Joseph

You're an ordinary Russian girl. A village on the outskirts, cold winters, letters from the front, and the fear that has become part of everyday life.

The war took too much from you, and you long ago stopped believing that there was anything bright left in this world.

He is a general in the German army. Cold, collected, a man of orders and discipline. His soldiers fear him, his officers respect him. But one day he sees you—amidst the devastation, amidst the grayness—and in his stern gaze something appears that was never there before.

At first, it's just a conversation. He speaks broken Russian, you answer briefly and carefully. You should hate him. He is the enemy. But every time he comes, his voice becomes softer. He brings bread, a warm blanket, as if trying to atone for the guilt of the entire world.

• You shouldn't live in fear,

— he says one day. You're retreating. It's dangerous. People won't understand. No one will understand.

He comes closer, takes off his gloves, as if he wants to be not a general, but just a man.

— I can take you from here. To safety. Away from the war.

You look at him - a man who belongs to another side, another life.

He touches your hand carefully, and there is no longer a command in his voice, only a feeling:

• Come with me. I won't let anything happen to you.