"Ah, hallo Edvard. I am Hans Meyer, zhe owner of zhis little inn. My wife und I opened it almost thirty years ago. Vhen she passed avay, many of our friends expected me to close it. But I couldn't bring myself to do it - zhis place gives me a purpose", Hans explained. Richtofen nodded in sympathy for his wife but remained silent.
"I can see jou haven't eaten in days. Vould jou allow me to prepare somezhing for jou?" Hans asked - although he had already gotten up to do so before Richtofen could reply.
"I'm just heading down to zhe kitchen. I von't be long", Hans sang with a cheery smile before he disappeared down the hall. Richtofen sat back in his chair in a daze. He couldn't believe how kind the man was... and to him. He wasn't used to this kind of reception - which made his chest heavy as he could feel tears beginning to well up.
He quickly composed himself before getting up to inspect the room. The bed was quaint and homely which made Richtofen feel almost excited to try it out. As he lay on the bed looking around, his eye caught a small painting on the wall across. It was a landscape of the courtyard of an old Manor. Richtofen got up to inspect the watercolour before his eyes landed on the bottom left corner. There was writing which said "Munchen 1914, Alter Hof" and a signature which read "A. Hitler".
Richtofen walked over to his bag and tipped out it's contents on the bed. His belongings were truly meager as all he carried with him was a comb, toothbrush and a tin of hair wax. Aside from that, he had a small keepsake box filled with items he had found during his travels around Germany.
He laid the items on the side table before putting the box in the back of the bottom drawer. He felt strange being able to plant some kind of roots instead of always being ready for a flitting - even if it was just for one night. After doing so, he returned to the table and drank his coffee. His stomach grumbled and groaned as the hot liquid warmed his oesophagus before crashing into his empty stomach. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs causing him to tense out of habit.
Hans walked through the door with a smile, expertly carrying both plates in one hand, which he then sat in front of Richtofen. The mere sight of the food caused Richtofen's stomach to groan with impatience. Hans sat down and let out a jolly laugh.
"Zhere is more if jou vant it. Bitte, have a bite", Hans said in his calm gentle voice. Before he could blink, Richtofen began scoffing down the food with little regard for etiquette. His arms began piling the food into his mouth of their own accord as he gulped down every bite. Hans smiled as if he had expected this reaction.
"Do remember to breathe!" Hans joked before Richtofen cleaned both plates. His stomach gurgled as it began to expand with it's new contents.
"Vhat happened to jou? How did zhis fate befall such a strapping young man?" Hans asked, as it clearly pained him to see Richtofen in such a bad way. Richtofen looked down at the table as his shoulders slumped.
"It's okay, it happens to zhe best of us. I'm just glad jou found jour vay here. I vould be honoured to have jou as a guest here until jou get jour strength up", Hans announced which took Richtofen by surprise as he looked up at the man is shock.
"Stay here, get jourself back to health und I vill give jou a job vhen jou are feeling stronger", Hans explained.
"Zhis is jour new start, ja? Allow me zhe pleasure of being jour first friend in jour new city", Hans said warmly. 'Friend', it was a word which was alien to Richtofen. And by now he was beyond overwhelmed by Hans' kindness. In fact, he simply couldn't understand it.
"Vhy are jou doing zhis for me?" was all Richtofen could muster as his reply.
"Because I am in a position to help ozhers. No vone vas zhere for me vhen I vas in jour place. I simply got lucky", Hans replied with a more serious tone.
"Vhen I left my village, I hadn't a penny to my name. My mozher sent me out to zhe big city because she didn't vant me trapped in zhe life of a peasant. She vanted me to do somezhing vith myself und have a comfortable life. She spent her last coin on a carriage ride here for me", Hans explained.
"But I struggled to get on my feet und zhe last century saw zhe opening of zhe new factories of zhe industrial age. I foolishly zhought I could simply take on a job und get myself promoted to a better role. Zhe factory life zas hard but I didn't realise how hard life vas until I lost my lower arm in vone of zhe machines", Hans said as Richtofen finally realised why he had carried everything with one hand.
"I lost my job at zhe factory. No vone vould take on someone disabled vhen 10 ozher able bodied men could do zhe job instead. I spent zhe next ten years living on zhe streets because I couldn't bear to return to my mozher empty-handed. Vork vas scarce und sometimes begging vas zhe only vay to get by", Hans continued before pulling up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his prosthesis.
"But, my luck did change for zhe better", Hans added with a smile. Richtofen was completely engrossed in Hans' story as he eagerly waited for him to continue. To which Hans obliged.
"I had bought myself a trumpet vith some money I'd saved up... before all this happened", Hans said, gesturing to his arm.
"Vhen I vas on zhe streets I also vould play zhe trumpet und make money zhat vay. Vone day, I vas approached by a gentleman who owned a club not too far from here. He vould give me money for playing at his club vhich allowed me to afford a place to live. Vone of his patrons vas a prominent man who financed zhe Berlin Philharmonic back in 1882. His name vas Hermann Wolff. He saw me playing vone night und invited me to practice vith zhe orchestra. Everyone vas so amazed by how vell I played despite my disability zhat zhey asked me to join zhem on zhe next tour", Hans said with a smile as he recounted the day.
"I travelled all around zhe vorld - und of course made a decent living. I zhen met my wife und ve married zhe next month", Hans said with pride. Richtofen had barely blinked out of pure fascination; he was so engrossed in learning about Hans that he never uttered a word. He just continued to listen intently.
"I decided I'd made enough money in zhe orchestra to open zhe inn vith my wife's help. Zhe years spent vith her vere zhe best years of my life", Hans smiled.
"She vas my companion, my friend und zhe love of my life. But, all good zhings come to an end. Ve had a very good life togezher. She passed avay last year but I'm still getting used to life vithout her", Hans said with a sigh.
"Anyvay! Enough about me, I vill leave jou to rest. Have a zhink about my offer und let me know in zhe morning", Hans said as he winked. Richtofen's face already showed he intended to stay. He really liked Hans... he was his first true friend.
Hans was delighted to have Richtofen's company around the inn. After a month, Richtofen was well enough to do work around the inn and began saving up his wages. It wasn't until 6 months later that Richtofen would meet Dr Roth and begin working at the local hospital. Though, Hans was relieved when Richtofen said he still wanted to stay at the inn whilst he did so.
Every evening after their work was seen to; Richtofen would listen to stories about Hans and his wife Eva. The way Hans' face would light up whenever he recounted his time with Eva caused Richtofen to pine for the same kind of love. It was pure companionship - pure unconditional love that many lived their entire lives without ever being able to find. The union between two souls who had beaten the odds and found their way to eachother.
Richtofen began to wonder who his soul mate would be. What would she look like? What would she be like? And, most importantly, how would he find her? But he had always promised that he would never let her pass him by. At this stage in Richtofen's life, his perception of women was light-hearted and positive. It wasn't until he began to see the change some inspired in men that his views would contort and mutate. Much like Dr Roth's case.
Dr Roth's downfall created dissonance in Richtofen's mind. He began to wonder about and second guess Hans' stories. Maybe his marriage was a one off? Perhaps he had simply found the perfect woman. Or maybe Hans just saw the past through rose tinted glasses? Both men's conflicting experiences with women had begun to warp and twist Richtofen's mind. Which was something that became cemented throughout his life as he met other men he considered brought down by women.
On the night Richtofen left Dr Roth's office - broken and betrayed - he returned to the inn that night with the pilfered medical equipment and supplies. When he passed through the reception and stormed up the stairs, Hans was alarmed by Richtofen's behaviour and immediately went to his room. The reception he received from Richtofen was cold and distant - the side of him that Hans had never seen before.
That night, Richtofen had felt betrayed by both men. He may have lost his mentor with Dr Roth; but he felt that Hans had painted a dangerous picture of women. One that one day could have led to his own downfall.
Richtofen knew that the hospital would alert the authorities; so he left the inn much like he had arrived - quietly in the dead of night.
The next morning, when the police arrived, Richtofen was nowhere to be found. Hans had noticed the stolen supplies but opted to protect him during his interview with detectives. He had no idea what caused Richtofen to suddenly change but he still cared about him. Hans continued to run the inn awaiting the day Richtofen would return. But it wouldn't be for another twenty years when their paths would cross - thanks to Wilhelm.
At the age of 23, Richtofen had regressed and slithered back into the underworld as he quickly began establishing contacts in the underbelly of Berlin.
But it was that night that Richtofen had truly hardened his heart...
End of part thirty-seven...