A Love Story with a Prisoner of War - 7. The Walk

Late June, 1941. Two whole months since Axel arrived.

I woke up at 8. After brushing my teeth, I collected some eggs from the chicken coop and some lettuce from the field. Then, I made a few egg sandwiches for picnic. 'Axel, you have to like my sandwiches; they are for you.’ I thought.

Worry filled my entire morning. I smiled to the mirror for more than an hour in the hope of finding a smile that could make me handsomer. At last, I discovered that showing my teeth slightly made me look the best. Then, I washed, combed, re-washed and re-combed my hair for a few times, hoping to find a new hairstyle that could make me look smarter. But in the end, I gave up, I resorted to the ordinary one which looked the most natural on me. I did not want to look terrible or dumb in front of him; I wanted him to see me from the perfect angle; I wanted him to find me handsome; I wanted him to feel happy to be with me. The bond between us was not very strong, but for the time being, we were friends. I knew it was not quite possible that our relationship would grow into something bigger than friends; so I only wished that he would become my bosom buddy one day.

‘Xavier goo morning.’ Axel said while I was busy fretting.

‘Good morning Axel.’ I said in reply.

‘What made you?’ He said, looking at the sandwich in my hand.

‘Oh, it’s for our lunch; it’s called sand-wich.’ I said.

‘Look goo.’ Axel said casually.

‘Hope you'll like it.' I said.

‘I'll like it’. He said, grinning from ear to ear. ‘When we go today?’

‘We’ll start hiking at 11. Good for you? We’ll have lunch at the mountaintop.’ I said.

‘Ok.’ Axel said with a small smile on his face. He looked excited for the day off as well.

‘Let’s have some breakfast first.’ I said.

‘Yes, Sir.’ He said firmly.

I felt my heart melt once again.

*   *   *

The day was blessed with brilliant sunshine. There were no clouds in the horizon and the cool breeze made everything just about right. Birds were flying high in the blue sky, happily humming while the wheat in the field was swaying softly to the birds’ symphony. God did hear my prayer – He deliberately made everything perfect just for the two of us. The weather was optimal for hiking.

We started strolling in the woods at around 11am. Axel seemed very amazed by the sublimity of Callistar. Although I had been here many times, this place had never failed to calm me down and help me unwind. The luscious landscape of Callistar was stupendous - The sky here was not blue; it was green. Along the route to the mountaintop, the canopy was so dense and close-knit that the early summer heat could not be felt here. Even though we were hiking in the afternoon, the temperature was pretty cool and pleasant. Sun rays shone through the small gaps in the canopy, resulting in countless pillars of lights that stretched from the ground to the canopy. The woods were silent apart from the crunch of our feet on the fallen dried leaves. Tall pine trees, all reaching at least 30 meters, were the major inhabitant of Callistar and each corner looked very much alike – only the locals knew the way to the mountaintop.

'Hey, let's have an English test!' I said, trying to break the silence between us.

'Har? No like.' Axel said.

'One, two, three, and then?' I asked.

'Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.' Axel replied brightly.

'Great. Tell me the names of animals that you know.'

‘Cicken, cow, pig, bird…em… sleep…em…em…dog…em house.’ Axel said hesitantly.

‘No. it’s Ch-ch-ch-icken. Sh-sh-sh-sheep. Sl-sleep is go to bed. And then, it’s hor-or-or-se. House is the place we live in.’ I said. ‘How about color?’

‘Red, yellow, blue, green, orange, white, black.’ he said.

‘Good job. What is that called?’ I said, my finger pointing at a tree.

‘Is chee.’ He said.

‘Not chee, it’s tr-tr-tree.’ I said.

‘Tree?’ He asked.

‘Yes.’ I said. ‘And, the names of different body parts?’

‘Head, hand, eye, mouth, foot.’ He said confidently.

‘Well done!’ I said, smiling with delight.

‘What this?’ His finger pointed at his private area, grinning evilly.

‘What?’ I said, totally taken aback by his question.

‘This.’ He grinned, finger still pointing at the area of his manhood.

‘You are naughty. I am not teaching you this.’ I said while my face was burning in fire.

‘Hahahahahaha.’ He laughed.

Why would he want to know THAT?

*  *  *

After two hours, we finally arrived at the mountaintop. It was a bare plateau that offered a panoramic view of my hometown. The golden wheat fields down below shimmered in the sunlight; the undulating hills on the other side were as hypnotic as the ocean. Standing on the peak, which was the highest point in the area, could fill you up with sheer invincibility that elsewhere could not offer. We sat under a pine tree for shade and indulged ourselves in the tranquil environment, letting the beautiful scenery recharge our batteries.

‘The place is good.’ Axel said, eyes roving around.

‘Yes. Do you like this place?’ I asked.

‘I like.’ He replied.

I took the sandwich box out from my duffel bag and handed him the box.

‘Take one.’ I said.

He took a sandwich and put it in his mouth. He chewed for a moment and stopped.

‘Oh, Xavier. Lecker, lecker.’ Axel exclaimed.

‘Huh? What lecker lecker?’ I said in bafflement.

‘Lecker is goo foo.’ He stated.

‘Good food in German?’ I asked.

‘Yes. I like your sand… sand… what?’ Axel struggled.

‘Sand-wich.’ I said.

‘Yes. I like you sandwich. Thank you Xavier.’ He said.

Hearing him call my name made me quiver, and hearing him praise me made my heart skip a few beats. Elation ran over my entire body as I watched him savor the sandwich. He looked very satisfied and pleased with the beautiful scene and the yummy sandwich in his mouth. I sat motionless beside him and observed his every move carefully. I discovered that his kissable lips only moved slightly when he chewed; his eyes blinked unusually fast when he ate; and he made a funny moan when he swallowed the food. Deep down, I felt the urge to kiss him compound exponentially and my mind was filled with the images of kissing him, touching him, and…and…so much more. I wondered how soft his lips were and how warm his hand was. ‘I want you.’ My heart shouted. My mind drifted back to the moment he asked me what was the English term for genital. I couldn’t help feeling curious about that. Was Axel interested in that kind of stuff? Did he masturbate in his room? Was Axel interested in me? Was he… was he… a homosexual? I wanted the answers to all these questions so desperately; but I knew clearly that he would not understand me given the questions were in English.

‘Xavier!’

A voice shattered my train of thoughts.

‘Xavier!’ Axel shouted again.

‘Oh, yes.’ I replied.

‘Why no eat sandwich?’ he said, finger pointing at the untouched sandwich.

‘Oh. Oh, yea.’ I smiled sheepishly.

I took a sandwich and put it in my mouth.

‘Ew… it does not taste good at all!’ my mind shouted. Why did Axel praise me?
The sandwich actually tasted AWFUL. The egg was tasteless and the bread was stale. Though I did not always cook, my cooking had always been okay; why did the sandwich taste so bad this time? Was it because it was not fresh enough?

I looked at Axel in astonishment but he was still smiling at me. Did he praise me out of respect? I did not want him to lie to me; I wanted him to be my friend who would tell me his true feeling.

‘Hey, Axel. Did you really think the sandwich was lecker?’ I asked in a dubious tone.

‘Yes, yes.’ He replied.

‘I think it tasted VERY bad. Please tell me what you think. I want honesty and no lie. We are friends, right? You never tell lies to your friends.’ I said slowly though I doubted he could understand much of what I said.

Axel remained silent for a few seconds and he finally admitted the truth to me. ‘Em… Em… Em… No lecker…It no lecker…I no like sandwich.’ He looked down on the ground, not dared to look me in the eyes.

‘Thank you.’ I said. Then, he stared at me in confusion. ‘Thank you for telling me what you really think. We are good friends, we need to tell each other the truth, no lie.’

‘What fend (he meant friend)?’ He asked.

‘Em…em… Jake and I are brother. You and I are good friend. Like you go to school, the one you plays with, the one you talks to, the one you cares about is your friend.’

‘Oh. Freund!’ Axel exclaimed.

‘Freund?’ I asked.

‘Yes, friend is freund!’ He said delightfully.

‘Oh. I see.’ Though I was not so sure, I nodded.

‘Guter freund.’ Axel smiled.

Out of the blue, he leaned forward and gave me a brief hug, and then he whispered ‘Guter freund’ in my ear. I was both surprised and excited. It felt so good and so superb to be embraced by the drop-dead gorgeous Axel. Although the hug lasted for less than a mere of 2 seconds, my whole body was electrified. His unique odor aroused me; his body warmth made me feel safe and his mellow voice shot me right through my heart. And that was the moment that I finally confessed my feeling to myself – yea, I love this boy.

‘We guter freund!’ Axel said again.

‘Yes.’ I smiled.

We chatted for a while afterwards, though his limited English was still a stumbling block to a smooth conversation. He told me about his family and school. (He had a 24-year-old brother and a 14-year-old sister; and he studied in a co-educational school which he didn’t like very much) We enjoyed the sunshine and each other’s companion for some times and we left at about 4 or 5pm.

While we were walking back, I heard some disturbingly loud noise.

‘Hey, Axel, do you hear something?’ I asked.

We turned around and saw something dashing towards us in the distance. Our jaws dropped to the ground instantly – it was a black bear.