A Love Story with a Prisoner of War - 2. Love?

In the next 10 hours upon his arrival, my mum, Jake and I tried our very best to show that we were harmless, totally harmless. We kept on telling Axel the reason why he was here was to help us farm, not to be a slave for us. Even though the wall between us was still visible, both the tension and anxiety have eased. For instance, the scared facial expression on his face was gradually replaced by a smiling one. We were delighted that the progress was tremendous.

Truth be told, deep down, I was still a bit afraid of this German boy… God knows whether he is a brutal killer. As far as I know, all the Nazi taught were patriotism and how to kill. So, I couldn’t let my guard down completely.

We showed Axel around the place; though I doubt he understood all my explanations. Fortunately, Axel showed a great interest in the place; you could see his eyes glowed with excitement when I brought him to the farm and the nearby neighborhood. It seemed to me that he is the kind of city dweller that never visits the countryside. And I was glad that he was at least happier than before. Well, I do sincerely wish that apart from being a helper on the farm, he could be a good friend of mine one day.

At night, my mum cooked him the best dishes with the limited food; a dish of tomato spaghetti, a bowl of broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce and a dish of baked chicken wings.

When Axel saw the dishes, his jaws dropped to the ground; he stared at the food like a ravenous wolf.

‘Lo food en cam.’ He exclaimed. (No food in camp)

'Oh poor boy! Eat as much as you want.’ My mum said slowly, with a big grin on her face.
Axel bolted down everything on the table within a few minutes and he kept on smiling and smiling as if he was praising my mum’s culinary skills. My mum was so elated that she was grinning from ear to ear; and it was the first time since the death of my dad that she smiled from her heart.

After dinner, we signaled Axel to go to sleep since it would be a long day for him tomorrow. For tomorrow, it would be the commencement of his farming and English lessons and I wished that he could manage both. Right after we heard his bedroom door was closed, the 3 of us had a mini-family conference.

‘I think he is a good boy, I hope he can soon settle down.’ My mum said in a light-hearted tone.

‘Well, he is nice; much nicer than I have imagined.’ Jake said causally.

‘He looks harmless and friendly, but still, we need to be careful. Remember to lock your bedroom, you know, just in case. I agree that he is nice, but we don’t know what is underneath the surface. Just watch out and keep an eye on him.’ I said.

‘You’re right. I have already put all the valuables in the safe, there isn’t anything he can steal. Do you think he will escape?’ mum asked.

‘I don’t think so…Jakon is surrounded by forest, you will either be attacked by bears or starved to death. I think he knows that; if I were him, I would rather stay here.’ I said in an expert tone.

‘That’s right. You can’t find any places to escape to in northern Canada. Here, he got food and a proper bed, what else does he want? ’ Jake said.

‘That sounds logical. So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?’ Mum said.

‘Jake, do you mind teaching him how to farm tomorrow? Teach him the basics like weeding, plowing. I need to go to the Reeves’ farm and help milk the cows, so I will be gone before 7am. I will teach him English in the evening.’ I said.

‘No problem, Sir.’ Jake said and I was surprised that he didn’t complain at all.

‘All right, I hope he is smart enough to do the farm work.’ Jake said jokingly.

‘Xavier, he is from Berlin, right?’ mum asked.

‘Yea, teaching him how to farm may take a little while.’ I said.

‘Hey, bro, why choosing him at first? You should have chosen one who has experience.’ Jake questioned me in a harsh tone.

For a minute, silence reigned. I couldn’t tell them I chose him because I was entranced by his beauty…Well, what could I say?

‘Well…er…er…er… the soldier said all of the PoWs were from cities; so there shouldn’t be any difference between the PoWs. I chose him solely because he looked the most harmless…’ I lied calmly, trying to sound normal.

‘Ok, it has been a long day for you two. Go to bed now, have a good sleep!’ mum said gently.

 *           *             *

Having finished milking the cows, I hurried back to my farm to see how everything was going. Well, surprisingly, everything turned out to be perfectly fine. Axel had already started weeding by the time I arrived home. He didn't look like a tyro at all; the way he weeded was not bad.

I hid behind a tractor and secretly scrutinised him from a distance.

It was already 6 pm when I first saw him on the second day. At that time, the sun was sinking behind the verdant granite hill beyond the farm. His manly figure silhouetted against the sunlight, and I just stood there in fascination, almost forgotten to breathe. I saw a shimmering halo above his head, emanating an irresistible golden light in every direction. If you need to describe him in one word, then 'seraphic' comes the closest. He was probably the most exquisite creature that has ever been made by the God. While I was helplessly staring at this drop-dead gorgeous boy, I felt my heart leap at a rate of 100 metre per second. His alluring figure gave me a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness which rushed through my veins, congealed my blood. Hell, what happened to me? I had never felt so attracted to anybody else in my life! What happened? Is this love? No, I couldn't fall for him... Is this an infatuation? Maybe, but I gotta get over it...

'Axel. Dinner!' I shouted and pointed at the direction of my house.

He turned around, and smiled at me... Oh God, what a stunningly beautiful smile...
No, crap. I am not ... I am not in love... With him.