only a few families living here but it also made the town looked more peaceful than any of the places in this world now.......

Greetings

Greetings to everyone........This is the start of my imaginary stories........The Hope To See The End..the storyline are all planned by me.....and not copied from anywhere else.....if you find similarities....between mine and other novels or stories........then that is pure coincidence............this blog is linked to my original blog....so feel free to visit my original blog...eutism.blogspot.com..............Thank you....