Two Lives One War

Running

The yellow star was pinned upon me. My mother said to wear it with pride, to everyone else it was a sign of shame...

My hair whipped around me in frenzy and my dress billowed out around me as I ran.

It had all started when my mother had announced that she was going to make her famous blueberry crumble. I had groaned loudly as of course the person who would do all the work was me. I argued with her for a bit and we finally reached to an agreement. I would pick the berries and she would make the crumble. So, like the dutiful daughter I was, I went to pick the blueberries. Meanwhile my mother cursed our neighbour for having no daughters or children for that matter to look after.

I walked into the wilderness and the tall trees surrounded me.

Quite a few of the sweet round berries had somehow found their way into my mouth and I soon realised that I hadn't actually put one berry into the basket. It was getting late and dark. I slowly trudged back home in shame.

The trees snagged at my dress with their sharp branches. My hair now looked like a birds nest...

That's when I saw the men, the trucks and the guns. My mother turned to look at me and mouthed run, before the shot was fired and she fell to the ground. I stood there paralysed in shock and fear. No tears came, I just stared on, at the scene unfolding before my eyes. Then something in my brain clicked and I ran.

The men saw me a second later and I heard some German words barked at them. Damn their language, condemn these men, they were all evil. I doubted that any one of them still had a shred of humanity left in them.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I was oblivious to my surroundings. Just keep running, I told myself, just keep running.