Even though it was still winter outside, the house was warm like spring. She lay curled up in his arms, drowsy. He lay on his back, his blue eyes open, resting his arms behind his head, his shirt slightly disheveled, and his pants not completely down. One arm wrapped around her, stroking her smooth hair. He felt like sitting up to smoke a cigarette, but the silky touch between his fingers made him reluctant to pull his hand away from her black hair.
“Baby, in a few days, I might have to be transferred to another place.”
“Where to?” She weakly clung to his strong arm and asked.
“To the capital.”
“To the capital? Why?”
He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead gently. “My superior is summoning me, and my work here has come to a pause.”
She lowered her head, actually somewhat aware that her position at the art school in the neighboring country was likely connected to the country’s downfall and his scheming. But she didn’t want to think about it. Nestling into his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, she quietly asked, “Can I go with you?”
He paused for a moment, then softly replied, “I won’t be leaving just yet; I have to wait for instructions from above.” After saying that, his ice-blue eyes flickered, lowering his voice, and softly asked in her ear, “Do you want to go with me?”
“Hmm, wherever you go, I’ll go with you.” She nodded firmly, yawning like a little cat, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Khanyi knew that Easter was an important holiday in the West. Although the entire Europe was shrouded in the shadow of war, the most bustling square and shopping streets in this city were still filled with festive atmosphere. Apart from the red and black flags, colorful banners decorated every corner…
He was dressed in plain clothes, holding her hand as they walked through the crowded square. “This Sunday is Easter.”
“Easter is the holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus?” Khanyi blinked her black eyes and asked, “Here, Easter must be the second most important holiday after Christmas, right? At this time, family and friends must gather together to celebrate?”
“Yes, darling.” He frowned slightly, his answer a bit curt, suddenly pointing to the clock tower in the center of the square. “Look over there, starting from 11 AM, every hour, 12 knights will come out to announce the time, and those little figures will come out to sing and dance.
“But I can’t see anything!” She stood on her tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of the scene he described.
“Because it’s not time yet, darling.” He laughed, seemingly mocking her indifferent sense of time without mercy.
“Ugh.” She wrinkled her nose and huffed in grievance, but soon sweetness replaced it. It was rare for him to have time to take her out shopping; after a week of being together, he had been busy all day long.
But there were also things that made her dissatisfied, which was that even though he was in plain clothes, without that tall uniform and shiny medals, he remained the center of attention wherever he went. Khanyi noticed a woman in a mink coat, wearing a black mink hat and holding a small black dog, glancing sideways at him while stepping delicately in her high-heeled black shoes.
“Let’s go check that out!” Khanyi tugged at his arm, pointing to a shop not far away. “This is the place you took me to buy clothes last time, right? Madame Chanel’s fashion store. Actually, when I was studying, I never even dared to think about buying such expensive clothes.”
He smiled and nodded at her, and as she pulled him across the street, he first looked around, then pushed open the newly refreshed shop door, wrapping his arm around her waist as they entered. The two female shop assistants who were originally there seemed to have left; the new shop assistant, with her hands crossed and a polite smile, approached them. “Welcome! We have new summer clothes, madam, sir.”
Khanyi joyfully stepped forward to choose the clothes, while he stood at the door, facing the glass window outside. He took out a cigarette case and lighter from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and began to smoke. Across the street, the shop owner was directing several assistants as they decorated an Easter egg tree. Some were stringing painted eggs into chains, while others were hanging them on pine branches.
“What are you looking at?” She suddenly leaned close to him, and he looked down at her. “Look at the Easter tree across the street.” Following his finger, she saw a green pine tree adorned with strings of colorful eggs. “Is this called an Easter tree? It’s so beautiful! I thought only at Christmas do people set up a pine tree in front of their doors and place all sorts of gifts.”
“Some regions also do this for Easter. That shop owner, he should be from Baden-Baden.”
“How do you know? There’s nothing written on his face.”
