The Christmas Truce (standard:Creative non-fiction, 1333 words)
Author: kathyg	Added: Dec 01 2008	Views/Reads: 3682/2085	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A sample Chapter of my story "Rose Cottage" . I hope you like it. Feedback welcome :)

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

bleary-eyed comrade shuffles off to his dug out.  Despite the horrors 
and hardship, morale is high, somehow the Christmas spirit has reached 
all the way over here to this remote trench in the middle of battle 
here in Germany. 

Where I am exactly, I am not sure.  I know that as long as I remember my
darling Isabelle and Pierre, I will be okay!  You two are so brave!  
Please stay safe too! 

I stomp my feet in a vain attempt to stay warm.  Can't exactly light a
bonfire, as it would give our position away.  After a while, the 
gunfire ceases and jovial voices call out from both friendly and enemy 
trenches. 

The soldiers from both sides, friendly and enemy, start singing
Christmas Carols.  Next, comes the request not to fire, and soon the 
unthinkable happens.  I start to see shadowy shapes of soldiers 
gathering together in a no-man's land of laughing, singing and 
exchanging gifts!  Many have exchanged cigarettes, the lit end, which 
burns brightly in the inky darkness. 

Gathering up my own courage, I lift myself out of this trench, and walk
toward my enemy. 

The meeting of enemies as friends in a no-man's land is a surreal
feeling this Christmas Eve.  It feels like a shining moment in the dawn 
of all this horror.  A common bond among humanity. 

The Christmas Truce. 

A spontaneous effort of the soldiers to create a peace that could
blossom, just by the exchange of an act of kindness. 

Seeing this Great War being waged along the streets and villages of
familiar European surroundings, their Christmas customs and spirit 
cannot be ignored. 

It seeps into the very battlefields and creates a feeling of camaraderie
and happiness, if only for a little while. 

There is a feeling that both sides want this Great War to end soon and
this Christmas Truce seems a perfect opportunity to extend a hand of 
friendship. 

The festive mood increases, as Christmas Day is near.  Soldiers from
both sides exchange what they have.  Chocolates, butterscotch, 
cigarettes, picture cards, greetings from family and friends, help 
forge a feeling of Christmas. 

The something wonderful happened. 

The stars were bright and  the moon seemed to shine down on an abandoned
field.  A German soldier found a ball.  He invited a group of American, 
French and Belgian soldiers to join them in a soccer game.  So, during 
this rowdy hour of playing soccer, these soldiers became boys again. 

Laughing, screaming, scoring points for their “team', kicking the soccer
ball here and there.  But mostly, making a friend out of an enemy, if 
only for a little while, and finding a common thread among all the 
horror and bloodshed. The French soldiers found a spruce tree in the 
forest and cut it down; decorating it with what humble things they had. 
 They invited the German, American and other soldiers to do the same.  
They all gathered around the Christmas Tree to give thanks for this 
Christmas Truce.  It marks the beginning of the end of this Great War. 

Peace must come soon, Isabelle and Pierre.  I know the influenza is a
horror in America.  I have heard many reports of an outbreak her. 

While I am in Germany, a fellow officer brought me to a gift shop, where
I found a beautiful carousel music box.  I hope it arrived safely and 
please play it often, Isabelle and Pierre! 

Remember your Papa every time you play the music box and let it remind
you of how very much I love you!  Do not worry my precious little ones, 
your Papa will come home soon! 

This Great War cannot last forever.  This Christmas Truce is a proof of
that! 

Merry Christmas and May the Magic of this Season shower you with Love
and Joy! 

Papa 


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