A small town in the South of Europe, Anna had just fallen in love with Hans when the war spread to their homeland. As a young man who swore to protect his homeland, Hans had no choice but to leave Anna for the army. He knew he might not make it home again, just like his father and brothers.
On the night of departure, Hans handed some roses to Anna and kissed her goodbye. “If I cannot make it home before the last petal falls, forget me and start a new life for yourself”, said Hans to Anna. Not wanting that to happen, Anna carefully put the roses in a glass jar and prayed, “Oh, Merciful God, may Thou protect Hans from swords and arrows on the battlefield”.
The bloody war continued and news of men from her village dying slowly came to the women. At the same time, the roses began to wilt. No new dew was formed on the roses and the fragrance slowly died away. Anna was very worried, yet she kept praying to the God every single day.
Amazingly, the roses dried out but not a petal fell. Many months had passed and men had come to propose to Anna, just to be refused by her. Anna’s friends tried to persuade her to forget about Hans but as stubborn as a mule, Anna never listened.
Hans came back before winter. They both broke into tears and kissed passionately. Hans was surprised when Anna showed him the dried roses in a glass jar. Maybe the God was touched by Anna’s love to Hans.
Then, the legend of this couple was told by many generations. When two fell in love, they put dried flowers in the Bible, hoping for everlasting love.
