"Enemies and Lovers" from The Love Letter with a Bullet Hole
1944. Paris has been liberated. Oppression turns to chaos as the Nazi empire crumbles into unstable provisional governments. Sam is an officer in the allied forces, specializing in counter-espionage. As he looks at the utter destruction in Paris, he wonders: would it have been better if the allies hadn’t destroyed this city with their bombs? Was it better for the French to be freed, even if it meant their country would be destroyed in the fighting? Sam looked at the rubble and debris – Paris was in ruins. But the hope of the newly-freed Parisians for a better tomorrow – this made it a city rising from its own ashes like a phoenix.
Sam glanced around the utter destruction and ugliness and fires of rubble. Out of the destruction comes light. Suddenly, he saw Luisa. Her face lit up the city. And, mind you, Paris is called the City of Light. But Luisa’s beauty shined like a shooting star that lit up all of France.
“Luisa!” Sam shouted as he approached her.
“Samuel!” she embraced him with a kiss that melted his heart.
“Luisa, what a pleasant surprise! It’s so good to see you.”
“Yes! Oh, Samuel, I am so glad we got to cross paths again. How I missed you.”
“And your husband, is he well?”
“Ambassador Ferreira passed away three years ago. I hated being married to him. I never loved him. But one advantage of being forced into an arranged marriage to someone 37 years older than you is that when he dies, you have the rest of your life to spend all of his fortune.”
“Are you – ”
“I’m wealthier than a gold mine.”
Sam smiled. Everything seemed perfect. He gazed into Luisa’s eyes. He gazed into infinite, blissful euphoria. Just as their lips were about to meet, Luisa’s cell phone went off.
“Hello? Ye– um, oh. Oh, I understand. Ok, I’ll report tonight. Yes, sir. Good-bye.”
“What was that?” Sam asked.
“That’s my new gig. I do espionage.”
“Me too!”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah. Which office do you report to?” Sam asked.
“Um, the Kremlin.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Sam burst out.
“I work for the Soviet Union.”
Sam was aghast. “You’re a Commie?”
“You Americans wouldn’t understand.”
Politics is what you talk about when you want to make a relationship end.
“Why?” Sam asked.
“I’ve always been more liberal than conservative. Socialism seemed the progressive way of the future. Russia was the only country untouched by the Great Depression. When Nazism collapsed and Fascism was defeated in World War II, Communism flourished. I decided to go with the up-and-coming victor and invested in the winner.”
“But Stalin killed millions of innocent – ”
“I know. Or at least I know that now. But when I signed my contract, Lenin was a hero and all of the purges were not publicly known. Only later, after I was hired, did they make the headlines.”
Sam sighed. He was in love with an enemy. His job description says that he should kill her right now. But she was the love of his life. If she dies then his soul will not be worth living.
“So, by the rules, we probably shouldn’t be meeting right now, should we?”
Luisa sighed. “Yes, if we play by the rules.” But love obeys no rules. Love crosses all boundaries. Even across enemy lines.
“Well, if we have to never see each other again – ”
“Until the Cold War ends.”
“ – until the Cold War ends. Well, if this is our last night together, and we can’t be together ever again, well, permit me to give you a farewell kiss.”
“I would love nothing more,” Luisa replied with tears coming down her eyes.
“And this is my friend’s cousin’s address. We can still keep in touch. We can write each other love letters. Like we used to when you were in São Paolo and I was in Boston. Only now I’m in Washington, DC and you’re in Moscow. And our worlds are universes apart. So write your love letters and address the envelope to David Jackson. That will be the code word. When my friend’s cousin gets letters addressed to that name, he’ll forward them to me. And nobody will know I’m in love with a Soviet spy.”
“And my pen name will be Elizabeth Sanders. When you get mail from her – ”
“I will cherish those letters for the rest of my life.”
They kissed. Snuggling in the deep embrace, neither one wanted to leave. But, alas, life doesn’t wait for anyone. And if either one is caught, they will be hanged for treason.
Sam got on board the ship for London and Luisa took the train back East. And their love endured.
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If you liked this story, then you will love the rest of the book. Order your copy of The Love Letter with a Bullet Hole on Amazon and Kindle today with ISBN 9781725520035.
Sam glanced around the utter destruction and ugliness and fires of rubble. Out of the destruction comes light. Suddenly, he saw Luisa. Her face lit up the city. And, mind you, Paris is called the City of Light. But Luisa’s beauty shined like a shooting star that lit up all of France.
“Luisa!” Sam shouted as he approached her.
“Samuel!” she embraced him with a kiss that melted his heart.
“Luisa, what a pleasant surprise! It’s so good to see you.”
“Yes! Oh, Samuel, I am so glad we got to cross paths again. How I missed you.”
“And your husband, is he well?”
“Ambassador Ferreira passed away three years ago. I hated being married to him. I never loved him. But one advantage of being forced into an arranged marriage to someone 37 years older than you is that when he dies, you have the rest of your life to spend all of his fortune.”
“Are you – ”
“I’m wealthier than a gold mine.”
Sam smiled. Everything seemed perfect. He gazed into Luisa’s eyes. He gazed into infinite, blissful euphoria. Just as their lips were about to meet, Luisa’s cell phone went off.
“Hello? Ye– um, oh. Oh, I understand. Ok, I’ll report tonight. Yes, sir. Good-bye.”
“What was that?” Sam asked.
“That’s my new gig. I do espionage.”
“Me too!”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah. Which office do you report to?” Sam asked.
“Um, the Kremlin.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Sam burst out.
“I work for the Soviet Union.”
Sam was aghast. “You’re a Commie?”
“You Americans wouldn’t understand.”
Politics is what you talk about when you want to make a relationship end.
“Why?” Sam asked.
“I’ve always been more liberal than conservative. Socialism seemed the progressive way of the future. Russia was the only country untouched by the Great Depression. When Nazism collapsed and Fascism was defeated in World War II, Communism flourished. I decided to go with the up-and-coming victor and invested in the winner.”
“But Stalin killed millions of innocent – ”
“I know. Or at least I know that now. But when I signed my contract, Lenin was a hero and all of the purges were not publicly known. Only later, after I was hired, did they make the headlines.”
Sam sighed. He was in love with an enemy. His job description says that he should kill her right now. But she was the love of his life. If she dies then his soul will not be worth living.
“So, by the rules, we probably shouldn’t be meeting right now, should we?”
Luisa sighed. “Yes, if we play by the rules.” But love obeys no rules. Love crosses all boundaries. Even across enemy lines.
“Well, if we have to never see each other again – ”
“Until the Cold War ends.”
“ – until the Cold War ends. Well, if this is our last night together, and we can’t be together ever again, well, permit me to give you a farewell kiss.”
“I would love nothing more,” Luisa replied with tears coming down her eyes.
“And this is my friend’s cousin’s address. We can still keep in touch. We can write each other love letters. Like we used to when you were in São Paolo and I was in Boston. Only now I’m in Washington, DC and you’re in Moscow. And our worlds are universes apart. So write your love letters and address the envelope to David Jackson. That will be the code word. When my friend’s cousin gets letters addressed to that name, he’ll forward them to me. And nobody will know I’m in love with a Soviet spy.”
“And my pen name will be Elizabeth Sanders. When you get mail from her – ”
“I will cherish those letters for the rest of my life.”
They kissed. Snuggling in the deep embrace, neither one wanted to leave. But, alas, life doesn’t wait for anyone. And if either one is caught, they will be hanged for treason.
Sam got on board the ship for London and Luisa took the train back East. And their love endured.
--------------------
If you liked this story, then you will love the rest of the book. Order your copy of The Love Letter with a Bullet Hole on Amazon and Kindle today with ISBN 9781725520035.
