The girl was shocked. She let go of Hans and looked directly at his eyes.
"Commander, you must be joking, right? There's no way you'd forget me right?"
Hans couldn't understand what was going on but he realised that the girl was all flustered and tense. He felt guilty.
He looked at the girl again.
Under the moonlit night she looked really majestic. Hans was mesmerised by the beauty in front of him.
Light purple hair, soft fair skin, bright blue eyes, all the features a girl of any man's dream would have. Maybe 18 years old at most.
And the clothes she wore were all the more familiar to him. The field grey tunic with the markings that proves that she belongs to the Wehrmacht too.
Maybe that's why she was calling him commander. But Hans was still skeptical.
Wehrmacht doesn't recruit girls. Moreover, she wasn't wearing any pants. Her boots were also not standard Heer jackboot.
"Commander you didn't leave me when everyone abandoned me. For the past year you took care of me and always stayed by my side. I protected you from the communists all this time. How can you forget me?"
"Um... can you, uh... tell me your name ma'am?" Hans asked.
"Maybe I will recognise you if you tell me your name."
"But you never gave me a name. So how can I tell you if I don't have one?"
"What do you mean? Why would I give you a name?" Hans was shocked.
He couldn't understand how such a pretty girl won't have a name.
"Didn't your parents give you a name?" He asked again.
"But I don't have parents. I do have many sisters though."
"Don't they have names?"
"No none of us has names."
Hans was lost. He thought it was sad. But then he was confused.
"If you don't have a name then how were you enrolled in the army?" He asked being all curious.
"Me and my sisters were already serving in the army since we were born."
"Has the mighty Germany fallen so low as to recruit little girls?" Hans thought.
"But then again, I've never seen her before. How could she could serve me?"
He also couldn't understand when he clung to her to save himself from the bolsheviks. It was almost revolting to him.
"Why would I hide behind a young and pretty girl?" He said.
"Eh, does the commander think I'm pretty?!" The girl blushed.
"Hey, don't think anything unnecessary." He was clearly not in the mood to entertain the whims of this unknown girl.
But it was also true that this girl might've helped him when he was almost dead.
"So what did I call you all this time?" He asked out of curiosity.
He was certain that he might remember her if he heard her name. But the answer he heard was even more revolting.
"You always called me your beloved Hetzer and even chose death rather than leaving me behind."
Hans couldn't believe what he heard.
"What?!" He asked surprised.
"But I only called the Hetzer I command like that." He said.
He also felt a little sad remembering about the Hetzer which protected him even to the last.
"Yes and I am that Jagdpanzer 38t 'Hetzer'." The girl said.
"Are you kidding me?" He asked slowly but surely getting angrier by the minute.
"How can a Jagdpanzer become a beautiful young girl?" He said, firmly rejecting the idea that the girl was in fact that Hetzer.
"But I am. Why are you rejecting me? Commander, have I hurt you somehow?" She said almost tearing up.
"Oh, no that's not the case. I know you've been treating me the whole time I was unconscious. So I'm grateful to you." Hans said trying to calm down.
"So, should I just call you Hetzer than?"
"Oh, sure I like the name. You can even call me your beloved Hetzer." The girl said excitedly.
Though it was not like Hans shared the same excitement or enthusiasm. He just wanted to avoid sticking in this same topic for the entire time.
"So, um miss Hetzer or whatever, Do you know where we are? This place looks so beautiful and majestic, It's nothing like the hell I've been in hours ago."
"Yeah, compared to the Eastern front this place feels like a whole new world." Hetzer said.
"Did you bring me here?" Hans asked.
"No I just remember being bombed by that Il-2. And after that I regretted that my journey with commander would end like this. I wanted to be more close to commander. And the next thing I know, I was in this shape and you were above me."
Hans couldn't believe anything she said.
"How can this be!? I was alone in that vehicle and was bombed? What the hell!" He thought.
"Then what happened?" He asked.
"You fainted in pain over me and I've been looking after you all this time." Hetzer replied.
"Anyways, we can't stay in this place forever. The Red Army might find us." Hans said worried.
"We must look for some shelter and try to return back to the German lines."
"But commander I haven't seen any Red Army around here anywhere." Hetzer said.
"And it's night. I think we should wait here until dawn before moving."
"Fine, let's do as you say." Hans gave up.
"What's the worst that could happen anyways." He thought.
But this time Hans moved away a little from Hetzer.
"What's wrong commander? Won't you sleep in my lap anymore?"
Hans was in no mood for the lap pillow again and also felt guilty about being with a girl, while Emma is still waiting for him to return.
"No you must be tired as well. So we should sleep separately."
Hans slept on the grass above the ground. He was very comfortable.
The night was not cold rather warm with a gentle breeze. Something which was in stark contrast to the nights he endured in the Eastern front.
This made him a little worried.
As his mind began to clear out and he started to enjoy the weather, the questions sat on him.
"Where is this place? Where did that girl bring me? This feels nothing like the Eastern front nor Germany."
However, he soon fell asleep without getting the chance to find the answers.
The next day beautiful warm sunlight woke him up.
Now he could glance at what was around him more.
It was beautiful he looked at it even more. He had only heard of such beautiful warm land in fairy tales.
The lush greenery, the clear sky, the warm weather. These were not something to be found even in Germany.
However, scenery can't fill belly.
He was disturbed from the scenery by his growling stomach.
He remembered that he hadn't eaten anything for an entire day.
He looked around to see if he could find something to eat.
He also noticed that the girl was not there.
"Where she could've gone?" He thought.
But he didn't ponder on it.
He started to look for food when the girl called out to him.
"Commander, I've brought us some breakfast."
Turning around, Hans could see the girl from yesterday, coming with two fishes in her hands.
Hans was relieved to see food.
Hetzer put the fishes on the ground and brought out two small sticks from her pocket.
She skewered the fishes with the stick.
But she looked a bit flustered. She kept looking here and there before running away again.
Hans couldn't understand the girl's behavior but to him she looked like a child playing hide and seek.
She returned with some woods and put them on the ground.
Hans understood that she was trying to cook the fishes to eat.
He picked up the gas lighter in his pocket and lit the stack of wood.
Hetzer immediately leaped with joy. A radiant smile came out in her face.
Hans smiled a little looking at the girl. But he felt a little guilty for making her do all the work, even though he a man, a German soldier was standing idly.
"Commander let's have breakfast together. I hope you'll like Hetzer's cooking."
"Huh, did you just call yourself in the third person?" Hans noticed this change.
"You didn't do that before."
"Well since you gave me the name, I like to keep saying it." Hetzer looked shy.
Her white cheeks turned pink from blush.
Hans stayed silent while Hetzer cooked the fishes.
It was more like burning than cooking because there was no seasoning or control in heat.
Still the smell made hungry Hans drool.
He controlled himself thinking it'd be an insult to the German Army.
"Commander now it's ready to eat." Hetzer said after burning the fishes for a few minute.
Hans took a stick and started to blow the fish to cool it off.
He couldn't wait to start eating. So he took a bite as soon as he felt the fish was cool enough.
However, he could feel that the fish still remained a little raw.
"Perhaps Hetzer is bad at cooking he thought."
He noticed that she also started eating but was shying. She was looking towards the ground not daring to say anything.
Hans understood that the girl was ashamed of her cooking skill. So he tried to cheer her up a little bit.
"It's surprisingly good even though a bit raw."
"Commander please don't tease Hetzer!" She said closing her eyes.
Hans laughed looking at her reaction.
He still didn't believe that she could be that Jagdpanzer 38t however, he trusted that she has no malice.
Hans and Hetzer both finished their eating soon.
"Alright let's go. We must find a way to return to our lines."
Hans got up and started walking. Hetzer followed after him.
"Commander, don't leave Hetzer behind."
And thus the journey of Hans started in an unknown place with an unknown girl claiming to be the Jagdpanzer he commanded.