3/13/11 - 3/13/11

"Lord, thank you for our daily bread, thank you for our nightly bed. Please be with us for our dinner, please forgive us, all us sinners."

"Hm, a child's rhyme."

"Be respectful, Ludwig. My niece taught it to me."

"Just as I said, a child's rhyme."

Louis sighed, shaking his head. "You are never happy, are you?"

"What?" Ludwig's brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes, "What did you say? You know I can not hear you -- look at me when you speak!"

"His temper," Louis muttered to himself, "I swear it will be the death of him."

"What?!"

"Nothing," Louis said, turning his face towards Ludwig's. "I said nothing, Ludwig."

"You said something about me, I know it!"

"You know that I would not say anything about you without your knowledge. I tell you everything I have ever told anyone about you. It is quite extensive, the things I have recalled to you."

The man huffed, glaring hotly at Louis. "All right." They took their seats at the table. Normally Louis would have been at home, eating by himself but tonight was different. He felt as if he could not leave Ludwig alone. He had left him alone before and there had been no problems at all (well, not as many problems as there could have been), but tonight there was something inside of him pulled at his senses. His conscience spoke out to him. Stay with Ludwig tonight. It is not all right to be alone.

Louis pushed the boiled vegetables around his plate with a fork. He had no appetite at all tonight. Hopefully he would not be hungry later. It would be impossible to find something to eat without having to cook it.

Ludwig looked up from his plate and frowned. "What is wrong? Do you not like the food?"

Louis shook his head, "It is fine. I just do not have an appetite tonight."

"Hm."

Perrot smiled a bit, closing his eyes. It was very hard to get along with his friend at first. It was hard to understand him and hard to deal with him, but he did it. He waited and tried to listen to him every day. If he did not, Ludwig would have no one. Louis thought that Ludwig needed some sort of person to stay around and take care of him, but he would not have it.

"Only when I am dead will someone take care of me," he had told him. Only when he was dead. It was such a sad statement. Louis realized just how close to death Ludwig was. He was deaf, which was dangerous. He could be walking along at night and not hear someone come up to rob him or a horse gone wild without a rider. His living was not completely sanitary, so he was prone to infections or sicknesses. Perhaps he would die of a heart attack or a stroke. Perhaps he would die of his deafness, some way or another.

Louis did not know how Ludwig would die, or when, but he did know one thing. Ludwig would not die alone.

"What are you thinking about now?"

Louis blinked himself out of his thoughts and sat up straight. He smiled at Ludwig who stared back at him, slightly confused, though he'd never admit that.

"I was thinking of the times we have had and the times we will have."

Ludwig was now even more confused. He narrowed his eyes at Louis. He did not understand what he meant.

Louis picked up his cup and raised it slightly, as if in a toast. "To all the time we have together, Ludwig. Us good friends. We can not be separated, can we?"

Ludwig hesitated for a moment then picked up his cup as well. He smiled a bit, "Good friends never leave each other!"

They knocked cups and then drank. As Louis emptied his cup, one thought ran through his mind.

How long do I have before I have to say good-bye?

"Elise!"

The blonde girl sat up from the tree she was leaning against and turned her head to the side from which she heard the voice. She heard pounding footsteps and panting breaths. She knit her eyebrows together and laughed, "Klaus? Is that you?"

The boy stopped short in front of Elise. He placed his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. "Yes, it is me. How do you know?"

"I told you, it is easy for me."

Klaus stood up and smiled down at Elise. This dear girl, whom he had known since perhaps he was born, was the kindest person he had ever known. She was a bit like his mother, at least that was what Claudia said.

"What are you doing?" Elise asked, staring up towards Klaus. She blinked her eyes a few times and squinted. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could see him. She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes until they were almost closed. She concentrated hard, imagining where Klaus stood. Still she could see nothing.

"I am smiling," Klaus said and then instantly regretted it.

"Why are you smiling? What are you smiling at?"

Klaus's face flushed red. He quickly turned his gaze away to the ground and kicked his shoe at the grass. "I had something important to tell you."

"Oh.. What is it?"

"The man that asked me to transcribe music -- "

"Louis Perrot."

"Yes! You said you did not know him."

"Yes."

"Well maybe you know someone else."

Elise's breath caught in her throat. "Yes, who?"

Klaus inhaled, as if preparing a great speech. He drew Elise in with the hesitation and then said, "Louise Abney."

The girl's shoulders slumped slightly and she exhaled sharply.

Klaus stared at her. "Well?"

She sat back against the tree and shook her head. "Sorry, Klaus. I do not know Louise Abney."

"Oh.. it is Louis Perrot's niece. I was wondering if you knew her because the name sounded familiar. Perhaps she is someone from school?"

Elise shook her head. "I do not know her. Maybe she is at the school... There are so many people in Austria, Klaus. I can not know one person out of a thousand, especially if she is French," she smiled.

"I understand that," he replied, sounding a bit dejected. Elise felt a bit guilty about it, so she quickly added:

"Maybe I will meet her some day? If her uncle is nearby, near enough for you to meet him, then surely she is close. Family stays together, yes?"

"Yes."

"I am sure she is great fun."

"She could help you with your French."

Elise smiled, looking down at her lap. "Oui," she said, trying hard to perfect her accent, "she could."

The two remained in silence for a few moments. A breeze fluttered by loosely and brushed Elise's blonde strands along her pale face. She shuddered, pulling her knees up to her chest and shaking her head.

"Would you like to join us for dinner, Klaus?"

He smiled, "Yes, I would. If it is all right with you and your mother, that is.."

"I have not asked her, but I am sure she will not mind." Klaus nodded. He was silent, staring at Elise. Most of the time she was so quiet. She would sit under this tree or sit in a chair in her room and remain silent for hours. She was thinking of thousands of things at one time. What did she think of? Did her mind ever rest? Yet, she was not always silent. Klaus was certain that she could make sense of anything. She could see the beauty in the ugliest thing in the world. Perhaps she could convince anyone of anything she wanted. Maybe that was why Klaus had fallen in love with her. He had never admitted to anyone of this, though. It was a quiet, distant love. He was Elise's friend first and he would not do anything to ruin that.

"Klaus, could you please help me up?"

Klaus shook his head then quickly nodded. When he remembered that Elise could not see him, he said, "Yes! Of course I will help you..." He leaned over and gently grabbed Elise's arm. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and together they managed to struggle into a standing position. Elise let out a soft laugh, "Thank you." She slowly groped around the tree until she found the thin branch she had been using that morning.

"Why do you use that? Surely you know all of your house and the yards..."

The girl shrugged her thin shoulders. "Why should I not use it? Father gave it to me before .... " she paused mid-sentence, hesitated and then continued, "Father gave it to me. I do not need it, but I also do not need to learn French. It is useful to know and to have, but it is not necessary. Besides, I like it." She raised the branch to her chest and gripped it tightly. "It gives me some sort of comfort. Have you ever had comfort given to you by a branch, Klaus?" she laughed, "It is strange, is it not?"

Klaus did not answer. He could not manage to smile, but it would not matter since Elise could not see it. Perhaps she could hear it in his voice, though. It did not matter. "Shall we go in? I am sure dinner is almost ready..."

Elise nodded, smiling happily. "We shall." She placed the end of the branch on the ground and prodded her way towards Klaus. They locked arms, Elise resting her head on Klaus's shoulder, and began to walk towards the house.

"Pray for all the weary men, pray for now and pray for then. Pray for all the hope and love, pray to the loving God above. Though we are so weak and weary; non-believers, thou are leary. Our lives to You just begun, Father, Spirit and the Son."

"Where did you hear that?"

Elise shook her head, "My mother told me it when I was younger. There is another one we recite at dinner, but my mother did not tell me that one."

"Who did?"

She shrugged her shoulders, feeling the odd bulge at the end of the branch she held. "Just someone I met when I was younger."

"How does it go?"

Elise closed her eyes and sighed. She concentrated, thinking over everything she had learned. She knew the rhyme by heart, but she liked taking the time to think it over. She had recited it thousands of times since when she first heard it. She loved it.

"It goes .... Lord, thank you for our daily bread, thank you for our nightly bed. Please be with us for our dinner, please forgive us, all us sinners."