Tic-tac-tic-tac. Time is slowly flowing, and with every second, our memories are fading. They’re disappearing until there’s only a blank space. And yet, there’re events we shouldn’t forget for our own sake. Wars are only a few of those stories.
Tic-tac. It’s still passing. However, there’s one place where time has seemingly stopped — a dilapidating and gloom area called Josefov fortress.
It’s night already, and everything fell in silence. There’re no lights, except a small campfire. It’s a place where two men have met. Two men who should be fighting to the death as enemies. So why aren’t they? More importantly, who are they?
A man in the US army uniform
The first one who tries to speak is a man whose name is John. He wears the US army uniform, but the chap across the fire does not. Although John doesn’t know who is the other man, he understands enough to be sure it’s an enemy.
A man in the German army uniform
Coincidentally, his name is Hans. He’s a typical soldier from Germany. Hans listens to the words of his enemy and smiles, now and then. Sometimes he nods, even though he doesn’t understand a single word. And he shivers all the time.
The story ends
They met at a campfire. Both were peaceful while World War II raged everywhere else. John and Hans were common men who never intended to kill anybody. Unfortunately, they were recruited to this madness against their will.
This story should end with one of them dead. It didn’t. As they met, they parted. Since then, they never saw each other again.
John and Hans are dead for many years now. Instead of killing, they became friends. Perhaps they didn’t understand the words of the other one, but they found a common language.
And maybe that’s how a true peace comes to existence.
