glass lover

■

Margaret stood up from the tombstone, it was already evening.At some point in the back stood a woman with long hair tied into a loose braid and big eyes that seemed familiar.

"Miss Rabenet?"

Margaret struggled to compare the hoarse voice in her memory.

"I'm Heidi." The woman smiled.

"Long time no see." Margaret nodded to her.Still can't believe this woman is the girl from seven years ago.

"You still look the same, with the same coat, same haircut, same briefcase."

"Do you remember?" As if she had been told something she didn't want to admit, she could only answer like this.

The two women walked out of the Central Cemetery together.Margaret asked Heidi why she came here today.

"Because it's rare for me to come to Feisha, I thought of coming here to take a look. I didn't expect to meet you. How have you been these few years?"

Heidi took out a cigarette, and Margaret took it unceremoniously and lit one.

"So-so. I've left the Ministry of Industry and I'm teaching now. What about you?"

"It's not like that, find a man to marry, and be an ordinary housewife. Unlike you, you have always been very ambitious."

"Ambition?" Margaret glanced at the wedding ring on Heidi's hand. "I don't think getting married and being a housewife is something unambitious. I don't think it takes a lot of ambition to teach."

What Margaret was trying to say was, "I'm here because I don't think I'll have ambition anymore."

The two sat on a bench in the park and smoked silently in the setting sun.

"I remember that at my husband's funeral that day, there was a gentleman who looked very familiar to you, he seemed to be your colleague, right?"

"You mean a gentleman of medium build, with red hair and gray eyes?"

"Yes."

"Him? He's my colleague, that's right. He's also my former classmate. We've always been good friends."

Heidi showed a yearning expression, but met Margaret's dimmed eyes.

"What's wrong with that gentleman? Why do you look so depressed when you mention him?"

"Milharson..."

Once, everyone thought that the two of them were the best partners.She herself had felt so in the past, and had no doubts about it.Margaret shook her head, as if trying to get something painful out of her head.

"Milharson..."

Heidi muttered the name.She alertly passed a second cigarette to Margaret.

"It's ridiculous." Margaret moved closer to Heidi to light a cigarette, "It's just that he wants a change of environment."

"Haven't you ever thought about trying to live in another place? Like me, I would want to do this. Living in one place for a long time will inevitably get annoying."

"I always thought he wouldn't leave me alone. It turned out that he just left."

"Aren't you very good friends?"

"So what? He told me that he was tired of his job and wanted to quit his job and travel for a few years. I said, what about the responsibilities you left behind?"

Responsibility is just an excuse.Margaret thought so.What made her feel uncomfortable and unwilling to admit was that it turned out that Millhasen was not really inseparable from her, but that she had been inseparable from him a long time ago.

"and after?"

"Nothing later. He resigned and left very coolly. I chased him to the space port and wanted to quarrel with him, but he kept smiling, didn't lose his temper with me, and said that he would be angry when he saw something cute Bought it for me, and asked me to take care of my health, remember to write to him, etc. I got angry and refused to write to him. Three weeks later, the spaceship he was on had an accident. "

"Ah?" Heidi couldn't help but feel a little unbelievable when he heard this, "He...Mr. Millhassen, did he just pass away?"

"But he was not included in the list of dead, injured and missing persons published by the rescue unit. Before the accident, the ship stopped briefly on another planet. Maybe he disembarked at that time. I asked everywhere, but there was no news of him. Just disconnected."

"He hasn't contacted you anymore?"

Margaret nodded and took a puff of smoke.

"You've always loved him, haven't you?" Heidi asked carefully, looking at the sad face in the smoke.

"I don't know if that's love, maybe that's it. Until now, I still don't understand." Margaret was not aroused by this question, but was more confused.

"I think that gentleman is doing well now." Heidi tossed her braids back and came to a simple conclusion.

"What's wrong with me recently, I'm always thinking about a bunch of past things." Margaret laughed, reaching out to pat Heidi on the shoulder, "Would you like to have dinner together? It's getting late."

"Oh, no, thank you. I'm leaving Fraser tomorrow, and my husband is still waiting for me at the hotel."

"It's a pity that I didn't have the chance to meet your husband this time. He must be a gentle and good man."

"Him? Yes, he is a gentle and good man." Heidi's already low voice became even deeper, "I never expected him to love me very romantically, I think this is fine."

In Heidi's voice, instead of being disappointed in the marriage, Margaret felt that she was satisfied with the status quo.That seemed to touch some secret deep in her heart, which shocked her a little.

"Miss Margaret, although blue suits you very well, but next time you can try wearing green clothes, it will definitely look good too."

When the two stood up to say goodbye, Heidi shook Margaret's hand and suggested her sincerely.

"...Green clothes?"

"Or gray, yes, gray is also a very elegant color."

Margaret froze for a moment, then laughed.

■

We broke up after we couldn't chat more with Heidi.Margaret sighed as she remembered the tomorrow when she would visit her father in a sanitarium, where he was undergoing alcohol therapy.

When I got home, unexpectedly, there was a message on the phone, which belonged to Murat.

"...I'm sorry, I've been too busy recently, so I haven't contacted you recently. I may be away from Feisha for a few months recently. I wonder if you have time to meet up in the past few days? Well, yes, your school recently You must be very busy during the final exam. If you don’t have time, forget it, it’s okay. Goodbye.”

"Going away for a few months? Why?"

Newspapers published it every day, and the cosmic pirates in the Fraser Corridor near the old territory were getting more and more aggressive.These armed space pirates even attacked a guard ship belonging to the Ministry of the Interior last month. Although the attackers were quickly arrested and tried, sporadic reprisals from space pirates have become more frequent, seriously affecting the past. The traffic safety of merchants.In addition to publicly condemning the behavior of space pirates, the royal family also stated that they would not hesitate to use regular space fleets to suppress them.

Since Empress Hilde's instruction on dealing with the space pirate problem is to solve it in the most effective way in the shortest possible time, Murat, as the deputy commander of the space fleet, is very likely to go to supervise the battle in person.Hearing this message, Margaret believed even more that Murat was about to lead the army.

"Expedition?..."

After the death of the former Emperor Reinhardt, this word has almost never appeared in Margaret's ears.In the past, Reiner often stayed on the front line, and the artillery fire came down countless times, and he was involved in the civil (ignored) war from rebellion (ignored) to civil (ignored) war.Margaret never thought that it was a matter of course that Reiner could live and become a general. Reiner would even leave a suicide note to her every time, and tear up the suicide note with a big laugh when he came back.

As she listened to this message over and over again, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest as if her heart was being squeezed.It was like the feeling before Leiner was about to go to the battlefield in the past, but this time it was more intense.In addition to the ruthless and deep fear of war (ignoring) war, there is a more complicated and deep entanglement fermenting in the bottom of my heart.

Be sure to meet him.

Marguerite immediately picked up the phone and called Murat, but unfortunately, no one answered the phone, and there was no automatic answering machine.This was not in Murat's habit.

With unspeakable disappointment, Margaret put down the phone.However, she was disappointed, but she continued to make a few more calls without being nervous.

The next day, Margaret took her father's favorite food and drove along the suburban road to the nursing home on the mountain.After entering the gate, the nurse who usually took care of her father came forward to report her father's condition here.

"Recently, my emotions have become much more stable. Regarding the part about quitting alcohol, although your father's alcohol addiction has almost been cured, his liver has been quite damaged."

"What do you mean?" Sensing the nurse's strange tone, Margaret asked in a low voice but decisively.

"If there is no liver transplant, your father's health will continue to deteriorate."

Margaret took a deep breath, followed the nurse around a medical building in front, and came to the atrium of the nursing home.She saw her father sitting alone under the eaves, playing chess with the computer.There was no joy or sorrow on the calm face.

"Father, I'm here." Margaret stepped forward and greeted her father softly.

"Oh, there you are. What's this? Pie? Chicken and onions?"

Herman's attention was successfully diverted by the chicken and onion pie.The relationship between father and daughter, which had been tense for a long time, was suddenly reconciled by food.

The father and daughter sat under the eaves of the veranda, playing chess, eating pies, and chatting with each other.No one wants to ruin the harmonious time that finally appeared.

"You are good at chess, Gretchen."

"Is there? Father, you must have let me do it." Margaret smiled and pressed the button to start a new game, watching the rearrangement of the chess pieces on the projection screen.

"Oh, I've never given in to anyone." Herman was playing chess seriously, but his daughter just took two steps with her father casually.

While walking, Herman laughed and shook his head, "Reiner, this kid, has become an officer, I really didn't expect it."

"Reiner is a competent and good soldier." Margaret echoed her father's words and hurriedly took one of his father's pawns.

"That kid's temperament is more like mine." Herman looked at a corner of the atrium in ecstasy, unaware that his daughter just killed his pope without changing his face.

"From the time I graduated from the military academy at the age of 20 to the time I was captured by the Confederate Army, I have been a soldier for 15 years. I have not neglected my duty for a day, and have not been ashamed of my honor and my country for a day."

Margaret looked up at her father in astonishment, and the words made her sad.

"I know, you think I was not good enough for you when you were young. In recent years, I have been unable to control my emotions and caused you a lot of trouble."

Facing her father's belated truth, Margaret listened blankly, not knowing how to answer.

"I think I'm a useless father, and I don't have the right to call myself that. A person with little ability can only do a little bit. After being a soldier, he's nothing. I can be worthy of my honor as a soldier, but I'm still sorry for your mother."

Herman looked tired and a little pale.Margaret immediately turned off the chessboard and helped her father into the room.In the small, simply furnished room, there are several photos of my father when he was young, and there is a newly framed box on the table, which contains an official discharge order issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs.Margaret helped her father onto the bed, and picked up the discharge order she hadn't seen before, and looked at it.

The date on the discharge order is May [-]th, the second year of the New Imperial Calendar, and the signature is Military Affairs Minister Paul.Feng.Oberstein.She knew that with this discharge order, her father was able to receive basic living allowances, allowing him to concentrate on inquiring about the whereabouts of the child.For some reason, she suddenly felt her eye sockets wet.

The nurse outside reminded me that the time for visiting guests was about to pass.Herman grabbed his daughter's hand:

"Daughter, you can marry someone, but don't marry a soldier."

Margaret just squeezed her father's hand tightly with red eyes.Father's eyes gradually became misty, and finally fell asleep.

It started to rain in the mountains in the afternoon.There was a little drizzle at first, and the small drops of water evaporated when they touched the road. Apart from adding the smell of water and soil to the air, there was no feeling of humidity.Margaret drove down the mountain along the way she had come.The further you drive down the mountain, the colder the weather becomes.Before reaching the foot of the mountain, the original drizzle had turned into a downpour.

"Ned Hart..." While driving with difficulty on a winding mountain road with poor visibility, she suddenly pronounced a name in a low voice.

The windshield wipers didn't have time to sweep away that much rain.There is only a gray area in front of my eyes, and I can barely see the broken road and scenery through the water curtain.There was no way to see, no waypoints.Margaret simply parked the car on the side of the road, hoping to wait for the rain to subside for a while before driving down the mountain.

Big drops of water hit the roof of the car hard, making a rumbling sound.Trapped in the car, Margaret didn't feel too anxious.

"I don't know what Ned Hart is busy with right now?"

Packing up, tidy up?Confess work?Or go to a friend to chat and say goodbye?Will he make another trip to Poplar?Thinking of this, Margaret sighed.

When I think of the poplar tree, I think of the blond-haired and green-eyed Ludwig, who is almost four months old. He has various reactions and giggles, and he is very good at recognizing people.Has Ned Hart seen this cutie?Have you teased him?Intuitively, I always feel that he is a man who is destined for children.

Other people's children are fine, but Ludwig is Elaine's baby.She shook her head vigorously to get the self-consciously ridiculous thought out of her mind.Margaret had no desire to pick up the phone and call Nedhardt even though she had a mobile phone close at hand.To be precise, she was struggling whether to call him or not.

If you don’t fight today, if you don’t fight tomorrow, maybe there will never be another follow-up.

Unable to bear such idle thoughts, Margaret started the car and decided to go down the mountain in the rain.

Can't see the way ahead...

It was raining too much.Margaret held the steering wheel firmly and tried to drive forward slowly.Concentrate on finding the way out, maybe you can put those thoughts aside.In this way, after driving a few kilometers, although the rain has not stopped, the road conditions seem to be no longer so blurred and difficult to distinguish in front of the windshield covered by a curtain of water.

When driving into the urban area, Margaret breathed a sigh of relief. There were few cars on the road and the rain was still heavy, but at least the streets were familiar to her.The car drove past the Space Administration, and the past intersection was the Space Fleet Command, and it was already impossible to drive through. The heavy rain just now caused this small section of the road to be leg-deep in water.

"Oh my god, this car was hit by someone last time, is it going to soak in water today?"

Just as she was about to reverse the car, she noticed that on the other side of the puddle of water, an above ground car was also trapped by the puddle and couldn't get through.

That car should also be able to reverse and turn away, but it seemed to be hesitating, and it stopped there for a long time without any movement.

"Is that him?" Looks like an official military vehicle.Margaret's heart skipped a beat.Unconsciously, she put one hand off the steering wheel, reached for the briefcase, and fumbled for the phone.

Holding the phone, he hurriedly dialed a familiar number, but what he heard was the voice of the other party who was busy.Margaret's heart sank.At the same time, she struggled to look forward through the windshield, trying to see if she could see the people in the opposite car.

Reluctantly, she redialed several times.Now she has a kind of fear, always feeling that if she can't hear his voice now, she may never hear him again.However, every time it was a busy voice.

The lights of the car on the other side suddenly went out, and it looked like it had gone out.A person immediately got out of the car to see the situation outside.The terrain on the opposite side seems to be relatively low. It would have been nice if they reversed the car decisively just now. When they hesitated, the water rose a lot.

Margaret immediately backed up about twenty meters.At the same time she redialed twice, but still couldn't get through.She opened the car door and stepped out of the car regardless of the pouring rain outside.The rear door of the opposite car also opened at the same time, and another man came down, holding a phone in one hand to his ear, and looked straight here.

"Nedhart!!" The distance from a crossroad was not a big deal, but Margaret shouted to the other end with all her strength.The man wiped the rain off his face with his hands, threw the phone into the car, and strode over here.

"Ge Liqing!!" The call came clearly from the sound of the pattering rain.

Margaret suddenly felt tempted to just kneel down and thank her for the miraculous grace.She ran forward for a while and stopped in front of the stagnant water.Seeing that Murat was already standing in the stagnant water dozens of centimeters deep, she didn't think about anything else and continued walking towards him.

Murat's gorgeous military uniform was soaked by the heavy rain, and his adjutant behind him looked at the rare and excited officer in astonishment, and wanted to scream but couldn't.Seeing that Murat stopped in the middle of the intersection, she stretched out her arms and embraced Margaret who was wading across the water.

"I thought... I really thought I wouldn't see you..."

"Nonsense, I'm not going to fight."

For the first time in her life, Margaret felt that her worries were unnecessary.Tears of excitement overflowed the eyes, and were washed away by the rain.Although the cold raindrops hit her body, Murat could only feel the warm heartbeat in her arms, a throbbing rhythm.