La musique la ramène

3

"I saw Maria earlier on today." Louis exclaimed as he walked into the room, placing down plates on one side of the table and myself doing the same parallel to him.

"Did she speak to you?" I asked, arranging the cutlery next to the plates. "I still have not spoken to her about our plan. I don't want to until we get a lead."

"But it has been over a week." Louis muttered, looking at me as he placed the last plate in his hands down on the table. "She is looking worse and worse each day."

"I know, but it might kill her more if she knows we tried and did not succeed. She might be disappointed in us." I sighed, letting out a deep breath, before looking up at my friend.

"But that is where you are wrong." Louis smiled gently, coming over to me and placing his hands either side of my shoulders. "She would be happy we tried. That she knows she has friends who would sacrifice a lot to help her. She would be grateful."

"I just don't want to let her down." I bit down on my lip, while Louis made me look up to him again.

"You won't Amelia." He sternly said, nudging me playfully. "You will be letting me down if you don't tell her."

"I can live with that." I giggled, smiling as I looked at his playfully hurt face.

"You my friend, have broken my heart in two." He gasped, touching his right side and dramatically moving from me.

"Your heart is on the other side genius." I teased more, making him go ever so slightly red but he quickly brushed it off and rolled his eyes, walking into the kitchen.

I straightened the table chair, looking down at the neatly aligned plates that sat before me. Smiling at my achievement, I could not be think over the words of Louis. It had been nearly a week since Louis asked his friend to track the location of Hans, but we had no luck so far. It was a maze we were afraid to get lost in and end up trapped.

However, Adele had faith that we would locate Hans and romantically unite him with his wife. Which we hoped would happen, rather than Maria being in eternal misery.

Louis was right about us telling Maria though, she was getting weaker and weaker. She was not eating or drinking, she looked pale and would barely go out of the house. Not speaking to anyone, including us, her friends. Maria had looked herself away and we all understood why. But we wanted to help her.

Adele came into the dining room, placing the food she had cooked, onto the table to cook. We had invited Maria to come, but she declined. Louis came in, carrying some steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes, which happened to be my favourite form of potato.

"Well Bon Appetit." Adele smiled, as we all sat down, looking at the small bit of lamb we had on the table. The smells were divine and I appreciated every ounce of it. During the war, when I came to Paris, I never had access to such food - for it was all sent to the German Army. Then once the war ended, all food had been rationed out to the people - with Lamb being one food, I had missed the most.

"Wow Adele, this is amazing." I gasped, saving each bit as I slowly chewed, tasting every single bite. "I haven't enjoyed a meal like this for a while."

"Well, I do like to set a standard." She gushed playfully, eating hers like a normal person would. Louis and I were amazed at her skill, it being something she had never shared with us before.

"It really is great." Louis added, talking with his mouthful. "You should send some over to Maria."

"I could do that tomorrow?" I suggested, putting a hand over my mouth, looking to the two as they nodded in agreement.

"That would be great." Adele answered. "I have to go into work tomorrow, I have to edited one of the columns."

Adele worked as a fashion editor, in the local newspaper in the centre of Paris. She suited the life of luxury, lavishing off her designs and bossing people around. Where as I worked in the main library in Paris, keeping myself to myself and not having to interact with too many people.

"I am working in the afternoon, I will drop off it to her house in before I start." I replied, placing my knife and fork on the plate and leaning back in my chair. "That really was amazing thank you Adele."

"You can say that again." Louis breathed out a laugh, bringing his plate to his mouth and licking around the surface. We all laughed and playfully became disgusted by his boyish behaviour.

We all seemed to sit in silence, for a breath second we said nothing and just took in the brilliant atmosphere.

"I have missed this." I breathed out, leaning my head back against the chair, slumped as I looked to my friends.

"The war made us all on edge." Louis added. "We are now finally getting back to how we once were."

"It seems we are the only ones who are going back to how we are-" Adele began. "-Everyone else is so hateful."

"People are hurt." I sighed sitting forward. "We are not alone in our feelings, I am sure of that."

"I meant to tell you-" Adele gasped, as she stood up and grabbed a small envelope from the kitchen side and hurried back over to me.

She handed the letter that was addressed to me. Looking at the paper, I knew Beniot had sent the letter. It had the stamp of Bussey printed on the front and Beniots terrible handwriting on the front - it gave it away.

In that moment, when I looked and realised who had sent me the letter, a lightbulb seemed to go off in my head. If anyone could help us get Hans back, it would be Beniot. He had contacts, people I know he still talks too and he has helped smuggle Germans from Paris just before the war ended.

I believed everything happened for a reason and this made me believe even more (if possible). Beniot had been the answer we were looking for and I knew it was now time to tell Maria.