Caspar was silent, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the city as he walked back the familiar roads he used to roam before he joined the army.
Soon he rounds a corner and finds himself in a familiar street. As he stands there, contemplating the twists and turns that lead him to where he is now, he hears a nostalgic voice calling for him.
"Caspar?"
Caspar turns around to see Mr. Jurgen. Mr. Jurgen is a carpenter that lived on his street, Mr. Jurgen always used to make small toys for the children of the street on special occasions, and he was well-liked by the people of the street. Caspar smiles as he starts talking to him.
"Mr. Jurgen, how have you been?"
"Caspar! It is you! Last I heard your father telling all of us that you joined the army. From the looks of you now, it seems that you grew up into a fine hero Caspar."
"I am no hero, Mr. Jurgen, I am only fulfilling my duty."
Caspar smiles as he replies.
"What are you talking about, you put your life on the line to protect us. To us, you ARE a hero. To think that the naughty and mischievous Caspar would grow up to be a soldier, man, time sure flies. You should hurry back home though, I bet your mother is worried sick."
Caspar nods at Mr. Jurgen as he turns around and makes his way down the familiar street. Sometimes stopping and chatting with the people that he had not seen for a while.
Soon, after walking for a while and talking to the people of his street, he finds himself standing in front of a white brick house with a red tile roof.
He stands in front of the door for a while, clueless about what to do, until the door swings open, and a person rushes out and jumps into his embrace.
"CAS!!"
The person sobs as she continues to hug him. Caspar smiles at her and returns her embrace, pulling her closer to himself.
The person who rushed out was his younger sister, Felizia Hahn, she was seventeen years old and had the same black hair that only reached down to her shoulder and dark eyes as her brother, and as they embraced her head reached his shoulder.
'She got taller.' Caspar thought to himself. When he left, she was only up to his chest.
She was his partner in crime, so to speak, when they were younger, they used to roam around the street, pulling pranks and playing wherever they pleased.
Caspar slowly snapped out of his memories as he noticed his other family members also gathering around.
"You grew up, Fel. I don't remember you being this tall when I left."
"CAS!!"
Felizia kept on sobbing and rubbing her teary face on her brother's chest until he responded.
"Fel, you are a big girl now, you should not be crying as much, or people will laugh at you."
Fel nods as she pulls out from his embrace and takes a couple of steps back.
Caspar takes the time to look at all of his family members that have shown up to welcome him. At first, he looked at his mother, who is still beautiful even with her age being forty-seven, she was only as tall as his younger sister. Caspar was considered the tallest person in his family.
Caspar's mother, Marie, was holding an embroidered handkerchief up to her face as her eyes were glistening with tears. Next to her was his elder sister and her husband, Natali and Patrik Hassel, Natali looked like a younger version of their mother being only twenty-eight, while Patrik had short blond hair and stood as tall as Caspar, which could be considered average.
On the other side was his younger brother Niklas who had just turned twelve. He looked cute standing next to his nephew and niece, who were eight and six, respectively.
Caspar had left four years ago when he had just turned sixteen, he spent a year in training before he was sent to guard the eastern border, and after four years, this was his first time returning home.
It took him a second to gather himself before looking at his mother and asking.
"Am I welcome in?"
His mother sobbed as she nodded, she then grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the house.
Soon, Caspar was sitting at a table with food in front of him, his family members were also sitting around the table, but they had already had their lunch, so he was the only one eating.
"How have you been living?"
That was the first question his mother asked him, no matter what happens, his mother always cared about him, the love of a mother is unsurpassed in this world.
"I have been living well, the army is good, I made a lot of friends, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I am sorry I couldn't send you many letters, after the first year, I was sent to the eastern front, and stuff turned kind of hectic."
Caspar explained as he kept eating his mother's cooking, which he had not had in a long time. It was still as delicious as he remembers it being.
"How was it? The eastern front?"
Patrik asks his brother-in-law, who was just a child when he left. It was every man's dream to win glory through battle and return home a hero. Caspar also notices his younger brother's eyes shine, waiting for his elder brother to recount tales of heroism and valor.
Caspar stayed silent for a minute, gazing at his food. Before he raised his head and looked at his family with a smile and started recounting his tales and adventures within the army.
"At first, I was a part of the first offensive into Borpiden land, we advanced like lightning and captured a fort deep within Borpiden, their armies were no match for us, and it was a string of easy victories."
He Looked at the intrigued faces of his family and decided to spare them the gory details of the attack with poison gas.
"But soon, the Oskiuum-Borpiden forces were able to push us back from the fort due to their superior numbers and our dwindling supplies. After that, I was promoted to Sergeant and reassigned to the 23rd Infantry under Colonel Fritz. I was put in charge of reconnaissance and sharpshooting."
Niklas suddenly jumps in excitement written all over his face.
"COOL, you were a sniper?"
Caspar looks at his younger brother, who is sitting next to him. He smiles and rubs his head as he answers.
"I was the best sniper, in fact. I was so good that later on, Prince Lothar himself moved me under his command."
It was his Felizia's turn to be excited.
"You met Prince Lothar? How is he? Is he like people describe him to be?"
Caspar's mind wanders to the time Lothar told him to call him by his first name. But his train of thought is cut when his sister calls him again.
"Cas?"
"Oh, yes. He is even better than what the rumors make him out to be. It was also under his command that I captured the enemy general."
Caspar continues, trying to change the topic of conversation.
"You captured an enemy general?"
"Oh, yes, I did."
But Caspar's mother noticed his attempt and had a weird expression as she looked at her son.