Chapter 14

As the first rays of sun broke through the crowns of the trees, the terrifying thundering of artillery fire woke Hannibal from his silent sleep. For a moment, he thought it was thunder. Alas, it was not so. Some of the grenades shook the earth enough for Hannibal to feel the house tremble. He rose and walked over to his washing bowl. The water vibrated without pause. He washed himself as carefully as normal, then got into the clothes Nurse had laid out for him the previous night. Quietly, since he assumed not everybody would be awake yet, he walked to the kitchen. As he passed other bedrooms, he noticed more doors ajar and beds empty than regular. In the kitchen, he found almost everybody. Only nurse and Mischa were not present.

"Good morning, Hannibal. I hope you slept better than you awoke?"

"Yes, mother. I have rested well. I hope you have slept well too?"

"Yes, I have. Berndt, could you please serve Hannibal his breakfast?"

"Yes, Madame."

Hannibal sat down at the table. His father addressed him.

"Hannibal, today will be a serious day for us all. I'm sure you'll understand the deviation from our customary routine. No lessons, no playing outside, no music. We must draw as little attention as possible. Will you help Nurse keep an eye on Mischa? Entertain her, so to say?"

"Of course, papa. Mr. Jakov, I'm sorry there will be no lessons today."

"I am sorry too, but it is best if we stay focused on the war efforts. If things need to be done, we must be ready to do them at once, we must not falter."

"If the Russians proceed as they have been doing the last weeks, they will have passed by in a day, I believe," his father said.

"And I hope they will," Mr. Jakov added with a wry smile.

"But somehow I don't believe Russia will liberate us, and then grant us our own country and freedom. Remember, it were the Germans that drove them out."

Berndt handed Hannibal his breakfast. Hannibal thought he looked sad.

"That is correct," spoke Mr. Jakov. "Yet, circumstances are different now. We will see."

"Maybe we will, and maybe we won't. But I will not stand still while watching."

"Giedrius," said Simonetta, a slight hint of reproach in her voice. Giedrius looked at her, then knew and kept silent. Mr. Jakov patted Hannibal on his back and smiled.

"No matter what happens, Hannibal, tomorrow we will start on integral calculus."

Hannibal looked at him. He smiled back, but he could smell the fear in the man.

.

At noon, the war had completely reached the estate. They could hear engines in the distance. Every now and then, shells struck the forest, blowing away trees and uprooting them, leaving dark scars in the earth. The forest was the innocent bystander getting shot.

General Kuzma Galitsky led his Eleventh Guards Army forward, pushing forward Reinhardt-Bossen's Third Pantzer Army, his only consideration, naturally, being progress.

In the lodge, all became more agitated and irritable as the day proceeded and the fighting continued, while they were confined to the lodge on this warm July day. Mischa had been angry that morning that she could not go outside and watch the 'tunder', as she pronounced it. Hannibal had calmed her by cutting little stamps of feet from wood, and having her make a trail of mini footprints of water on the floor. It was summer, and the sun shone as heartily as ever, but the atmosphere in the lodge was heavy and thick, not even Mischa's spells of laughter could brighten it completely.

After lunch, Nurse read her fairy-tales, Mischa sitting in Hannibal's lap, playing with the buttons of his shirt. All the while, Hannibal visited his Palace and enjoyed paintings he had once seen in an art catalogue. He liked the bright colors of Monet's 'Rue Montorgueil' and 'Poppies blooming', and the leashed energy in Degas' 'At the races'. It would be nice to see them in real once, he mused.

.

In the evening, a constant downpour started that transferred the day from its own bright presence to the sad grayness of war. The absolute zero of optimism was reached - every member of the lodge household was dead tired after the constant watchfulness they had held upright during the day. Slowly, they gathered in the living room. At first, their silence hung in the room like a thick fog, only the explosions from outside that had slightly grown fainter were heard. But soon, a small conversation started. The built up emotions had to be vented. Giedrius decided to put the children to bed before engaging in the conversation and rose.

"Hannibal, Mischa, time to go to bed."

Nurse started to rise, but the Count motioned he needed no help.

"I don't want to go, papa," said Mischa.

"Then how come I saw you yawn just a minute ago? Come here, I'll carry you!"

"Like a baby?"

"Yes, like a baby," said Giedrius and lifted the child in his arms.

"Say goodbye to everyone, Mischa, Hannibal."

"Goodbye everyone," they said.

Everybody wished them a good night. Giedrius walked away and glanced at Hannibal to see if he was following. As they left the room, the Akita followed his master.

.

"I am 'fraid, papa."

"I understand. That's why I decided to let Hannibal sleep with you tonight, he'll be there to watch over you. He'll be here in a moment."

"I like that."

"I thought you would. Ah, there he is."

Hannibal entered the little girl's room, got into bed next to her, their father wished them both good night and left the room. He did not hear the Akita follow, so he looked around. The dog had settled at the foot end of the bed, clearly intending to spend the night with the children.

"Are you going to watch over Mischa too?" asked Giedrius.

The dog slightly lifted his head, returned his gaze, then lied down again.

"All right. See you tomorrow."

He left the room and shut the door.

Mischa settled in the blankets and sighed.

"I don't like the tunder, Anniba."

"Neither do I, Mischa. But we cannot stop it. Try to get some sleep, I'll bet tomorrow will be silent."

"Yes, Hannibal."

She closed her eyes. Hannibal closed his too. The sound was still quite intrusive, but bearable. But it just kept on going. If he listened really intensely, he could distinguish some of the noises. There was a deep rumble every minute or so, a less deep thumping every forty seconds. And whistling noises, too. He could hear the whistling and shrieking sound of the grenades and shells. He noticed the frequency of their sound varied as they flew.

Then he heard one, at first the same as the others, but then quickly gaining volume. Its whistle turned into a loud scream. Hannibal opened his eyes, he saw Mischa and sensed her fear. Then the shell struck. A deafening explosion shook the lodge to its foundation.

Hannibal noticed he started to experience time differently. His senses deepened, things appeared to slow down, he could make out details he normally could not. At first, the sound stretched out. Then he heard more sounds. Beams cracking, further down the lodge. The Akita rising and barking incessantly. Objects falling over. His sister inhaling. He looked at her. Her chest heaved, her shoulders rose, and as she reached her maximum lung capacity, he watched her muscles contract and push the air out. Her scream pierced his ears. Then he felt the floor move. He turned his head to see, and saw the floor bulge. Cracks appeared. Dust fell from the ceiling. For a moment, he thought the house was going to collapse. But then things settled down. Hannibal's sense of time returned to normal. Only Mischa kept on screaming for a while.