Life Is Beautiful

The sun shone through Rebecca's window, waking her.
Her eyes opened and the memories of last night ran processed through her mind.
The mysterious soldier that had been in the basement, and the details her mother had informed her.
She slowly lifted herself up from bed and placed her bare feet on the cold ground.
Her eyes locked on a strange figure beneath a pile of covers.
Her eyes widened and she tried not to make noise as she ran out of her room, slightly frightened.

She noticed her mother cooking breakfast calmly and didn't see her father anywhere in sight.
"Mother?" She spoke quietly, knowing she couldn't make noise considering the time of day.
Her mother put her corn down and turned around.
Rebecca's face looked frightened, and she was shaking slightly.
Her mother rushed over to her and pressed a palm to her forehead, "Rebecca honey, what's wrong?"
Rebecca didn't understand why her mother was so calm while there was a dead soldier lying in her room.
"H- He's dead, isn't he?" Rebecca stuttered with her words and swallowed nervously.
Her mothers eyebrows furrowed and she looked confused towards her daughter," What are you talking about Rebecca?"
Rebecca had gotten only more confused and she felt her head get hot and sweaty.
"The soldier from last night. He's under all those covers and he's dead. Isn't he?" Rebecca's eyes started to water and she felt as if she couldn't breathe.
Her mother lightly smiled and wiped her daughters forehead with a towel, "Oh Rebecca, he's just asleep. We put him in your room after your father removed the bullet from his side. You were fast asleep."
Rebecca's mind finally realized what her mother had said and she almost smiled at her own stupidity and over exaggeration.

"Oh. Of course. How absurd of me."
Her mother patted her head and walked back towards the counter in the small kitchen.
"He's asleep, but he'll wake up soon. I'll need you to give him his breakfast as soon as he wakes. You don't mind him in your room do you?"
Rebecca shook her head and walked over to her mother, grabbing a knife and starting to chop some vegetables.
"I don't mind. He's welcome to whatever he needs to heal. Wheres father?"
"He's in our room, he's trying to figure out how long it will take for the fellow to be healed."
"Oh. Right." Rebecca nodded and continued chopping the vegetables.

&&&

Rebecca set the tray of breakfast on the small end table near her door and opened her bedroom door.
She grabbed the tray and carefully walked into her bedroom, closing the door with her foot.
She set the tray on a table near the soldier, and sat back down on her bed.
She took a good look at him. The covers were off his face, but were still on his body. From what she could see, his shoulders were bare, he was probably shirtless. His hair was black and he had a very peaceful looking face.
As she was taking in his looks his eyes slowly fluttered open and he was taking in his surroundings.

From his eyes he saw a beautiful young girl looking at him with a puzzled expression.
He returned the same expression towards her and looked down at himself.
He pulled up the covers, everything underneath only viewable to him.
His whole torso was wrapped in bandages and he saw some blood sinking through the bandages.
There was a sharp pain through his side, and he started remembering what had happened.

He was sent from his troop to gather around food, and more medical supples.
But a German soldier had caught him just before he could get away safely.
He shot the American soldier but couldn't defend himself when the American shot back at him, ending his life.
The American soldier had found an opening to the streets of Germany and wandered secretly through them, trying to cover his identity with a coat he had found on the ground.
All he remembered was bumping into a man and blacking out.

He snapped out his memories and looked back up at the girl.
She had now gotten up and pushed a small table towards him, nodding her head towards the tray of food.
He looked unsure and was still unbearably confused.
He looked over at the food and back at the girl.
She had moved back a few steps and had a nervous expression on her face, with her teeth biting into her bottom lip.

He couldn't find his voice, so he was surprised when he blurted out a word.
"Hello there."
Rebecca's eyes widened as she heard the young soldiers voice.
It was raspy and tired.
She didn't know much English, but she had studied some in school and knew what he had said.
"Hello."
Her voice was soft and he gave her a small smile, noticing her accent.
"You speak English?" He asked nicely again and tried turning onto the side where he didn't have his wound.
"A little."

He felt a small pain in his side again and he winced, groaning a little bit.
Rebecca gasped and quickly moved over to him.
"I'm alright. I'm fine." He whispered and took a few deep breaths trying to control his pain.
Her arms did a small impulse as she pushed him gently down on the bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel that was near his bed.

A smile formed on his lips and he looked back up at her.
"What's your name?"
She looked down at him surprised and let her hand drop from his forehead.
"Rebecca." She replied quietly and looked down at the ground.
He smiled and repeated her name with a roll on his tongue, "Rebecca."
She still hadn't looked up.
He remembered his manners and spoke his name towards her, "Frank. Frank Iero."
She looked up, and a smile was placed on her lips.
"Rebecca Straughten."

He smiled and took another look at the girl.
My god shes beautiful.