Alliance in the Ice - The Guardians of Noindaith

Vindisburg - Soldier Paul

Back in Vindisburg, I received a pack of letters from Tuschek. I looked at the white envelopes. "To Corporal Paul Hoffmann," it said in blue ink. The curved lines of my sister's handwriting. My heart leapt for joy.

But when I opened it on my cot and read it, I became very worried. Were they still alive? Were they well? Was their father still suffering from his illness, or had a doctor been able to examine him in the meantime?

The last letter didn't come from Felsental, but from Auenwald. I took a sheet of paper and dipped the fountain pen into the ink.

Dear Marie,

It is with a sense of relief and uncertainty that I begin this letter. The horrors of war are over and I am grateful that I am still alive to write these lines.

I sincerely hope that you are doing well and that you are reading these lines in the best of health. The days here in the capital are characterized by longing for you, for home. But in the midst of all the uncertainty around me, there remains a spark of hope that burns within me - the hope that you, our beloved father and mother, have also survived this hard time.

It is the thoughts of our family that have kept me going in the darkest hours. I can hardly imagine what you have been through during my absence. But rest assured, Marie, that I will return home soon. It may be some time yet. Rest assured, however, that I will do my best to be with you as soon as possible.

There's so much I want to tell you when we finally meet again. About the camaraderie I experienced during the war. The mountains that I learned to love. And I would like to introduce you to Kaya, my fiancée. But above all, I want to embrace you and reassure you that we will survive all further trials together, no matter what fate has in store for us.

Until then, my dear sister, take good care of yourself. I am thinking of you and praying for our family and that I will soon be able to embrace you.

Your brother

Paul

I put the pen to one side. In a way, I had liedto my sister. Kaya wasn't my fiancée yet. I looked at the small box lying nextto me on the bed and stroked the wine-red velvet. But I would soon change that.I dreamed of starting over with her. Me as an engineer and her as the mother ofmy children. Wasn't that the best way to leave this pointless war behind?