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ROSALIE Don’t worry, she’ll be back
soon. Instead you should take a rest until you’ll be better. Even if it’s not
dangerous, you’ve still lost a lot of blood!
Rosalie escorted
him back to the bedroom and he was forced to eat a soup before Rosalie finally
left him alone. Obviously she was used to give commands now, since she was a
wife, so Andre didn’t dare to protest.
He listened
carefully until she began to clean up something and he could hear that she was
busy when he left his bed and put on his outdoor clothes.
He watched out for
Rosalie again before he left the room and finally went outside. Luckily he had
already visited the Chatelets in their small apartment he thought; otherwise he
would have had great problems to orientate himself with his almost blind eye.
First he
didn’t know where to go, but then decided to go to Tuileries Square, where the people had
gathered the day before. If there was something going on, he would find out most
likely when he went there. It was unusually silent in the streets of Paris and he began to
worry more and more. If Rosalie said he shouldn’t worry about Oscar then there
must be a reason to do so. Suddenly he heard a hushed sound, a kind of
explosion somewhere further away from him. It was the sound of cannons.
Even
if he could hardly see anything, he began to run and after a while he
recognized the direction he was heading to: it was the Bastille Prison.
The Bastille was a symbol of the French Monarchy's infamy. In the long
history of monarchy, it sealed the mouths of those who sought freedom
and confined their bodies. It was the prison for political and
ideological offenders and Andre understood why the people would want to storm it.
Coming near
the Bastille, the noise increased and chaos was everywhere on the streets. It
was even worse than he had imagined. People were crying and screaming, both in
anger and in fear. Trying to find a way to the cannons, Andre
was dependent on his ears only, but he knew that Oscar
was there and that he had to find her. Deaths, guns, fires and cannons had
turned all the area into hell, but the only thing he could think of was to bring
Oscar to a safe place. Soon he was so
close that he could finally hear her as she was shouting commands and for a
short while he was relieved, but then the fact that she was still in danger
returned to his mind again.
The cannons
had already done a lot of damage to the fortress. Their precise aiming had
strengthened citizens and it was clear that this time the people would win. But
the battle wasn’t over yet and Oscar
was still pretty close to the Bastille. Andre
was smothered in smoke and gun powder when the cannons were fired once again. He
felt the heat of the cannons near him and looked for Oscar,
who was a white shadow among the fire surrounding her. Every second was
important as the soldiers in Bastille would find out soon how to weaken their power…
Andre screamed:
ANDRE Oscar!
Get out of there!
He saw her
turning around to him, still too far away to see her face. But she had heard
him!
OSCAR Andre…
The same
time she turned around in surprise, several bullets ran through her chest and
head. Oscar couldn’t stand any longer
and fell down on her knees. Andre
cried in disbelief and fought a way through to her. He took her in his arms,
ignoring the pain in his left one, and Alain and several other soldiers of
Company B, who had seen it, helped to bring her to a safer place. Meanwhile Rosalie had recognized Andre’s
absence and arrived at the same time. She shouted for a doctor, but it was clear
that Oscar had only some minutes left…
They brought her to a narrow street. Andre
didn’t leave her side as their eyes didn’t leave each
other even for a second. As soon as Oscar
was laid down, she raised her hand to touch him and Andre
took it. He kneeled down before her.
OSCAR Andre,
you are here…
Andre’s hand ran over her face as if to console her and he wiped off the
blood on it. He saw in her eyes that she knew what was awaiting her. It was
useless to lie about her condition. Andre
was surprised how he could still be that calm.
ANDRE Why- Why did you leave…?
OSCAR I did it for us. We should have
the right to love each other…
Now tears
escaped from Oscar’s eyes. Of course
the last thing she had wanted was this to happen, but how could she had known?
Her sight became blurry. The chaos around was merely a noisy background…
ANDRE You shouldn’t cry. We will, I promise you.
OSCAR
Andre… Is everything over now?
ANDRE
Don’t say that. Everything is just starting: the love between you and me...and
the dawn of the new age. Everything begins...
Oscar’s
breathing became irregular, but she still managed to smile.
ANDRE Let’s settle down near the coast, maybe in
Arras, when everything is over and live there. I will try the best I can to make
you happy… Every morning, we are going to watch the sunrise together. Each
morning we are going to feel again how being together on this world is a
blessing.
Andre
forced himself not to look at the big bloody hole in her uniform, right above
her stomach. Rosalie, who was standing near them, began to cry. Oscar was
smiling and crying at the same time. She didn’t say anything, for every word
she’d say would make the farewell more painful. Andre
didn’t say anything either. He just bowed down to her and whispered some words in
her ear to soothe her until the pressure of her hand in his own became weak and
her silent sobs ended.
Andre didn’t dare to sit up again for quite a while. When he did, he felt a
warm hand on his shoulder.
Choices:
ROSALIE Andre…
ALAIN Andre…
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