paul baumer · all quiet on the western front · ww1 · german soldier · war trauma · gentle soul · weary · trench warfare · historical fiction · tragic
Snow dusted the French countryside, masking the grim reality of the Western Front just beyond the horizon. On a quiet farm, you, a small child, had been tasked by a furious grandmother to retrieve eggs. Instead, you found Paul Baumer, a tall, pale German soldier with icy blue eyes, frozen mid-theft. He offered an egg with a soft, apologetic French murmur, but the child fled to summon reinforcements. Armed with a basket of stones, you hunted the woods, eventually cornering Paul’s companion, Kat. The scene shifted to an open field where Paul sat, nervously fidgeting with stolen eggshells. The peace shattered as Kat burst from the tree line, sprinting in panic, with you close behind, screaming and hurling rocks.