Cameras flashed as Albert and the reporter left the room in silence. They shook hands as they stopped at the doorway. Albert faintly smiled and left the room while the light from the cameras continued to flash and reflected on the white walls of the Capital building.
Albert opened the door and walked out the back of the building. He climbed into his black car that was warmed by the summer's sun. Albert drove to his apartment in under twenty minutes. His wife was there at the door when he arrived.
"How was it?"
"Fine Charlotte, I suppose. It was hard for me to talk about Ernst and Wilhelm and the prison camps."
"Oh, I'm sure it was." she said as she walked over to Albert and put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. "You need some rest, dear."
"Where are the girls?"
"I put them to bed already. They will he glad to see you in the morning."
Charlotte led Albert to their bed and laid him down carefully. She walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving him alone for as long as he wanted. Albert laid staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. He then looked down at his hands and brought them closer to his face. His mind remembered the blood that was on his hands from Ernst's knife wound. He squeezed his hands and his eyes, trying not to think of the past. He could not help it, everything he saw came back to him. Forgetting his surroundings, Albert screamed terrifyingly. Charlotte burst into the room to calm him down. Voices from all of the soldiers echoed in his mind.
His eyes focused on Charlotte. He got up and hugged her while tears strolled down his face. He did not stop for a long time.
**************
Days passed. It was a Sunday morning and Albert had gotten up to get the
newspaper that sat on the porch. He pulled the rubber band off of it. He walked back inside, sat down and took a sip of his coffee. Albert's eyes widened as he stared at the front cover.
"What is it dear?"
Albert slowly placed his coffee on the table and turned the paper so Charlotte could read it. On the front cover, in big black bold letters was an article titled The Life Of A German Soldier.