Prologue

"Memories in the Rain"

Saturday, April 11, 2001

"Hey, Sarah, is there anything you need help with?" Lulu asked me eagerly, stepping into the doorway of my kitchen. Her light brown eyes gleamed eagerly, her luscious brunette curls swept up into a ponytail. I smiled at my sister, who happened to look nothing like me. I was pale compared to her olive skin. I was also a blonde, my hair cut to my shoulders and my eyes blue.

"Yeah," I told her with a smile as I scrubbed the floor, "could you please get that box in the living room? Just set it on the table, please and thank you."

She nodded, left for a minute, and came back with the box. "Now," she grunted as she set down the dusty cardboard box, "with our father, it's a wonder you have the manners you do."

"You can thank Arthur for that," I joked, knowing that inside I was far from laughter. I finished scrubbing the last tile in my kitchen and dumped the bucket of soapy water I had been using in the sink.

"What's wrong?" Lulu asked as I just stood in front of the sink for a moment.

I forced a smile as I replied, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Do you think I can't notice that it's storming like crazy outside? That's a sure sign of internal conflict."

"Rain is good for the crops." At her unbelieving glare, I decided to fess up. "I don't know Lulu. I've just been thinking a lot today."

"About what?" she asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

I paused before answering. "World War II." I looked up from the sink at her to see her normally tan face had gone pale. "Forget I said anything," I added. "It's such a touchy subject."

"No, it's fine," Lulu replied stiffly, tears welling in her eyes from the memory. She touched a spot just above her left hip, and I knew she was touching the spot where her scar was. She was lightly touching that infamous scar that still made the hearts of our people bleed, where Kiku had stabbed her in the war.

I wiped my hands on a dish towel and went to hug my sister. "Please. Forget it."

"It's just…" Lulu wiped her eyes after pushing me back a bit. "It's a very touchy subject. For both of us."

I froze upon hearing Lulu's words. "Indeed." I turned to do more housework before Lulu caught my wrist.

"Enough cleaning for today," she commanded. "We're going to talk." She indicated the chair across from her, and I sat down. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Well…"

"Oh. It's about him, isn't it?"

I sighed, "Yes, it is."

"Well, talk to me. You never did tell me the full story. You said I needed time to get over what had happened."

"You did need time."

"Well, I'm over it now," Lulu interrupted, ignoring my outburst.

"Okay." I sighed, massaging the bridge of my nose with my fingers. "It is mostly, no, almost entirely about him. I've been thinking a lot about the war, and if, maybe, things could have turned out differently."

At my pause, Lulu took my hand in her two and smiled at me. She knew as well as I did that this story would not be an easy one to tell.

"Tell me everything," she pleaded, "about the war, about you, but most of all… tell me about Ludwig."

A/N: I'm baaaaaack! And I've (somewhat) revised the plotline of this story. With any hope, I won't have to take it back down.

A few pointers: Sarah is an OC for the state of Indiana, and Lulu (derived from Lucy) is Hawaii. World War 2 setting, lots of angst, romance, comfort, history, and many more!