Two Of Us (WW2 RusCan)

Chapter Ten

   All Matthew had was his suitcase of his belongings the hospital gave him. He hadn't opened it even once to see what was inside. He was afraid to.

    "Do you have anything in there?" Alfred motioned to the suitcase.

    "I'm not sure."

    "Have you opened it?"

    "No."

    "Then let's do that!" Alfred took it and sat down on Matthew's bed. Matthew sat beside him, having his heart race when the locks in it were clicked open.

    Alfred opened it completely, amazed by what was inside. He pulled out Matthew's uniform which was torn and stained with a deep red that was dry. "Damn, you really went through hell over there, didn't you?"

    Hell?

    He could have sworn one of the soldiers in the German troop he was in would call the snow forests they passed through hell.

    "Yeah."

    Alfred set that aside. He then pulled out a small box Matthew recognized too well to be a dream. "Since when do you smoke...Russian cigarette's?"

    Matthew took it from Alfred, looking at it. They were the same words from when he saw Ivan smoke in the cave for the first time. The smoke was scented which he remembered smell like a fire place.

    "I don't..." He opened it to see it was empty.

    Alfred continued, "This is a German pistol if I'm not wrong..." He pulled out a small pistol checking it's ammunition. Nothing.

    "I remember..." Matthew said softly taking it from him after setting the box on his lap. "...I was taken by a german troop. They made me a prisoner of war but still forced me to fight when they knew I could use a sniper. General...what was it...General- General Beilschmidt! General Gilbert Beilschmidt gave me this pistol."

    It was also the same pistol he almost killed Ivan with when he came back from going out of the came and into the blizzard for almost two days.

   This time, Matthew took out something. A pocket knife. Ivan was widdling a stick when Matthew was traumatized from the wolf incident.

   He hadn't noticed before but he saw the initials of I.B carved on the wooden part of it. Ivan Braginsky. The same knife where Ivan tried to commit suicide. The same knife where Matthew supposably did.

    He looked in the suitcase to see not much was left. There couldn't be...there had to be more! Matthew took the suitcase from Alfred which was hard with only one hand.

    "If the pistol is here...and the knife...there must be more!" Matthew said worriedly.

    Alfred was confused, "Matthew? Are you alright? Why do you say it like you have known the knife and pistol all your life?"

    Matthew pulled out a stained handkerchief. It was Ivan's. He set it aside as he pulled out what was only papers, an old pen, a broken piece of his old sniper, and...

    "He hated Kumajiro so much..." Matthew felt tears fall down his own face as he saw Kumajiro's collar he took off of him before they went on that mission.

     "He also used to smoke where it smelled like the fireplace back in America." Matthew said, looking at the mess he had made with the papers spread across the bed and the objects that meant so much to him beside him.

     "He used to mistake me as an American too. But he stopped when I think I threatened him." He said softly. "I actually almost killed him once..." He picked up the pistol, remembering it felt much heavier at the t

    "Who? Who's 'him?' Who's 'he?'" Alfred was now really confused and now worried that Matthew may have been insane.

     Matthew's tears then fell down his face completely, making him take off his fogged up glasses. His stomach hurt and his throat felt like it was overflowing, not allowing any air to come through.

    "Tell me! Tell me that what the doctor said was false!" He cried, holding tightly onto Kumajiro's collar. "Tell me I met Ivan! Tell me we actually talked, that we actually fell in love together! That we were stuck in that cave for weeks! Not that he found me in the snow bleeding to death! We were in the cave where he tried to save me when I stabbed myself!"

    "Matthew! Stop! You're hurting yourself like this!" Alfred said a little loudly, holding onto his only arm.

     Matthew continued to cry, "I am just so...confused." His voice died down as Alfred pulled him into a hug. He spoke on Alfred's shoulder, "I am just so confused. What I remember seems to be false and what I don't remember is true. I feel like this war is tearing me apart."

    Alfred held him close and warmly, wanting to help as much as possible. "What the doctor told you is just what the Russian soldier said. And... I'm not sure if the Ivan you are talking about is the same as Ivan the Russian soldier is."

    Matthew felt more tears fall down from his eyes, making him close them. "My Ivan...My Ivan has the most beautiful violet eyes. His hair... it's as white as snow along with the scarf he wore. His accent was thick making it hard to understand his sharp words but yet so gentle. I found so much comfort in that man even though he was feared by everyone in Russia."

    "...Matthew. You're in love with the same man who supposably saved you." Alfred said gently.

   "Can I meet him soon?"

   "Yes. I think Francis told you he is still in London. He doesn't talk much. He usually comes out from the bar around this time. I can never tell if he is drunk or not even though he acts fine."

    Matthew pulled away from Alfred. "We have to go see him now!"

    "Matthew, we can't..." Alfred said. "We don't know how he is going to react when seeing you."

     Matthew wiped the tears away from his face, putting in his glasses again. "I'm tired of trying to predict the future all the time and being scared of it. St this point, I just need to see him!" He put on his shoes and went downstairs, grabbing his coat with Alfred slowly following. He was being slowed down by putting on his shoes and such.

    And Matthew ran down the dark street of London as it lightly sprinkled. Forgetting the pack of Russian cigarette's in his hand as he ran. He knew where the bar was. But time was passing too quickly. Each minute felt like a second and each second felt like a milasecond.

     All of this for a man he met in a cave where they would have both killed each other and the world would never know.

   
    To be continued...