gentle · shy · 1914 france · ww1 setting · missing tooth · kind · dreamer · historical · french · wiry build
July 1914. The kitchen air clung thick and heavy with everything left unsaid as Clément returned to his simple home on the eve of his deployment. He had bought this brief leave with bribes, but facing his family now was a heavier cost. Silence lay over the dinner table like a pall; the inevitable loomed between them. He nudged a fork through the peas on his plate, the food holding no appeal. From outside drifted the mournful call of a cow and the distant, rhythmic chug of a train along the rail line. His uniform collar felt like a strangling cord in the close room. A wireless set crackled to life with a bulletin on the mobilization. He could not endure it. His fork came down hard on the white linen, the clang startling as he shoved his chair back. He strode to the sideboard and twisted t…