Guess who's back!
Friedrich awoke to the sound of sobbing.
It was his father again. Friedrich roused himself quickly and put on his clothes: black. It had been only two weeks, and an air of grief and silence was over the estate. The employees of the mansion spoke in whispers, and the Captain never spoke at all except in prayer and when asked questions.
The children hardly understood what had happened: one moment they were waiting eagerly outside their mother's room to meet the baby, the next moment they were being whisked away, there was the sound of screaming and wailing and chaos. They were left in the nursery for hours, alone and confused, before Frau Schmidt finally entered and gave them the news.
Now, two weeks later, he was alone on his tenth birthday. He supposed that in the confusion it was forgotten about, but it still cuts him deeply. He sits back down on his bedspread and folds his hands in his lap. Forgotten about. On his birthday. It was horribly selfish of him to feel this way, but birthdays were a celebration in the von Trapp house, and it felt simply awful to be cheated of one. A lone tear escaped his eye, and he isn't sure whether it's the loneliness or his mother's death. He almost laughed then: lonely, with five—no, six, now—siblings for company? He must be going crazy.
He sat there on the bed for a few more minutes, before finally accepting that no one would come. He was really and truly alone. Finally, he got up the willpower to go downstairs. He treaded carefully, making sure not to wake any of the others. Liesl was already awake, carefully setting the table for breakfast. She, too, was dressed in full black.
"Oh, hello, Friedrich! Eggs today," she said, smiling at her little brother.
Friedrich suddenly felt like a train had hit him in the stomach. Even Liesl, who always remembered everything for everyone, and never forgot even so much as one of her siblings' untied shoes (much less a birthday), had forgotten. He sat down hard in his chair, finding it suddenly difficult to breathe. Liesl turned back to him, smiling, and, seeing his face, gasped and knelt beside him.
"Friedrich… is everything all right?"
He couldn't tell her, she'd feel awful, he'd feel guilty, he mustn't tell her, make something up, quick…
"It's just… Eggs were Mother's favorite," he said quickly, making up an excuse for his tears.
"Oh, Friedrich!" Liesl cried, throwing her arms around her younger brother. Both cried quietly for a moment: Liesl grieving her mother, and Friedrich grieving his individuality.
Woo, I am ADDICTED to writing this! Enjoy another installment!