And the Wind Blows

prologue

"You worthless piece of shit."

Hugo clenched his hair between his fingers as he recalled what Mother had said the night before. His body curled like a fetus and he screamed into his knees, pouring out his stress and tears. He dared not to see her face—not even a single glance—that week ever again. Just hearing her footsteps travel through the hallway would make him shiver and hide under his blanket like a child.

"Why can't you be like your younger siblings?"

Hugo started to sob louder, knowing what Mother said was true: he really WAS the worst sibling. His sisters, both in medical school, had grades much better than his when he was still in school. It was obvious that his ambitious sisters would immediately become great doctors once they graduate, but Hugo? Nothing. After graduating, he did nothing but get rejected from many work places, but knowing his grades, it wasn't very surprising why he became a nobody.

Normally, other adults his age would already have their own houses and independently live on their own, but being unemployed and broke, he fully relied on his parents and still lived with his family. Sometimes his neighbors would look down on him and shame him behind their back, but after he thought about it further, he was sure he'd do the same if he were them.

The next day, Hugo decided to leave his home for a while. Outside he walked through the paths of the town and looked around houses, which most were on sale. "If I had the money, I'd totally buy this house," he thought when he saw a simplistic but small house right beside the town's river. "Actually— I think I'd rather buy that one instead." he changed his mind as he walked past a mansion made of limestone bricks. 

After spending so much time hopelessly staring at empty houses, Hugo decided to spend a huge portion of his last money on a bar. The bar was very grimy and shabby, a bar that most townspeople wouldn't typically visit. To Hugo's surprise, though, the bar was full of people—mostly middle-aged men.

Hugo awkwardly stepped in the bar, realizing he was one of the very few young people there. He sat down and ordered a beer that was so heavy his hand shook as he picked it up. Although his parents drank beer like it's water, Hugo actually didn't drink that much beer. He remembered the time he tried beer as a child and thought it tasted like pee, so he never dared to drink any again, but now as an adult, he thought it tasted better than milkshake, which had been his favorite drink for a while.

It didn't take long until he finished the beer. He walked out of the bar feeling tipsy, like he was about to fall any second. On the way home he spotted a poster on the window of someone's store. He walked closer to the poster, squinted his eyes and read,

"We want you...?"

On the poster was an illustration of a fairly youthful male German soldier holding up a gun beside his arm. Hugo realized there was more text at the bottom and read in a low voice, "Enlist today..."

He had an idea.