Pskov, Russia
No one had expected the Germans to come so soon .
No one knew the Germans would defeat Russia so easily.
Katja Kuznetsova is a nineteen year old girl whose brother enlisted in the Russian army. Surviving the cold Russian winter by h...
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Andrei's mother looked like a deer that was about to be shot and turned into stew.
Out of the simple rules of etiquette she had offered both Wilhelm and me a cup of tea. The tea was awfully too dull and could be more described as warm water with pine needles in it.
The minute I had knocked on the door, the frightened women's pupils had enlarged due to the tall German soldier that stood behind me. She had hesitated for a minute but after I told her that he had persisted in escorting me during the late hour and would cause no harm, she opened the door to welcome us into her small house.
Mrs. Liptopsky has seemed to have aged far more than she was. Having lost her husband to war and almost losing her one and only child right in front of her eyes had made her complexion look ghostly. Shame had taken its seat on my shoulders as I had realized my lack of visiting her ever since Andrei had left. I had never known her on much of a personal level but she was always kind to my brother and me. A quick visit would have done her well.
We currently sat quietly in her family room with a fire lit. She sat in the corner in an old rocking chair sipping her tea with shaky hands. Wilhelm had offered her a few smiles and even a cigarette but the scared woman could only look away.
"Thank you for the tea, Mrs. Liptopsky. I much appreciate it."
She nodded at my words and then gazed down upon her lap. A moment of silence ticked by before she looked up at me.
"I must thank you for what you did. I heard about you running in front of Andrei. I wonder, child," her words stuttered, "how could you place yourself in such danger?"
"Andrei has been my friend for years, you know this. He and Nikolai were close. We were all close despite the physical fights we often found ourselves in." I had let out a light laugh at the comment, hoping that she would warm up to me. Obviously, it was quite hard when you had an officer of the Third Reich sitting in your house and drinking your tea.
Wanting to make the trip quick, I changed the subject to get to the point.
"He is safe, Mrs. Liptopsky. Once the proposition is met, he will be back once more in your house. You will be able to cook for him again and love him again."
Tears rolled down the woman's face.
"I almost lost my boy. I've lost everything. God has taken everyone from me because they are too good to be stuck on this wretched earth. But I do not think I could ever bear living a life alone in this house until I die. If God could just grant me a little more time with him." She placed the cup back on the saucer that sat on her lap.
Before I could offer her words of comfort, Wilhelm had interrupted.
"Madame, I know this is not my place but I will do whatever it takes to give your son back to you. I am human too and I know the feeling of losing someone. We all feel, no matter how hard that may seem to see but humans are humans. They cannot escape the emotions of life." The words that tumbled out of his mouth shocked both Mrs. Liptopsky and me. Realizing the situation, he continued.
