Tea Leaves and Opal Necklaces

Aceldama

Match Sixteen: Aceldama:

-Germany-

The deeper in he goes, the more it shows. When was the last time Ludwig slept? He spent most of his days locked in his office, looking over the Harel file. The town of Polanów was completely destroyed by World War II.

But why did this woman want to go there?

Ludwig stared at his ceiling. All he could see now was her face.

His attention returned to reality when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" the German man asked. A faded whisper filled his ear on the other line.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked. The whispering grew rapid in pace and the words slurred together.

"Hello?" Ludwig asked. "Who is this?" The whispering turned into a low growl. Whining blended in with the sounds.

"Who is this?" the German man asked again. "Hello? Hello?" The other line went dead. Ludwig stared at his phone.

This wasn't the first time stranger things started to happen.

The phone calls all happened around the same time. 9:47 p.m. His phone would ring and Ludwig would pick up.

"Hello?" he asked. The whole line would yield screeching or a death rattle sound for three minutes before the line would go dead. For the longest time, Ludwig couldn't wrap his head around it.

At night, the German man felt like there was something or someone watching over him at night. That woman in the red coat started to haunt his dreams more frequently. When it got too much, Ludwig voiced his complainants to Gilbert. His brother looked like he wanted to run away, screaming.

"Come on," he said instead. "Quit joking around, West." His words fell flat into his soup when he saw his brother's eyes.

"Oh..." he mumbled. Ludwig's hand trembled as he held his spoon.

"I don't feel so good," he mumbled.

"Hey," Gilbert spoke up. "You know what we need? A nice vacation. Why don't you and I go somewhere quieter for a little while?" The Prussian man paused when his younger brother mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm sorry?" he asked. Gilbert walked over to Ludwig's side of the table.

"She wants me to go to Polanów," the German man muttered. The Prussian man gave him a strange look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Polanów doesn't exist anymore."

"She wants me to take her there," Ludwig said. "She wants to go there."

"But why?" his brother asked. "Who wants to go there?" The German man lifted his head. Gilbert backed up at the hollow look in Ludwig's eyes.

"Hey... Are you feeling okay?" he asked. The Prussian man shook him on the arm.

"Oi! Oi!" he shouted.

"No," Ludwig said at last. He stood up and walked away from the table.

"West?" Gilbert asked. The German man disappeared down the hall. His brother sat back, worried as he heard the door close. However, he turned around.

"Hello?" he asked. The Prussian man shook his head. What am I thinking? There's no one else here in this house. Still, it wasn't enough. Gilbert picked up his phone and walked out of the room.

From the outside, the woman in the red coat stared inside. She looked like she had been crying. The woman held her hand to her chest. She said only one thing.