Separated I am a Jewish boy named Alois. I have lovely parents who cared for me since I was a baby. We had a tough few years with Hitler in power, and at the start of the war we had to leave for Switzerland. However, my parents were captured on the border. They were taken away from me and sent to prison. So I did the best thing I could think of, I ran. I was only nine. A kind Swiss family adopted me, and cared for me for five years. We were always scared that Germany would invade, but my parents were my main concern. Yet that was before he came. We were having dinner, when a foreigner ran through the door, jabbering like a crazy chicken. I didn’t know what language he was speaking, but he mentioned my name, and that got me on my feet. “What?” I cried. The man stopped his babbling, noticing me for the first time. “Ah, you must be Alois. Your foster father has told me all about you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Will Perkins.” “He’s a spy,” whispered my foster Dad. “We go way back, since 1924 after three games of darts and arm wrestling. But that’s another story. Right now, I am here because of you.” “Me?” I gasped “You came all the way to Switzerland for me? I don’t even know you!” “But I know of you. And I bring news, news of your parents.” I was shocked. How did he know about my parents? As if reading my mind, he continued, “your foster father told me the whole story. I’m sorry you had to endure such hardships. But your suffering has come to an end. They are alive, and they are outside this house right now!” Will walked over to the door and opened it – standing there were my parents! I ran up to them, ready to hug them, but then I noticed something different about them. They were half-starved. “Mum, Dad, what happened?” I asked, tears coming to my eyes. “Hitler happened,” replied Dad with tears in his eyes too. Mother hugged me and kissed my tear-stained face. “I had better leave now,” said Perkins, “I need to take the others to safety. I’ll leave your parents to explain.” He left, and we saw at least fifty haggard shadows emerge from the darkness, following him. Dad explained that, “After we were separated, we had little hope of seeing you again. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Nazis took our clothes, cut our hair and sent us to work on a secret weapon called the V3. Those who attempted to escape were thrown into gas chambers. If it weren’t for Will, we would probably be dead, and so would millions in London. We slaved away for years preparing the deadly weapon. Fortunately, one day, along
came this man. His mission was to destroy the secret base, but to do that, he had to get us out of danger. So during the next air raid, he snuck into our bunker, killed the guards, and piled us into the back of his truck. We drove off into the night, and the base was destroyed by the RAF. Near the border, we ditched the truck, and continued by foot. We were spotted and pursued, and three people died. We only just escaped with our lives. Then, well, you know what happens next.� Dad’s voice had returned to the soft tone it used to be when we lived in peace. But none of that mattered anymore. We were together.