I ran through the streets, dimly lit with moonlight and dazzled with petrichor. The cold air rushed through my head, snapping me into reality as I clutched the breadbasket in my arms. The loaf was still fresh, recently baked and causing my stomach to grumble in jealousy and discontent.
"Maria Josepha, you're late," A stern voice calls down the hallway as the door slams on the world outside. My Ma stands tall, hands placed on her hips in an agitated manner. Her face softens as she looks into my eyes. "Sorry, Mami, I had to deliver the newspaper to Herr Muller in town,"
"It's quite alright, quickly, get your coat off before you freeze. Your Schwester*'s sleeping so don't you dare make a racket. You know how hard it is for me to get her to sleep these days," I place the woven basket on the table and shrug off my coat. I let my hair loose - a messy mop of auburn that sticks to my scalp with sweat despite the cool weather that draped the Swiss town in melancholy gloom.
I rest my feet by the fire and flick the tattered yellow pages of my book. "So, how was school?" Mami questioned whilst serving dinner. I had already helped her with the preparation before the news run but hadn't had enough time to sit down and chat about my day. I put down the book and take a forkful of peas. Mami cuts at her bratwurst**. We wince at the noise it makes on the plate.
"It was good," I have not much else to say. I press the button for the radio on but she turns it off as a German starts speaking. "Mami?" "We don't want to listen to that. We'll find out any important information about the war in the paper." I grasp the mug with my gloved hands and sip on my hot chocolate. It burns as it slips down my throat and stains my lips.
Mami is very pretty. Her face was once a blank canvas but is now displayed with wrinkles, though her cascading auburn hair and bright hazel eyes stand out the most. We can't afford much, but she doesn't mind anyway, because she always wears a simple but beautiful dress of the palest blue. She is tall, taller than Anna Margaretha and I combined, but definitely not taller than Papi.
We chat about school and the previous years, when the grass grew tall and green, and when Papi's laughter rung through our ears, and when we used to see Oma and Opa. I go to sleep peacefully, the open window prickling my skin and blowing in the fresh chilled air, dreaming in a distant land soaring above the clouds, the moonlight glowing on my pale skin, my mind free of ghastly thoughts of Papi and Heinrich and the War.
Mami yells for me to awake. I groggily brush my mop of messy auburn hair, wiping my eyes of sleep, slinging my satchel over my shoulder and placing a quick peck on her cheek. I arrive at school in good spirits, the chilly air awakening me on the walk. Kaethe runs up to me.
"Maria Josepha! Have you heard? The market's in town," Her face is litten up like a candle. "But the War?" I frown. "It's still going ahead! It was in the paper. Didn't you hear? Let's just hope it isn't cancelled!" Herr Rohner's voice silences us.
When the bell rings at the end of school, we rush out onto the road, barely taking notice of the cars, running to the towns square. Helen is accompanying us - her little sister, so we have to contain our excitement and wait for the eight-year-old to catch up.
We run through what used to be lush fields of grass but are now busy streets and deserted buildings until we enter the square full of life and bright carts of food and handmade crafts. People walk, run and cycle past us. I almost bump into a boy. "Excuse me," He flicks me a nod in reply. I chew on a Laugenbrezel*** and savour the flavour. I won't be able to have these pretzels for long after this.
I have known Kaethe for all my life. Her Mami and Papi are like my second set of parents. We are complete opposites - she has raven black hair down to her shoulders, bright green eyes. She has many siblings and I have two, and she lives in a Manor in the wealthy part of the neighbourhood, with a great view of the Mountains surrounding. Yet we're inseparable and don't let these things define us, like twins, as her Papi jokes.
Usually, after the market, which happens twice annually, once in the summer, once in the winter, we go to the Binnenkanal****. But now it's winter, we'll have to save swimming in the river till the summer. I push open the door of our house to a yell by my baby sister. "Maria Josepha!" Mami yells. "Could you tend to Anna Margaretha?" I rush to the nursery. "Shh... Anna..." I rub her stomach, her baby fat. I grab a bottle from the kitchen and she sucks on it hungrily.
Later, I flick through the worn pages of my book, The Hobbit, as Anna lays on my stomach. She is surprisingly heavy for such a little baby. The rain pours down outside, leaving its salty tears on the windows as a reminder that we are really very lucky. I wonder how Papi and Heinrich are doing. I haven't received a letter from them in a while. As German citizens, born in Freiburg im Breisgau, they had to fight. I was the only of my family to be born here in Sankt Gallen, as Mama was born in the big city of Paris, France.
A knock at the door startles Anna Margaretha awake. I curse under my breath, hoping Mami won't hear. I open the door and gasp at the drenched familiar face. "PAPI!" Mami rushes to the door. "Albert," she cries. Papi hugs me, then Mami, and then kisses Mami on the lips. I look away in disgust. Mami glances at a figure behind him. "Elisabeth, this is Otto," Papi exclaims, "He is a boy of a dear friend on the battlefield. He is a year and a half older than our Maria Josepha. I was hoping we could offer him our hospitality?" "Of course," says Mami, taken aback at the sudden intruder, straightening her apron, "I will get out a mattress for him to sleep on tonight, then tomorrow I will organise him a room to stay in," Mami rushes up the stairs.
My heart stops as the boy enters the light. His hair is blond and curled and rests atop his drenched head. His eyes are the darkest shade of brown I have ever seen, almost black. I let him and Papi into the living room. "Ah!" He notices Anna Margaretha in her cot. His eyes shine with tears. Papi finally gets to meet Anna Margaretha. She giggles in his arms, and my heart sours. Otto walks up to me and I feel an unfamiliar feeling arise in my stomach. It seems like the way people describe butterflies - though I didn't know it would feel this weird. There are millions of them, flittering around, I can imagine.
"Maria Josepha?" he introduces himself formally, "My name is Otto Buhler. My father was Hermann Buhler," "Nice to meet you," I say, and giggle as he kisses my knuckles. I know it is only a friendly gesture but it feels like so much more than that. We take a seat on the sofa by the fire. "So, are you from Germany?" I ask and he nods, ruffling his hair. Drips of rainwater trickle onto the back of his neck and the couch from the soaked tips. "Esslingen, near Stuttgart. Do you know where that is?" I nod. He is quite far from home then.
"My grandfather was from there," "Ah." he nods. Mami enters the room. "Otto, I have prepared your room. You will be staying in the one opposite Maria Josepha. She will show you to your room in a few minutes." "Thank you, Frau Schmidt," Otto says, "Your hospitality really is appreciated," Mami smiles, "Speaking of Maria Josepha," she turns to me, "It is far past your bedtime. Not to mention you have news run tomorrow morning."
I lead Otto to his room. "Good night, Maria Josepha," he says, stopping for just a moment, my heart pounding, before closing his door on me. It is safe to say I spent that night dreaming about Laugenbrazel, the Binnenkanal and blond-haired boys.
*schwester=sister
**bratwurst=sausage
***laugenbrezel=baked pastry shaped in a knot, kind of like a pretzel shape
****Binnenkanal=a river in Sankt Gallen Rhine Valley, Switzerland
~Still Editing~
The setting is based on a story I wrote when I was younger on Storybird. I think I was about eight or nine when I wrote it. I based the setting in the town of Au in Sankt (Saint) Gallen, Switzerland, of which I descend from. My family lived there for centuries. I also added a main surname in my family (Rohner) as the last name of one of the minor characters. Just thought I'd mention those little facts!