Proletarian Hearts: Part One

Chapter One

The Austrian air was dry and cold as Otto Haberle raced to the train station; he did not want to be late. It was a February morning, with spring still months away. Patches of snow adorned the quiet little town of Braunau am Inn, and the sidewalks still had a shiny covering of sleet from last night’s snowfall. Otto narrowly avoided slipping on each and every street corner as he raced to the station; he, after all, could not rely on his cheap pocket watch.

“Dammit, the train is pulling in!” he yelled aloud, seeing the dense smoky cloud that signaled the arrival of a locomotive, his locomotive.