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Au Revoir – Part 02

Fighter planes rapidly closed in, their tips visible through the windows. The sight left them stunned. A screeching noise accompanied their swift approach, and soon the planes’ underbelly came into view.

In the cockpit, a young man with brown eyes momentarily locked eyes with the girls.

“Watch out, Frannie!” Avril shouted, wrapping her cousin in the bedding and pushing her onto the floor. She jumped off the bed as well and lay down.

Flares illuminated the night sky. And then, explosions.

At this hour?

Despite the chaos, Frannie remained surprisingly calm. She stood up, grabbed Avril’s hand, and they started running. Other nurses rushed into the corridor in their nightwear.

Intense shockwaves rocked the building, forcing everyone to crouch down on the floor. Some began crying.

The explosions didn’t cease. Window glass shattered, and plaster fell from the walls. The lights went out, plunging everything into darkness.

Stepping on glass shards, they descended to the first floor. Fire was already rising everywhere.

“Th-The injured,” Avril muttered, jumping into the hall where soldiers lay.

Boys covered in bandages asked them if they were fine. She helped the soldiers who could stand.

Looking at the dark night sky through the window, Avril felt that something unimaginable had changed in the Old World. The ancient gods had left, swept away by the river of time. All that remained on the burning ground were pitiful ancient apostles, who knew nothing but frantically run around while a war raged on.

The gods were gone. So, today, the children helped each other.

Avril squeezed Frannie’s hand. Frannie squeezed back.

The shattered windows provided a harrowing sight of the fighter planes returning. Incendiary bombs fell, dropping towards the girls who had fled outside. Avril and Frannie screamed.

Soldiers told them to use the back door, so they headed there. A military jeep was parked outside. A boy with a missing arm sat in the driver’s seat. The other seats were crammed with young nurses.

“Get on that!” said the soldiers they were helping.

“B-But…”

“Forget about us. Ladies first.”

“Um…”

“Just get on already, or I’ll smack you!”

“Uh…”

“Damn it! Get on quickly, you fuckin’ tramps!”

The soldiers threatened them in slang mixed with typical working-class expressions that Avril and Frannie had never heard before. The jeep was about to depart.

“It’s already full,” said the driver. “We can only take one more, max!”

Avril and Frannie exchanged glances.

I’m scared, Avril thought. No, I have to be brave.

Frannie, maintaining her typical, petulant demeanor, said, “Avril, can you promise me three things?”

“Wh-Why are you bringing this up now?”

“First, promise me that after the war, you’ll embark on a genuine adventure around the globe. Become the best, most daring female adventurer in the world. You’re Grandpa’s favorite grandchild, after all.”

“What? But you said we’d go together earlier.”

“We’re leaving!” a boy shouted.

Fighter planes thundered overhead, and bombs descended nearby. Avril’s cheeks sizzled from the blast.

“Second, promise me you won’t get mad at me or blame yourself. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Huh…?”

“And the third is…”

Frannie closed her eyes and pushed Avril’s shoulder. Caught off guard, Avril staggered and collided headlong with the jeep, tumbling inside through the open door.

“Let’s go!” the driver roared and took off.

With breakneck speed, they raced through the inferno, deftly avoiding rising flames and heaps of rubble.

“Wait, Frannie!” Avril cried. “Let me off! My cousin isn’t with me! We pledged to volunteer together at the Red Cross. We promised to go on a trip together once the war is over. Frannie, Frannie! I can’t leave her alone in a place like this. Please, let me off! Frannie!”

Avril stretched out both hands, attempting to get off with all her might, but the other girls desperately restrained her.

Frannie stood beyond the debris, gazing sadly in their direction. Injured young soldiers, missing limbs, lingered nearby. Then, flames rose beside them.

A black, elongated bomb plummeted from the sky into the area where Frannie was in slow motion. A strange shape descending…

Avril closed her eyes. “Frannie!”

The deafening boom, the scorching heat of the flames, and the powerful shockwave reached the jeep.

She was braver than me.

As consciousness slipped away, realization dawned on Avril.

Before this war, Frannie was a selfish, moody young lady. Unbeknownst to me, she had matured considerably. She surpassed me. And now, she was forging ahead, protecting me.

Slumping to the floor of the jeep, she hugged her knees.

War changes people. For better or worse. I know. Everyone across the globe will never return to their former selves, before this pivotal moment in history, before the outbreak of the second Great War. As the world evolves, ancient traditions fade, and new cultures emerge. Storms rage in each person’s heart, ushering in unprecedented changes.

Avril’s eyelids quivered.

Frannie had become a brave adult, inheriting the blood of the grandfather she so detested. While I’m still a child.

While fighter planes razed the town, the jeep pressed on. Deafening noise rendered everyone speechless with fear. Avril lost unconsciousness and collapsed with a thud.

The jeep raced through the blazing heart of the town. The moon shimmered. The winter night enveloped Avril and the others in its embrace.

One day, I’ll grow up too. And I will go on an adventure in the New World.

---

An island country in the Far East.

Although winter’s grasp was loosening, the night air retained an icy bite, the wind sharp as a honed blade.

The signs of winter, the acrid tang of gunpowder, the smell of something burning, pervaded the air around the nation’s largest harbor.

A massive ship, having docked in the twilight hours, remained tethered to the pier. It had arrived from a distant Western country—the Kingdom of Sauville, a place that most residents of this island country had never visited, or probably even heard of, a faraway realm found only in a fairy tale.

After sailing from a Mediterranean port for three months, the ship finally reached its destination.

All passengers had disembarked, leaving only the crew laboring in the darkness, unloading cargo and cleaning the deck.

An old automobile arrived at the port discreetly. A peculiar figure emerged from inside, draped in a red kimono, their imposing stature obscuring their gender. They approached the ship stealthily.

Seizing one of the crew members, they whispered something. A nod followed, gesturing toward the ship. Another crew member, appearing from the deck, briefly withdrew and returned with a mysterious silver object.

“Catch!” the crew said, tossing it from the ship.

Resembling a doll, it had slender limbs and a small head. The silver hue radiated from its long, gleaming hair. Its once-blue dress showed signs of considerable wear.

The silver girl descended gently in the night breeze, stirring softly, as if the wind might carry it away at any moment. Her eyes were shut. She seemed like a creepy doll.

Arms outstretched, the person in the red kimono effortlessly caught the doll-like figure. Lifting it onto their shoulders, they handed a jingling pouch to another crew member.

“Thanks, as always.” The voice clearly belonged to a man. His kimono flapped in the breeze. “Tonight’s acquisition looks exceptional.”

“Yeah.” The crew member nodded disinterestedly without lifting their gaze. “She boarded with a man, but the guy kicked the bucket on the way. The girl collapsed about a month ago and hasn’t responded since. She hardly moves. Heart’s still barely beating, though.”

“I see. So no relatives, huh?”

“Correct. Now, be on your way. Oh, give my regards to the boss.”

“I will. I’ll repay the favor next time.”

The mysterious figure popped the car trunk and casually placed the girl inside. After slamming it shut, he moved to the driver’s seat.

The old vehicle, carrying an unconscious Victorique, departed the harbor, venturing toward an unknown destination. The car traversed a broad street, eventually entering a filthy and squalid town.

Playful voices rang out in the night, revealing glimpses of illuminated small rooms, the shattering of bottles, and flashes of red kimono hems and undershirt similar to those worn by the man in the driver’s seat.

“Gathering girls ain’t easy in these times,” the man said, adopting an odd manner of speech. “Seriously. Gotta be clever, like me. The boss will probably commend me tomorrow.” He chuckled. “Getting a hand on a female barbarian is no easy feat.”

He let go of the steering wheel and rested one hand on his cheek, pretending to be a woman.

He parked the car in a secluded corner of the town. Jumping out of the driver’s seat, he opened the trunk, and his breath caught.