It was then that Franck heard insects buzzing around him and the frantic chirping of cicadas in the distance, as well as a pounding in his temples. In fact, it was not as silent as all that here. And then his phone rang – at least, he thought he heard it. He hurriedly took it out of his pocket, pulling it out as if it was burning. But nothing, not even one missed call. It was a phantom ring, a kind of mirage. They say this happens to people who are truly addicted. After an hour, he was already getting hallucinations. Lise understood what was happening, and how much it would bother him. The hill was an island where they would be completely alone, isolated, and she had a strong feeling that they could be happy here, making the most of the wholesome ambiance. They could be happy here … Or it might be hell.

August 1914

August 1914

The first problem of the war was the fact that it had started at the height of summer. The sun had ripened the ears of wheat throughout spring, and the crop seemed as promising as ever, but the call-up had started just as they planned to start harvesting. The fields were bursting with grain and there was no one to harvest it. The nation’s bounty was in danger of dying unreaped. Millions of francs would simply evaporate from the fields, and across the country there would no grain for bread.

The day after war was declared, the President solemnly called upon the nation’s women to stand in for the men so that the harvest could begin. Even though the women would have stepped in anyway, notices were printed and the village police sent to drum up support. The President went as far as to plead with his female citizens in the newspapers:

Arise, women of France, arise children, arise sons and daughters of the homeland! Take your place in the fields to replace those on the battlefields … Prepare to show them on their return cultivated land, gathered-in harvests and fields sown with new crops! Arise! To action! To work! Tomorrow there will be glory for all. Long live the Republic! Long live France!