Please Forget Me - Chapter 154
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Instead, Johann had to go to the bunker right after work, which meant less time spent with me. I should have felt relieved now that the rabid dogs following me were gone, but I couldn’t help feeling a sense of emptiness.
However, I wasn’t left alone at home.
“Please leave.”
The landlady, Mrs. Becker had wanted us to leave after the Major discovered that she was hiding her son. But two days later, she changed her mind.
“Don’t leave. Stay here as you are.”
Perhaps she had realized she had overreacted. We told her that we understood and would move out as soon as we found a new place, but she insisted that we stay.
“I’ll lower the rent.”
Was she doing this because she needed money? She had no other source of income, as her bakery was often closed more than it was open, with flour becoming hard to get.
But we had already made up our minds to leave, as we found her increasingly uncomfortable to live with. So she made a drastic offer.
“Then I won’t charge rent. Please stay.”
It wasn’t just about the money.
“There’s no need for that. I’ve never spoken about your son to anyone, and I never will.”
“That’s right. We don’t even know where you moved him now. You don’t need to worry.”
We tried to reassure her, thinking she was keeping us around out of fear that we might report her son. But it seemed to make her more anxious, and she clung to us even more.
“That night, God appeared in my dream and chastised me. He told me not to mistreat or cast out such a poor couple. He said my sins would bring misfortune to my son, and he would be condemned to hell…”
Finally, she started crying and speaking in a fanatic tone.
“I deeply regret what I’ve done to you. If you can forgive me, please stay in this house.”
She even knelt before us, grabbing my hands in apology. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably. Her apology didn’t sound sincere, nor did it feel like one.
“This is suspicious.”
Johann must have sensed the same thing.
The next day, he found a place for us to move to. When we were leaving, Mrs. Becker watched us from a distance, twisting her body anxiously. The look in her eyes was filled with resentment, and perhaps Johann’s suspicions were indeed justified.
“It seems the Major used her son as leverage and told her to watch us.”
The Major clearly hadn’t completely given up on me.
For these reasons, we ended up moving to a secluded house on a hill in Apfeldorf, one of the three villages in the Eisenthal Valley. The house, with its view of an apple orchard, had a pleasant view and the landlord was kind.
Our new landlord was Principal Werner.
The principal, having heard from Johann that we were looking for a place, offered us to move into his house.
The room that his daughter, who has married and moved far away, used was empty. His son had been drafted, and with only his wife and daughter-in-law living in the large house, it felt quite lonely, he said.
Moving to the principal’s house was truly a good decision. Though it was far from the school, we could take the principal’s carriage to commute.
We rented one room, so we shared the bathroom and kitchen, which was inconvenient, but the principal’s wife was as cheerful as him, and his daughter-in-law, who was my age, made the time spent cooking together in the kitchen enjoyable.
It felt like I finally found someone I could connect with.
“Let’s try not to talk about our situation too much, alright?”
Of course, Johann always advised this, so I couldn’t be fully open, but still, I was starting to feel a sense of belonging.
“Since that day, I have had to repeat three times every morning. ‘The wife is always right.'”
While peeling potatoes in front of the stove and listening to stories about the principal’s early days of marriage, I noticed the wall clock and paused.
“Oh my, is it already this late… I’ll go prepare now.”
I washed my hands and went upstairs to our room. I picked the least worn of my dresses from the wardrobe and changed. Then, I sat in front of the mirror, brushing my hair, and, for the first time in months, put on some makeup.
“It’s been so long…”
My face, all flushed and uneven, looked rather strange. Did I apply it too heavily? After washing my face in the bathroom, I returned to the mirror.
It was then I heard the sound of wheels rolling without the usual clip-clop of horse hooves. Looking out the window, I saw the car that always brought Johann home from the bunker, sliding into the garden.
A moment later, Johann got out of the car and, glancing toward our window, waved for me to come out. I rolled my eyes in frustration.
‘I just need a moment to finish my makeup.’
When Johann narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, it seemed he had read my lips correctly. I hurriedly returned to the mirror and continued with my makeup.
As I carefully applied cream to my face and was about to open the powder, the door swung open.
“I just need a moment to finish my makeup.”
“Rize, if you want to hide your beauty, you should wear a veil, not makeup.”
I pouted at Johann as he entered.
“Is my makeup that terrible?”
“You’re already beautiful without makeup. The only reason you’d need makeup is for disguise.”
I couldn’t help but smile, my lips turning up as I grabbed the powder puff.
