War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 145
"I'm very honored to have this opportunity." Wei Ran agreed without even thinking about it. If there is an opportunity, of course he wants to go and see it.

Just at this time, the convoy had already stopped. Hans glanced at the inconspicuous dessert shop on the side of the road, and then patted the little guy who had been holding flowers and sitting quietly in the back row. He stepped out of the spacious compartment under the guidance of the leader.

Just as the car stopped, Mo La and her daughter Anna were already waiting at the gate of the small yard.And it can be seen that they have cleaned the yard carefully in the past two days. Although it is difficult to hide the old traces left by the years, at least it looks clean.

"Let me introduce"

Wei Ran opened the satchel again while speaking, and handed over the original manuscript to Mo La, and after the other party took it, he gave a brief introduction to both parties.

To Wei Ran's surprise, Hans not only knew Russian, but even spoke it very well.What surprised him, Jima, and even Anna was that Mora could speak a few simple words of German.This undoubtedly makes the communication between the two parties much easier.

After Hans finished introducing the family and grandchildren who came with him, Mora also introduced her daughter Anna to them.

While Anna was bringing freshly baked egg tarts and other homemade desserts to the little guy who was changing his teeth, the Hans family also walked into the not-so-spacious living room and sat down.As for Wei Ran and Ji Ma, they occupied the tables and chairs in the yard with the men and women in suits who followed, sharing the same freshly baked desserts.

After more than an hour, the little guy with a mouth full of food scraps ran out of the room, took Wei Ran's arm and walked into the room. After they entered the door, Anna let him take him He picked it up and wiped off the chocolate on the corner of his mouth with a tissue.

"Victor, come and sit down."

Hans greeted Wei Ran to sit beside him, holding in his arms a nesting doll that was the size of a thermos pot and extremely exquisite in workmanship, and pointed to the original manuscript of the memoir on the table and asked, "Victor, open the original manuscript of the memoir?" A price you are satisfied with. Of course, this is in addition to the investigation fee."

Wei Ran took the coffee from Anna and said with a smile, "As I said in the car, this manuscript disappeared after Mr. Ivan died unexpectedly, although it took a lot of time to find it back. Some strength. But I think, give it back to Ms. Mora and Ms. Anna. This has nothing to do with the investigation itself, does it?"

Hans looked at Wei Ran in surprise, and after hesitating for a moment, he said to Mo La, "Since Victor has already said so, Mo La, I will leave this manuscript to you for safekeeping."

Mora hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement with the former's suggestion.Motioned to Anna to put away the portfolio in the center of the coffee table.

Hans carefully put the oversized nesting doll in his arms into the wooden box at his feet and said, "Molla, if it's convenient, I would like to offer a bouquet of flowers to Mr. Ivan's grave."

Mora and the daughter who had just sat back next to each other looked at each other, then sighed, and said in a slightly depressed mood, "Let Anna take you there, and I will prepare lunch for you."

Hans, his wife, and Wei Ran who was sitting on the other side looked at each other, then stood up and nodded, "Please prepare more red cabbage soup and potato pie."

"Of course no problem." Mo La smiled, watching the people in the room, led by her daughter through the door, leaving behind all kinds of expensive gifts around the sofa.

"Jima, stay here." Wei Ran pointed to the house behind him, "Protect Ms. Mora inside."

"Do not worry"

Ji Ma deliberately patted the belts covered by the suits in front of the men in suits who were practicing German with him.

Seeing this, Hans' son immediately winked at the men in suits under the oak tree. The latter nodded as well and called the two companions to stand at the gate of the yard.

Ignoring the watching neighbors across the street, everyone, led by Anna, walked to the huge cemetery that was only two to three hundred meters away.

Along the way, under Hans' active inquiry, Wei Ran briefly described in German what happened to Mora and her daughter over the years.

After listening to Wei Ran's story, Hans frowned. Just now, Mora had flatly rejected his suggestion of taking them to settle in Germany. He originally thought that their mother and daughter had a good life, but he didn't expect that It was so bumpy and difficult.

In Hans' silence, the crowd followed Anna through the dilapidated streets, lush trees, and densely packed tombstones on the lawn, and finally stopped in front of a tombstone that was shrouded in sunlight through the canopy.

It can be seen that there originally seemed to be a red five-pointed star on the tombstone, but the five corners have been deliberately chiseled off, and black paint was even used to paint on it to represent the crisp swastika.

But it can also be seen that the swastika drawn with paint has been polished with sandpaper, leaving only a faintly visible outline.And under the tombstone, there are still a few bouquets or wild flowers that are withered or blooming.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Anna showed a flat smile that didn't match her age, "Although it is true that some idiots are not friendly to our family, there are also some people who still remember the old guys buried here, and don't mind Take the kids to my family's dessert shop to eat some egg tarts and drink a cup of coffee."

Hans sighed, took the flowers that his little grandson had been holding in his arms, knelt down and placed them lightly in front of the tombstone, "Anna, can I get a new tombstone for Mr. Ivan?"

"So be it"

Anna refused in a calm tone of course, "Even if it is replaced by iron, there will always be some idiots who will find a way to make it the way it is now. People who remember them don't need a better tombstone at all. Those who don't want to remember , Even if you bury them and pour water on them, you still can’t remember.”

"I've only seen such absurd things in Mr. Ivan's memoirs."

Hans sighed, put his forehead on the tombstone and closed his eyes. After a long time, he stood up with his son's support, "Let's go back."

Wei Ran, who was at the end, also put the flowers in his hands under the tombstone, patted the broken tombstone lightly, bid farewell to his friends in another time and space, followed everyone back to the dessert shop silently.

Naturally, it was inconvenient for him and Jima to participate in the affairs of their two families, so they simply bid farewell to everyone in advance, and returned to the hotel in Kyiv City in advance in a rented car.

"Is this the end of this matter?" At the entrance of the hotel, Ji Ma returned the rented car and pistol to the beautiful girl, took the deposit returned to him by the other party, and waited until the other party drove away. asked with some disappointment.

"Otherwise, what else do you want?" Wei Ran narrowed his eyes and looked at the sun above his head, and said as he walked towards the hotel, "In two days, we have the opportunity to go to Berlin with Mr. Hans's family."

"Really?!" Jima immediately cheered up when he heard the words, "It seems that I have to contact the German prepared in advance."

"The German prepared in advance?" Wei Ran waved his hand before the other party opened his mouth, "Forget it, I already guessed it, you don't need to say it."

Ji Ma extended a middle finger towards Wei Ran's back, and said dissatisfiedly, "Maybe you will need me to translate for you then."

Wei Ran raised his hand, and said perfunctorily without looking back, "Come on, Ji Ma, I'm looking forward to that day."

While the two of them were waiting, another two days passed. The Hans family took Moura and Anna, who had changed into new clothes, to the Wei Ran and Jima who were waiting at the hotel. He rushed to the airport and boarded a flight to Berlin.

After the plane landed, everyone drove to the banks of the Spree River.Compared with Berlin in 1945, Wei Ran, who can be called a revisit of his hometown, can no longer find many familiar buildings.Even the original location of the clinic is now occupied by the Palace of World Culture.As for the former, it moved to the opposite bank of the Spree.

On the bank of the cold windy river, Hans, who has already passed the age of sixty, pointed to the Palace of World Culture on the other side like a tour guide and explained, "As long as I can remember, my father and mother have often told me. The American There used to be a small alley where the 'pregnant oyster' was built.

My family's clinic was at the end of that alley a long time ago, and we had to move to the current location on the opposite bank to build that ugly building.

I even clearly remember that when I was young, when the weather was good, I could easily see the Berlin Wall from the roof of the clinic.At that time my parents often told me that Uncle Ivan was on the other side of the Berlin Wall. "

Jima looked at the building on the other side of the river, and whispered to Wei Ran, "I think it's pretty."

"maybe"

Wei Ran muttered absently, turned around and looked at the clinic behind him that was not much different from what he remembered, and couldn't help asking Hans, "Is this clinic still open?"

"Not in business since my father and mother retired."

Hans led the crowd into the clinic and said, "In their later years, they lived here until my father passed away two months ago, but at that time our hospital chain had already opened to several states in Germany."

Introduced and led by Hans, Wei Ran and Ji Ma followed into the clinic at the end.Compared with the curiosity on the faces of Jima and Mora, Wei Ran found too many familiar arrangements here.

Those iron frame hospital beds and dentist chairs that you can see when you enter the door, as well as the kerosene lamps hanging above your head, and the metal medical first aid kits neatly placed on the corner table.They are all integrated with the clinic in memory a little bit.

Hans deliberately took everyone to the bathroom, bent down and gently lifted the light green enamel bathtub, pointed to the hole below with bright lights, and said with emotion, "I used to wonder why the entrance to the basement was built here. Fortunately, Mr. Ivan's memoirs gave me the answer."

"Can we go down and have a look?" Anna asked, holding her mother's hand.

"Of course, of course!" After Hans finished speaking, he was the first one to hunched over and slipped in along the hole.

A group of people lined up to enter the basement, and this is the only place that is different from Wei Ran's memory.It can be seen that after the war, perhaps it was that stupid Mario and his wife Mora who expanded the basement.

The basement is now almost as large as the ground. Not only are the shelves near the walls and around the load-bearing columns full of food and supplies, but it even has a fully equipped operating room.

And on one of the specially vacated walls, there are group photos in frames.

In these group photos, there are photos of Dr. Lodge and Nurse Leni taking the young Mario and Mora fishing in the Spree River, Mario and Mora running from a distance holding hands with books on their backs, and their respective There are photos of puffing out cheeks and blowing out the candles on the birthday cake, and there are photos of the two of them growing up and wearing white coats and wedding dresses.

Even in the photo of the two of them getting married, the witness was Ivan, who was on crutches and was missing a leg.

In the following photos, Dr. Rocky disappeared abruptly, and soon after, Nurse Leni also disappeared, and there was a cute child between Mario and Mora.

As the child in the photo grew up a little bit like Mario and Mora back then, Mario and Mora also got older a little bit, until finally, only Mario was left alone with a cane Sitting on the bench at the entrance of the clinic, a pair of blank and old eyes looked at the sparkling Spree River not far away alone. No one knew what he was thinking at that time.

"This idiot." Wei Ran muttered to himself after reading the memories that covered the entire wall.Even with some pessimistic and negative emotions during this period of time, I have relaxed a lot.

(End of this chapter)