Chapter Five

Wilhelm strolled around the village square. He felt the breeze in his face. It was warm and soft as never before. The afternoon sunlight illuminated linden trees alongside the street. Their emerald leaves sparkled beneath its brilliant light. The beautiful day brought peace and warmth in the heart.

Wilhelm came across the village children who were playing a romp. One little girl in a pink smock accidentally bumped into him. She looked at him from the tips of his boots to the top of his head. When her eyes met his, he smiled at her; his smile softened her heart. He beckoned to her and filled her hands with chocolate bars. Her faces lit up with blissfulness when she received them. Soon afterward, a French woman called the little girl from a distance. She stood anxiously near the grocery store. She was worried if her daughter was around the Germans. The little girl ran excitedly toward her and said, "Mom, look at these! That handsome German gave me chocolates." She was astonished and then replied in a cautionary tone of voice, "Don't touch a thing from the Germans! It could be poison!"

The cobblestones crunched under Wilhelm's boots as he crossed the street to the café. The air inside was thick with the scent of cheese and Béchamel sauce. Its interior was decorated with half wooden wall paneling and wooden tiles. The rattan tables and chairs implemented a calm aesthetic. Wilhelm was eating Croque Monsieur. He saw three German soldiers sitting and drinking at the corner. Their faces got flushed after drinking too much beer. Two of them were tipsy but the other one was extremely drunk. They laughed and rambled. At some point, they sang Lili Marleen and Aupres de ma Blonde. "Down with Stalin! Down with the communists!" Their voices echoed through the room, growing louder with each repetition.

From a table near the window, the hoarse voice shouted, "Down with Hitler! Down with the fascists!"

All eyes fixed on a bespectacled French man who was barely seventeen. The German soldiers glared, their faces darkening. The atmosphere turned grim. Everyone fell silent. Wilhelm felt a premonition of violence. The French man bolted. Two soldiers lurched to their feet, pursuing him with a snarling intensity. The third one was unable to stand, slurring, "Catch that bastard! Beat him up!" Wilhelm reacted instantly, bursting from café and into the chase. The scene unfolded like a suspenseful movie: they weaved through the startled crowd and leaped over a barrier chain. Adeline stood among the onlookers, her curiosity piqued by the sudden eruption of violence and by Wilhelm who joined the pursuit. She moved away from the crowd and followed them stealthily.

The French man ran toward the narrow passage way. The puddle of water made him slip and fell into the road. One of the soldiers lunged, drawing his bayonet from the scabbard. The other one moved to assist. As the danger came into Wilhelm's sight, he ran fast without slowing down even for a moment. Adeline concealed behind a pillar in the archway, watched, her breath catching in her throat. The glint of steel, the raised arm... then, a sudden intervention. At incredible speed, Wilhelm intercepted the attack, wrenching the bayonet from the soldier's grip. The metallic clang echoed through the narrow street. Wilhelm's fury was palpable, his voice sharp and commanding in German, "As long as you are under my command, you will not mistreat anybody. No one in my platoon will behave in such a way!" The soldiers recoiled. Fear spread across their faces. He dismissed them with a curt order.

Wilhelm helped the French man to his feet. The French man was bewildered, staring at a rescuer, a German officer who had just saved his life from his own men. The French man expressed his gratitude to him. Meanwhile, Adeline still remained at the same place. She watched them walk away from the scene. "Wilhelm saved the French man's life," she murmured thoughtfully. "He's different."