This is War [ONC 2021] // Honourable Mention

Chapter Six - Kurt

The village square thronged with people saying goodbye to their sons before they went off to the training. Kurt stood in front of his parents, his mother fussing over his uniform and pulling his hat so far over his eyes that he couldn't see. He tried not to come across as too embarrassed, but the uniform was supposed to make people respect him and having his mother fawn over him certainly didn't have the desired effect.

Beside him, Wilhelm craned his neck to peer over the crowd in search of Anna but she hadn't joined the crowd. Instead, he too had to deal with his parents straightening his uniform and messing with his hat. The two of them pushed their mothers off and readjusted their uniform to sit the way they wanted it to. Neither of them could be tough soldiers with their parents fussing so much.

"I'll be fine, Mother," Kurt said, pulling his hat up so he could see.

"Can you see Anna?" Wilhelm asked. "Is she here?"

"Considering she slapped you the other day, I doubt it."

"Just wait, she'll be here."

Kurt shook his head and moved away from his mother before she could pull his hat any further down his face. He looked around the group until he spotted Marie standing just off to the side of the crowd biting on the skin around her thumb. She didn't notice him approach and Kurt could see her staring at one of the other young men who had written their name down. Her brother.

Although still seventeen, he had lied on his enlistment to be eligible to sign up and had even gone as far as to say he was nineteen so he could be sent abroad. On their previous meetings, Marie had mentioned how scared she was for him, what with him being underage. Kurt had made a promise to look out for him whenever he could, but even he knew how hard a promise like that would be to keep, especially in the middle of a battlefield. Still, it was a promise he was determined to keep.

He manoeuvred his way through the crowds of people until he reached Marie who continued to stare at her brother as he joked and laughed with his friends - many of whom had also lied about their ages. Kurt could understand the rush of wanting to fight for a country in a war that would be over before the year was out. Were he underage, he would have lied too, just for a chance of glory, but he knew how Marie must have felt. He would have hated to see Hans go off to war, he was his younger brother and he always wanted to protect him.

"You'll look after him, won't you?" Marie asked.

"I will, to the best of my ability."

"Good. It would be nice to know someone older is looking out for him, someone he can look up to and respect."

"I'll keep him out of trouble and out of harm's way."

"Thank you." Marie smiled. "Here, I want you to write to me. Tell me everything, everything Johannes won't. Also, I want you to have this. Mother says I'm mad, but I want to be with you when you are out there, just so you remember what you have waiting for you back home."

Marie handed him a slip of paper containing her family address for him to write to and a photograph. The photograph showed Marie a year prior. Her long hair had been pinned up, she had a slight trace of a smile on her lips and a glint of mischief in her eye. Kurt smiled at the photograph and tucked it and the address into the pocket of his uniform. Even though they had only spoken a few times, he liked to think that he had someone other than his parents waiting for him upon his return home. It also made him that much more confident in his duties as a soldier.

"Wilhelm is still holding out hope that Anna might appear."

"I'll talk to her, see if I can convince her to at least send him a letter whilst he's away. It might do him the world of good."

Kurt looked back towards his friend who continued to stand near his own family, craning his neck and trying to see if Anna had arrived. Not receiving a letter from Anna in the short time they were due to be away would crush him and Kurt hoped that Marie could at least get her to send him one letter. If all else fails, he would have to find someone other than Anna for Wilhelm to pursue, especially after they won the war and came back home as heroes. He would have the pick of the girls if they came back victorious.

"I should go and say goodbye to my family," he said.

"I must find Johannes and do the same. You'll be safe, won't you?"

"Of course I will. Home by Christmas."

He smiled at Marie and made his way back through the crowd to his mother who once again pulled his cap over his forehead and covered his eyes. It took less than two seconds for Kurt to put it right again. Hans stood beside his parents, his chest puffed out and his hair having been flattened in honour of the occasion. Even though Kurt was the one going off to war, Hans had decided that he should get the glory as well for being the brother of someone willing to fight for their country.

"Kurt!" Wilhelm called. "Hurry up."

"Stay safe, my boy," Mr Schäfer said, placing his hands on Kurt's shoulders. "Home by Christmas."

"I will. Home by Christmas." Kurt turned to Hans. "You've got to step up on the farm now, can you do it?"

"Of course!"

"Come home, Kurt. Write as often as you can," Mrs Schäfer said.

"Of course I will." Kurt paused. "I should go."

"See you soon."

Kurt nodded, hugged his mother and brother one last time, his father just gave him a tap on the shoulder, and then headed back through the crowd to join Wilhelm. The two of them climbed onto the back of a wooden wagon with the other men and offered their families one last wave before it pulled out of the village square and rounded a corner, obscuring them all from view.

"I'll see you soon," Kurt said to no one in particular.

~~~

First Published - February 13th, 2021