Bruno returned from the awards ceremony feeling quite rejuvenated. As a man who had held the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during the first year of the war, Bruno’s decorations were quite humble when compared to the others who held a similar post.
By now, however, his chest was decorated with medals, and these were medals earned through the shedding of sweat, tears, and blood. Through exceptional valor on the battlefield, and military leadership in the face of the enemy.
When he stepped foot into his home, wearing his full dress uniform, Bruno found his wife staring at him with a rather flushed look. Heidi was even biting her lip, trying not to openly express her arousal at the sight of her man all dressed up, and with medals that most men would be willing to exchange their life just for a chance to be granted it posthumously.
Having seen his wife’s lustful appearance Bruno simply smirked and walked past her, instead picking up one of his younger daughters, and kissing her on the cheek, while reminding Heidi that they were not in the safety and privacy of their bedroom and should instead restrain themselves.
“I know you’re excited to see me in my full glory, but you would do well to remember your whereabouts, dear….”
Having just realized where she was, after being so enamored by her husband’s gallant appearance, Heidi blushed in embarrassment as she quickly recovered from her amorous awe.
The eldest of Bruno’s daughters who was now closing in on 14 years of age, was quick to rush down the stairs, having seen her father in his dress uniform for the first time since the preceding peaceful era.
She herself was wearing the same lavish dress that she had been in while attending the ceremony, having yet to change out into something more comfortable.
Eva quickly hugged her father, who himself was shocked to see that the girl was the spitting image of her mother when Heidi was still a teenager. Naturally, as the girl’s father, Bruno couldn’t help but make a comment about it.
“For a second there I thought I had entered a time machine. I must have been away for far too long, because I swear you look exactly like your mother at that age. Hell, it seems like just yesterday that your mother was, what thirteen when I defended her honor at the Kaiser’s palace…”
Eva couldn’t help but giggle at her father’s remarks, while casting an eye towards her mother, before making a joke about her father’s age.
“Come on, daddy, you’re not that old! You can’t be speaking about the days of yesteryear with such a nostalgic expression on your face. You sound like you’re an old codger, for Pete’s sake!”
Thinking back upon it, Bruno really was an old codger, not that he could tell his daughter this. He was approaching his sixth decade when he was murdered in the streets of Hamburg during his past life. Hell, he was also quickly closing in on his 40th year in this life as well.
Did that not mean that by now his soul was nearing its first century? He was old…. Very old… And he definitely felt that way inside, even if his appearance remained that of a man half a decade younger than he actually was.
Bruno couldn’t help but rustle his girl’s hair, as he sent her off, but not before she reminded him that he had another award ceremony to attend in Vienna not long from now.
“Go on you little brat, before your father is forced to correct your misbehavior! You should know by now that you are to show some proper respect to your elders! Especially your father!”
Eva knew that her old man was not actually mad at her, and was quick to hug the man once more before running off. And in doing so, leaving Bruno alone with his wife. Or so it would seem but the moment he opened his mouth to suggest some private time, another voice hollered at him.
“Now that we are alone, how about we go-“
Erwin came running down the stairs, dressed in his school uniform. As a result of the war, Erwin had insisted on attending a military school so that when he graduated at the age of 18, he could commission in the Army as a Leutnant.
Knowing that Bruno had promised to end the war before their eldest son were ever forced to see combat, Heidi had begrudgingly agreed to Erwin’s request, seeing it as an opportunity for the boy to grow and develop while his father was away at war, and as a result incapable of leading him in the right direction.
However, because of the 8th Army’s victorious return from the Balkans the junior cadets had been granted a brief break to attend the ceremony, where Erwin stood proudly among his fellow future officers gazing upon his father as he received some of the German’s Reich’s most prestigious awards.
The thirteen-year-old boy stepped forward and gave his father a proper salute, as he spoke to his father in a far more formal manner than he was accustomed to.
“Sir, welcome home…”
Seeing that his son wore the rank tabs of a Cadet NCO, as well as several other badges of honor granted to Junior Cadets at a boy’s military school Bruno couldn’t help but smile as he returned the respectful gesture to his son, who appeared to be following in both his footsteps, and the family tradition.
One that he himself was unable to follow as a result of his mother’s coddling. A behavioral trait that Heidi appeared to have picked up, causing Bruno to believe that none of his sons would be able to attend a proper military school and would instead have to take the long route to becoming an officer like he had.
This was perhaps why Bruno looked over at his wife, who seemed rather bashful, and perhaps even a bit pouty over the idea that her son was no longer constantly at home attending to her like how she desired the boy to.
That is before Bruno outright spoke to his son, not as a commanding officer, but as his father.
“You’re going to have to tell my how in God’s name you managed to convince your mother to let you attend military school. Not that I disagree, I am sure it has been a rewarding experience, one that I myself never had the honor or privilege to undergo. But even so… What spell did you cast to make this happen?”
Seeing how the formality was gone between them, Erwin eased up as he finally smiled and shook his head before spilling the big secret on how he managed to “coerce” his mother into letting him join.
“I simply told her that I wanted to follow in your footsteps and become a man worthy of my future wife’s respect in the same way which mother adores you, father…”
Bruno stared into his son’s pale blue eyes, which were of an almost identical color to his own, and suspected that he saw a hint of genius within the boy that he had never seen before. He had, after all targeted Heidi’s weak spot to get exactly what he wanted.
It was a tactic that Bruno didn’t know whether he should feel proud of his boy for manipulating the weaknesses of others to get what he desired, or should condemn, as he had employed the tactic on his own mother.
Even so, Bruno ultimately nodded his head with a stoic look on his face, as if contemplating the hidden meaning behind this seemingly small gesture of manipulation. Ultimately, he decided to let the matter be for the time being, and instead congratulated the boy, and remind him of the hardship that would await him in the future should he truly desire to pursue a military career.
“Well then, I hope you achieve you goal. But remember, Erwin, these medals are not easily won. And the price a man must pay for these bolts of cloth and strips of metal is something he must bear with him for the rest of his life.
It would be easier, and less painful to become a respectable man of the arts, science, or industry than it would be to become a military commander of some renown…”
Erwin saw his father’s stern gaze, and the pressure which the man’s voice and expression carried alone. As if trying to break the boy’s confidence.
Yet he stood firm, knowing full well if he could not stand up to this, then he would never become the man he wanted to be in the future, and because of this Erwin shot back at his father with the man’s own words, that he had spoken in the distant past, so much so that Bruno damn near forgot them and was surprised that his son remembered.
“No man in history has ever accomplished anything of significance in life without an even greater degree of personal suffering and sacrifice. I don’t want to be a good man, father… I want to be a great man. Like you….”
Having heard his own words repeated back to him about what it takes to accomplish something worthy of respect and remembrance. Bruno couldn’t help but internally applaud his young son.
Who at thirteen years of age, and having no memories from a past life to call upon previous wisdom, had already learned that the path to greatness was through hell itself. And that only those who could endure its torment and push forward would be remembered until the end of time.
Having heard this satisfactory response, Bruno patted his eldest son on the shoulder and began to walk away with a subtle nod of his head, only to turn around upon reaching the staircase where he gave one last bit of wisdom to his son.
“If this is the path you have truly chosen to walk upon, I won’t stop you. But remember this boy, when the darkness closes in around you, and the light at the end of the tunnel fades away, leaving no hope, or life to yearn for. Remember that the only way through is forward…”
After saying this Bruno grabbed his wife’s hand and led her upstairs to their personal quarters, Heidi herself having no idea what Bruno had meant by his final statement, nor dared to question it as she suspected it was advice that only a man at his worst would truly comprehend.