Chapter 3
“That’s horrible!” Liesle exclaimed, dragging Grammy from her recollections. “Why didn’t you stop them?”
Grammy just chuckled. “No one dared to argue with the Nazis, even if he was my father. That would only be worse.”
“But still! Why didn’t Jacob fight back?”
Grammy sighed. “He tried. But he was outnumbered.” Grammy looked into her Liesle’s brown eyes, and then her sunshine colored locks. “You have his eyes.”
“Mom always says I have dad’s eyes.”
“No. They are the same color as your father’s, but they are definetly Jacob’s.” Grammy’s hands began to shake and tears slowly leaked from her eyes.
“Grammy? Do you want some tea?” Liesle’s face was sketched with worry. “Mom just made some, its still warm.”
Grammy nodded. “That would be nice, dear.” Liesle held her hand out to Grammy, helping her off the bed they had been sitting on. Liesle lead the way through the sunflower wallpaper covered hallway and into the kitchen, the white tile littered with a few stray crumbs.
“I’ll go get it Grammy,” Liesle said as she helped her grandmother sit down at the table. Moments later, she came back carrying two flower stenciled china tea cups.
“Oh!” Grammy exclaimed as the cup was placed in front of her. “This was my mother’s favorite tea cup. See the cornflower?”
The many petaled flower was painted perfectly onto the white teacup, its bright blue violet color putting a smile on Grammy’s soft pink lips.
“So, what happened after that?” Liesle asked, sipping tea from her own cup.
“After what?” Grammy said.
“After Jacob walked away with his sisters,” Liesle replied. “Did you see him protest again?”
Grammy chuckled. “Oh yes, he did that quite a lot. But that wasn’t the next time I saw him. I didn’t see him for a long time. I saw his sister.”
* * * *
I was heading to the grocery store after class one day, and was walking down a small ally, just following the usual route I did to the grocery store. I wasn’t scared of this ally, it wasn’t infested with rats, or tons of garbage, and barely anyone went through that ally. But farther down the cold stone path, voices were talking in the darkness.
“Leave me alone,” a small, feminine voice said softly.
“You're pretty, for a Jew,” a man snickered.
I paused. A Jewish girl, the man could either be a Nazi or just a pervert. I didn’t know which, but half of me wanted the pervert, me being afraid of the soldiers and of what they would tell my father. But the other half of me wanted tha Nazi soldier, me fearing my own safety. Either way, I was halfway down the ally, and the grocery store was just beyond that. I had to continue on my way.
I resumed walking, my shoes clacking. It was a wonder that the man didn’t run away, or at least ask who was there. He just kept harassing the girl.
“But you could pass for an Aryan…you have bright blue eyes like us.”
“What do you want with me?” the girl sobbed. “Please leave me alone.”
I was nearing the voices, and I could see two shadows, one pinned against the wall of the ally. The one against the wall was shorter and I assumed this was the girl. I could make out wavy brown hair and a skinny, frail figure. I looked to the other figure and could see clearly the tan of the Nazi uniform, and the bright red band around his arm bearing the Swastika.
“Please! Just let me go home!” The girl was crying now, hard. And I was the only one other than her tormentor who could hear her small cries.
“Hey!” I yelled suddenly. Both figures turned, their eyes meeting mine. I was closer now, and could see that the girl’s eyes were blue, and that she looked, vaguely familiar. I estimated her age to be about fifteen, her height and weight being around the same as my sister’s, her being a little shorter than me. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Excuse me miss,” the soldier said, leaning away from the girl. “I was just-”
“Harassing a girl?”
“She is a Jew miss…” the soldier mumbled. “Its our duty to cleanse the earth.”
“She isn’t a Jew. She has blue eyes, and, she is my cousin.” The lie was out of my mouth before I could comprehend what I should have said.
“I-” The soldier was dumbstruck. He looked at the girl, then at me, then back at the girl. “I’m, I’m sorry miss.”
“That’s quite alright, just don’t make the same mistake ever again.” I warned, sounding a lot like my mother.
“Yes miss.”
“Come along…Marie,” I said, picking a name out of the blue.
The girl glanced at me, probably wondering whether to trust me or not. But finally, she went around the young man, and came to me. I slowly held out my hand, and she took it, firmly.
We walked down the ally finally coming into the bright sunlight and the fresh June air. The girl was looking down, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. Where had I seen her before?
“What’s your name?” I asked quietly, to make sure no one heard the odd question I asked directed to my “cousin.”
“Ashira,” she whispered.
“And how old are you?”
“Almost sixteen,” she said. We walked in silence for a few more moments, until we reached the grocery store. “Why did you stop him?” she asked me.
I was silent for a minute. Finally I sighed, “Because, you deserve the same respect. Even if you are different, you are still a young woman. He can’t treat you like that.”
“But you-”
“I am the daughter of a Nazi soldier, but that doesn’t make me heartless.” I cut her off. “My father isn’t heartless, and neither am I. He’s just doing his duty.”
Ashira looked down. “You don’t act like a Nazi.”
I laughed. “I’m not a Nazi. I’m a German. My father and mother are Nazi Germans.”
Ashira nodded and looked at me with those shining eyes. “Thank you for helping me.”
“It was nothing. Now, I guess you need to get home?”
“I would…but I was on my way to the grocery store and that man stopped me. He told me I couldn’t go into that store.”
“Do you need groceries?” I asked.
She nodded.
“I’ll buy something for you.”
“Here’s some money,” Ashira said, handing me a couple of Euros.
“Is this all you have?” I questioned. But I didn’t wait for an answer. “You know what? Keep it. I can buy a few things for you out my own pocket. But you have to come in with me, or else some more soldiers may come along.”
She followed me without hesitation and we walked into the grocery store. People gave us strange looks, actually, they gave the looks to Ashira more than me. But I firmly gripped her hand and lead her through the aisles, picking out simple things like loaves of bread, butter, lettuce, carrots, and soap.
I paid for everything, my things and Ashria’s.
“I’ll walk you home,” I said as we exited the store.
“N-no,” she stuttered.
“Don’t worry Ashira. I won’t tell my father. I swear it.”
She seemed to be thinking about it for a moment, and she finally nodded. We walked down the street and turned the corner, heading down a small road that I had never really noticed before.
“This is our apartment complex,” she said. “I live just upstairs.”
I nodded and handed her the rest of her goods and watched as she climbed the stairs. “Goodbye Ashira!” I called, soft enough for any passing soldiers to not notice.
“Goodbye…” she paused on the step. “What’s your name?”
“Katarinna,” I replied.
“Goodbye, and thank you, Katarinna.”
. (Someone else said it was the Reichsmark? I'm not 100% sure).
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