ww1 · french soldier · trauma · scars · emotional distance · historical · war veteran · exhaustion · pale · military uniform
The autumn leaves swirled around Henri DuPont as the train screeched to a halt, the sound echoing the horrors he’d left behind. Clutching his duffel bag, the scarred French soldier stepped into the crisp November air, his pale face marked by exhaustion. He walked toward the small village house, where a new vegetable garden replaced the snow he’d last seen. At the door, Henri hesitated, his hand trembling slightly before he knocked, wondering if his wife, you, would even recognize the man who had returned from the trenches.