05

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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"A true soldier does not fight because he hates what is in front of him, but rather because he loves what is behind him."

Gilbert K. Chesterton

Recap of Chapters One and Two

Darius was a 25 year old foot soldier in the French Sixth Army. He was involved in the Battle of the Somme, one of the greatest trench warfare battles of the Great War. His position was overrun by the Germans. He sprinted away, finding himself in a vineyard in the Town of Maurepas. He found safety in a champagne wine cellar and discovered that the wife of the couple that owned the vineyard, Giselle (age 38), was hiding in the cellar as well. Giselle's husband Bernard was missing in action in Flanders. Darius was able to scavenge food, clothes and supplies from the vineyard farmhouse and returned to the cellar to the great relief of Giselle. Giselle and Darius celebrated Darius's bounty by sharing a hearty meal washed down with champagne. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning Darius saw that the Germans had overrun Giselle's village and retrieved only a few books. Darius and Giselle spent the day learning more about each other. Darius grew up in Bordeaux working in his family's vineyard. He went the Sorbonne, aspiring to be a writer, but settling for working in a bookstore. Giselle wanted to be a ballerina but grew too big, and instead went to art school, specializing in water colors. She and her husband Bernard made champagne from grapes in their vineyard. Darius and Giselle discovered they shared their passion for a Victor Hugo poem and felt a deep connection with one another. Giselle initiated a passionate kiss that then led to Darius bringing Giselle to an orgasm using his fingers, and Giselle using her mouth to satisfy Darius. Giselle hinted that they may be lovers again the next day.

Chapter Three

The next morning the Germans had cleared out of the village and the farm once again became an informal no man's land between the two sides. Darius surveyed the immediate area and discovered the Germans had ransacked the farmhouse and pilfered all of the remaining food. The contents of the kitchen cupboards were now scattered on the floor and a number of dishes and glasses lay broken among the wreckage. Fortunately it appeared that the upstairs was undisturbed. Darius saw a bookshelf outside the master bedroom and selected several books to take back to the cave. Outside of the house there were empty shell casings littering the yard and Giselle's garden had been dug up by the Germans to scavenge any remaining vegetables. Darius was grateful that the soldiers didn't locate the cave door, which was only a stone's throw from the garden.

Darius was unsure where the new battle lines were and didn't want to venture far for fear of being captured or shot by the Germans. He went back down into the cave with only the books in hand. Giselle was happy to see Darius but disappointed to hear that her kitchen was ransacked and her garden destroyed so all of her remaining food was likely gone.

Darius and Giselle decided to read and sleep as much as they could during the day in hopes they could sneak back into the farmhouse at night. By nightfall Darius could see the occasional flashes of artillery fire lighting the horizon and could hear their distant booms but could detect no activity anywhere nearby. He went down the stairs to tell Giselle.

"Darius, I think tonight's as good as any. Let's be lovers tonight and the war be damned. If we are discovered, then at least we died in each other's arms. Let's go to the farmhouse and make love properly." Darius expressed silent assent by giving Giselle a peck on the cheek. Giselle carried up a lamp and candles and Darius his rifle and they made their way to the darkened farmhouse. Fortunately it was a moonless night. Giselle first located sheets and covered the kitchen windows. Then using the faint glow of a single candle Giselle tidied up the kitchen the best she could and started a fire in the stove, pumping water into two large pots. Darius ferried hot water up the stairs to the claw foot bathtub in the master bathroom until the tub was half full. Giselle rinsed out her hair in the kitchen sink and then gathered the few remaining red roses in her garden, scattering the petals in and around the tub. She fastened sheets over the curtains in the bathroom to make sure no light escaped through the windows and then lit candles and placed them in saucers around the tub.

With the bathtub ready the lovers faced each other in the candlelight. Darius undressed Giselle and reveled in the sight of her nude body. Her long wavy red hair, still dripping water down her body, snow white skin, large pendulous breasts with light freckling, protruding nipples and soft downy red pubic patch were as erotic as any painting Darius had seen in a museum. Giselle slid into the hot water and luxuriated in her first proper bath in over a week. As the dirt and grime came off her body Darius saw the glow of a mature woman, not the girls he was infatuated with. Darius shed his clothes and Giselle was able to clearly see his lean chiseled body, hardened by two years of war, and a long thick penis that would soon be deep inside her body. Giselle moved forward in the tub and Darius slid in behind her. The soapy water enhanced the smooth feel of Giselle's skin against Darius's, and when Darius reached around to cup her breasts he felt as if her was caressing the finest silk in the world. Giselle slapped Darius's arm when he slid it lower to massage her pubic area, but the slap was only good natured encouragement, as Darius practiced what he learned the previous night. He used one hand to pinch Giselle's nipple and the other to penetrate her vagina and rub her clitoris. The combined action of his hands sloshed the water over the edge of the tub, extinguishing half of the candles. The lovers laughed at their folly and then continued until Giselle reached a satisfying climax.

Giselle and then Darius climbed out of the tub. They toweled each other off, extinguished the remaining candles, and went into the bedroom. Giselle picked up a picture of Bernard that graced her dresser. "God forgive me, and God bless you," she said as she kissed the photograph and then put it face down on her dresser. She then led Darius to the feather bed where they made love until the wee hours of the morning. Giselle was as practiced in intercourse as she was in oral sex and Darius was a willing pupil. She had him mount her in the missionary position first. She knew that Darius wouldn't last long and he didn't . He came inside her within minutes. Giselle then had Darius lay on his back used her mouth to bring him to another erection. Then facing him, she slowly mounted him, allowing them both to enjoy the painful sweetness of a slow entry. Giselle then rode him to satisfy herself, with Darius fondling her breasts as they slapped together in rhythm with her bouncing motion. They cuddled together for intimacy and warmth until the bright blaze of their mating faded to a glowing ember. They then went back into the cold water of the bathtub to rinse off the product of their lovemaking and descended into the cellar to sleep once again in each other's arms.

The next day, in a driving rainstorm, the fighting continued with the French retaking and occupying the town. Darius went back to the cellar soaked to the skin after he surveyed the immediate area around the farm and saw that it was safe to leave the wine cellar. He wanted to stay with Giselle and protect her, but ultimately felt duty bound to find his unit. He went down into the cellar to tell Giselle that it was safe to leave the cellar and also that he intended to leave her that day.

Giselle of course was heartbroken, knowing that she was being left again by a man she loved, and that she would again be alone to fend for herself within a maelstrom of carnage. She was crying as she held Darius, begging him not to leave.

"You know I must leave. The French have retaken your village and I'm duty bound to find my unit. I could be shot as a deserter. It causes me untold pain to leave you. I love you. I want to survive this war and come back to you."

"You can't come back here to claim me. As long as Bernard is marked as missing I'm still his wife. And I also feel duty bound as his wife to wait for him. I'm glad we both found love in the middle of this madness, but it must be put in a bottle to be savored in our memories. I know you must go. I just don't want to face this fact."

Before he left the safety of the cellar he took out his bayonet and carved "D. Betain and G. Dubois 1916" into the wall of cave marking the location where Darius first made love to Giselle. He walked her back to the farmhouse and they shared one long last parting kiss in the pouring rain. Giselle's last image of Darius was a handsome soldier, rain running off the brim of his helmet, with a face etched with regret. Darius saw a woman he had been looking for his entire life, her wet red hair hanging loosely over her shoulders and the wet material of her blouse clinging to her breasts. The forlorn look on her face of yet another love lost broke his heart as well.

Chapter Four

Darius turned and trotted off, flagging down the first unit of French soldiers he saw. He was quickly reunited with his unit. He shared his story about being trapped in a cellar in no man's land, leaving out the details surrounding Giselle. Many of the other men had similar stories where they had found farmhouses and barns to hide until the Germans were beaten back. Darius was able to locate a quartermaster, and wheedle additional rations from him. He dashed back to the farmhouse to give Giselle this food, and was crushed to find out she was not there, or in the cellar. He knew he had to get back to his unit before he was missed so he left the rations in a cupboard and wrote the following note:

My love,

I came back to see you one more time. You will always be in my thoughts. I pray we will survive this war and for the safe return of Bernard. There are rations in the cupboard next to the sink.

Always,

Darius

Giselle was at a neighbor's house during Darius's visit so she could stay with the husband and wife that lived there until she felt the conflict had moved elsewhere. She returned to the farmhouse two days later to collect some clothes and other belongings and was crestfallen to find out Darius had returned to see her one more time, but heartened to see that he had left food. The Germans had taken almost all of the available food in the village so everyone was hungry. Giselle tucked the note in a pocket in her dress and took the rations and her belongings to the neighbors. By the end of the war, the note had been read and refolded so many times that it fell apart at the creases. Aside from the carving in the cellar, the note was the only tangible proof that Darius had touched Giselle's life. The pieces of the note were lovingly put into an envelope and tucked into a drawer in Giselle's dresser.

Darius was not given a moment to breathe. His reassembled unit, as part of the French Sixth Army, was assigned to support the British Fourth Army and its assault on the villages of Flers, Courcelette and Martinpuich (later known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette), just north of Maurepas, and his beloved Giselle. This mid-September offensive was designed to punch a hole in the fortified German positions. Darius heard a rumor of a "tank" being deployed by the British for the first time in the war. He had never seen one before and was anxious to see what kind of weapon of death had been devised. He was told that his unit would reinforce the British assault, coming behind them after they had neutralized the German defenses. Darius knew better than to believe that statement, as he had already been part of numerous charges with that same promise, only to find that he ended up back in his same trench, minus many of his comrades.

On the morning of the assault Darius saw the British Mark I tanks for the first time. They looked like crawling metal clad bugs with treads around their entire perimeter, and either two machine guns or cannons mounted on their sides. Darius counted several dozen of them lined up for the assault. There were thousands of men assembled for the charge. Darius could sense that the assault was about to begin and adrenaline surged in his body, making him hyperaware of his surroundings. He could see men and machines all around him, the German positions far off in the distance, and a vast battlefield in between littered with broken bits of machinery, trees, barbed wire, fences, and human body parts mixed together in a slurry with acres of mud and water- filled shell craters.

The whistle signaling the start of the assault blew, and the fearsome looking tanks rumbled slowing forward, belching smoke and making a noises fitting for a metal dragon. A number of tanks didn't make it a foot, as they stalled and didn't restart. The majority of tanks lurched forward, climbing up and down shells craters and chewing up the mangled terrain with their treads. The assault troops huddled behind the tanks, for the most part shielding them from the distant machine gun fire. As the tanks approached the German positions they started spewing death in every direction. Darius could see that some of the Germans broke for the rear at the sight of these metal dinosaurs and that some of the positions were already overrun by the tanks and the troops emboldened by the success of the new weapon. Even though most of the tanks didn't penetrate the front line the psychological toll on the German troops was considerable, as they had always relied upon their machine guns to halt an Allied advance. The machine guns were rendered ineffective by the tank, as the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off their metal skin.

Darius was given the order to move forward and his dash across no man's land was relatively uneventful, as the tanks had cleared a path through the German defensive positions. He still had to be aware of artillery fire, which was omnipresent, but there was little or no machine gun or small arms fire to contend with. As Darius advanced he passed fallen men and also most of the tanks used in the assault, some stalled in the mud and others on fire, with their crews either shot or burned around their perimeter. Darius was relieved as he reached the first line of German defensive positions, now abandoned, and moved forward to secondary fortifications, mess tents and supply depots. He guessed that he was at least a mile behind the enemy lines. As he was dashing forward across a meadow he heard a high pitched whine in the distance, growing ever louder. As he looked to the sky to see a German Fokker, he concurrently experienced a blinding pain in his right leg as the Fokker raked the assaulting troops with its machine gun. Darius's world went black.

Darius awoke the next day in a field hospital far behind the battle zone. He noticed heavy bandages on his elevated right calf and a constant morphine dulled pain. A nurse came by to tend to him, offering him water and some food. Even though he was in great pain he was also both hungry and thirsty. As he was eating the nurse told him that he was lucky. No major arteries or veins were hit and although the recovery might take weeks he would regain the full use of his leg. She also told him he would be shortly moved to a longer term facility where he would recover and receive physical therapy.

Darius was moved further to the rear, convalescing in a hospital in the City of Amiens. The hospital ward Darius was moved to was on the second floor, which spanned the entire length of a three hundred foot building. The beds were lined up neatly with the headboard flush against each whitewashed wall the entire length of the ward. There were high ceilings and many large multi-paned windows to let in sunlight. Outside the windows on both sides of the ward was a view of a large expanse of lush grass, traversed by decomposed granite walkways and driveways winding throughout the spacious grounds. Both the front and the back of the hospital were graced with large manmade ponds dotted with weeping willows, with their branches touching the water.

None of this cheered up Darius for the longest period of time, as the physical pain from his wound and the mental pain from his separation from Giselle made it impossible for him to enjoy his surroundings. His nurse, Sister Bernadine, did everything to console him, but was not able to get a spark of life from Darius. She discovered that Darius was an aspiring writer, and that prompted her to introduce him to Sister Agnes, who was an avid reader of French literature. Sister Agnes was able to get Darius to tell her about his love of the poem "More Strong than Time" by Victor Hugo, and that led to a heartfelt talk about Giselle, and his love for a woman who might still be married. It was the first time Darius became animated in his discussion of anything in his life.

"Tell me more about Giselle," implored Sister Agnes.

"She lived life with such passion. She was an avid artist and gardener. She loved great literature, wine and food. She knew how to share that passion for life with another person. I'm sure I'll never meet anyone like her again."

"Write about her. Tell her story. In that short time you knew her, tell us about why she had such a passion for life and love."

Darius thought about what Sister Agnes had said. It made perfect sense. "Can you find me a pen and some paper?"

Sister Agnes found a fountain pen, ink and a ream of paper. She wheeled Darius out by one of the lakes where there was a stone table that Darius could write on. Darius spent several weeks penning his story about Giselle. It was a cathartic work for Darius. He was able to pour his emotions into this story and to express his love for her. It improved his outlook on life, and Sister Bernadine noticed a marked difference in Darius's attitude. His recovery also hastened, and it was no more than two weeks after the completion of his story that Darius was discharged from the hospital.

As he was departing the hospital he said his goodbye to Sister Agnes. He hugged her and thanked her for her spiritual guidance and for her encouragement to write about Giselle. He told her that it spurred his desire to recover.

"I can't thank you enough for everything that you've done."

"Darius, you have a kind soul and the world is better for you returning to it."

"I want you to have this as a token of my appreciation." Darius handed to Sister Agnes the completed manuscript. Sister Agnes clutched the manuscript in one hand and waved goodbye to Darius as he walked on two good legs to an awaiting jitney.

Sister Agnes sat down to read the manuscript that had been penned by Darius. On the cover it was simply titled "Giselle." Inside the cover page it said "Dedicated to Sister Agnes, whose bright light showed me the way out of my darkness."

Chapter Five

Darius received an honorable discharge for his service to France and was able to return home. Many others were not as fortunate. During the Battle of the Somme the Germans suffered 130,000 casualties in the month of September alone, with ultimately 700,000 more Allied and German soldiers losing their lives for precious little real estate.

Darius returned to Paris where he resumed his job and reconnected with Louise. Louise was still the young impetuous woman Darius had left, with some maturity earned during the hardships of war. Darius was a completely changed man. His two years on the front line had shown him horrors that would haunt him in his sleep the rest of his life. The innocence of youth had given way to the cynicism of a man who lost most of his comrades and the one true love of his life. Living life on the edge, where at any moment your life was forfeit gave way to endless hours of tedium at the bookstore and at home. Lovemaking with Louise was nothing short of a disappointment. Although she was young and beautiful, she lacked the maturity and depth of passion of Giselle. In fact everything that Louise did and said was silently compared to Giselle and came up wanting. Darius and Louise no longer spoke of a marriage long postponed, and their loveless relationship lurched forward on nothing more than the momentum of their past love.