Can't We Go Back?
Northern France, December 1914. World War 1. The Great Powers of Europe have suspended major war activities for the duration of the winter. In a similar fashion, combatants in the trenches have called an unofficial ceasefire because of the conditions in the field.
December 25, 1914 0530 hours
"Okay, boys. Keep your heads down and I'll be right back."
"No, ma'am! It's far too dangerous!"
Afriland, a small colonial property of Great Britain, turned back to her soldiers and gave them a level look. "We won't get a better chance, boys. After last night I think we can pull it off. Now pass it to me and just stay down."
As she moved to the ladder propped against the side of the trench, the equatorial island country silently cursed the nation of Britain. If not for him and his idiotic support of France, she and her soldiers wouldn't be stuck in this freezing cold hole in the ground halfway across the world from home, surrounded by artillery craters and the dead.
She paused on the ladder just below the lip of the trench. "Germany! Germany!"
A pause and then: "Vhat?"
Afriland slowly raised the item her soldiers had manufactured during the previous night: a white flag. She waved it back and forth. "A truce! I want to meet to discuss a truce!"
This pause was longer but she kept the flag in view, full of determined hope. Then at last she heard the German shout agreement.
She emerged into No Man's Land, the eerie dead zone between the Allied and German lines where every living thing had been blasted into fragments. The trees were little more than broken posts, the ground was shattered as if by a great cataclysm, and there wasn't a blade of grass to be seen for miles, only destruction and barbed wire. And the dead bodies of the soldiers who had gone before.
Frost covered the land and the corpses. It was a strange mix of beautiful and macabre.
From the trenches across the dead zone emerged Germany. The two nations couldn't have been more different: the European country was tall, blonde, and muscular where the African island was lithe and darker in appearance. They approached one another, both with hands clearly visible and unarmed.
"Hello Germany."
"Hello Afriland."
"Merry Christmas."
Germany blinked with surprise. "Christmas… Zhe time goes so fast."
"It does." With her left hand Afriland held up her white flag and she reached out her right for a handshake. "A truce. In honor of this holy day."
"Agreed. It doesn't seem right to be killing today of all days." Germany shook her hand. "A truce. For today."
Both returned to their troops and organized them to begin burying the dead in No Man's Land. As the Germans and Afrilandians passed by one another they paused occasionally to exchange gifts: Afrilandians scoffed at British cigarettes and eagerly traded them to the Germans for chocolate. At one point the two countries paused by one another and watched as their peoples worked side by side in the hellish field.
"I never thought I'd see anything like this," Afriland muttered. "Especially how the war has been going."
"Ja. I never expected zhat enemies could get along like zhis."
As they stood and watched, only the sounds of the soldiers' voices breaking the depressed silence of the battlefield could be heard. Overhead the sky was a uniform gray and for once there were no explosions or shouting or fear. Suddenly Afriland had a vision: this war would not end soon. It would continue on for years - maybe it would never end.
"Germany," she whispered. "Can't we stop this? Can't we go back to how it was before?"
"Nein," he sighed sadly. "It's far too late to go back."
By the next day everything had returned to normal and the soldiers were back to being mortal enemies. Upon learning of the unauthorized lapse in hostilities, each and every government forbade a future occurrence under penalty of death.
The war would continue for another 4 years.