Forged in Blood And Steel

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Pov of a Briton

24-June-1921

''And how are you handling everything in the end, Oliver?'' one of my companions asked me while the sound of scissors cutting tomatoes could be heard.

''Eh… I think well, right? I struggle a little when speaking quickly… but yes, I can communicate without problems now'' I replied, trying to force myself to speak German properly.

''Come on, come on'' someone said, giving me a little tap on the back of the head. ''There is less and less left before you leave that school where you are learning German and have all your afternoons free to enjoy what happens at night… The local league has been very good lately and you are missing it because you have to take those classes'' said another of my companions, who was carrying a large basket full of tomatoes that he began dividing by size into the boxes in front of him.

''Yes, I would like to go, truthfully, but I have to attend by Government order until they give me the certificate'' I said, taking off my cap to scratch a little through my hair before putting it back on and continuing to cut the tomatoes that were already ready to be harvested.

''Well, well, since today you do not have to go, do you want to go drink beer? The new brewery the Hellers opened is wonderful. Apparently, they bought one of those machines the State sells and now they produce some brews that, dear God, you can almost taste all the caramel from the malt'' said the first of my companions, closing his eyes as if thinking about drinking a good beer.

''Yes, maybe. Today I have no classes and neither does my wife, so I suppose I can disappear for a while and join you'' I replied while continuing to cut and stopping to smell one of the tomatoes, enjoying the scent of fresh tomato.

''Great, then we have to finish quickly, boys'' said a third man who joined in while everyone else quickly got to work.

Life in the Baltic Duchy was considerably more complicated than one would expect once one arrived, since the first thing one heard was that they offered you a lot of things so you could bring your family, a house and work almost guaranteed upon arrival, which was true. As soon as I touched port in Riga, when they brought me in, they immediately gave me a house, although not in Riga as I thought it would be, not even close.

Apparently, they had sent me to work in a small German city, and it was completely German, with colorful houses and the architectural system the Germans used so much here in the Baltic, which sought to clearly distinguish the cities built during other administrative periods.

I thought this would be a great problem, since I believed that at most I would get work moving boxes, because those were usually among the most common jobs in some places when there was work and, at the same time, it was what I had done during much of my life. But the Germans put me to work in the local greenhouses.

The Germans made intensive use of these things, where they produced food throughout the year, every month and almost every day, because the seeds were not planted following a specific cycle. All the greenhouses produced within certain ranges and we had to check them frequently, and there could be all kinds of things, since they produced mushrooms, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, legumes or, in some cases, they simply cared for barley seeds and, as soon as the shoots appeared, these were sent to feed the animals.

''Good, with that we have this week's shipment sent to the farms, so leave your work equipment, clean it and you may withdraw to enjoy your leisure time'' the foreman said while watching as a large shipment of foliage and lettuce was sent to the rabbit farms.

While the truck drivers departed and we left our work tools clean, someone touched my shoulder.

''We are going now, Oliver. We got out of work early today, so let us go see what we told you about'' one of my companions said while looking at his watch, which was a piece made by the local watchmaker.

''What time is it?'' I asked, trying to orient myself by the position of the shadows.

''Four twenty in the afternoon. We finished relatively early today, so we can go buy some beers and watch some football matches, unless you want to do something else afterward'' my companion said, looking at the others.

''Ah, we got out quite early, truthfully. Let us go, I will follow you because I really do not have much idea where we have to go'' I said while stretching a little to relax my body.

''Yes, let us go'' one of the Germans said while beginning to count the bills he had in his wallet.

I began following the group of Germans, who spoke among themselves mainly about their lives. It was difficult for me to join those conversations, since I still did not speak German at the level necessary to maintain such a casual conversation, especially because I still had to adapt to the local slang used by the former German soldiers, who had their own ways of speaking, very different from those of people who had never been soldiers.

That was even harder for me, since I had avoided participating in the war because, when the time came for conscription, I had happened to cut my thigh badly and had been bedridden long enough for them to declare me unfit for service, so I was rather alien to everything they had lived through.

We walked through the streets of that German colony and I saw numerous trucks pass by belonging to some State companies, as well as other vehicles that did not have the logo of any Baltic company and seemed to be owned by some citizens.

Finally, we arrived at one of the fullest common areas that could be found in the city, the public games center.

It was a complex made up of several football fields, since that sport was becoming one of the most popular among everyone, except perhaps for the shooting clubs. But to enter those clubs, they required you to have received military education, participated in the army, in the police or anything else that justified that you were someone trustworthy with a weapon in your hands.

Because, for some reason, weapons were relatively well controlled considering that most of the population of that colony was made up of veterans of the Great War and, even so, practically none of them had their own weapons.

But our path continued until we reached one of the German breweries in the city, which seemed to be quite large, since apparently it was a house that had been modified to turn it into a kind of tavern.

''We are here, Oliver. You will find one of the best beers here'' someone said, slapping my back while they pushed me inside.

''Hey, no pushing'' I said as we moved inside.

Inside, a strong smell of beer hit me and the place was packed. There were a lot of Germans drinking beer, reading the newspaper and others talking about anything at all while the beer flowed without pause.

''A table…'' someone said while looking at one of the waitresses.

The waitress quickly led us to a table, while one of my companions began ordering practically with his hands, since he said things while raising his fingers.

Among the laughter and shouting around me, it did not take me long to join the conversations of the others, although only by saying a few simple phrases, since more than anything I dedicated myself to looking at whoever was speaking because we were quite a large group.

Until finally they brought us something, a kind of bread that seemed to be braided.

''They finally arrived… here, Oliver, this one is yours'' one of my companions said, placing an enormous beer mug in front of me.

''Ha, ha, ha, look how the Briton's eyes opened'' someone said while the others burst into laughter.

''Hey, but this is too much, truthfully'' I said, looking at the foam that was almost spilling out of the mug.

''A slightly larger mug… but you just drink with confidence'' he said while putting a piece of that bread into his mouth and beginning to drink.

I took the mug with both hands and began taking small sips while savoring my lips. I was used to much more bitter drinks, although truthfully I did not know whether that was because I usually drank in miserable places, considering that German brewing seemed to be considerably better than that of the place where I normally bought my alcohol.

''Yes, you can really feel that caramel flavor, truthfully'' I said while licking my lips and wiping the foam from my beard with a napkin.

''Better than tea, is it not?'' one of my German companions said while laughing.

''Different occasions… they are not for the same thing'' I said while biting the bread and taking another sip of beer.

We continued talking while I listened to everyone speak about their stories or about how they wanted to go to the shooting club. We stayed there for almost an hour eating bread with butter and, during all that time, I managed to finish the damned mug.

''Ah, come on… it is still early. Let us go to the matches'' one of the Germans said, trying to convince me.

''I cannot… I am sorry. I have to go with my wife. She will worry if I arrive late, she might think something happened to me'' I said, raising my shoulders.

''Tell her next time, then, Oliver. Consider this a gift, but next time you contribute to the share, eh?'' another said, pointing at me with his finger while they began walking toward the football fields and I returned home.

I quickly reached the street where my house was while trying to control the burps that escaped me from time to time and, using my keys, opened the door of my home.

''Oh, darling, you arrived early'' I heard my wife say while holding our daughter.

''Yes, we got out a little early, but my friends from work took me to drink beer. I did not spend my wages, so do not be frightened…'' I said while looking at my wife.

''Ah, excellent… Are you hungry? I had been preparing shepherd's pie. I managed to exchange our ration of rabbit meat for mutton with an acquaintance from school, so we have everything for a good meal'' my wife said while smiling and gently moving our daughter in her arms.

''Oh, that sounds wonderful… It is difficult to make some recipes with rabbit meat, so it must have been hard to get it, was it not?'' I asked while taking off my coat.

''Yes, a little. Sheep are used mainly for wool in some industries and they do not usually slaughter them for meat, but I managed to obtain it without losing too much in the exchange'' my wife replied.

I placed the kettle over the fire while I was about to prepare hot water for the shower when I heard three soft knocks on the door.

''Are they knocking at the door?'' my wife asked while looking at me.

''It seems so…'' I replied.

Then I heard three more knocks.

This time much stronger and more violent.

I approached the door and opened it slowly.

''Yes?'' I said, looking at a tall, sturdy German who was standing upright in front of my door.

''I have some questions for you, Mr. Oliver, regarding one of your coworkers'' the German said while bringing one hand to his pocket and showing me a badge. ''May I come in?''

''Of course…'' I said with difficulty.

The German pushed the door and entered my home. It did not take him long to begin observing the things around him.

''Well, the reason I am here is simple. I do not know if the name Jack will make you remember something'' the German said while taking out a notebook and looking at me.

''He is one of my coworkers. He is one of those who came with me to this town'' I said, somewhat nervous.

''Yes, anything else?'' he asked, staring fixedly into my eyes.

''Yes, that is what I know about him. The fellow did not speak to me much, he was quite reserved, truthfully. Besides, we worked on different things and rarely got along'' I replied, looking at the German.

''I see… Oh… shepherd's pie. A very British meal… Any problems with your assigned rations?'' the German asked while smiling slightly.

''No, we just made a barter to eat something familiar… you know, we left my relatives behind to come here and this is one of the few connections we can have with them, besides letters'' I said nervously while looking at my wife, who was also beginning to grow nervous.

''Letters, eh? I have always been curious to try that dish…'' the German said while looking at my wife.

''If you like… I can give you a piece. I had also prepared some for tomorrow'' my wife said, struggling to get the words out of her mouth.

''Oh, thank you. You should not have troubled yourselves'' the German said while walking toward our table. It did not take him long to sit down and point out where I should sit.

''Well… thank you very much'' he said, looking at my wife, who soon placed the plate and a cup in front of him. ''What did he bring you here for?'' he suddenly asked, ceasing to smile and looking at me seriously. ''Did your countryman never do anything that caught your attention?''

''No… as I said, we only spoke a few times, nothing more than that'' I replied, feeling an unpleasant pressure in my stomach.

The German dedicated himself to tasting the dish while I listened to the fork and knife moving against the tableware. From time to time he drank some tea, but he never took his eyes off me.

''And what did you talk about?'' the German asked.

''The weather… work… his family… where some things he was looking for were'' I replied while trying to remember every time I had spoken with the other Englishman.

''Huh…'' he murmured while drinking a little tea and observing me. ''And what was he looking for?''

''For example… the foreman's manifest… some basket, tools… the ignition keys to one of the trucks… things like that'' I replied, breathing nervously.

My answer made the German frown and become thoughtful. He placed a fist over his lips, pushing his nose slightly while we listened to his breathing inside our dining room.

''I already have a theory… Thank you, Mr. Oliver. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am afraid your compatriot was a spy. We were still missing proof about some things, but now everything makes much more sense. My theory has just gained considerable strength'' he said while moving one hand to his pocket.

He took out several bills.

''Here is the two-hundred-mark reward for collaborating with important information that could help us discover a spy. I will also make sure they add a small amount of mutton to your future rations… for your cooperation'' the German said while standing up.

He left the meal half-finished and soon departed, leaving the money on the table.

''What happened here?'' I asked while looking at my wife, who seemed just as confused as I was.

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