Chapter 91 Letter from Moscow (Part 2)

As a time traveler, Malashenko at this moment naturally has no objection to the fact that Natalia, who was born a descendant of the former Tsarist Russian aristocracy, has always secretly believed in the Orthodox Church.

After all, in the developed era of information explosion in later generations, many beliefs including Orthodox Christianity and Christianity have been recognized as normal religions that can guide people's hearts upward.

As long as the misinterpretation of teachings does not lead to misdirection and demagoguery, it is perfectly normal for people in the 21st century to choose to believe in a religion recognized by law.

But as the saying goes, you can see the big from the small, and see the essence through the phenomenon. Naturally, it is very clear to Malashenko, who has traveled from later generations.

Since Natalia, who grew up with Malashenko as a childhood sweetheart, was able to express her religious beliefs, which were the object of annihilation in this special era, to Malashenko in such a straightforward and clear way in her letter. Unabashed.

This at least shows that Malashenko had always known that Natalia had not given up her Orthodox faith, and as a Red Army soldier and Communist Party member, he chose to conceal the matter for Natalia and pretended not to know. , and at the same time, he did not report the matter to anyone or his superiors.

From this point alone, the unusual degree and depth of the relationship between Malashenko and Natalia is enough to make Lin Jie, who traveled from later generations and inherited Malashenko's body,... I felt a bit sad.

"Gee, love is reliable these days. Loyalty is enough to override faith. I don't know how far Malashenko and Natalia have developed."

As the details of Malashenko's life with Natalia emerged in his memory, he continued to read. This letter, which was not too long, soon fell under Malashenko's eyes. The move is coming to an end.

"I will take good care of every relative in my family who is extremely important to us. You must take care of yourself on the front line, Malashenko."

"Finally, I will never forget the promise you made to me before you left. I will always wait for you to come back where we lived and grew up. When you come back, I will personally fulfill the promise you made into reality. that day.”

After gently closing the slightly wrinkled letter in his hand, he turned his head to look out the car window in a daze.

Looking at the endless night in front of him, Malashenko, who was in a daze, finally recalled the oath mentioned by Natalia in this letter from the memory that did not belong to him. That was an oath that even Malashenko, who had been promoted to the rank of major, was not sure he was still capable of fulfilling it.

"I hope there will be a day when I can return to my hometown alive. Katyusha's story will definitely not end in tragedy!"

With a sigh of relief, he took out the lighter from his coat pocket as a farewell gift that was said to have been given to him by Division Commander Chernyaev, asking Commissar Petrov to give it to him. After pressing the pulley to light the cigarette next to his mouth, Malashenko then moved the flame to the folded letter paper in his hand without any hesitation.

Seeing the blazing flames in front of me swallowing up the letter from afar and turning it into ashes at a speed visible to the naked eye, I knew that leaving behind this handwritten letter from Natalia would be the source of disaster. Malashenko has already made plans to eliminate all hidden dangers.

"Keeping this letter is still a hidden danger for Natalia. The war is getting more and more tense and she will not be allowed to continue to write these letters with dangerous words and send them to me. Once they are reviewed by the letter censors, If she finds out, it may be a disaster for her, so some words are better kept hidden in her heart."

After making such a decision in his heart, he took out a notebook and a pen from his carry-on luggage. Malashenko, who wanted to stop Natalia's dangerous behavior, began to write in the notebook. The reply was written in a more cryptic tone.

When the first ray of morning sun rising in the distance broke through the endless night, and the clanking sound of the train rolling forward woke up Malashenko, who had been lying on his side on his seat and had been dealing with it all night, he felt that Malashenko took off the big-brimmed hat used to block the sun from his face and then looked out the window while gently rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"It feels like it's fucking dawn as soon as I fall asleep. Well, it's dawn. I hope those German planes don't come to cause trouble at this last moment."

If you really want to talk about it, Malashenko, who has traveled to the Soviet-German battlefield for more than half a month, has never had such a peaceful sleep like last night. This is for someone who has been bathed in the German Stuka almost every day. For Malashenko, who was stimulated by the screams of the dive bombers, it was undoubtedly a great relaxation and relief.

After slowly getting up from his seat, he immediately stretched his body and stretched his waist. Looking at the other seats in the carriage, Malashenko saw that his subordinate crew members were still immersed in sleep. After that, he simply dismissed the words that had reached his lips with a smile.

"Forget it, let them continue sleeping for a while before the train arrives."

Just as Malashenko, who had made such a decision in his heart, was about to ask the uncle when the train conductor would arrive at his destination and stop at the station, the latter who came in a hurry took the lead. Yu Malashenko spoke behind his back.

"Major Malashenko, good morning. We are about to pull into the station. Let me inform you to get ready."

Hearing the familiar voice behind him speaking, Malashenko turned around quietly and immediately responded with a rhetorical question.

"Arrived at the station? Are you arriving at the Smolensk terminal? Comrade conductor."

"Uh, no, Major Malashenko. We still have a long way to go, but before that we need to stop at a train station along the way to unload some goods. The Red Army soldiers there are in urgent need of a batch of goods. Medical supplies and ammunition supplies were already planned when making the itinerary.”

Knowing the reason from the uncle conductor, Malashenko nodded slightly and followed suit without any further interference.

"Okay, I understand, comrade conductor. I'm going to wake up my subordinates. Is there anything we can help you with after entering the station?"

"No need to help, Major Malashenko, we are just stopping here for a while and leaving after unloading. You and your subordinates can take this opportunity to go for a walk and have breakfast. After all, we, the vehicle crew, I only have some bread in my hand."