Her sky and the dead rabbit
A story of love, friendship, trauma, melancholy, terror, historical fiction and war (please think of image for cover and I’ll prepare the final version for printing!)
Amanda GrayHer sky and the dead rabbit
A story of love, friendship, trauma, melancholy, terror, historical fiction and war
Written from the 15th April - 19th April 2020
She must escape
‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape’, muttered Dorothy in her sleep. Her dreams consisted of famished children locked up, their weeping swollen eyes, and the blaring noise of bombs. Yet, the worst and constant nightmare she suffered from, wasn’t that of killings and massacres, it was the ephialtes of her daughter Mary. The notion of neglecting her, it trapped and destroyed her soul. Being taken away from her, being abused, remaining isolated for the rest of her life without her mother, and not having the heart to love or the voice to defy cruelty, or to question the propriety of certain laws. Oh! Her beloved Mary Dorothy yawned and stretched her arms. She had short, straight dark hair, pale blue eyes and light skin. Her cat woke her up every morning at the same time (08:35 to be exact). He was a rather massive cat named Tiger. He rolled over her thick, furry sheets and purred amiably. Mary ran hastily into her mother’s bedroom and jumped up onto the covers, alarming her mother, as she kissed her cat and tickled his neck. She stroked him all over, and, in return, he licked Mary’s arm as he lay down on her lap. ‘Good morning, mum!’, Mary announced. ‘Hello dear, how did you sleep last night?’, Dorothy replied. ‘Well enough, do you want me to make us some breakfast?’, inquired Mary. ‘Oh yeah, that would be lovely, do me a favour and bring the cat with you.’
Dorothy got up, turned on her radio, opened her wardrobe, picked out a formal dress and a pair of thick black winter boots and got dressed. It was nearing the end of August 1939, which meant warmer weather. Dorothy Blumstein, unfortunately, was very apprehensive all the time. She suspected the worst of the worst, and always appeared mad to her neighbours. She didn't care in the slightest, however. When she walked on the streets, when she purchased goods at the bakery and when she cautiously read the newspaper, angst was all she could feel. Essentially, every minute of every day, apprehension seized her. It was like her dreams were reality, yet she forgot most of them.
As Mary and Dorothy sat by the window, in their rigid stools, they ate their porridge and smiled at one another. They both knew what was going to occur in Poland, however, they did not say a word about it. It’d tear them both apart. They chat for a bit about Mary’s lessons and they laughed at one another’s jokes, it was all a very lovely and warm atmosphere. Mary and Dorothy lived alone. Mary’s father left Dorothy while she was pregnant and Dorothy loathed him. She was against the concept of women having to take care of their babies all alone. Yet she was someone tough and wouldn’t allow Adam’s abandonment affect her one bit. Therefore, she worked her way up to a good paying job and ever since, had the ability to care for Mary and herself. Unfortunately, her parents were never around to aid her, and her brother was all the way in London, living as a writer and barely affording it. He was extremely busy most of the time. He only came over every few years and for as long as Mary could remember, she always thought of him as dear, sweet and polite. Dorothy loved her daughter more than anything in the world, even though she concealed a lot of the truth. Mary was very bright and figured out a lot. The day she found out about Adam and where he lived, she ran away from home for a week and didn’t call her mother. She stayed at her friend Esther’s house, as well as Jonathan’s. When she was ready and brave enough to question her father, Jonathan’s father drove her to his house and when they arrived, Mary stormed to the door and demanded for an Adam Baruch. The man at the door identified himself as Adam and the disappointment on her face was huge. He asked her who she was and she lied, stuttering that she had gotten the wrong name and laughed awkwardly. Even if she had been blunt with him and Mary turned out to like him, Adam didn’t deserve her love or a relationship with her. Maybe in the future she’d consider it, but after all, he completely neglected her as a baby and her mother. Mary finally decided to go back home and she apologised for the inconvenience to both her friends. Even if she didn’t have a dad, she had a mother, one she somewhat trusted and really loved, and that was what mattered.
‘All ready, Mary?’, Dorothy asked, once they had finished eating. ‘Wait outside for me, I’ll be there shortly,’ she responded. Mary hastily darted to the bathroom to wash her face, apply cream on her hands and put on some shoes. She hurriedly grabbed some toast with jam and butter for her friend and packed a water bottle. In addition to that, Mary rapidly brushed her
hair, leaving it a little messy. Then, she scurried to her room to grab her belongings and violently shook her piggy bank, allowing ten or more coins to fall. Feeling disoriented, Mary walked out of the front door after remembering her and her mother’s coats, to find her mother across the street. They ambled together for a bit and spoke to one another frequently. ‘Did you see Aaron’s dog run into Bilhah’s cafe the other day?’ Mary asked, laughing uncontrollably. ‘Really? I didn't. I’d better be on the lookout next time. What a grumpy old fellow Bilhah is, and that mischievous dog of Aaron’s is always up to no good,’ Dorothy replied chuckling. ‘Yeah, and Bilhah freaked and yelled at the poor dog. And when he saw me laughing, I ran for it,’ Mary giggled again. They both laughed and walked a bit more, now in quietness. Soon, they arrived at their own paths and uttered goodbye.
Exposed
After Mary left her mother that morning, she went to the bakery to get her lunch and snack. She was quite hopeful for the day. ‘I’d like 2 pieces of that lemon cake and a cheese sandwich to go, please,’ she asked. The lady working there smiled at her and amiably delivered her the food while Mary got her coins out of her red purse. It wasn’t a particularly sunny day but it wasn’t raining either. She still had 20 minutes to kill before she was to meet her friends, therefore arrived at the park earlier. Mary then took out her book and continued reading. She also thought about what her and her mother could do when they arrived home. Maybe they’d go out for dinner or meet Robert’s family, as her mother was fond of them and was acquaintances with his mother.
Mary finished her page and left the windy bright bird chirping park. She went for a quick walk around the block to get inspirations for her drawings of trees and quickly sketched in an idea. ‘Yes, perfect,’ she sighed.
Mary ran back to the local park, as soon as she finished observing her surroundings to draw and met up with various friends. She waved to Esther. ‘Hey Mary, look what I found in the library,’ Esther squealed, as she approached her. ‘Oh my! How did you ever find it?’ Mary demanded, squealing too. ‘Lucky day, I guess. And it’s for you! I know how much you enjoyed Sense and Sensibility, so now it’s time for a funny Austen novel’, Elizabeth remarked. Mary couldn’t be happier, how fortunate was she to read this particular book at the time of impending war. She admired the cover of Northanger Abbey and turned to the first page to commence the book. Elizabeth kissed her farewell as her father was calling her, and left. They’d meet for lunch later that day. Mary sat down for a while on a wet bench by the almost gothic-looking gates, while she waited for Jonathan to arrive. He was never on time. She sighed and continued reading. Minutes later, Jonathan arrived and she inquired if everything was alright. He told her about the conflict at home again and Mary comforted him, his amiable and gorgeous dark brown eyes, now red. ‘Here’s your toast with butter and jam, your favourite!’, she declared. He thanked her
and scoffed it down in merely a few seconds. They discussed school which would start the following day, the first of September.
On school mornings, she never failed to bring him food, for he barely ate. His parents were awfully reckless. Jonathan was a very close friend of Mary’s and they had been through hell together.
Once, he was being bullied and beaten up at school and Mary helped him out of it. She took him home and they sat together for a long time in silence, she washed his agonised bloody face and they discussed what had just taken place. It was really traumatizing for him, he had dealt with bullies and fights for all his life, and coming from a lower class family was not expedient. His parents had never ending arguments too and that was atrocious for poor Jonathan. The day his parents split up was awful for him. (flashback)
‘Are you alright Jon?’ Mary inquired, as Jonathan arrived at the school gates. ‘No, my parents just separated,’ he replied, tearing up. ‘What? I knew they fought a lot, but I didn’t expect this,’ she sighed. ‘I kind of saw it coming honestly, although it’s odd as were probably the only family in the school that are separated,’ he replied. ‘So, are you on for lunch, because we can talk about everything then…’ Mary asked. ‘Yes but now we’d better hurry to Polish,’ Jonathan declared, chuckling. She nodded her head, laughing too, and they rushed through the vacant hallway. ‘Late again Miss Blumstein and Mr Falkowitz?’ Mr Avnagon demanded, angrily. ‘Um, yes, there was a slight issue with’- Jonathan started, but Mr Avnagon cut him during mid excuse and bitterly stated that if they were late again, they’d have to stay behind and aid clean up. Mary and Jonathan looked at one another and endeavored to bury their laughter, through tears as well.
At lunchtime, Jonathan merely explained that the whole family had the worst argument ever, about the most random matters and he sobbed. She hugged him, never letting go and she told him, she’d always be there for him to talk to. He told her that they had always been unhappy and therefore, there was a benefit of divorce, although he still hated that it’d happen, as he’d be split up from his sisters. They wept together in quietness until the bell rang.
(present day)
An hour later, Jonathan and Mary were still chatting and sharing stories, when their other friend Robert arrived, grinning and shaking his freakishly long curly brown hair. Suddenly, Esther appeared and sat down as well. They all ate sandwiches and delicious vanilla, berry and chocolate muffins. Robert had brought freshly squeezed juice too, and they all shared it in delight and joy. Suddenly, Esther hesitantly declared, ‘I feel that there’s something we’ve been avoiding and we must talk… ’ ‘What do you mean, Lizzy?’ inquired Robert. ‘Well, what she’s trying to say is that we’re too afraid to admit that something bad is going to happen. The soldiers on the streets. The fear in people’s eyes...’,Mary bluntly told him. ‘What? I don’t understand? What does that even mean? What fear?’ Robert earnestly demanded, starting to cry. Robert was part of a wealthy family and they were all Jewish. In fact, everyone on the table was Jewish, except for Jonathan. Robert was exceedingly susceptible to the truth and no one was ever really blunt with him. Robert was quite naive, he was the youngest of the group, and wasn’t perceptive of the world. Esther soothed him, and Jonathan explained more to him and answered all of his bombardments. Robert wiped the tears off his face and Mary told him that they’d work it out. They continued eating, and neglected that topic.
Perfect Day
‘Hi mum’, Mary said as she arrived home, dropping her bag to the floor and taking off her coat and muddy shoes. ‘Hey Mary, how was it at the park?’ Dorothy asked. ‘Jonathan had some problems again and we spoke loads and Esther gave me a book! We all had a nice lunch, so it was a good day. What about you? Oh and how about we go to the library soon?’ announced Mary. ‘Good idea, and my day was fine yeah. My friend Abby and I went out for tea and she drove us to a nice river, where we saw some ducks. Let me change and get ready, I’ll meet you at the library, as it’s quite close.’ Her mother said. ‘Alright, see ya.’ Mary wandered on the street for a bit, thinking about their conversation. Shortly, she was skipping freely and feeling the ending summer breeze on her face, wild like a bird. She smelt chocolate pastries and fresh berries from the nearby market. She heard birds chirping and dogs barking, as well as the distant low voices of some women gossiping and young children playing in the grass, getting all dirty and wet from the water sprinklers. All of this blew her mind, as she recalled a memory of her and her mother in a playground, outside of the city, in the isolated, yet glorious countryside. They were both picking berries off trees and shaking them so that the fruits would fall, ‘what a pleasant day,’ she thought. Sometimes, she wished she lived there. It was far away from all the chaos and there were so many massive, pretty flowers and white, shimmering horses, racing in the sunny green fields, up to the tiny, cute cottages. Back to present day, she skipped around the streets, and embraced whatever liberty she had. The ground was slippery, so she took caution when ambling. Flowers stuck out of jars and pots from her neighbour’s windowsill and she observed them . Moreover, the sunset was impending, the blue - almost pink sky - was dazzling and utterly gorgeous. The white clouds over her head were made into all kinds of surreal concepts, the scenery around her was exquisite. After that, Mary thought about whether to go down the busy street or the empty, windy other. She then picked the less crowded one. Mary carried a snack and some coins in her bag. ‘Never hungry’, she thought. Mary absolutely loved Wrocław, she lived close to so many libraries, bookshops, cafes with delicious cakes, she went to a fairly
pleasant school and had her mother and friends. Moreover, in the mind of a 13 year old, it was pretty undemanding to work your way around the place. Although recently, Mary had sensed something might be wrong. She wasn’t frightened, yet, she didn’t know what to expect. Was something going to happen in Poland? Her memory went back in time to the day all of the newsletters and flyers were being passed around ‘Maybe mamma has still yet to inform me about leaving, or will we stay?’ She thought about leaving home and taking the train out. She was confused and disoriented. ‘Well, whatever happens, I must pray and pray and pray’, she repeated. Soon, she’d arrive at her town’s best library, the one with all her favourite Jewish books which she had read growing up. She loved her faith, it was one she could believe in, the other religions seemed quite unrealistic to her and she thought her one was the most sacred and trusting. Mary then thought about what her mother’s plans were. Would she send her away? Would they have to pack soon? Abruptly, Dorothy called after Mary and they entered the library together. They went to the adventure and mysteries section. They both loved an unexpected plot twist. They finally checked out two books and by six o’clock, they headed back home. They both usually went to bed at nine o’clock. When they arrived, Mary got out her mother’s ingredients book and found a salmon pie in there. She called for her mother and she approved, then they both commenced. Mary looked for the butter and flour, while Dorothy got two aprons, two bowls, the salmon and eggs. ‘Mamma, what will happen to us? Nobody has told me anything but I feel like something bad is coming. I can feel it and sense it. The polish army on the streets... The fear in people’s eyes…’ Mary blurted out. ‘Mary, you shouldn’t worry. If anything happens, our government will tell us, nothing unexpected will happen. I love you.’ Dorothy said, trying to reassure her, even though she knew more than she let on. ‘I love you too mum.’ They washed their hands, turned on the oven and put on some Mieczysław Fogg on vinyl. They loved polish 30s tango music. The record shop near their house was lovely to visit and to request vinyls to be played, however, they couldn’t afford it, and merely enjoyed the few vinyls they had. They finished the preparations for the pie and now gathered some bread. They then placed the delicious pie inside the boiling oven and it took a bit over ten minutes to bake. Soon, they were sitting together on their usual rigid stools, by their large wooden table, looking out the window. It was
growing dark. The light blue sky was now unlighted and gloomy, it concealed the clouds Mary had admired. ‘What a beautiful night’, Mary uttered. She loved observing the night. Dark colours of the night intrigued her. ‘Indeed’, her mother responded. They ate in silence and drank their sweet apple juice. Before heading to bed, they spoke about school and what would happen the following day. Dorothy told her that she would make the best pancakes and delicious juice for her. Once they finished, Mary offered to help clean up but her mother kissed her goodnight and told her it was unnecessary. Mary thanked her and said good night. Her mother stayed, tidying up the table and cleaning the dishes, while Mary went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. She read for a while, after that. Mary also wrote a letter addressed to no one in particular, like a diary, recalling the events of the day, what she enjoyed, what she hadn’t, what she would take out from the day and learn from. It was rather calming and she adored summarizing the days. Then, she turned off her lights and cuddled up. Mary often worried about her mother. She worked so much and was fatigued on most days, she was far from idle, but was quite stressed, in Mary’s eyes. Her mother tried to hide that fact, however Mary was bright and knew that she struggled, and with the bills. They lived in a comfortable flat, but it wasn’t demanding to acknowledge the petiteness of it. Nevertheless, the flat was enough for them, needing only two bedrooms, one bathroom and a kitchen. They didn’t spend an exceedingly large amount of time together, only from 5 o’clock to 9 o’clock most days and for a few hours on weekends, as Mary enjoyed going off for wonderful walks unaccompanied and growing to be a judicious young woman. She moreover met her friends on weekends, and they always had a joyful time. Mary and Dorothy would hang out when possible, nonetheless Mary preferred Esther’s house. She was wealthy and had many records and a tv, two radios and so much more. Mary felt guilty for fancying her belongings more than hers, as this was nothing but shallowness. Yet, Esther had more room for everyone in the basement and that was the place they all accorded on hanging out in. They’d listen to vinyls, play games, read, dance, sing, play the piano, listen to the radio and much more. They also enjoyed playing football on the streets. She was satisfied. Mary’s life was ideal. The contentment replaced her sorrow
Her sky and the glass of roses
Mary, tossing and turning in her warm bed, couldn’t sleep, she idly watched her vintage clock tick. Two AM. ‘No, no, I must go back to bed,’ she sighed to herself. Mary lay awake in her bed and imagined scenarios of having a father, getting lots of presents and being loved. She tried to sleep again, yet something her conscious did not know of, was bothering her. Mary considered climbing onto her roof and stargaze. She grabbed her coat and got ready. Mary looked outside of her window and watched the birds fly in the gloomy blue sky. Her glass of roses filled with water to the rim shone at her, almost like a sign, after she had turned on the rusty lamp, beside her. Mary shrugged her shoulders and now looked at the quiet road outside. There was a man carrying a massive shopping bag of food. It appeared to her as if he was going to throw a party ‘How odd,’ she thought. ‘And especially at this time of night, two AM!’ Mary ignored it and peeled off a petal from the roses and smelt it. She loved all kinds of flowers, especially chrysanthemums. Then, Mary put the petal inside her minuscular black coat’s pocket. She also grabbed a torch, her book, a blanket, another shirt in case it got freezing and climbed out of the large window, which almost took up her whole petite room. Mary placed her blanket on the rigid crimson roof and lay down on her back. She observed the sky. Mary loved to think of the sky as her’s. Her sky. Her clouds. And her dark or crimson bittersweet night sky. The stars were beautiful and they dazzled her. Hours had already gone by while she admired the rooftop. Just as she was about to fall asleep, as she usually did when on her roof, someone tapped her shoulder. She froze. Fear crept her soul. This had never happened before. She thought it might be a bird or a cat. Something tapped her shoulder again. ‘It must be mum, telling me to come back inside, maybe she heard a noise and woke up?’ She thought rationally. She courageously turned around.
Bewildered
The fright in her eyes disappeared. In front of her, sat a boy behind her, near the window, wearing a Jewish necklace and who was slightly taller than her. He had long blond hair and wore rugged, muddy clothes. He smiled at her. She smiled back. Disoriented, Mary asked him who he was and he replied with, ‘Does it matter? Any minute now, half of Poland will be destroyed and we have no time to introduce ourselves’. Mary thought of him as rather impertinent, and before she even got a chance to say a word, he continued. ‘Listen to me very carefully, alright? I don’t know if we have any chance of surviving this chaos, but you need to follow me. There’s a place we can hide for now. Soon, Nazi soldiers will invade the streets and all of our homes. So please, trust me’. Mary complied but still declared, ‘I do not trust anyone, but if what you’re saying is really true, (she yawned, looking at the stars one last time) then I don’t want to be alone at this time, and (as she looked back at her window, it had closed)’ she uneasily and hesitantly looked into his mysterious brown scruffy eyes, she finished her sentence, ‘so let’s go.’
Was her precious life about to dissolve…?
Oh no, her mother!....
Had she just neglected her?
The mystery boy took her hand and forced her down the roof, where they slid off, bashing their elbows and legs against the rigid roof and jumped, risking their lives, landing in a sinisterly odd, yet authentic-looking garden. There were wretched flowers everywhere and a yellow lamp which the boy held in his hand, shone at the floor. The buried plants looked like buried bodies. She gasped as she saw the blood of a dead rabbit stained on the grass, turning the green leaves red. It was unsettling and it caused Mary to weep. The boy looked at her and smugly scoffed. ‘How dare you? Did you do this?’ Mary inquired, mad. ‘Guilty’, he laughed. ‘You disgust me!’, she yelled. ‘Keep it down, I only killed it because I don't have enough money to actually buy one, so I needed to cook one myself. But, as you can see, I haven’t done that yet, and I am starving and angry. Keep it down, or we’ll both end up like that,’ the boy replied. Mary said nothing more, she sat down on the grass far away from both him and the dead rabbit. She
wondered who he was and what he must be concealing, what were his secrets? She curled her head into her knees and tried to refrain her tears and the thoughts that crept inside her about the older boy. She then pictured her poor mother. She wondered what Dorothy might be doing and how she would prepare for this outbreak, once the sirens went off Meanwhile, Dorothy had woken up to the alarm and cried in distress. The sirens were high-pitched, the aircrafts were as loud as volcano eruptions and the dropping bombs startled her. She heard screams. Dorothy hurriedly, ignoring the instinct to pack everything she found, only packed essentials. She raced to the kitchen for food and water. Then, to her bedroom again for extra clothes, money, pictures, scarves and letters. ‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape’, she repeatedly muttered, petrified. Dorothy Blumstein had appeared to have gone mad again. Without her daughter, she was a walking word of insanity. More bombs could be heard, and in an instant, her house was shattering. Dorothy fell to the ground. She looked up in distress, as her massive bookshelf collapsed and collided into her table. ‘NO!’ She yelled in horror. Rapidly, she regathered her bag and essentials and dashed into Mary’s room. She had gone to her daughter’s room a thousand times but could not see Mary anywhere. ‘How could I have been so naive and cowardly, to have let her alone, on this night?’ She exclaimed to herself. ‘I knew this would happen sooner than later and I should’ve been ready for today!’ Tears ran down her cheeks as she cried mournfully. She went to check the time -04:50-. Before escaping, Dorothy hurried into Mary’s room one last time, to kiss a picture of her daughter, which was placed on her bedside table. ‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape’, she consistently repeated. Subsequently, she took 10 other pictures of her darling Mary and buried them in her heavy plain bag. Dorothy was hopeless that she’d see Mary again. She blamed herself for this. She could never ever forgive this mindless mistake made. Dorothy thought of staying at Abby’s place, as she had an underground hidden basement for times like this. It was a precaution, she knew she had to take, with or without Mary. She ran to all the rooms and threw in medicine, more money, more clothes, more everything. Then, she checked the whole house again for Mary, nonetheless she was nowhere to be seen. Dorothy rang Abby multiple times, until she answered, allowing her to stay undercover with her, although the line disconnected various times and her telephone fell to the shaking floor. Dorothy hurriedly
slammed all the doors, closed all the windows and locked everything up and ran out of the house, risking her life. She was almost arriving at Abby’s house, however she didn’t go inside as she couldn’t see anything and the bombs of the loud aero planes distracted her. Instead, Dorothy instantly ran in fear, into the first shelter she found, a ditch where a few other people hid, near some bushes and grass.
‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape.’
Suddenly, the sound of a siren alarmed Mary and she looked up, disoriented, at the boy, her face frightened. He observed her reassuringly and took her hand into his, leading her into his basement. He showed her the way down the dilapidated rusty grey staircase. ‘You mustn't worry, everything will be okay. I don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here to keep safe but I have got a lot of supplies and plans,’ the boy declared. Mary nodded, shaking and afraid. They had already arrived at the bottom and it was nowhere near as bad as she had imagined, yet she wouldn’t admit that, as she still didn’t fully conceive his “good intentions”. ‘Mary, why the hell would you ever just go off with some stranger,’ she wondered. She had just rather been safe than sorry. To be taken away by some supremacist anti-Jewish soldier was her worst nightmare, aside from losing her mother, which she senselessly did, therefore following the boy didn’t seem like a bad idea. ‘Well, this place gives me the chills, I don’t suppose not looking like a rapist to me was in your plan,’ Mary wittly and boldly declared. The boy didn’t take this to offense, however, he just laughed and shrugged his shoulders at her remark. She soon spoke again, ‘hey, is there even a bathroom here?’ ‘Yeah, I’m not a troglodyte’, he replied. Mary scorned but giggled inside, through dried tears. The boy showed her to the bathroom and it was fine. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and cried a little more. So many tears ran down her terrified, bruised face. Mary thought of the boy again. She’d have to stay with him for a long time and if that meant for them to become closer to one another, she was fine with that. She washed up and cleaned herself. Her hands were fluffed up from the scented soap and she washed her face, as she was also sweating with panic. Then, she reassured herself by smiling in the mirror and left the bathroom, walking over to the boy, who was reading a book. She watched him in disbelief, shocked at how calm he appeared during a time of war and death, just above them. The boy showed her to her bed and she quietly lay down, it was merely five AM. She read for a few hours, her mind distracted and the boy spoke to her again. They talked about Mary’s mother and after a while of discussing insights and laughing atidiotic and mindless jokes, to take their minds off the hearing of extremely loud war Nazi planes, the boy turned off the
lights and they lay down in silence and apprehension, overhearing babies crying and parents screaming. It was all so alarming and confusing. They were both extremely terrified. Mary was sure to ask the boy what all of this meant in the morning. Abruptly, they heard more sounds of gunshots Remembering the events of that day, the lovely face of her mother, the nice time they had, reading together the night prior, she endeavored to abandon the worries that seized her thoughts and felt a shiver of repentance, as she cried herself to sleep. She couldn’t believe she had just left her house like that her mother would be extremely furious and sorrowful that was also probably the last time she’d ever see her mother. And why did the boy act perfectly calm? Was he trying to be brave or was he psychotic?
Mary dreamt that the boy was taken away by Nazi soldiers and that she found her mother. It was all too much to take in. She dreamt of sitting by the kitchen window, eating her cold and tasteless porridge, and chatting to her mother. Abruptly, she was woken up. ‘What happened?’, the boy inquired. ‘What?’ She said bitterly, turning her back to him and continuing to mutter in her sleep. The boy rolled his eyes and shook her repeatedly. ‘What did you mean by “don’t go, don’t leave me” and “go away, bad men?”’ Mary rubbed her eyes and looked at him. ‘I don’t know, just let me sleep. Look, all I remember is that some soldiers came in here and arrested you. They hurt you and you told me to hide. It was all a blur. It doesn’t mean anything!’ She responded. He nodded his head and left her. He climbed down from the bed and went to grab some food from the tins he stored down there. Mary got out of bed and recalled that she had an extra shirt and jumper. She then ambled towards the bathroom, fatigued and idle to get dressed. As she sat down on the toilet, she looked at her legs, they were extremely skinny. ‘Had she not eaten enough?’, she wondered... Then, Mary looked at herself in the mirror, noticing her pale face all sorrowful. This was the worst she’d ever been. This was war; families tearing apart, homes being ruined, dead bloody bodies everywhere, the loud noises of crashing bombs and aircrafts. She could no longer admire her glorious sky after all of this. Poland was wrecked. Mary was devastated, everything was gone, all of her dreams were unattainable and she felt empty, watching herself tear up in the shattered silver mirror. Hunger, sorrow, fear, agony, and so much more. When she left the bathroom, the boy was sitting on a torn couch by a round figured table, he looked up at her and said in a soft, sweet voice, ‘Morning, my name is Asher by the way, and what’s yours?’ ‘Mary,’ she replied, and hid her misery as she endeavored to smile. ‘Okay, so what would you like to do today? We can make some pancakes, paint, we can even paint the walls for all I care, or read, play a board game, listen to music - that is, if my record player works - and,’- he was interrupted. ‘How can you say such cheerful things. I heard bloody bombs last night, I heard babies crying and mothers screaming. I left my poor mother to come in and hide with you. How could I have been so mindless?’ Mary yelled as she banged her fist and head
against the wall, violently and harshly, in angst. ‘Hey, hey, you listen to me. If it weren’t for me, you’d have been woken up by the sound of a siren and it’d have been too late. I understand that you “abandoned” your mum but all I did was rescue you.’ Asher replied, smug. ‘How can you say that? You don’t know how I feel. You did not abandon your only family, and you didn’t bloody rescue me. I don’t need rescuing, for God’s sake!’ She shouted, furiously. She ran to her bed and collected her belongings, and declared in a quiet, yet seemingly aggressive voice, ‘you know what? I’m leaving. I’m going back to my mum.’ ‘No! You can’t go back out there! You’ll get killed. You’re a Jew and they’ll capture you! Also, for your information, I do know how you feel, instead of me abandoning my “only family”, they neglected me, and now I live alone. I live off scraps and barely afford anything. I steal to survive, okay? I have it way harder!’ He was furious too now. Mary stormed off and climbed up the stairs and left the dim basement. Asher shook his head in consternation. ‘How could she just leave. Is she insane?’ He muttered angrily.
Mary was now on the streets, it was eight AM, she had only been down with Asher for a bit longer than three hours. She did not feel remorse for leaving him. She was exhausted and depressed. Mary stood crouched behind the garden wall, near where the dead rabbit had been killed, laying low, to not be seen or heard. She knew Asher was right. She would get killed. It was too risky, however her love for her mother was more significant than her fear. It was day now and the sun was out. No one was around. Mary mindlessly and courageously crossed the road rapidly and immediately fell to the ground on her knees. She had tripped on a rock and had not seen her surroundings yet, although when she did, she died inside. She could not even comprehend this chaos. Mary was dead inside. Dead Inside. DEAD inside. DEAD INSIDE. ‘NOOOOO!’ Mary screamed in agony. She weeped and screamed. Mary was shaking now, she stood up wearily and insanely threw the rocks near her foot in anger. ‘What had happened to Wrocław?’. All of the buildings had been bombed, dilapidated bodies were everywhere and nothing seemed real to her anymore. ‘What if I’m just imagining this?’ Mary considered. ‘No, don’t be absurd!’ She still rubbed her eyes to check if she was dreaming. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been going mad, it was real, the bloody roads were real, the bombed buildings were real. It was ALL real. Mary was about to leave there and return to the basement, when she recognized one of the dead bodies… It was Jonathan’s body. His face, his lovely, amiable brown eyes! ‘WHY, GOD WHY? AGHHH,’ Mary shouted in dismay, she shook his body but poor Jonathan didn’t move. Mary was worn out and couldn’t deal with this anymore. Her knees were now covered in blood. Mary was traumatized. Nothing could ever make her more sorrowful than this. After crying heavily on the ground for a long hour. She gasped when she saw a soldier approaching. He did not appear Jewish. ‘Oh no! There are more of them coming!’ Hastily, Mary scurried back to the garden near the dead rabbit and cried more. She closed her eyes.
Mary, attempting to recall the memories with her mother and friends, could hardly remember anything. She consistently saw Jonathan’s face in her mind. The blood oozing out of his
stomach, the scars and holes in his arm. The melancholy which roomed up her whole soul, created an even deeper hole. Suddenly, Mary spotted her mother. She called after her and Dorothy called back, both running across the street. The soldiers were long gone. Excited to hug her darling daughter again and escape while they could, Dorothy felt immensely hopeful. ‘Mamma! It's me! It’s Mary!’ Mary shouted in tears of happiness and gratefulness. ‘Mary! Oh my’- Her mother was abruptly stopped. Mary now felt apprehension. She stepped back. ‘What? NO!’ Mary screamed. A Nazi grabbed her arm, violently and beat her to the ground and shouted, ‘Heil Hitler! Woman, who are you and what are you doing on the streets?’ Mary ran back discreetly to her hiding spot and watched her mother being beaten, she was so angry at the soldiers. ‘What was a Hitler? And why the hell were they hurting her!’ She pondered, wishing to shout at them. More thoughts raced her mind. Mary was now raging mad. How could one person act so disdain to another? After being kicked to the ground a little more, Dorothy replied obediently to the soldier, ‘um um, my naaame is is uh uh’, she stuttered. ‘Speak! Stop mumbling, I cannot hear you this way, stupid woman!’ The Nazi yelled. Dorothy continued, ‘my name is Dorothy Blumstein’, she declared confidently and when she looked up at Mary, she blew her a kiss and smiled, to reassure her. Dorothy smiled back, suffering. Dorothy eyed Mary again, in a certain way, to inform her daughter, that she knew she’d be alright and she mustn't worry. She loved her so much. Tears running down both their checks and remorse creeping inside their souls, Mary mouthed, ‘I love you mummy and I’m sorry’ Dorothy’s agonizing crimson eyes couldn’t bear this torture anymore. She cried and cried and fell to the ground again. The soldiers looked at her in disgust, no pity, only contempt. They both wished they could’ve escaped this together and moved far, far away, living and loving contentedly and safely, before the war started. But that was impossible now
Mary’s mother was now being cuffed and arrested by the Nazis, they found out that she was a dirty bad, loathing Jew; and before they captured her, Dorothy and Mary looked at each other for the last time, it was special, they both smiled at each other and cried together. ‘Move now, Jew!’ The Nazi shouted, spitting at Dorothy’s face. Dorothy spat back, angrily and stayed on the floor for a while, disobeying the soldier. He shouted at her again and yet she did not move one bit. The Nazi had enough of it and hit her face, Dorothy screamed in pain and the soldier dragged her. Mary watched this in schock. However, she was pleased that her mother had defied the beer-breathed, prejudiced loathing soldiers, even if it altered nothing. Before Dorothy was taken away, she told her to keep quiet and to not move, ‘shhhh,’ she motioned, with her shaking finger on her lips, and Mary listened, remaining there, quietly, to not be seen or heard by the relentlessly harsh Nazis. Mary waved her mother goodbye and blew her a last kiss. Dorothy’s sorrowful tears rushed down her excruciating crimson face and she endeavored to smile again. It was too torturous and once Dorothy was out of her daughter’s sight, she muttered, ‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape.’ The soldiers looked at her perplexed and scornfully. Back at the sinister and authentic garden, Mary banged her head against the tree in frustration. A puddle of tears covered the plants beside her and she was almost touching the dead rabbit but she couldn't care less. Mary checked if the coast was clear and hurriedly dashed to Jonathan’s body and dragged him out of the devastating road. She carried him out of there and carefully placed his heavy body down, beside the dead rabbit. She had now seen so many dead people. It was extremely frightening and disturbing. Mary thought about Esther and Robert. ‘Were they dead too?’
Dorothy and Jonathan were gone… And Mary would kill herself. She pulled out strands of her hair in rage and melancholy. She found a knife beside the tree trunk and didn’t care about anything anymore. Sooner or later, the Nazis would find her anyway. She picked up the blunt knife and it already appeared to have blood stains on it. Mary commenced by stabbing her leg, a
bit beneath her thigh. ‘Agghhhhh!’ She screamed. It was extremely agonizing, nonetheless, therefore she recoiled, disgusted and regretful of her shameful action. She had gone mad. After stabbing herself, the blood did not halt. It kept and kept on discharging. Unexpectedly, she collapsed and the knife lay on her stomach. Her wet sore eyes shut. Soon, after half an hour of worrying about what Mary, and regretting getting angry at her, Asher came running up quietly, alert of anybody coming and got out of his dark basement, and, once he saw Mary collapsed, he freaked out, wondering if she was dead. Asher shook her, attempting to wake her up- that is, if she wasn’t gone. ‘MARY! WHY? NOOO!’ He was crying too now. He hurriedly raced back inside, and brought bandages, his first aid kit, paper and a bottle of water. He wept as he wrapped her cuts with the polished, white bandages and tightly made multiple painful knots. Asher then poured the cold water on her face and slapped her softly to awaken her. Unfortunately, she still lay unconscious. He repeated this multiple times. Suddenly, Mary gasped and lifted herself up. She looked at Asher, bewildered. He explained to her that she had been knocked out for a while.
Chapter 10
Dorothy’s Inescapable Journey
Dorothy’s eyes flickered. She tried to comprehend what was occurring. Where was she? What time was it? After fully waking up, she acknowledged that she was on a train and she looked up at the clock above her head which stated twelve AM. She had been on the noisy, loathing train for over three hours. A cramped, crowded, tight-spaced, exceedingly expeditious train. She looked around her, and saw a few people pissing into cups, spilling some of it onto the floor. She also smelt the horrid stench of nauseating vomit. She felt bodies squashed against her. Dorothy glared down at her clothes, there was some blood and dirt, her dress was slightly ripped, and her new boots were now old and worn out. She sighed, uneasily and irritated. Some people were crying, some were reassuring and hugging their children, others were bewildered and terrified to the core, and the majority were merely staring outside the train’s window, desiring to be outside. Walking freely, eating, running, playing in the fields, having liberty! Suddenly, they halted. Soldiers and other Jews were standing outside of the train in these odd queues. They were inside a station and it appeared wealthy, in the eyes of the deprived civilians. Dorothy shut her red eyes once more, susceptible, staying seated where she was. She refused to move, unless a soldier commanded her to, which none did. In a couple of minutes, the train pursued again. The sound of the train commencing startled Dorothy as she woke up again from her fearful and dreadful rest.
A man carrying a young child, observed her, as she uncomfortably stood up and sat down again, muttering, ‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape.’ A couple of others stared at her impertinently. Dorothy refrained from being ashamed and refused to look down. She was just as important as anyone else on the stinking train. Suddenly, a kind looking woman entered from another carriage and as soon as their eyes met, they instantly recognized each other. ‘Dorothy?’ Abby exclaimed. ‘Abby!’ Dorothy exclaimed, wholeheartedly. When Abby got closer to her, they embraced one another in a hug and kiss on the cheek. ‘I was meaning to telephone you to tell you that it was too late to hide, but’- ‘no, don’t worry Abby, for if I had gone to stay with you, I wouldn’t have seen Mary ’ Dorothy interrupted. ‘What do you mean? Where is Mary?’ Abby asked. ‘She was in this garden, hiding, across from where I was standing. We didn’t get a chance to speak though, because I got captured, but at least we saw each other…’ ‘Oh,’ she replied.
They continued their joyful chatter for a few minutes and soon, stood in silence for the rest of the journey, not wanting to disturb the other people. Dorothy was grateful that she was with Abby, and reminded herself that Mary was safe. Soon, it was their stop, (not that they were aware of course, as the soldiers treated them like nothing and solemnly ordered them about, contemptuous) they were dragged out by some odd looking, young German soldiers, about nineteen, who both looked extremely similar, with short, straight blond hair and blue eyes. They wore a massive green hat and black uniform with the swastika on their arm. Dorothy and Abby asked them where they were going but the soldiers didn’t respond and pretended to ignore their questions. Then, they looked at one another in terror and extreme offense. As they got off the carriage and out of the train, they were placed into a queue. One was for Jewish women, and the other for Jewish men. Ahead of them stood a young girl and her mother, who were crying, and it made Dorothy tear up again, as she was reminded of her darling Mary. Two men walked over to the daughter and mother and slapped them. ‘SHUT UP! HEIL HITLER!’ They screamed furiously, at the top of their lungs, in arrogance. Abby watched them in disgust. She had no children of her own, but had wished to marry and give birth. The young girl was being taken away from her mother, for some reason, and Dorothy observed in astonishment. The mother was left alone and endeavored to refrain from crying or breathing heavily, or else she’d be hit again. Everything which took place was extremely melancholic and many of the men and women had to bury their faces in their trembling, shivering hands, as they were slandered from their wives, husbands, children, sisters, brothers, and friends.
Dorothy closed her eyes and prayed. She shivered once again and dried her tears. When she looked up, a man from the other queue comforted her with a warm-hearted smile, and she smiled back, in appreciation.
Chapter 11 Caleb and Bethany
After Asher had carried Mary back inside, she fell asleep, and he prepared some food; poached eggs, beans, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, avocados, tomatoes, and some grapes. He also filled two large, light green glasses with lemon water. Mary woke up to the flavoursome smell of her favourite food. ‘What have you been cooking (yawning)?’ She inquired. ‘A bit of Jewish breakfast for us,’ he replied. As Mary climbed out of the cozy blue bed, she noticed that the basement was quite substantial, filling the two rooms with four beds, two bedside tables, one bathroom, a relatively small kitchen, two stools, and another area where books, records, necessities, etc were kept in large grey boxes. There were also multiple tins and cans of food in the kitchen near Asher. She put on some large slippers he had given her, a warm brown jumper and sat down at the table.
‘The food is ready,’ Asher grinned, eagerly. ‘Mmmm,’ Mary declared. They ate it rapidly, as it tasted delicious, and Mary asked him, ‘So, what about your family, where are they?’ Asher hesitated and responded, ‘a couple years back, my mum and dad left my sister, brother and I at home and never came back. So we stole food and soon the house was taken away from us, so we came down here and hid for a bit.’ ‘That’s terrible! Where are you brother and sister now?’ Mary inquired, confused. ‘About that… They’re actually here with us,’ he replied. ‘What? Where?’ Mary freaked out. ‘They’re in the other room,’ he replied pointing to their right, anxiously. ‘And how come you never told me this before, Asher!?’ Mary asked. ‘Well, I just didn’t think you’d want to stay here, knowing there were others’- Mary cut him right there, ‘Asher, why would I even mind if others were here, in fact, I’d really like to meet them, I was just surprised that you had never told me about them before… ’ Abruptly, two figures came out of the room Asher had pointed to. ‘Hi Mary, hi Asher,’ the girl acknowledged, really calmly. ‘Um hi, what’s your name?’ Mary inquired, curiously. ‘I am Bethany, and this is Caleb, we’re Asher’s family,’ the girl replied. ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Mary declared, about to shake her hand, when Bethany ignored it and went to lie down on her bed. ‘Don’t worry about her, she doesn’t like meeting people,’ Asher announced, embarrassed. ‘Oh, that’s fine,’ Mary cried, while Bethany glared at her from a distance, and she smiled back. ‘Okay… Caleb, will you come and sit here, to eat?’ Asher asked, indicating the scrumptious
plate of food. ‘Sure,’ he replied warmly, grinning at Mary. ‘So, Mary, I’ve heard a lot about you!’ Caleb giggled. Mary decided that he was about ten. ‘What?’ She inquired, glancing at Caleb. ‘Oh nothing, I just told him that you were unconscious for a bit and you lost your mother, basically just an introduction, you know?’ Asher replied, fidgeting, as he tried to change the topic. Caleb chuckled, ‘and he told me what a beautiful girl you were, ahaha!’ ‘CALEB! Shut up!’ Asher slapped him, playfully, blushing. ‘It’s alright,’ Mary responded, chuckling, ‘I think you’re all very sweet.’ She got up, cleaned her plate and sat on her bed, admiring and listening to Caleb and Asher chatting, as a family. ‘Asher, when do you think this war will end, and how must we hide from the Nazi soldiers?’ Caleb inquired. ‘Well, I think it might last for another couple of years and the best we can do now is to stay here and lie low…’ Asher replied, confidently, and reassuring his little brother. ‘But what about when we run out of food, what do we do then?’ He asked. ‘I’ll go out and get some, it’ll be okay, don’t worry, Caleb.’ Asher responded, smiling. ‘A couple more years! Asher, what do you mean!’ Bethany asked, panicking. ‘What about our education and going outside? I can’t bear staying here any longer!’ She continued. Bethany, Caleb and Asher had already been living in the dim basement for over two years, and struggled. ‘Well, Beth, there’s not much we can do about this, and yeah it’ll probably last a really long time. I don’t want to bring your hopes up,’ Asher sighed. ‘I agree, what we should do though, is use our time well, we can always teach one another our knowledge in here and learn from books. We can even write about our lives down here! It will be to tell our ancestors and anyone in the future about the war and how we survived it. Just imagine how successful we could become! Right, Asher?’ Mary declared, cheerfully. Bethany scorned and rolled her eyes, playing with her hair. ‘You know what, I like that idea,’ Asher uttered, while Caleb nodded his head. Caleb now went to sit with Beth, and they played a game, where one had to guess what the other was thinking. ‘Hey Asher, come up here please, I’d like to ask you something.’ Mary announced. ‘Coming,’ Asher said, as he climbed up the bed. ‘What is it?’ He inquired. ‘Well, about this morning, I can’t remember much, apart from saying bye to my mum. What happened?’ She asked. ‘You were gone for about an hour, so I started worrying if you found your mum or not, and when I climbed up to the garden, I found you bleeding on the floor. It was quite shocking and traumatic. I tried to wake you up, but it was too difficult and you didn’t
move. So, I came back here to get some supplies,’ Asher replied. ‘Oh, okay, nevermind then, I guess I was just devastated about my situation with my mother and wasn’t thinking clearly, and harmed myself…’ she admitted, disappointed. Asher nodded, comforting her, and they sat together. It appeared that Mary no longer wanted to speak of this matter, as she must’ve felt traumatized and upset. They spoke for a while about their favourite books, their passions, music, and so much more. Caleb and Bethany soon joined them on Mary’s bed. They discussed their plans for this abrupt outbreak, and wrote their concepts down. Weeks passed by and they read their books, spoke to one another, cooked, played games, sang songs and listened to their radio. Bethany was opening up to Mary and they grew quite fond of one another, discovering their similarities and sharing secrets. Bethany was fourteen, merely a year older than Mary. One morning, Mary woke up and had an epiphany that it had been the first night which did not consist of any sort of ephialte. She smiled and sighed, relieved of the fact. She grabbed a bite and wrote in her journal about this. The water from the tap was dirty, as it was most days, and the lights were flickering on and off, it was usually extremely dim, however this was quite extreme. Mary found some old candles and lit them. In her journal, she moreover mentioned her new friends and feeling bored most of the time. When she was finally ready to tell the events that took place with her mother and knowing she wouldn’t break down crying, Mary wrote everything down about that day and named the day ‘TRAUMA’. She felt so much better and healthier, it was quite the solace. Mary also wrote about the days she had been down there (approximately forty days), and her plans and insights towards War. During this grief time, Mary and the others merely read, drew, wrote, shared stories, cooked once in a while and sang. They rarely left the basement, as it was risky. She wrote about the frightening sound of planes, crashes, bombs and the thud of soldier’s boots. She was sure that the Nazis had taken over, but she knew that other countries would come and save Poland. She wrote about what was being declared on the radio, and how in the mornings, it was quieter and the war sounds decreased. Mary was getting used to it, even though it alarmed her every time, and she’d cry a lot of the time, remembering her mother. They were all living dangerously, and there was no other way to put it.
‘Good morning Mary, I was thinking about heading out to get more rations, do you want to come?’ Asher asked her, after waking up. ‘Yep, what about them though?’ Mary inquired, pointing at Caleb and Bethany. ‘I told them last night that I was going out in the morning to get more supplies. So they’ll be fine,’ He replied. ‘Okay then, let’s go,’ Mary uttered, eagerly They put on their shoes and coats, gathered all of their coins and quietly climbed up the rusty stairs and ladders, to push the door lid which appeared like a sewage door from the ground.
‘Have you got everything?’ Mary inquired, ‘yeah,’ Asher replied. They had just come out of the dim basement and were laying low in the garden, planning when to leave. The dead rabbit lay there, as usual, looking repulsive. ‘What an agonizing death ’ Mary wondered. Asher and Mary sat behind the wall, covering them from the whole world. Suddenly, Jonathan's dead body could be revealed, by the bushes surrounding them. Mary endeavored to bury her regretful, terrified tears. The ground was extremely bloody, muddy and dirty. Their shoes were all torn and their feet touched the gooey, wet long weeds. Their noses were by now accustomed to the smell of death... Asher comforted her as she glanced at her poor, unfortunate friend’s body. They now sat in silence, cautiously listening for soldiers, they could not be found, or else they’d be arrested and sent away. ‘Mary, listen to me very carefully,’ Mary nodded, ‘whatever happens, run and run for your life, if I get caught, you must escape while you can do you promise me that?’ Asher pleaded. Mary considered this. ‘Fine, I’ll do that. But, I know that’s not going to happen, we’ll both be very careful and get the rations we need. No one will question us, and if they do, we can lie and say we’re atheists or Christians. There’s no harm in lying sometimes.’ She responded. ‘I’m being serious Mary, do you seriously promise me that you’ll RUN FOR YOUR LIFE?’ He repeated. She nodded, sincerely and they sat in a neverending quietness, never wanting to leave. Never wanting to part from that special garden and the dead rabbit, odd as it may seem. Never wanting to be in this circumstance in the first place, the dread in their eyes creeping. Never wanting to fear losing each other. They loved one another. They’d been through so much. They loved and lived for each other. They were the brother and sister one never had. It may not seem like it, however the forty days in which they had spent together, they learnt so much from each other. Back to present day, neither wanted to leave, yet they knew they had too. Rations were running out and this was the only solution, there was no way out of it. They stared into each other’s eyes, in apprehension and hugged each other for an enduring hour. ‘Ready?’ He asked. ‘Ready!’ She replied. The two frightened friends were now on the same street Mary had previously witnessed Jonathan’s dead body and her mother’s capturing. The four kids were extremely fortunate to have a basement that concealed itself from the outside fascist Nazi massacre world. Nobody was in sight. No soldiers were on their path.
Everything seemed to be going successfully. ‘What will we buy Asher?’ Mary asked, patiently and calmly, glad to be out of the dim basement again and feeling the fresh yet bloody smell of the air. ‘Hopefully some eggs, bread and a tin of beans or whatever we find. There won’t be much, as everything has been rationed,’ Asher replied. Mary nodded. The walk was just above fifteen minutes. Soon, they had arrived. The place was filthy and cramped, there were young children barefoot on the streets, babies being carried by their despairing mothers and fathers. Soldiers on the streets, carrying heavy loads of weapons, there were trucks and cars on the roads and overall, terrified faces. As soon as they were in the queue to get food, Asher whispered to Mary to stay quiet and confident, and to rehearse these lines, ‘good morning, my name is Elizabeth and I’m a polish catholic,’ if asked by any authority where she came from. ‘Oh and if they ask you about your parents, say that your father died many years ago and your mother is at home, taking care of your baby sister,’ he added. ‘Alright, I will, thanks Asher,’ she replied smiling, ‘what about you and your character though?’ Mary asked him. ‘Oh, I’ll just say that my name is Thomas, I’m polish and believe in no such religion, I also live on the streets, and as a homeless child,’ he grinned. Mary nodded and stood quietly, secretly panicking. Once it was their turn to receive their rations, the woman at the front, selling the food, asked for their identity and showed them what was available. She appeared in her fifties and had grey hairs. Asher and Mary stuck to their characters and lied. The woman conceived it and smiled. They asked for two eggs, one hundred grams of sugar, two pieces of bread, two pints of milk, four apples, two packets of raisins and a big bottle of water which would hopefully last them a week or more. The lady collected everything and wrapped the rations in the bags Asher had brought. They thanked her as they left the queue and sighed, relieved that it was all over. ‘I’m glad we got everything,’ Mary spoke. Asher agreed and they headed back home. More deprived families and homeless children were sitting on the filthy streets. ‘What a dreadful sight,’ Mary thought… As they were nearing home, Asher told Mary to watch out for any soldiers, they had been fortunate enough at the market to not have been stopped and bombarded with questions, therefore now could possibly be the time. ‘Oh my god,’ Mary gasped in fear as they were approaching the garden. ‘What, what is it, Mary?’ Asher asked, confused. ‘Look! There our Nazi
soldiers above the basement, they’re inspecting the garden. What if they discover the door that leads downstairs?’ Mary asked, whispering and frightened. ‘I can see them now! I think it’s best if we hide somewhere and wait for them to leave,’ Asher replied. ‘Good idea, I’m just worried about Caleb and Beth ’ Mary replied, anxious. As Asher and Mary were about to turn back and find a hiding spot, someone behind them tapped their shoulders. Asher immediately jumped, petrified. Mary, calmly turned around, acting innocent and attempting not to freak out or act anxious, in the soldier’s eyes. ‘Who are you? HEIL HITLER!’ The beer breathed blond haired and blue eyed soldier smugly yelled. ‘Good afternoon, my name is Elizabeth and I’m a polish catholic. HEIL HITLER,’ she cried. ‘Hmm, where’s your passport and where do you live?’ The Nazi inquired her, as he observed her up and down. ‘My passport is at home with mama, and I live twenty minutes away from here, I just came down with a friend to receive our rations.’ Mary replied, acting pretty well. ‘Head off girl! Run and leave! HEIL HITLER!’ The soldier declared. Mary smiled and shouted too, then walked off onto a random street and hid behind a wall, waiting for Asher to follow behind. Distressed, she watched what was happening. Luckily, no one had seen her hide there. ‘And you boy, who are you?’ The officer spoke, contemptuously. ‘Good afternoon, my name is Thomas and I’m polish too,’ Asher declared. ‘And are you a Jew?’ The soldier asked, glaring at him, intimidatingly. ‘No, of course not, never! Jews are disgusting creatures who lay eggs, bluh. HEIL HITLER!’ Asher replied, quivering. ‘Is that so? Then what is THIS!?’ The soldier asked, shouting furiously, pointing towards the star on Asher’s necklace- The Star of David… ‘I don’t know, it must’ve been my uh friend who gave it to me, you you see officer, I’ve ha had it for a a long’- Asher stammered, aghast and uneasy. The Nazi interrupted him. ‘ARE YOU LYING TO ME?’ He shouted, raging now. Asher didn’t respond, he could barely breathe and was now panicking. The soldier repeated his question and Asher stammered once again, hardly speaking, and only muttering. The Nazi tore the necklace off his neck, hurting him, causing him to slightly bleed. Asher yelled in dismay and affliction. The Nazi ignored him, swearing and spitting at his face, violently in German. The Nazi then harshly snatched the food rations out of Asher’s trembling
hands and threw it to the floor, like a toddler in a tantrum, stomping on all of the food, infuriatingly. Asher was now quivering and crying in foreboding. Mary watched all of this occur, in terror and lamentation. She wept, listening to the Nazi yell at Asher angrily and beating him to the ground. Mary felt grievance. She couldn’t bear this injustice anymore. Hurriedly, she found a piece of paper in her coat’s pocket, and the petal from the rose in her room and smelt it one last time, for comfort. Next, she searched for a pen in the multiple large pockets of her warm coat and appreciatively found one. Rushing, Mary wrote a letter to Caleb and Beth, quivering and crying as she wrote them goodbye. ‘Ok, done,’ she sighed and rapidly ran back to the dead rabbit garden and glanced, checking back at the soldier and Asher, trying not to be seen. The other Nazis who had been at the dead rabbit garden had already left, and Mary sighed, relieved. She wasn’t certain if Bethany or Caleb would find the letter, nonetheless it was worth the try. She left the paper folded by the tree and underneath the rabbit, intercepting it to fly away if it got the opportunity.
After placing the letter in the garden, she glanced at the place one last time, tearing up. She thought about the first time she was here, right before the sirens had gone off and when she had first spoken to Asher. She recalled how she had never known at the time that they’d grow to become the bestest of friends. Mary thought of the first time she encountered the dead rabbit and the horrid blood smell. She had grown to like the rabbit and the sinisterly odd yet authentic-looking garden. This place was where the most sorrowful events of Mary’s life had occurred, and she took it to heart. She could no longer see Jonathan’s body, and did not try to. Too many beautiful memories would tear her apart again. The day at the park, the feeling of liberty she once embraced, the frosty wind on her face, the smell of chocolate pastries and the amiable, playful screams of contented children in Wrocław’s park. Everything was gone now. She would soon be arrested and killed. There’d be no more scrumptious, amusing lunches at school, or the sound of birds chirping outside her house, or climbing onto her roof and stargazing at her sky, her night, or her stars. She’d never go back to Esther’s basement. They’d never listen to records anymore. She’d never watch tv again or listen to the radio again. She would never laugh at Robert’s naivety or childish manners ever again. She’d never witness wonderful chats with Jonathan, or ever find out what happened to her mother, all of her friends, Bethany, Caleb, and what her life could have been like after school. What job would she have had? Would she have gotten married? Would she have had children and told them bedtime stories every night? Mary accepted the fact that she’d never experience this. She needed to fight for justice, and if that meant being killed, she’d do it. She had regretted not defending her mother the day she was taken away, and felt so terrible, that she had cried herself to sleep every night. It wasn’t worth it to live on, feeling deprived and remorseful. Something had to be done. She had to defy the Nazis. She couldn’t live in this grievance world knowing she hadn’t at least attempted to help Asher. Helping her mother was unattainable and in the past now. Disobeying the soldier was the least she could do, at this moment. She didn’t care about her ideal and successful
future anymore. She realized that living in the present was more important. Mary decided to defy the Nazi and leave most of her repentance and agony behind. She held nothing back. Mary stormed over to the soldier who was dragging Asher by his arm and screamed as loudly as she ever had in her entire life, ‘AGHHHHHHHHH! I HATE YOU! I LOATHE YOU NAZIS! How Dare You Treat Us JEWS with such disdain? What have we ever done to you? AHHHHH!’ Shocked, the Nazi stood still, wide eyed, and scoffed. ‘Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, little stupid girl? HEIL HITLER!’ The Nazi shouted. ‘I’m someone who will defy what is wrong and speak my voice!’ She shouted back, bluntly. She ran over to him and kicked him in the shin, furiously. Mary was so angry that she spat in the Nazi’s face and shouted some more. Asher watched in disbelief, he was glad that she was brave enough to fight the soldier and speak against Nazi beliefs, however, he was upset that she hadn’t listened to him and hadn’t ran for her life or escaped like she’d promised. Now Mary would be taken away and killed too. The Nazi was so raged, that he declared nothing back except the usual ‘HEIL HITLER!’. And dragged Mary by her arm. Mary glanced at Asher, in pain, and said that everything would be okay.
Dead Rabbit
‘Why haven’t they come back yet? I’m starving…’, Caleb announced, upset. Bethany merely shrugged her shoulders. They sat down on the kitchen table in silence, waiting and waiting. Caleb had started drawing, and Bethany read, both impatient. Abruptly, Bethany declared, ‘you know what? I’m going outside for a bit, and don’t worry okay? I just need to find them… I’ll be back before you know it.’ Caleb scratched his eyes and nodded. She left her book, got her coat and put on her muddy shoes. Bethany climbed up the ladders and before reaching the stairs, Caleb asked her, ‘are you sure you’ll be safe, Beth?’ ‘Yeah,’ she replied. Once she was out of the dim basement, Bethany remembered the last time she was there, over two months ago. She hadn’t seen real daylight for so long, it was atrocious. ‘Ah,’ she sighed, smiling, observing the garden and clouds, even though she endeavored to refrain from glancing at the dead rabbit, the dead bodies and the blood. It also smelt horrid, therefore she covered her nose. Beth cautiously stepped on the non-blood parts of the grass, and even so, she felt her torn shoes step on mud. No soldiers or anybody at all could be heard, meaning she was safe, for now. Just as she was about to leave the sinister garden, a paper flapped on the ground, it lay underneath the dead rabbit. ‘What is that?’ She wondered. Bethany picked it up, abstaining from touching the blood and bewildered, opened it. Her expression immediately altered as she commenced reading the precious letter. She trembled and cried in disbelief, fear creeping inside her soul. ‘NOO!’ She rapidly rushed downstairs and fell along the way, hitting her head against the wall. Caleb heard this, alarmed, and hurried to his sister. ‘What happened, Beth? Are you okay? And did you find them?’ Bethany didn’t respond, she just got up and continued down the stairs, crying. When Caleb saw her tearful face, he knew that they’d never see Asher or Mary again. ‘Here,’ Bethany declared, sighing in sorrow. They hugged one another, and read the advice carefully.
To Caleb and Beth, The Nazis found out who we wer & are goihg to take us away. I’m so sorry and I love you so mch. It was great meeting and lving with yu guys… you can’t let this stupid war drain you. I dont know if youll read this but, the soldier ruined all of our food, so we can’t give you any. we re both going to be arested and taken away. I only ask of you to keep going with your life and reading your boks! Im sory. Bye, Mary
I love you XxxxX ps. disguise yrselves for food & dont wear any jewish jewelry or clothing & make up names, passports
Mental
‘She must hurry. She must leave. She must escape.’ Dorothy muttered repeatedly. She woke up distressed. Abby was lying next to her still asleep. They had been in Auschwitz for over two months, deprived and could hardly recall their normal lives back in Wrocław. Now that Dorothy was up, she left their tent to go to the bathroom. It smelt horrid when she finished, however, fortunately she had brought wipes and tissues with her. Dorothy was still uncertain about this campsite and what was to happen. She read the letter which the Nazis had handed out to each tent. They received a new one every week. Dorothy had also heard of a few suicides and was devastated. Back to the letter, Dorothy read what was declared by the authorities.
TO ALL JEWS
HERE
ARE YOUR ORDERS
wake up at 06:00 everyday burn more of the Jewish belongings (books, clothing, jewelry, shoes, anything) hand us all of your money clean your tents clean the campsite Gather at the front at noon for a speech queue up to collect uniform and hats at the end of the day, we’ll serve you food
Remember that you are nothing
You are filthy
Jews
HEIL HITLER
Don’t forget your lovely, warm shower next week!