We Were Given A Miracle

Chapter 1

"Maman!" I called, opening the door and walking into our small flat. But, ever since my frère Louis, my older brother, left to go to military school, our flat seemed very big, a bit too big.

"Maman! It's me, Gisele. I'm home." No answer. Then I heard some murmuring from Maman and Papa's room. I walked into their room, wondering why Maman wasn't in the kitchen, waiting for me to come home from school.

I walked into their room, but when I did, it felt like a stone had dropped in my stomach. "Papa?!" I asked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Papa never came home early. Papa only came home early when something was wrong, or if any member of our family was in danger, like when my little frère, Phillipe, had got lost. Papa had to come and after hours of searching, we finally found him at the baker's house. His wife, Adeline, had found him and took care of him until someone came to find him.

But now, the situation seemed even more grave. "Papa?" I asked again.

"Not now, Gisele." He wasn't looking up. I took a few steps forward to see what Maman, Papa, and Phillipe, who was sleeping in Maman's arms, were huddled around. It was the radio. I sat on the bed and listened to what it was saying.

A week old recording of a man's voice filled the flat. "I, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazis and führer of Germany, announce that the Nazis have entered Paris, and are making their way north, south, east, and west to all of France. Jews will be shot on sight if they act out of place or misbehave. Jews must keep their heads down and obey all orders from Nazis. Heil Hitler!"

I ran to the window and looked outside. Shiny black Mercedes that I'd never seen before rolled down the roads. Les riches, I thought. Cha-ching. And considering current events, the only people who drove around Mercedes and had just entered France, were... the Nazis.