Dear Sister,
I have finally reached France, the French also dismiss the notion of another great war but a sense of fear is evident in the streets of Paris where I currently have taken refuge. The French, as you evidently know have mobilized millions of men but are hesitant to attack in fear of retaliation by the Germans. Food is scarce here; the government has applied a rationing system that is hurting the populous of France more than ever. Sitting here in a small dirty shack in Paris, and the studying map of Europe, I have realized that the journey to Berlin is a lot tougher than I expected, the only way that Annabeth- my traveling partner suggests is too risky considering the events of war that are going to take place in upcoming weeks.
I hope to keep my calm and composure but I fear the worst time for me is yet to come even after all I have suffered.
Love,
Percy
Percy stood staring at the Arc De Triomphe in the famous old juncture in the center of Paris. The city had tension in the air, the French had not taken the devastating campaign in Norway lightly, yet the city square was bustling with activity. With beggars begging, street performers playing patriotic music, rich men and women dining in fancy restaurants in spite of rationing. Money ruled above all in this period like it had in most of the human existence. If someone lived as long as Percy had, they will realize the worthlessness of things like money, new technologies or fashion. People always laugh at today's technology and fashion in five years, therefore he believes in investing his time in something that he wouldn't laugh at in 5 years like memories and music. Music has been one of the men's greatest achievements; it has the ability to stop time he has realized. His search for truth had brought him here, he is tired of the war going in his period, and all his life he had searched for answers and wisdom, yet he feels no wiser, nor near the truth of his very reality.
Percy was lost in his thoughts when someone poked him from behind, he turns and came face to face with Annabeth. She wore a tight blue skirt with requisite shoulder pads and a hat, looking like a Parisian aristocrat. Her grey eyes glimmered in the bright April sun with hair locks falling at the side of her shoulders.
"I've got our way out of France," She said, looking quite pleased with herself.
Percy sighed,
"Let us discuss back at the shack you call Hotel…" he proposed.
"All right, but we need to hurry," She stated and then turned on her heels.
Their journey from Calais to Paris was quite easy; they had traveled to Caen from Calais and then took a train to Paris. It was a week since their journey began and they were running out of time as the inevitable invasion day came closer day by day. Yet they were not able to devise a plan to reach Berlin for 3 days now in Paris.
In these 3 days in Paris, Percy had realized that each of these old European cities had a unique identity, a soul one might say. The architecture was breathtaking, even for someone like Percy. The streets breathed the history of the city, of what Paris has been for over half a millennia, something which seemed almost extinct in the cities of his time.
As he walked through the streets of Paris, his mind wandered again to all he had witnessed in his 500 years of existence, and the struggle he had been part of ever since. Humans do not accept change easily; he remembered the outrage and the problems which arose when Artificial Intelligence took a firm hold in day to day lives. He remembered the fanatic change in political systems that took place, the rise and fall of right-wing movements again. He remembered the fall of religious institutions, the old myths being replaced by new ones. He had cursed his father far too many times to give him this long life and the responsibility he left to guard the secret, yet he understood.
It had been a mental struggle for both he and his sister to survive these years. It hurts when you lose all the people you have ever loved. Percy sometimes forgot in which time period he was in, whether, in the early 2000s or late 2400s, he suffered from flashbacks and headaches regularly.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Annabeth asked raising an eyebrow; she must have seen him dazed and lost in a mental dilemma.
Annabeth had opened up easily with Percy; it was as if they both were long lost friends from another life. Their initial conversation began on disagreement on the way to Berlin, they both had little or no knowledge of the number of French fortifications at the Franco-German border. The disagreement was followed by a heated debate on World War 1 war tactics, with a lot of yelling but at the end of the day, they found themselves sitting at a bar in Paris laughing over a glass of wine.
The truth is Percy should have known about the position and the fortifications along the border as he had studied them intensively once, but they were lost somewhere between his headaches and dreams.
"Reckon, I'm just tired," Percy replied not meeting Annabeth's eyes, he feared that she could look straight from his lie if he stared into her grey, stormy beautiful eyes.
Whenever he was with Annabeth, he had a deep feeling in his gut and in truth, it scared him, he only once had such feeling and the events that followed had almost made him go insane. His sister termed their condition of being always of the same age, 21 young and healthy a blessing but in reality, Percy felt it as a curse. And now with Annabeth, though happy(which he rarely ever was), he was surrounded with fear of making that mistake again, to fall in love.
They both made their way into the small hotel/shack and sat around the small round table in their room. Annabeth took a deep breath and took out a map of Western Europe; the borders were extensively marked with a red marker, with random circles marked with black.
Percy looked up at her, his eyes asking questions
"Military check posts," Annabeth answered with a shrug.
"Look, we will make a stop here at Reims," she stated, pointing her Pen to the location of the city in northeastern France.
"Then, we will visit Charleville," pointing the pen further north to a small town.
Percy's eyes widened in the realization of the route she was suggesting, in no way they were going through that area. His heart sped at an astronomical rate, threatening to break out of his chest when she finished by saying,
"Then we will move into Germany through the Ardennes forest, she finished with a triumphant look on her face.
Percy facepalmed and spoke in a hushed voice,
"No, not the Ardennes,"
"Excuse me?" Annabeth questioned,
"It's too risky trekking through the forest," Percy weakly defended,
"This whole trip is risky idiot," Annabeth replied apparently annoyed,
"No, I'm not going through the Ardennes," he replied firmly this time.
"Look," Annabeth said pointing her finger at Percy accusingly,
"While you were having your little tour in Paris, I was in pubs and bars dressed like an aristocratic bimbo, trying to seduce officials to get information about divisions and fortifications along the border,"
"The Ardennes is the most lightly defended area, with only 2 out of 98 French divisions stationed," She continued.
"It's our only chance," She declared finally.
"Wouldn't the Germans think the same?" Percy replied, his voice a pitch higher.
"Invasion through Ardennes, are you out of your mind? The area is impenetrable,"
"Not likely,"
"Trust me Annabeth on this please; we cannot use this route," Percy yelled
"We are going this either this way or not at all," she yelled back stubbornly, rising from her position around the table and leaving the room in apparent anger.
Percy sighed; this was going to be a long argument.
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावक: |
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुत: || 23||
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्यएवच|
नित्य: सर्वगत: स्थाणुरचलोऽयंसनातन: || 24||
Weapons cannot shred the soul, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.
The soul is unbreakable and incombustible; it can neither be dampened nor dried. It is everlasting, in all places, unalterable, immutable, and primordial.
A/N: Thanks for reading! All reviews are welcomed.