The Forbidden Six

June 7th, 1944

Mena and Otto distanced themselves from Werner. They barely spoke to him and when they did, their sentences were short and clipped. Liese didn't understand what was happening between them and she didn't want to bring it up. She thought if she didn't mention it, it would eventually fizzle out and die. It didn't.

"Why is everyone acting weird?" she asked, cornering Mena.

"What do you mean?" she responded, feigning confusion. She looked at the wall right past Liese's head.

She blinked, annoyed. "You and Otto are avoiding Werner. What did he do?" She fell silent, her thumb running over her locket as she thought. "Oh...did he say something to a Nazi once I left? That dummkopf. Oh, mein Gott im Himmel. He's so stupid. Well, what do you expect from Werner?" She chuckled, thinking Mena would do the same.

Mena's eyes flitted around the room. She rocked side to side on the balls of her feet. Werner and Otto were out and Augustine was with one of his friends. Liese took note of her discomfort.

"Jap. That's it."

Liese cast her a dubious glance but shrugged it off. "Alright. If you say so, honey." There was a silence and Mena waited for her to say more. A thought overcame Liese and her eyes lit up. Her hands flew through the air, animating her sentences. "Oh! I have so many things to do for tonight. We're going to have a party for Werner, of course. Do you think I should make a birthday cake? I don't know if I have enough ingredients. I suppose I could make a war cake just without the walnuts and raisins because who likes walnuts and raisins? I guess it's just another way to eat something healthy. Are raisins as healthy as grapes? I don't even like grapes. Oh, I also have to make a card. Do you think I should make a card? What should I draw? I hope he excuses my terrible drawing skills. Maybe I'll just write a poem.... But what about? Mena, I need help."

Mena halfheartedly listened as she babbled on about the party she was going to throw for Werner that night. As per usual, it was going to be at Liese's house.

Mena didn't want to ruin all the fun her friend was having. It was the most spirited she had seen her in years. It seemed wrong that Liese was rambling about a Nazi who had hit Mena and killed Leyna. It wasn't like Liese didn't know that he had killed many men prior to this occasion.

"Could I go see Salem?" Liese pleaded, bringing Mena out of her thoughts. "I haven't seen him yet; I've been so busy."

Mena nodded and Liese grinned. As they walked out of the house, Liese glanced in a mirror hanging on the wall. She smiled at her reflection, marveling at how her eyes seemed to gleam. Mena dragged the bubbly girl out of the house with a sigh. They started the walk to Mena's house, Liese providing a steady stream of conversation.

"I'm sorry if I'm talking too much," she apologized after a few minutes. "I'm just so excited. I really hope Werner likes everything that I'm doing for him. If he doesn't, I'll just walk into the path of a bomb." She pretended to skip into the path of a bomb and opened her arms up to the sky, as if welcoming the pretend bomb.

"Elise!" Mena hit her on the shoulder and they laughed. "You know what Werner would say if he were here."

"'Don't say you're going to die.'" Liese mocked in a high pitched voice, wagging a finger in the air.

The two girls chuckled and hurried to Mena's house to meet the kitten. They hung out at her house for a few hours. They had a considerable amount of time before the party was set to begin. It was going to stretch into the nighttime hours as all parties should. Since it was the summertime, the sun set late; around nine.

The hours dragged by like a snail with nowhere to be. When the time for the party was peeking around the corner, Liese began to bake with help from Mena. She baked a flourless, eggless, and milkless cake. It was perfect because everything needed to bake a cake was rationed.