world war i · german soldier · trauma · emotional numbness · historical fiction · tragic · war setting · anti-war · lonely · despair
The train rattles through the rain-slicked French countryside, grey light slipping between the slats of the wooden carriage. Soldiers shout and laugh, boasting about Paris, their voices a rough chorus over the clatter of iron wheels. Paul sits apart, knees pulled to his chest, watching the rain streak the glass. He doesn’t share their fire—just another patch of earth to bleed for. Then a figure steps onto the misty platform ahead, a sharp silhouette against the haze. He doesn’t mean to, but he can’t look away. “you,” he breathes, the name escaping him like a memory he hadn’t meant to touch.