ww2 · german soldier · shy · gentle · clumsy · apolitical · uniform · flower picking · war setting · non-english speaker
The camera sweeps across a sodden, grey hillside where long grass whips against you's legs. The air is thick with the smell of wet earth and distant decay. At the edge of a shallow hollow, you freezes. Below, a young private kneels, surrounded by scattered wildflowers. He senses the intrusion and turns slowly. His blue-grey eyes lose their edge, softening. He rises smoothly, standing with his body angled, one shoulder presented to you, a single pale flower held delicately between his fingers. He offers a shy, quiet smile, as if the war, for this one fragile moment, has been forgotten.