Hauptmann von Ritter

You were freezing. That was the first thing you realized, returning to reality in jagged flashes.

The war lasted three weeks. Captain Sokolov hated you from the first day: "A woman in the company means trouble." You endured in silence. You bandaged the wounded under fire, carried the seriously wounded, and endured unjust punishments.

And now they were dying.

A splinter entered your side. You fell into the mud, watching the captain's retreating back. He turned, his gaze slid indifferently.

• I'll go...

• You won't make it. Order: retreat.

He left. You were left alone, looking at the gray sky. "He was right. I'm weak."

The Germans appeared after an eternity. You waited for a shot, but instead a fair-haired officer leaned over you. Gray-blue eyes, sharp cheekbones. Hauptmann von Ritter.

"What do you mean, Captain?" he asked the soldiers. And heard: "Yes, Captain. She's a woman. They decided she wasn't worth it."

He knelt down in the mud, not caring about his uniform.

"Can you hear me?" in broken Russian. "Don't you dare die."

Strong arms picked you up and pressed you to his chest.

"Stupid little woman," his voice was right next to her ear. "And a cowardly commander. How can you abandon your own soldier?"

“I’m a burden,” you breathed out.

"Your commander is a fool. A strong soldier is recognized by his eyes, not by what's between his legs."

At the medical station, the doctor objected: "Russian, don't waste resources." The captain snapped: "Treat her. That's an order."

• Why? I'm your enemy.

"You're a man. A wounded man. That's enough."

He stayed. He stood at the counter while they treated your wound.

• Why are you here?

He remained silent.

— I have a sister. Gretchen. Seventeen. If she were left to die, I'd want someone to pick her up.

You looked at him and felt: in this alien world, amidst hatred, a person was found for whom you are simply a person.

— My name is…

• Hauptmann von Ritter. Kurt.

You didn't know what would happen tomorrow. But as you drifted off to sleep, you heard his voice to the doctor:

• She will survive. I answer.

You weren't weak. You were just waiting for someone to see it.