I'm currently visiting my hometown. I haven't been there for a very long time. It's a small village in the Black Forest, Germany. So excuse my English. Being at home brings back a lot of memories. These memories are mostly good, some not so much but I guess that this is the same for almost everyone. I just came back from a little hiking trip through the forest and now there is one thing which I had not thought about for a long time.
When I grew up in the 80's there was a guy living in the forest near the village almost like an hermit. His nickname was „One-Eyed Hans“. When he showed up in the village he never spoke a word. He wore ragged clothes and as you probably already imagined, he had only one eye. As a kid he really scared the shit out of me. It was not only about his look but also because of the stories my older brother Mark had told me. Mark told me that Hans was a happy kid like us but unfortunately he grew up during World War II. Germany was losing that war and tried everything to prevent that so they used boys like Hans who must have been about 14 years old in 1945 as cannon fodder. Hans was a soldier for a few days when he got wounded. He was captured by the Soviet Army and spent some years as a prisoner of war in Siberia. When he came back to his home some years later he realized that his parents and siblings had died. He had nowhere to go and started to live in a shabby shack near the village. My brother told me that Hans did not like children as he was jealous that we had a good life while he had to suffer so hard. My brother knew that because once when he and his friends played in the forest Hans showed up and chased them through the woods. When I heard about this I decided that I would never go into the woods at all.
Some time later there was a carnival in our village. Nothing special but as a 10-year old I was really excited about this because there was not much else going on in my hometown and I was very happy about every sort of entertainment.
My brother was allowed to go there even in the evening and as I had just turned 10 I thought that I should also get the permission to stay there until dusk. My parents were not really convinced and told me about people that try to lure kids into their vans with some sweets. I was 10 but not stupid and as my brother promised to look after me they finally let me go.
The carnival was lots of fun. I could eat many different sweets and ride some awesome roller coasters. I loved every second of it and felt great because I was there with my brother and his friends. That made me very proud as I felt like one of the grown-ups. Time flew by and when we had to go home they came up with one thing they wanted to do. They wanted to go to Hans' shack and throw some rocks against his walls to scare him. I thought that this was an absolutely terrible idea but I did not want to sound like a kid and went with them.
We went into the dark forest. I could not see much and that worried me a lot as I thought that Hans might be anywhere. Lurking in the dark, waiting for kids like us. Every time I stepped on a twig I shrugged and feared that Hans might hear me or worse come for me to catch me. It took some time because it was hard to find the right path to his shack but finally we were there. My brother and his friends grabbed some rocks that were lying on the ground and urged me to grab one myself. I told them that we could just go back home and pretend that we did it but that was not what they wanted to do. My brother threw his rock and hit the shack's roof. Klong! It was very loud, a terrible sound. I shivered but before I realized it the other guys also threw their rocks and hit the shack's wall. I shrugged again but nothing happened. Then they looked at me, I begged them that I did not want to do it but they were not pleased with me being worried. My whole body was shaking but I did what I had to do. I threw the rock as hard as I could. It flew threw the air and crashed right through the window. We heard a screaming noise coming from the shack. Lights went on and we saw „One Eyed Hans“ running out of his home looking very angry. I was scared as hell and stood there stiff as a rock. My brother shouted at me then I realized that I had to run. I ran straight through the forest as fast as I could. I did not look back as I was too scared and feared that „One Eyed Hans“ might be directly behind me. I ran and stumbled crashed against a tree. I fell down everything hurt. I looked left and right and then I realized that my brother and his friends were gone. I could neither see nor here them. I started weeping but I knew that I could not rest here. I got back on my feet. Now I limped but still I tried to get forward as fast as I could. It felt like an eternity but finally I reached the end of the forest and saw a road. I was not at home yet but at least I was out of the forest and that already felt like a small victory.
For some time I walked down the road which lead to our village. Suddenly I saw lights and heard the sound of an engine which slowed down. I turned around and saw a car that stopped right by my side. „Are you okay?“, asked the driver when he had rolled down the window. „Yeah, I'm fine. Just have to walk home fast.“, I replied. He smiled at me and said, „Don't worry. I can give you a lift.“ That sounded like a good idea but I knew that I should not get into the car of strangers. I did not want to disappoint my parent so I told him that I had to walk. He understood that. Still, he wanted to help me and give me a flashlight. He left his car walked over to me and handed me over his flashlight. That was very nice but before I could grab it he hit me with it and knocked me down. I could not do anything about it. I just went down, lay on the floor and did not understand what had happened to me. He grabbed me by my shoulder and threw me into his car. I tried to fight him but after that hit I still felt weak and did not really have enough power to stop him. I cried and begged but he was much stronger and not interested in what I tried to say. I lay there in the back of the car and when he closed the door I was scared as never before in my life. It felt like an eternity but then the door opened again. I tried to get all my strength back and screamed and prayed at the same time, „Please! Don't hurt me! Let me go!“. Then I got quiet instantly as I heard the following words. „Don't be scared. I will not hurt you. You are a good boy.“ I was shocked. This was not the stranger who was looking at me now, it was „One Eyed Hans“. I had never heard his voice before and I was surprised that his voice sounded almost gentle. He reached for me and helped me to finally get out of the car. „Don't worry. I always look out for the good kids and this scumbag will never hurt you or anyone else again.“ That's what he said to me before he went back into the forest.
After more than 30 years that is still the most horrible thing that ever happened to me and I am very grateful that I had so much luck in the end. The strange thing is that while I was hiking with my brother today I understood that he had sort of different memories. When I told him the story he looked at me with a very confused look. „What do you mean?“, he asked and added, „It's impossible that „One Eyed Hans“ saved you. Before this incident we only went to his shack and threw the rocks against it to scare you. We knew that he was not there because he had died a few days before.“