A WINTER'S MOURNING
The snowstorm that pestered Europe died down unexpectedly except in Russia, the country will remained enveloped in blizzard as long as the battle between the Soviets and the Germans persist. Ukraine watched anxiously at the open backdoor of the kitchen as snow mildly descended from the gray sky, capping the village and the vast field in white landscape. Her troubling heart never rested ever since Russia has been one of the primary targets of the Second World War, even if her sister consoled her that Big Brother was far stronger than Germany and his allies and he will put up a good fight that will lead him to victory. Alas, today she was absolutely restless and nearly passed out if she hadn't grasped the edge of the kitchen sink. The unexplainable feeling doubling the heaviness on her heart made her asphyxiated that she vomited twice in the sink. She trembled and tears flowed down from her eyes, a sign of calamity was ready to strike them like swords aimed to slice off their necks when they meet. Ukraine helped herself in one of the chairs of the long table and she buried her face on her palms, dread consumed her that a blow of doom will descend upon them. As the representative was crying relentlessly, the door creaked open and came in Boris and Belarus who were exchanging of recent events of the war. They stopped conversing when they saw Ukraine crying her heart out. Belarus instantly ran to her sister while Boris carefully surveyed the backyard; he held his rifle closed to his rest, ready to rain bullets on anything that hurt his Katyusha.
"Sister! Why are you crying? Tell us what happened!" Belarus held her sister gently; it was the first time for her to see Ukraine in such condition. "Shhhh… Dear sister, please tell us why are you crying" Her protective side to her family kindled when she saw her sister crying, vowing that whoever made Ukraine cried will surely pay.
"Katyusha, what is the matter? Is something troubling you?" Boris closed the backyard door, his fear that their enemies knew their location was erased. He put down his rifle on the table and took a seat at the left side of Ukraine; he tenderly pulled away her hands from her face and clasped the soaked hands of his adopted daughter into his own big, calloused hands. Ukraine spoke but in her own native language and Boris and Belarus knew that something really, really bad had happened. A nation could switch into their own language if they experienced extreme emotion or feelings, and the sudden change of behavior of Ukraine was a matter that must not be cast aside without finding out the truth from the representative herself.
"I… I see blood and death everywhere! I see Lyaksandro and Marko lying lifelessly at the ground, they were bayoneted multiple times by the Germans! Vasilii was forcefully dragged by two Wehrmacht officers behind a tank and he never came out, the soldiers re-appeared they were already coated in his blood! And then… And then…" Ukraine was now hyperventilating, Boris and Belarus was speechless.
"Shhhh… Calm down, sister. Everyone is still alive, fit as a horse. They will not die. We will not all die" Belarus could not believe what she just heard. Ukraine had a premonition; she had seen the deaths of their loved ones, and how long they will be together – perhaps might be a month, weeks or with heartbreaking acceptance of their reality, days.
"How could I calm down when… When… When I just saw their deaths and there was nothing that I could do to save them!" Ukraine wept and she embraced tightly her sister, the two of them will live and have a tomorrow while Lyaksandro and the rest will never had the chance to see their own futures. Even in a short amount of time Belarus lived in the house of Boris and his guerillas, she loved them as much as the love Ukraine treasured in her heart. If she was on the situation of Ukraine, she might be gone crazy with the tremendous weight of the forewarning. But they were representatives, and they could endure even the saddest and loneliest, most hated and most painful moment of their existence. The possible loss that they might witness anytime is another episode of the saddest and most painful of the representatives' lives and time will only dull the pain of that chapter but the memories of those people will forever be remembered as long as the nations live.
"Drink this, Katyusha. Are you feeling all right?" Ukraine drank the water in three gulps and she returned the empty glass back to Boris. Ukraine was feeling better; her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "There, there, there… Do not worry too much, Kats. We could stand our ground against the Germans. No enemies could penetrate our defenses unless someone from our group betrays us. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Boris guffawed on what he deemed a foolish thought and became silent immediately after he saw the silent reaction of the two nations. "Ugh, just do not fret too much on that thought, Kats. You promise me?" Ukraine nodded and Boris smiled, behind his fatherly smile lies apprehension. He knew their death was inevitable since they sworn to protect Ukraine and Belarus even if all of them will die just to save them from the terrible fate of being high-profiled prisoners of war. He could not deny that a potential treachery might occur in their ranks, especially if one of them faced a grave threat. Fear could make any man or woman switch sides.
"I.. I finally feel better now" Ukraine commented tiredly, the call of rest was great after an almost an hour of crying exhausted her. She wiped off the trail of the tears on her cheeks and smiled, but her smile did not reached to her ears – a smile that will never be same anymore. "Father…" a broken pair of cobalt eyes reached out sorrowfully, and a pair of consoling amber eyes warmed the emptiness in the eyes of Ukraine. Boris nodded to Belarus to accompany her elder sister to her room.
"I'll take you to the room" Belarus supported her sister and they trudged out of the kitchen. As their steps faded into silence, Vasilii entered the kitchen with his usual grin.
"Wassup, boss? Ya look you ate something bad" Vasilii cracked a joke but his laughter died down when he saw the serious expression of Boris. "Something happened, boss?" Vasilii seldom saw that kind of countenance of his boss and he knew something terrible had passed. Boris looked at him, his deep-set amber eyes searched through the very depths of the blithesome man. "Uh, boss… Quit staring at me like that! It freaks me out!" Vasilii remained jittery with the unflinching stare his Commander was giving to him, until a smile twitched the corner of Boris' lips and the red-haired elderly man broke the tension in the room with a loud, bighearted laugh.
"Hell, did I scare you, Lii? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Boris thumped the table loudly that it creaked from the weight of the man's fist; splinters of wood from the old table fell to the stone floor.
"Geez, old man! You drove me nuts! Did something really happened or you're just over-reacting?" Vasilii pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from his leatherjacket pocket, his eyes were twinkling with mirth.
"What was my number one rule here in the house, Lii? No… smoking… inside… the… house!"
"Fine! Fine! Fine! Now stop throwing me the splinters of wood! OUCH!" Vasilii ducked the last throw of Boris and he opened the back door of the house. He fiddled his unlit cigarette when Boris appeared at his side.
"Taught you stop from smoking, eh? You'll die from smoking if you will not quit, Lii" Boris grunted as the smoke from Vasilii's cigarette wafted through the thin, chilly morning air.
"I will die in battle rather than from any serious illnesses" Vasilii blew more smoke, he never smoked so much before until now.
"So tell me, Vasilii. How were our troops holding their positions?"
"To be honest boss, our troops were all restless and they feared that anytime the Germans might discover our hideout and launch an attack on us"
"We cannot blame them, Lii. Now that the Wehrmacht forces are now in our country, hiding seemed almost impossible to all of us. Most of our enemies walked in our streets dressed after our own style. They might already have spies scattered around, and that matter I fear the most. If ever they found out that we have Belarus and Ukraine under our protection, we will meet the end of every Jews they exterminated. We are almost at the end of our fight" Boris' worry heightened, he feared that the prediction of Ukraine was coming into fruition. Out of the corner of his amber eyes, he viewed the tall man be jumpy in his place. Boris anticipated this situation to take place after they welcomed Belarus and Ukraine in their ranks, but he never realized how difficult to bear the feelings brought by the incoming tragedy.
"Even I am afraid of what tomorrow will bring. I always believed I am strong to fight for our country, for our people and for our personification. But it was wrong when I realized how terrified I am until now. I am the biggest coward in our ranks, boss!" Vasilii took his last smoke before he let his cigarette fell to the ground. "This would be the last time that I will smoke"
"You are one of the bravest souls that I had the honor to fight with, Vasilii" Boris playfully punched Vasilii on his left shoulder. "If ever the Germans located all of us, I would make sure that I could take as many as I can! Sure you do not want to wage a bet with an old man like me, eh?"
"Are you mocking my shooting skills, boss? You know that among our troops I am the sharpest shooter! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Heh! Don't be complacent son, just because you are bestowed with such ability. I might be an old man, but I will not lose to someone like you" Their laughter was cut-off when the telephone rang shrilly in the house.
"I'll answer it!" Boris watched Vasilii ran back to the house, passed the backyard door and he disappeared as he exited the kitchen. After five minutes or so, a frantic and ashen-faced Vasilii was seen running back to the leader of the resistance. "Boss! Bo-boss! The-the-the Germans were massively attacking us! The Germans brought numerous panzers and a hundred infantrymen! Lyaksandro and the others were barely holding the first line of defense!"
"So they finally found us. It will not take that long before the enemies penetrated our first line of defense. It's still a miracle that they managed to stall the movement of the Germans. Call the rest of the guerrillas. We will fight to our deaths!" And that five minute call was the most terrifying moments of their lives.
Majority of the Wehrmacht forces situated at Kiev were now stealthily moving towards the secret base of the rebels that were protecting the representatives of Belarus and Ukraine. As the large group was making their way they passed carcasses of suspected insurgents killed by the German soldiers dressed in civilian attires to ensure that their plan to finally capture the elusive personifications and annihilate the opponents of the Führer would be carried out flawlessly. It has been two months that Belarus and Ukraine mocked them right under their nose and the Wehrmacht, especially Germany was getting tired of their little petty game of hide-and-seek.
"There are no more guerillas lurking out here. All were now gone. Beyond those hills is a village rarely visited by your forces, Commander and within that place Boris and his people lives along with the two representatives you were targeting" the Ukrainian calmly stated what he knew on the lives of the insurgents. "Before you could touch your feet at the village there are three lines of defenses that we will encounter and each of those defenses were guarded with 50 or more guerillas with highly-powerful guns allegedly smuggled from the Allies and hijacked from trucks that the rebels took down weeks ago"
"I had received reports of casualties from my own men that insurgents attacked a number of trucks loaded with firearms going to Ukraine" Germany was commanding his troops to separate into three groups. The two groups will make their way around the place of the guerillas while the main force spearheaded by Germany and North Italy will directly engages the rebels in a large-scale combat. As the once huge group divided and directed to their assigned locations, Germany and his panzer division began their journey towards the first line of defense.
"Do you know the leader of the guerillas? You knew so many things for us to really consider that you are just a plain civilian" North Italy remained doubtful towards the man that was now in-between him and Germany. He just couldn't be a civilian that knew the matters and activities of the guerillas just by passing the area of the enemies of the Wehrmacht without being one of them. North Italy could not deny that the man might be a spy of the Germans or might be a double-crosser agent of both parties; however the last hypothesis of him was a colossal risk in the part of the insurgents, even if all of them are bold enough to fight to the last fighters that they have. No one wanted to destroy the Führer's army even if the power of the Third Reich was declining at the latter years of the Second World War or even if they would be forever revered in history as the brave men that fought the Germans to freed Ukraine from their clutches until to the last ounce of courage that they could muster.
"I am just a citizen of Ukraine that gladly welcomed the presence of Germany here in the country. The rebels only fight for their own interests. I even endured harsh treatments from them when Ukraine experiences scarcity in food. They harassed us and they took what we only had for winter. They burned down houses if they were not given what they want. Those guerillas… They killed my family!" The man was shaking in anger, the very gruesome image of his entire family shot in the head by his fellow countrymen was eternally embedded on his mind, and not even an act of repentance from the insurgents could remove that lifetime, painful memory from him.
"Sir, we could already see the first line of defense of the guerillas!" The second-in-command of the troop was eagerly waiting for Germany's orders. The blond nation took the binoculars from the officer and gazed at their target.
"Set the tanks ahead and wait for my command" Tensions began to reach its climax as the remaining tanks in the main force were now stationed in front of the troop and the soldiers took their positions behind the tanks. All the soldiers were ready to shower bullets to the guerillas guarding the first line of defense of the resistance. Even North Italy was now equipped with a rifle – he had lost Holy Roman Empire he will not let anyone take Germany away from him. He will kill anyone whether innocent civilian or not, now that Germany is at this moment vulnerable to any attacks now that the Third Reich is collapsing.
"Sir, I had brought all of you to their hideout. Maybe-maybe you could spare me from this moment?" The man was confident that the representative of Germany would be merciful enough to let him flee the scene. Germany smirked and North Italy knew that the man before them wouldn't be given a chance.
"Don't you want to see again your family?" The man took back as the tall nation now holding a gun walked towards him; his steely cerulean eyes glowed with malice. Almost anyone was now watching the same scenario they witnessed for countless times.
"But-but you promised that you'll let me go after I tell to you all of what I know about the resistance!" Absolute fear of death overcame the sanity of the Ukrainian.
"Ahhh…. Is that fear I am seeing in your eyes?" Germany licked his lips; he could feel fear in the air. "Hmmm… then you should be wise enough in the first place not to make a pact with a devil" Germany pulled the trigger and a loud BANG echoed in the valley. The Ukrainian fell down to the ground, blood oozing from the wound on his forehead. Germany tucked back his gun as he approached the lifeless body of the man that led them to the hiding place of Belarus and Ukraine and also to the untimely death of the Ukrainian. "Pity… If you aren't a coward, you might live" Germany stepped back from the dead body and his attention shifted back to his troop, all were now waiting for his go signal.
"Germany?"
"Commence the bombardment to our enemies! Kill everyone that harbors Belarus and Ukraine! There is no room for compassion to our enemies! For our people! For Germany!" Tanks sped up towards the first line of defense of the enemies of the Third Reich and the remaining infantrymen led by Germany and North Italy fired at the unaware guerillas, and the first scream and bloodshed ensued on that day.
Hurried footsteps echoed at the hallway as Boris sped up to the quarters of Ukraine and Belarus. The wooden door banged open and both Belarus and Ukraine watched in stunned silence Boris breathing heavily by the threshold, his knuckles was white from grasping his rifle firmly. "We… We need to get out of this place immediately!" Boris was catching his breath; terror in his eyes struck the hearts of the two female representatives. The nations exchanged alarmed glances to one another; the premonition of Ukraine arrived earlier unexpectedly.
"They had found our base, aren't they Father?" Ukraine immediately stood up from the bed and was about to collect her personal belongings when she was stopped by Boris.
"We do not have much time, Kats! Let's go!" The three of them ran out of the house only to be greeted by the explosions, gunfire and war cries of the opposing armies. "I did not expect that they would penetrate our defenses so easily. The two of you needed to escape this place right now!" Boris tugged the crying nations as they ran further from their house to the escape route prepared by the guerillas.
"Father! Father! We will stay and fight back the Axis!" Ukraine cried out amidst the cacophonous sound of the battle. Boris did not respond but he gripped tighter the hands of Ukraine and Belarus as they made their way towards the nearing emptied village.
"Do not be stubborn, Kats! We had already discussed this matter!" An explosion to their left sent flying the running guerillas several meters from the exact location of the blast. The three thudded to the ground, debris from the destroyed houses showered on multiple directions. Boris stirred from his position and was about to head to the knocked off nations when he heard numerous loud German accent voices from the direction of the sudden assault.
"There they are!"
"The boss ordered to capture the representatives alive!"
"Well… The Commander won't hurt us if we kill the red-haired, ja?" The Wehrmacht was about to pull their trigger and fire at the leader of the rebels when out of nowhere, bullets hailed upon them and the entire officers fell down to the blood-spluttered ground.
"We're all surrounded! It's a slim chance to escape the Axis forces! It's a matter of do or die, boss" Vasilii was smudged in dirt and blood, and sweat covered his face and arms. Anton and Olesya proceeded in helping the representatives regain their consciousness.
"This is what I dreaded the most, Lii" Boris surveyed the massive casualties; his companions were probably dead by the sudden onslaught of Germany. "Where are the twins?" Boris was keen to know their grave situation, especially on the first line of defenses of their base. He wanted to know how the twins fared against the Germans; the two were the most formidable soldiers in the resistance. When Vasilii did not respond, Boris painfully did not question him anymore. Something terrible had happened to Marko and Lyaksandro. He had lost his wife and his children, and even the twins that he considered his family were now gone. Why must life be so cruel on him?
"Time's running out, boss! Miss Kats and Miss Belarus must escape this place right now! The representatives of Germany and Italy are here!"
"The-they are here?" Ukraine stuttered; the guerillas were being punished for harboring the two of them in their safety.
"Then we must flee right now, dear sister" Belarus gently touched Ukraine's left shoulder, there was nothing that the two of them could now do to re-write their grim present or could bring back the lives that had been lost because of their existence.
"GERMANS!" A loud scream returned the tension of the presence of the Wehrmacht in their camp, and shouts and gunfire commenced again; the voice was probably silenced by the unexplainable wrath of the Third Reich. Any time now the enemies may find out their exact location and seize Ukraine and Belarus for good. The six ran with great haste, terror was upon all of them. They were within the insides of the deserted village when their enemies appeared in the distance.
"Go now, boss! The three of us will remain and fight off the Germans. We will give the three of you sufficient time to leave this place" Vasilii looked longingly to Boris and the two nations. He never felt so much pain again in his life until this moment of separation. No words could sum up the weight of this parting, an eternal goodbye for all of them. Belarus and Ukraine will live, but it would be the end for everyone. "It was a great moment to meet the two of you, Ms. Ukraine and Ms. Belarus! Well… This is it. This is…" Vasilii would be dying to see these people in front of him once again, a second-chance glimpse with the people he loved and adored so much. Swallowing the lump that formed in the back of his throat he spoke the words he never dreamt he would articulate for the last time with raw emotions, "Goodbye…"
RATATATATATATAAAAAAAT! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Hurry up now, boss!" Anton and Olesya fired against the approaching troops, several German fighters fell dead.
"Well, we are the remaining soldiers alive, aren't we?" Vasilii went back to his old self. All heroes die with a smile on their faces, Vasilii promised to himself. He will die as a hero…
"Care for a little competition? Let's see who could kill the most number of bastards among the three of us" Olesya smirked to her two male companions; taunting them that even if she is a female she could put up a good fight.
"I may be bald and pudgy, old man but I will not lose that so quickly, missus!" Anton chuckled and his machine gun consistently sang its battle cry as more German soldiers fell down to the bloodied and scorched earth of Ukraine. Their delight ended so soon when tanks appeared at all sides of their location and the last living guerillas of Boris' army were pitted to their own deaths.