I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 259: Chapter 42: Brief Tranquility

"When did you learn to cook?"

"Did you think I lived in a collective dormitory my whole life?" Anna swatted his hand away. "Stop messing around. The eggs are going to burn."

Werner smiled, let go, and went to wash up.

When he returned, breakfast was already on the table—fried eggs, black bread, jam, and a pot of hot coffee.

"Where did you get coffee?" Werner asked. "This place was supposed to be empty."

"I bought it in the village yesterday," Anna said, sitting down. "Used your foreign exchange coupons."

"You little spendthrift."

"What was that?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I said you’re very resourceful," Werner corrected himself instantly.

Anna smiled. It was a rare sight, a soft, relaxed expression.

They ate breakfast while the snow continued to fall outside. A fire burned in the hearth, making the whole room warm.

"So, what are you planning to do for the next month?" Anna asked.

"I don’t know," Werner said. "Maybe just stay here?"

"You’ll die of boredom," Anna said. "We could take a walk in the village, or go for a stroll in the woods."

"It’s so cold outside."

"Then we’ll stay home." Anna looked at him. "Besides, you need a good rest."

Werner took a sip of his coffee. This kind of life suddenly felt very foreign to him.

It had been too long since he’d lived like a normal person. No performance pressures, no power struggles, no constant danger of being exposed.

Just eating, talking, watching the snow.

"Getting used to it?" Anna suddenly asked.

"What?"

"This kind of life," she said. "Like a normal person."

Werner was silent for a moment.

"Not really," he admitted. "I keep feeling like I should be doing something."

"Don’t do a thing," Anna said. "For this month, let’s just pretend we’re normal people. Don’t think about work, or East and West Germany, or any of that complicated nonsense."

"Is that possible?"

"Let’s try."

*************

For the next few days, Werner genuinely tried to do nothing.

He would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and then read in the living room.

Anna had dug out a pile of old books from the study: novels, poetry collections, and some philosophical works.

Werner picked up a copy of Thomas Mann’s *The Magic Mountain*, but put it down after just a few pages.

"Can’t get into it?" Anna asked.

"It’s too heavy," Werner said.

"Then don’t read it." Anna tossed him a slim volume of poetry. "Try this."

It was a book of Rilke’s poems. Werner opened it to the first one:

"Who is alone now, will be alone for long.

Will wake, and read, and write long letters,

and wander the avenues restlessly,

as the leaves drift and fall."

He suddenly felt a wave of sadness.

"Do you like Rilke?" Anna asked.

"I don’t know," Werner said. "But this poem... it reminds me of something."

"Like what?"

Werner didn’t answer.

’He was thinking about his life before he’d crossed over—lonely, spent reading, writing reports, and wandering the city.’

’That sense of loneliness hadn’t disappeared after he’d crossed over. In fact, it had grown even deeper.’

Anna walked over and sat down beside him.

"Werner, have you ever thought about the future?"

"The future?"

"About one day giving up this line of work and living a normal life," Anna said. "Like we are now—just eating, taking walks, chatting."

Werner was silent for a long time.

"I have," he said at last. "But that kind of life is still a long way away. When the time comes, I’ll find a place to go into hiding."

"And me?"

"If you’re willing to follow a criminal like me."

"I’m a criminal too," Anna said. "A Stasi agent, a double agent. When the time comes, my list of crimes might be even longer than yours."

They looked at each other for a moment, then both laughed.

"Then we’ll run away together," Werner said. "We’re both wanted fugitives, after all."

"It’s a deal." Anna held out her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Werner looked at her outstretched finger, finding it somewhat amusing.

’This Stasi agent, a woman who could kill without batting an eye, was now acting like a little girl, wanting to make a pinky promise with him.’

He reached out and hooked his pinky with hers.

"Pinky swear, a hundred years, no take-backs," Anna said earnestly.

"You still remember this?"

"Of course," Anna said. "I was a kid once too."

Werner suddenly realized he knew too little about Anna.

He knew she was a Stasi agent, that she was ruthless, intelligent, and dangerous.

But he didn’t know about her childhood, how she was raised, or why she had become the person she was today.

"Anna," he suddenly asked, "why did you join the Stasi?"

Anna froze for a moment, then smiled. It was a bitter smile.

"Because I had no choice," she said. "My father was a Party member; he died in the war. My mother survived with my younger brother and me, but life was very hard. Then the Stasi came recruiting, saying they could give us better living conditions. My mother told me to go. She said it was for the family."

"How old were you then?"

"Eighteen," Anna said. "I had just graduated from high school."

Werner fell silent.

"Do you regret it?"

"I don’t know." Anna stared at the flames in the hearth. "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I regret it because I’ve done a lot of terrible things. But I don’t regret it because if I hadn’t, my family and I might not have survived."

She turned to look at Werner.

"Besides, if I hadn’t joined the Stasi, I wouldn’t have met you."

Werner took her hand.

"Same for me," he said. "If I could choose again, I’d still walk this path."

"Why?"

"Because it’s the only way to survive," Werner said. "In these times, it’s eat or be eaten."

Anna looked at him, her expression complex.

"Sometimes I really envy Eva," she said suddenly.

"Eva?"

"Yes," Anna said. "At least she got out. She’s living a free life in West Germany now. Meanwhile, we’re still trapped here, walking on a knife’s edge every day."

"Do you want to escape?" he asked.

"I don’t know," Anna said. "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I want to when I’m tired of it all and just want to find some place to live quietly. But I don’t want to because... I can’t leave you behind."

Werner’s heart skipped a beat.

"Anna..."

"Don’t talk," Anna interrupted him abruptly. "I know what you want to say. But don’t say it now. Let’s just stay like this. Not thinking, not talking."

Werner nodded.

And so they sat before the hearth, holding hands and watching the flames dance.

*************

「A week later, the snow stopped.」

Anna dragged Werner out for a walk in the woods.

The pine forest was quiet, with only the CRUNCH of their boots on the snow and the calls of birds.

"Look." Anna pointed at a tree. "That’s a squirrel."

Werner looked up. Sure enough, a gray squirrel was hopping from branch to branch.

"It’s looking for food," Anna said. "It’s hard to find food in winter."

"Then why doesn’t it hibernate?"

"Squirrels don’t hibernate," Anna laughed. "They store up food beforehand and hide it in tree hollows."

"How do you know all this?"

"I lived in the countryside when I was little," Anna said. "I saw a lot of animals."

They continued walking. Their tracks in the snow were quickly covered by a fresh dusting.

"Werner," Anna suddenly asked, "when all this is over, where do you want to live?"

"Switzerland," Werner said. "Find a small town, buy a house, and then do nothing."

"Do nothing?"

"Mhm," Werner said. "Just take walks, read, and drink coffee every day. Just like now."

"Sounds boring," Anna said.

"Then what would you want to do?"

"I want to open a cafe," Anna said. "Brew coffee, make cakes, and chat with customers every day."

Werner looked at her in surprise.

"You know how to bake?"

"No," Anna laughed. "But I can learn."

"Then I’ll be your first customer," Werner said. "I’ll come for coffee every day."

"You’ll get tired of it."

"No, I won’t," Werner said. "I could drink the coffee you make for the rest of my life."

Anna stopped and turned to face him.

"Werner, are you proposing to me?"

Werner froze for a second, then smiled.

"Maybe," he said. "If you’re willing to marry a criminal."

"I told you, I’m a criminal too." Anna stepped closer, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed his lips. "So that makes us even."

It was a long, tender kiss.

The snowy landscape around them was silent, with only the sound of the wind whispering through the pines.

*************

One evening during their second week, Werner was in the study, sorting through some documents.

Although he was on vacation, he couldn’t help but think about work.

Those numbers, those deals, those never-ending plans, haunted him like ghosts.

"Still thinking about work?"

Anna stood at the door, holding two cups of hot chocolate.

She was wearing a dark blue robe, and her loose hair shimmered softly in the dim, yellow light.

"Just taking a look," Werner said, putting the documents down.

"Liar." Anna came in and handed him the hot chocolate. "Your brow is all furrowed."

Werner took the mug and had a sip. It was sweet, with a rich cocoa fragrance.

"Where did you get cocoa powder?"

"The little shop in the village." Anna sat in the chair opposite him. "The woman who runs it is nice. I told her it was to help my sick husband build up his strength, so she sold some to me."

"So I’m the sick husband now?"

"That’s right," Anna smiled. "And you’re seriously ill. A terminal case of workaholism."

Werner laughed too.

He put down his cup and looked at Anna.

"You know, I never imagined a moment like this."

"What kind of moment?"

"Sitting here with you, drinking hot chocolate, like an ordinary married couple," Werner said. "It feels unreal."

"Why unreal?"

"Because we aren’t ordinary people," Werner said. "You’re a Stasi agent, and I’m the deputy director of Koko. We both have too many secrets."

Anna was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked to his side.

"Then let’s pretend just once," she said. "Pretend we’re just two ordinary people, on an ordinary night, drinking ordinary hot chocolate."

Werner looked up at her.

The light cast soft shadows on her face, making her look much gentler than usual.

"Can we do that?" she asked.

"Okay."

Anna reached out, her fingers gently caressing his cheek.

"You’ve gotten thinner," she said. "You’ve been exhausted these past six months."

"I’m fine."

"You’re not." Anna’s fingers traced a path down his cheek, stopping at his lips. "You always do this, carrying everything by yourself."

Werner held her hand.

"That’s because I don’t trust anyone else."

"Not even me?"

"You’re different," Werner said. "You’re the only person... I feel like I can rely on."

Anna’s gaze softened. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"Then rely on me," she whispered. "At least for this month."

Werner stood up and pulled her into his arms. They embraced tightly, neither speaking.

After a long while, Anna looked up.

"It’s getting cold down here," she said. "Let’s go to the bedroom."

The two of them went upstairs and into the master bedroom. The bed was covered with a thick down comforter.

The snow outside started falling again, the snowflakes drawing blurry patterns on the windowpane.

Anna closed the door and turned to look at Werner.

"You know," she said, "we’ve known each other for so long, and this is the first time we’ve truly had time to ourselves."

"Yeah." Werner walked over to her. "Before, we were always in a rush, always worried about being discovered."

"We still have to worry now," Anna said. "We just don’t have to think about it for the time being."

Werner reached out and untied the sash of her robe.

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