“Not that I remember...” Bernard paused in thought, then shook his head. “I didn’t see them all that much and when my parents disappeared, I only saw them in the evenings. I was finishing up secondary school and getting ready to go to university, so I stayed busy.”
“Tell me more about your parents. You said they disappeared?”
He nodded. “They never came home from a New Year’s Eve party. At least that was the story Lukan and Kulirra told me. I remember they wore fancy clothing, sort of like the gowns you wear. I assumed it was another one of their costume parties. They went to them all the time.” He glanced at Freyja, her amethyst gaze steady as she returned his stare. “Why are you so interested in my family?”
“From the moment I saw you, there was something familiar about you, as if I should have known you from somewhere. It bothers me that I can’t figure it out, but I will, though. I always do.”
A flash of light caught his attention, and he turned back to the Glass in time to see a tank explode, the fiery blast incinerating the soldiers inside. Several more tanks exploded, and the soldiers’ dying screams filled his head, bringing back all the pain and loss he had felt during the war. So many men needlessly dead, all because of a megalomaniac and his henchmen.
“Hitler wasn’t the only one behind the devastation, Bernard. You must remember there were many colluding with each other to take the upper hand and remake the world as they wanted it to be.”
“I know,” he said, forcing the words past the blockage in his throat. “I would give anything to be able to go back and change what happened. So many beautiful towns now rubble. An entire race of people all but obliterated because their faith wasn’t Christian, or whatever the Nazi belief was. I can’t imagine a God who would have wanted any of this done in His name.”
“No one will ever understand the tortured and demented mind of those who seek such destruction. Not even the gods. We can only do what we can to minimize the outcome.”
Bernard’s gaze snapped to hers. “Well, then, the gods didn’t do enough. Six million Jews died because of Hitler and his circle. Six million!” He pulled in deep breaths, trying to calm down the inferno of rage that had been building inside of him since he had watched Hitler die in comfort in Paraguay. While the Führer may have been alone, there were still so many who followed his edicts.
“Damn that man! He should have died in excruciating agony like those he had tortured.” After everything Bernard had done to help win the war for the Allies, he felt cheated.
“Have you seen or heard from Alva?”
He met her gaze momentarily before turning back to the Glass. “No, why?”
“No real reason. She hasn’t returned yet from visiting her mother or sent me a message asking for more time. It isn’t like her.” Freyja reached out, laid her hand on his shoulder, and gently squeezed. “Don’t let your frustration best you, Bernard. I know better than most the heartache of losing people, especially those we love. Nothing will make those deaths easier to bear, but they are no longer in pain, nor are they persecuted. Their spirits will be reborn to live happier lives. Mark my words. Changing events only leads to a path further damned.” With each word, her voice grew quieter, until she stood and walked across the room toward the door. “This last part I know all too well, my friend. Leave the past alone.”
The room’s silence grew until he felt smothered. Rising, he crossed to the tall, narrow window on the far wall and stared down at a lush garden. A kaleidoscope of colors swirled from purples, reds, and yellows, to shades of orange, pale pink, and white. The garden’s beauty was broken only by a path of dark green grass meandering through the artistic canvas.
A child’s giggle filtered through the space. The happy yapping of what sounded like a small dog or puppy joined in. He flipped the window’s lock open, holding the wavy glass panes as they swung outward. Pissing off a powerful goddess by breaking her beautiful windows was not something he wanted to do, even if he was mad at her for not changing enough of the abominable events that happened throughout the war.
A movement in the far corner of the garden caught his eye as a bright-yellow object bobbed up and down along the hedgerow. A cringeworthy, high-pitched squeal shattered the peacefulness.
“Julek! Get back here right now!” a girl’s voice hollered, annoyance more than anger in her tone. “I swear, you don’t listen to anyone. Do you want Mikhail or Natalya mad at you again?”
The yellow object stopped, then toppled forward as a furry brown puppy pounced. They both tumbled out of sight. A brown-haired girl appeared behind the tumbling duo as another fit of happy giggles filled the air.
She looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old, but as she glared down at the boy, he recognized the expression on her face. He had seen it enough from his own mother. She had to be Adela, Julek’s older sister. Natalya had mentioned the arrest and subsequent deaths of their parents, and Adela, due to the war, now acted more like his mother rather than his sister.
“I’m tired of always running after you, Julek.”
“Aww, Adela, this garden is safe. Freyja said so.”
Adela leaned forward and pulled up the yellow object, which Bernard now recognized as a rain slicker. She pushed back the hood, revealing a tousle-headed boy with a wide grin on his face.
“Wanna play chase with us?”
Bernard’s eyes narrowed as he studied the girl’s face. Even though he was quite a distance from them, he saw the way she pulled her lips between her teeth, trying not to smile.
Another boy appeared behind the girl. He winked at Julek and laid a hand on Adela’s shoulder. “No harm done. Your brother has more energy than three kids his age. I think running around with a puppy chasing after him was just the thing he needed. Now, though, we must return to the others.”
Julek pulled his yellow slicker’s hood back over his wild hair and once again bobbed up and down along the hedgerow, heading back to wherever they’d come from. “Are we gonna get to do something fun? Oh, I know! We’re gonna eat, aren’t we? A huge feast like we had when we first got here. I wanna eat the yummy breads!”
The boy laughed, walking beside Adela. “I’m sure we’ll eat soon enough. Right now, we’re going to meet up with Mikhail, Natalya, and her sister, Lilyann, to talk about our future.”
“Why, Peter? Why can’t we stay here?” Julek asked, his voice fading away as he skipped on ahead without waiting for an answer. The two teens followed him at a much slower pace, and from the way their heads tilted together, they were probably whispering. He didn’t blame them. Now that the war on Earth was over, kids could be kids once more, pushing boundaries, eating up knowledge, and crushing on a new love.
Absently rubbing his chest, he closed the window, turned back to the sitting area, and sat in the same spot on the sofa. Ignoring the rumbling of his empty stomach, he leaned back to begin watching the God’s Glass again, but it turned black before fading back to its normal bronze color. He dropped his head on the back of the sofa in disgust. Now, he didn’t even have this escape.
“Thought I’d find you in here sulking.”