Liebe

Und da stand sie auch schon. Meine Marie (And there she was, my Marie.) She was wearing a long grey coat over a cute white dress. She spotted Werner when he was still in the train, walking towards the doors. She waved at him enthusiastically and he smiled and held his hand up. He couldn't wait to hold her in his arms again! An older woman was in front of him, she was struggling to get out of the train, the steps were too high for her. Werner looked up at Marie - so close yet still so far away! Even just another minute of being deprived of her warm embrace seemed impossible to bear. But he stil bent down and asked the old woman if he could help her.

"Enstchuldigung, kann ich Ihnen helfen?" He asked. She looked up at the young man. 

"Ach! So ein schöner Bursche! (Oh such a cute boy!) Na, wenn du mir helfen willst, dann bitte (if you want to, please do)." 

"Aber natürlich (but of course)." He smiled at her and took the heavy bag she was carrying. It was light as a feather for Werner, but for the old woman it had been a burden. He then took her hand, smiled, and walked her down the steps, steadying her.

"Das letzte Mal ich mit einem so hübschen Mann Hand in Hand gelaufen bin war bei meiner Hochzeit. (The last time I walked hand in hand with such a handsome man was at my wedding.)" The grandmother said. She was beaming, and her words made Werner laugh. They reached the bottom and he handed her her bag again. "Bücke dich runter, ich will dich küssen. (bend down, i want to give you a kiss)." So Werner obliged with a smile, bending down low enough for her to peck his cheek. 

"Ich wünsche Ihnen frohe Festtage und ein gutes neues Jahr. (I wish you Merry Christmas and a happy new year)." Werner said. She returned the wishes with a 'you too' and then the two parted ways. Werner half-ran half-walked over to Marie. She stayed still until he was about five meters away, then she couldn't restrain herself anymore and she ran to him. 

He swept her up in his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. They were both laughing and both of their cheeks were rosy. And that wasn't just because of the cold. He set her back down. They just stared into each others eyes for a second. 

"How are you, Marie?" Werner asked after a second. 

"I'm doing well, how about you?"

"Right now I'm doing fantastically." He answered. She smiled and held out her arm. 

"Let's walk home?"

"Of course." He smiled and locked his arm in hers. 

"Who was the old woman, do you know her?" Marie asked. Werner shook his head. 

"She just looked like she needed help."

"That was very sweet of you, Killian." He just smiled in response. He sincerely wished that that old grandma would have a nice christmas. Hopefully spend time with her children and grandchildren. He smiled at the thought of her telling the little kids stories. Knowing how grandmothers think, she'd probably tell them about him. 

"I hope you're hungry, I made a lot of food." Marie said.

"Terribly." He answered and gently bumped his shoulder against hers. "Who's coming tonight?"

"Well there's you and I, and there's grandpa. I'm not sure if my brother will come, he promised that he'd come last year and the year before that but he didn't. So he might not turn up this time either."

"Well, three's a party right?"

"Yes, definitely." She squeezed his arm and looked up at him. She loved his green eyes, they were so bright but they were still warm. She wished she could stare into them for hours. Green was a color she'd always looked good in, and she so badly wanted a dress in the color of his iris. He gazed back at her with the Blick of a young man in love. A boy who sees nothing and no one execpt for the girl beside him. "I just have to warn you...my grandfather is a bit of...well..." She sighed and looked down. Werner tilted her chin back up. 

"A bit of what?" And just by the way he said it made her realize that he wouldn't be angry about anything she could say. 

"Well he supports and likes Hitler...there are pictures of him around the house, and he often salutes...randomly. He's just old and a bit...whisked up by the propaganda. But he's a sweet man honestly." She said hurridly, as if wanting to make sure that Werner wouldn't think of him as a bad person before meeting him.

"Don't worry, Marie. I work in a KZ, remember?" He said quietly and with a weak smile. She smiled back, relieved that her friend understood.