It was the sixth day after his departure when the train arrived in the village and he had done everything to his satisfaction.
But before he wanted to rise to Falkenhorst, he went to the nearby grocer to bring his Anna a few little things. There were quite a few women from the village in the shop, talking excitedly to each other. It took a while for him to realize that they were talking about his Anna. What he then learned from the conversation of the women, without them knowing who he was, threatened to pull the ground away from his six short-legged friends.
With unsteady steps he left the shop without a word of greeting and, without realizing it, went straight up to the Falcon hut. He knew after the next turn, he would have it in mind. What his future should have been and yet mercilessly belonged to the past. Love and being loved.
He knew that only hopelessness remained for him after the future and the past. And when he had reached the last stretch of road, the view was cleared of what nature and its forces had left their hopes. The alpine hut, which was called the Falkenhorst in the village, was only a burned-out ruin before his eyes after these storms, which had not been seen for generations, with lightning, thunder and hailstorms. When he arrived at the hut, it was as if he saw the lightning, heard the thunder and felt the heat of the fire, which destroyed the walls and buried his beloved Anna under the rubble. The idea that she knew all about it because she was trapped under a beam reads his stomach cramping. She became dumb as she had been from birth, Torn from his side in the flames of the burning hut. Only her blue eyes could have expressed her fear and desperation in the last few minutes, which she could not scream out in her mortal fear.
He did not even know what he was looking for. As his feet scrabbled across the floor here in the charred rubble of the hut. He lifted the remains of the not completely burned pieces of furniture, pulled them aside until he found it, the thin book of novels. Almost undamaged it lay under the oven bench, where Anna always sat and read. From the Jägerfranz and the Sennerin, a love story from the mountains. She had read them so many times because it reflected her hopes and longings about the love she felt in her dreams. That was the only one. Until she met him.
While he was lost in thought, sitting on the stove bench, leafing through the thin novel, as if reading through the past, he recalled the wonderful time of their love and devotion to each other, whose witnesses were only the mountains, meadows and forests ,
It all started with the first, so dramatic encounter with Anna.
At that time he was lying falkenhorst hut in the dim light several meters below him. He had already halfway over the steep slope, which was covered with boulders, as he stumbled over a loose rock. He was torn forward by the weight of his backpack and crashed uncontrollably down the slope. He tried to hold his hands after several rollovers, but kept slipping on the loose ground. Triggering a rock avalanche, he slipped until shortly before the alpine hut. How long he was there, dazed and not thinking straight, he no longer knew. Under severe pain, badly injured, he dragged himself to the front of the Kate. With his last strength, to which he was still capable, he hit his mountain boots against the planks of the door.
The first thing he could fully appreciate, after the mist had cleared his eyes, was that he was lying in a bed. His body was shrouded, as laid out, in white sheets. The candlelight flickering with the wooden ceiling did the rest to lighten the fear that he was already dead. When he turned his head to one side and saw a figure dressed in white shirt standing next to him with blond, long hair and smiling softly, he was sure he was in heaven and an angel stood guard in front of the bed. But time was not enough for further reasoning. The veils of fog became denser again and a long faint made him forget what his eyes have just seen.
Slowly, as if he had to travel a very long way back to reality, he awoke from his deep sleep. He did not dare open his eyes. That’s why he first listened to the sounds around him. There was a twittering of birds, cow cows and the rustling of the treetops. Add to that the clatter of dishes and the aromatic scent of coffee that crept into his nostrils. The whole thing did not fit the first awakening, which he now remembered. He thought, if that was the sky, with the smell of coffee, chirping and cowsheds, then he wanted to see him, too. Carefully and carefully, he opened his eyes. However, the idea of being in heaven was immediately taken away when he saw that he was in a hut. He lay in a quaint bed with a direct view from the window. Stood in front of it
actually grazing cattle and also the singing birds. These were satirising in a cage on the window sill. He also recognized the treetops, which sang their monotonous song in front of a gigantic mountain panorama in the wind. Despite open eyes, the white-robed, golden-blonde angel did not fit into the puzzle, which he had slowly begun to solve in his mind. And there was also the dishes rattling and the smell of coffee. When he tried to turn around, the fog was immediately behind, triggered by an extremely strong pain. His loud groan, which came from his lips, he heard from far away. When the pain eased off slowly, he slowly opened his eyes again. There he saw his angel crystal clear and standing in front of the bed in all his simple beauty, as in his first awakening. This time, however, his angel had a blue, simple dress with a flowered apron. Only the shoulder-length, blond hair was as in his memory. However, there was something else he was seeing now: the beautiful blue eyes that reminded him of a crystal-clear glacial lake that he had spotted high up in the mountains years ago.
In her hands she held a wooden tray that smelt of scrambled eggs, and there was also a sippy cup from which rose the tantalizing scent of freshly ground coffee. She put the whole on the dessert in front of her, took a small piece of paper from her apron pocket and held it in front of him. After reaching for it, he pulled his hands out from under the covers and saw that they were completely connected. He lowered her and began to read the note. With clearly legible writing stood there:
My name is Anna. I have been deaf-mute since birth. Found yourself in front of the hut. Your hands are ok, just mangled. Tomorrow I can remove the bandage. If you speak slowly and clearly, then I can read from your lips. Because you can not use your hands, I will feed you. I hope you like what I cooked.
When he nodded briefly, she knew that he understood what she wrote to him. In the words of gratitude for what she did for him, began to speak very clearly with Anna. Her beautiful eyes could answer him more than any word could have.
She fed him and let him drink carefully from the sippy cup, as if she had never done anything else in her life. After the lovely meal, he fell into a dreamless sleep again. He was awakened by a strong shivering. The clatter of his teeth and the chills from the coldness made him realize that he had a high fever. Cold sweat covered his forehead. Anna came to the bed with a damp, damp cloth and began to wipe it gently, almost tenderly. Her eyes looked calm and comforting. The calm of her movements and gestures gave him more security than a thousand words. The trembling of his body subsided slowly, but was replaced by a tremendous weakness. Then he suddenly felt that her warm body was nestled against him. The tender warmth,
When he awoke, the sun was already shining golden in the sky. In his arms Anna lay asleep in her delicate beauty. He did not want to avoid her body, but also not shamelessly exploit the situation and get closer to her than she wanted to allow. He was aware that she only wanted to warm him with her body, protecting from the cold and evil dreams. He studied her smooth face and her gently curved mouth for a long time. Her blond hair fell slightly curled over her half-naked shoulders. A feeling of deep affection suddenly filled his heart. His exuberant feelings made him dare to give her a breathy kiss on the forehead. This touch made her wake up. He already believed that his brisk demeanor would cause her, her body that warmed him so, to pull back from him. But she only opened her eyes, which immediately captivated him again. He tried to fathom the depth he saw in them. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. But she only opened her eyes, which immediately captivated him again. He tried to fathom the depth he saw in them. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. But she only opened her eyes, which immediately captivated him again. He tried to fathom the depth he saw in them. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. which immediately took him back into spell. He tried to fathom the depth he saw in them. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. which immediately took him back into spell. He tried to fathom the depth he saw in them. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. The sense of guilt over his previous bold appearance, as he simply kissed her on the forehead, did not allow him to resist the pure and sincere look of her eyes. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still. Ashamed, he looked at her lips, which opened slightly at the sight of him, and he was thirsty to kiss her. But this time he did not want to anticipate her feelings. Anna felt his hesitation that kept him from closing her mouth with his kisses. She came to meet him and closed his lips. Only the fear that too violent a movement would trigger a wave of pain in his battered body again and rob him of the enjoyment of her caresses left him lying still.
They both felt their two hearts begin to beat at the same beat and the bond of love embraced them. They slowly awoke from the sweet intoxication of their deep feelings towards each other and the faint harps that had struck them. Only Anna’s bright eyes still reflected the minutes of deep devotion to him.
When she pulled away from his side to get up, he was about to close his eyes, so she would not have to be ashamed of her nakedness. But he immediately dismissed the thought as he slowly straightened up, looking down, knowing that her nakedness had not gone unnoticed as she washed and nursed it. He thought, what else could her two bodies hold for secrets, something both their looks had not confided to.
It took almost two weeks before his wounds healed and he felt no pain. He felt that the moment had come when not only their two hearts could be close, but they also let their bodies speak the language of love.
The day was bathed in sunshine when he first went to the pastures with Anna, drove the cows to milk in the stable, and watched her turn the milk into butter and cheese. This had been denied him until now by pain and immobility. When the stable work was done and they had dinner, she showed him for the first time the romance she had read so often. She wrote him a note that she had always had enough to read to her since he was with her. He nodded in agreement and they made themselves comfortable in bed by candlelight. Even as he read to her and she held him close entwined, he put in particularly tender chapters pauses in which he lovingly caressed and caressed her.
Outside the hut, it started to rumble and after a few minutes, they knew that a thunderstorm came up, which was not long in coming. With deafening thunder it discharged directly above their shelter. The crackling roar and the rustling of the trees increased so much that he stopped reading and looked anxiously out the window. Then she took the novel out of his hands and put out the candle. She nestled protectively in his arms. Only the flashes illuminated their tightly entwined bodies for seconds, and nature showed no difference either inside or outside, for in front of the hut the thunderstorm raged with all its might, and in it the elemental force of passion, deeply in love with nature.
For some time the storm came to an end, as well as in the little house again, only the soft noise of the rain could be heard, when their bodies separated from each other and tender caresses and caresses rocked Anna to sleep until she breathed calmly into the Land of dreams slipped.
He climbed gently out of bed and walked to the small cabin window to open it. The fiery air that streamed in, he sucked deep into his lungs and what was in him, could only describe the words of unbelievable happiness and love of hearts. As the cloud cover opened, the moon stood in all its glory in the sky and its silvery light fell through the window into the room, laying its pale veil over Anna’s deep and happy slumbering. When he saw her lying in the moonlight in front of him, his heart filled again with love that threatened to burst. His eyes swept down over her fair hair, down to her bare shoulders and the feminine forms that formed on the blanket. He lay back to her side and caressed her lips. Still in a dream, without being awake, Anna replied the pressure of his mouth and her body seeking his touch, she pressed against him. Her lips touched his neck slightly.
That night, the dice for both of them fell as a pair, he knew. The following day he wanted to go to his hometown to get the necessary papers that were needed for a wedding. He knew now for sure that he would find the peace he had longed for so long with Anna.
When Anna had cleared the breakfast dishes, he took her to his side and told her about his plan, but without explaining the reason why he wanted to travel to his hometown. Only when he is back with her, he wanted to make her the marriage proposal. And then he did not want to leave her side and stay in the falcon’s nest.
Anna showed understanding for his departure that he left her alone for a few days, since he had nothing besides his backpack when he came to her so unexpectedly. After giving her a long farewell kiss and kissing a few tears from her cheeks, he quickly made his way down to the village. From there he wanted to travel by train to his homeland.
It started to drizzle slightly as he rose from the sooty bench. The book of fiction slipped from his hand and fell back into the ashes from where he had taken it. Over the mourning in his heart, the veil lay deep melancholy. As dumb as he had sat here all this time, in the ruin of his ruined happiness, so he again walked through the wet, cold rain of this cruel place.
He knew that forever the joy and hope had left his heart and lay buried in the rubble and under the ashes, for a man does not always have to die before he can live anymore.
On the way down to the mountain village, he heard from a distance, the high peal of the death knell from the tower of the church, around which nestled a small Gottesacker. This enclosed a wall of coarse rock. As he entered the cemetery through a wrought-iron gate, he saw, a little further, a full-bearded old man in a felt hat, who was busy with a pickaxe and a shovel, opening a grave by the path. He went to him, certain that he had the gravediggers in front of him, he inquired after the grave of his beloved Anna. Then he pointed with one hand to the opposite side of the cemetery wall and said: “There you will find it!”
He immediately found the fresh grave with a simple cross bearing Anna’s name.
Lowering his head and saying a prayer, he knelt down in front of her burial mound. Bitter tears rolled down his cheeks. He reached into his jacket pocket and fetched the little box that so recently handed him over to the jeweler who was holding the two golden rings, one for him and one for his beloved Anna. The smaller one he took out and dug with his bare fingers a deep hole in the grave earth, buried it in it and smoothed with some erratic hand movements the surface. He put the other ring on his left-hand ring finger and he now knew that if his heart ever opened again for a love, it was only for a short time of a dream of love with Anna. Without this love, only the sadness remains in his heart.