War Photographer's Notebook

When the bedroom door was opened by Wei Ran again, the wound on Nadia's buttocks had been carefully stitched and bandaged, and like Dominic, it was covered with a blanket.

"Next," Wei Ran shouted while the two uninjured girls carried Nadia out.

"No more, there is no next one."

During the conversation, an old man who looked to be in his 50s, with a pair of round eyes on his face and a white coat on his body responded.

"you are?"

Wei Ran looked at each other suspiciously. This old guy was by no means the owner of the farm. Looking around, not only the farm owner was gone, but Sophie and Qiqi were also gone. children.

"I'm a doctor around here, just call me Walter."

The old man extended his hand politely to Wei Ran while introducing himself, "When the Americans were stationed near here, I even performed amputation operations on their soldiers, and those severed arms and legs are still on my table. It was displayed as a specimen in the clinic.”

What the hell kind of collection addiction is this...

Wei Ran twitched the corner of his mouth, and quickly reached out to shake hands with the other party, "Hello, Dr. Walter, I'm Victor, these children..."

"That's right"

Dr. Water nodded, "While you were stitching up the wound inside, I've already taken care of their wounds."

"I have caused you trouble"

Wei Ran said politely, and waved to Jonas who was sitting on the stool not far away, and after the little guy ran over with red and swollen eyes, he asked, "Jonas, where are Sophie and Sister Qiqi?" ?”

"They left with the gunman, in a carriage."

Jonas glanced at Dr. Walter, thought for a while and continued, "But they didn't say where they went, they just said let us listen to you and the man with the gun.

"They went to town"

Walter called Wei Ran to sit down at the dining table near the fireplace, poured him a cup of hot water familiarly, and then explained, "Let's take a rest first, my wife will bring some food later, then You can stay here in peace.”

"Mr. Walter, you know our companion has gone..."

"Going to town"

Walter repeated the answer again, and then spread his hands, "But De Winter...I mean the owner of this farm, his name is De Winter, he just called me to come over and take care of you, but he didn't say he brought the two Where did the girl go?"

Seemingly seeing Wei Ran's worry, Walter, who had just sat down, simply stood up, motioned to follow him to leave the room, and came to the outside of the wooden house.

At this time, the dense fog covering the forest and farmland has not dissipated, and there is nothing in the distance on the white side of the field of vision.

"do not worry"

As he spoke, Walter took out two white papers folded in half from his pocket and handed them to Wei Ran, "Those two beautiful girls asked me to hand them over to the price separately."

After receiving the two blank papers that were torn from nowhere, Wei Ran didn't avoid Walter, and directly opened the first blank paper.

"Victor, I will take Qiqi to the person in charge of Comet Line to ask for help. Mr. De Winter and his wife are also helpers of Comet Line. He is a trustworthy person. Next, you and the children follow his arrangement, He will take good care of everyone. One Sophie"

"Mr. Walter, Mr. de Winter's wife..."

"died"

Walter sighed, "The one who was burned to death by the Germans this spring was right in front of the town's church, along with her and De Winter's three children."

"Feel sorry…"

"Although you are also German, you don't have to apologize for those Fazsi."

Walter paused, looked at the fog around him and muttered to himself, "People are already dead, so many innocent people have died, what's the use of apologizing?"

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran folded the note in his hand and put it in his pocket, then opened the second piece of paper.

"Brother Victor, Sophie is going back to Germany to save Dominique

Ke's parents and others, I have to help her, so the children are left to you.

If I come back alive, I want to tell you something very important.So please wait for me and take care of the children. ——— Qiqi

Are they going back to Germany? Wei Ran's heart sank, and he already had a bad feeling.

Touching the ink that hadn't completely dried up on the paper, Wei Ran put away the paper and asked, "Water, which direction did they go?"

"That direction"

Dr. Walter raised his finger in the direction, "But they've been away for a long time, Victor, you'd better hide now than catch up with those two girls."

"Hiding?" Wei Ran looked at the other party puzzled, "Why? Aren't we safe?"

"It's really safe"

Walter raised his chin in the direction of the forest, "But you just passed through the minefield laid by the Americans, I guess Americans will come to investigate this matter soon.

You're different from those kids, you're an adult, who knows if those American soldiers will take you away and send you to a POW camp? "

"Wait, what did you just say?"

Wei Ran looked at the other party in surprise, "A minefield laid by the Americans? Was that minefield laid by the Americans?"

"Did you think it was us?"

Walter spread his hands in distress, "In order to prevent the Germans from running over here, they planted a lot of landmines near the forest. Although they withdrew most of the people later, they didn't take the landmines with them.

Frankly speaking, since the beginning of winter, I have had to operate on those poor people whose hands and feet were blown off by American landmines almost every half a month. "

As soon as he finished speaking, two Willys jeeps with American flags drove past on the dirt road outside the farm.

"No wonder…"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, if the minefield was set up by the Americans, it would completely make sense why Dominic made such a strange will before the end of his life. Ray wanted to take revenge on the Americans for taking his balls away.

"What did you just say?" Walter turned to look at Wei Ran.

"Nothing." Wei Ran waved his hand, "Do you need me to do anything?"

"As long as you don't leave the farm you are safe"

Walter said as he walked back, "I'll be here to take care of you until De Winter comes back. With me, those Americans won't suspect this place."

"Okay...Okay" Wei Ran sighed, and followed him into the room.

Less than half an hour before and after, a woman with slightly gray hair drove a four-wheeled carriage and stopped at the door of the room. In addition to this woman, there were also two people who looked about 30 years old at most. woman.

"This is my wife, Lena, who is also the head nurse in my clinic. This is Victor, the big brother to these little ones, and he's also a good doctor."

While introducing, Walter also helped the two women in the car to carry all kinds of food and drink down.

"Hello, Mrs. Lena." Wei Ran gently hugged the woman who got off the carriage, and then took the initiative to help move the things pulled from the carriage.

"What a nice guy"

Mrs. Lena looked at Wei Ran with a smile on her face, waited for all the baskets on the carriage to be unloaded, and then walked into the room.

It can be seen that this lady has a lot of experience in dealing with children, and it didn't take long for her to get acquainted with almost all the older and younger children—except for Dominic who was unable to move in bed and was unwilling to communicate with anyone.

"Victor, those two kids..."

Walter asked Wei Ran in a low voice, and at the same time, he winked at the bedroom that was used as a ward. There were only two wounded in that bedroom—Dominic, who could only lie on his back, and Nanny, who could only lie on his stomach. Dia.

Seeing that Mrs. Lena was also looking at him, Wei Ran had no choice but to get up and lead the couple out of the wooden house, and walked outside the room deliberately to heal their respective wounds.
Power, and the relationship between the two of them explained.

"Two poor kids"

Mrs. Lena sighed, looked at Walter next to her, and then said, "Victor, if you want to believe us, let's take those two children home and take care of them. They are both injured. There are so many children here, it will make the two of them very tormented."

"And the little ones"

The two women who came with them stood at the door and said, "If possible, those injured children can go to our home to rest at night. During the day, we will send them here before going to the clinic to work."

"They're nurses in my clinic," Walter explained hastily.

"May I wait until Mr. De Winter returns to make a decision on this matter?"

Wei Ran paused, and explained before these enthusiastic people could speak, "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that we just escaped, separating the children at this time, they will inevitably panic and panic, so why not Let them get used to it."

"It makes sense"

Mrs. Lena nodded first, "In this case, you should stay here first. We will collect some blankets and clothes and send them over later."

"Then I will trouble you." Wei Ran hurriedly thanked him again.

After some discussion, the next arrangement was settled, and Mrs. Lena and the two nurses also took over all the work. Correspondingly, Wei Ran also took time off.

When the morning fog cleared, everyone including Wei Ran put on new clothes and shoes.Even under the premise of promising not to leave the farm, those children who were not injured or not seriously injured could walk out of the room and move freely on the farm.

But maybe it was a habit formed in the ruins of the castle, or maybe it was Sophie and Qiqi who were worried about helping them form the habit, and Horst and Heike who had stayed in the forest forever, these children also spontaneously each find something to do.

Because of this, when the farmer De Winter came back with his carriage at noon, the children had cleaned up the originally messy room, and even the dirty clothes that had piled up due to the lack of a hostess had been dried. Neatly.

But even so, those children still refused to rest, or in other words, they dared not let themselves be idle at all, otherwise they would subconsciously think of that minefield.

"Victor, they..." Derwent, who was holding a camera in his hand, looked at the much cleaner room in astonishment, then looked at Wei Ran, and said eagerly, "Victor, you don't have to do this , even if you..."

"Let them do something so they might feel better."

Wei Ran paused, and gestured to the camera in the other party's hand, "Mr. De Winter, what is this?"

"Take a photo of each of them"

Derwent waved the camera in his hand and explained, "Then the Comet line people will help them get a new identity, so they are completely safe."

"If possible, how about letting me take pictures?" Wei Ran took the initiative to say, "I also want to find something to do."

"It would be best if you could help"

De Winter immediately handed the camera in his hand to Wei Ran, and then took out a palm-sized notepad from his pocket and handed it to him, "Just take a bust, remember to write down their names in the order in which they were taken. Write down your age and those whose faces are covered with gauze, you can take pictures after they recover from their injuries.”

"give it to me"

Wei Ran paused, and tentatively asked, "Mr. De Winter, can I take an extra group photo for them?"

"of course can!"

Without thinking about it, De Winter took out an extra box of film from his pocket and handed it to Wei Ran, "Miss Sophie bought an extra box of film for me to bring back, well, I will leave the photo taking to you. The room on the second floor closest to the stairs has a white cloth on the wall, you can take the children there to take ID photos. Also, Victor, would you like to have a drink together tonight?"

"Let me prepare wine." Wei Ran said with a smile, "I brought some wine."

"That would be great"

Before Derwent finished speaking, he stopped Dr. Walter, "You and Lena also stay here and have a drink together in the evening. Now let's take me and these little guests to get to know each other again. I specially bought them from the town. I got some small presents."

Seeing this, Wei Ran took a deep breath, and greeted the uninjured children to climb up to the second floor, and took a photo of each of them without smiling.

"Victor, when will Sophie and sister Qiqi come back?" A little girl who was only about ten years old asked worriedly.

"They will be back soon." Wei Ran wrote down the name and age of the other party, and before she asked again, he continued, "Next."

The little girl who asked the question stood up pouted, and gave the little chair to a little boy waiting in line.

It took almost half an hour to finish taking pictures of these children. After some hesitation, Wei Ran knocked on the door of Nadia and Dominique's room.

"Come in," Nadia responded in a crisp voice.

Gently pushing open the door, Wei Ran looked at the young couple lying on their backs or prone, shook the camera in his hand and said, "I want to take ID photos for you, Nadia, you and Dominic Can you sit up?"

"I can only stand"

After Nadia finished speaking, she did not forget to kiss Dominic who was lying beside her on the cheek, and then stood up with Wei Ran's support, and moved to the wall to stand up with difficulty step by step.

"Do you need an injection for pain relief?" Wei Ran asked before raising the camera.

"No." Nadia, who was almost standing firmly against the wall with her back propped up, shook her head lightly and rejected Wei Ran's kindness, and then faced the camera with a big smile.

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately pressed the shutter, freezing this rare smile on the film.

"You look very happy" Wei Ran asked while helping the other party to lie on the bed again.

"Shouldn't you be happy?"

Nadia asked back, "Dominique is still alive, we escaped from Germany, and we got new clothes, Mrs. Lerner just gave me a skirt as a gift."

"But Horst is dead, Heike is dead, Okan and..."

Before Dominic, who was lying next to him on the same bed, could finish speaking, Nadia asked, "Can they survive if we are not happy? Or did they pay such a high price to send us here just to see We are crying, seeing you miss your balls?
And didn't Mrs. Lena just say that even if you don't have eggs, it won't affect you at all. We will have no children at most in the future. "

Taking a deep breath, Nadia ignored Wei Ran's existence, leaned over Dominic's arms and said, "I don't even care about this, what are you afraid of?"

Compared with Horst and Okan, you just lost two balls.When I was in the castle before, didn't you always persuade me? Why are you now like this? "

"Get up!"

Wei Ran, who decided to be a light bulb, patted Dominique's shoulder lightly, and whispered into his other ear, "Nadia is a good girl, don't let her look down on you."

Dominique was stunned for a moment, then wiped away the tears that were about to overflow from the corners of his eyes, and let Wei Ran help him to sit up, and took a photo of his ID that would give him a chance to start a new life.

"Mind if I let other people come in and take a group photo with you?" Wei Ran put down the camera and asked intentionally, "Just like before we set off."

A look of panic subconsciously appeared on Dominic's face, and he nodded immediately, "Let them in, Victor... Thank you... Thank you."

"You should thank Nadia!"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he helped Nadia up again, and then opened the door, calling the children outside to come in.

When they heard that they were going to take another group photo together, these partners immediately rushed into this small room with the gifts they just got.

Contrary to Dominic's expectations, these partners who went through life and death together
They didn't laugh at his injury at all as he was worried about, but instead only had concerned greetings and various slightly naive comforts that he didn't expect.

In the end, under the command of Wei Ran, these children centered on Dominic sitting on the side of the bed, and Nadia kneeling on the bed behind him, holding the presents given to them by the farmer De Winter, Filled with a relaxed smile that should have appeared long ago, he took a group photo of the rest of his life after the catastrophe.

"Nine people are missing..."

Wei Ran sighed secretly, except for the American soldier Timov who left alive to help them lead away the pursuers but didn't know whether he was alive or dead at this time, and Sophie and Qiqi who also left alive to find Dominique's family, The other six people who will never get out of that forest again, and will never appear in the group photo again, are these too young and innocent people who paid a terrible price for getting the ticket to leave the war.

"Okan still put his arm around my shoulder when we set off yesterday."

Tonas, who was blind in one eye, looked down at the slightly deformed pocket watch-style compass on his neck and muttered to himself. At the same time, teardrops slid down his face and hit the floor superior.

"When we were leaving, Sister Heike told me that when we escaped, she would wash my hair for me."

A little girl who seemed to be eleven or twelve years old scratched her scalp and said in a crying voice, "I have fleas in my hair, but I would rather have fleas on my head than Sister Heike and the others. "

After a moment of silence and depression, a young man who seemed to be about the same age as Okan grabbed Jonas's shoulders, "Jonas, I will be your brother from now on. If you want, I will be Okan."

"I'll wash your hair later." A little girl with red and swollen eyes hugged the little girl from behind, "I will be Heike from now on."

"Then I will be Horst!" "

Another young man patted his chest and said, "I will be Horst from now on, Victor, remember to change my name, I will be Horst from now on."

"I'll be Bernd from now on!" shouted another boy, raising his hand.

"Then I will be Stefan from now on!"

A child standing at the far corner shouted and snatched the name of another partner who was killed by the stream, "Victor! I will be Stefan from now on, remember to change my name, Stefan Frings. I'm starting now, Stefan Frings."

"What's the name of that American?" A little boy who didn't think of the name thought for a while, "Bud? Yes, I will be Bud from now on"

"Buck!"

Dominique couldn't help but reminded, "His name is Buck, Buck Beniers, I've known his name for a long time, he comes from a place called Montana, and his family has a lot of livestock, these are Timov helped translate and told me."

"Then Buck, Victor, why am I called Buck from now on? Dominic, please say it again." The little boy looked at Dominic halfway through.

"Buck Berniers," Dominique repeated, "or I..."

"right"

The little boy said loudly without waiting for Dominique to finish, "Victor, that's my name! Buck Beniers"

"I don't know if Mr. Timov is still alive..." A little guy who looked like he was not much older than Jonas muttered expectantly.

"Shut up you idiot what stupid things are you thinking! "

Kneeling on the bed with difficulty, Nadia tapped the little guy's not-so-intelligent head with his knuckles, and the latter shrank his neck subconsciously, covering his head with a smirk.

Maybe laughter really has some kind of magic power. Soon, this small room, which was obviously full of sadness just a moment ago, was filled with those extremely young, energetic and hopeful laughter.

In Wei Ran and those middle-aged and elderly people who eavesdropped outside the door, they couldn't help laughing, these little guys who survived from the middle of the battlefield unintentionally used another method to make those who didn't walk out of the forest alive Come down - even if this is a little childish

The method is so... Pale and helpless, but sincere and warm.