A girl and her camera

chapter twenty

I am afraid, my friends, that this shall be the last chapter I will be putting up, before the epilogue. Thank you again, so much to those few who have read my story, and for what it's worth, I might've cried a LITTLE writing the ending. I hope you enjoy reading, and again, thank you!

When news reached Martha of Hanna's accident, things seemed to hang in suspense in her own world. She hadn't heard from Michael in weeks, the plan to smuggle Samuel and Karoline out of the Ghetto was drawing closer and closer, and the news of Hannas injuries was at this stage 'inconclusive'. At least, that was what Eve told her. At the present time, there were so many questions, swirling through the air, that Martha found it hard, just to catch one long enough to answer it.

As for Samuel, nobody (Aside from Martha) really knew how he was feeling about the whole plan. When asked by Annabella and Karoline, he told them he was happy to see the back of such an awful place, and that he'd survive this god-forsaken war. But when it was just him and Martha, lying bare in each other's arms, only then could he confess how he really felt. Sad that he wouldn't see his mother for a long time, angry that the Germans were managing, even to push him away from this hell-hole of a home, and scared, of what could happen to his mother, his sister, and Martha if they got caught. Hell, he knew that sleeping with her put Martha in enough danger. But if they found her, habouring a Jew as well as mating with one? It would ruin Martha.

It was a Friday afternoon when Martha was finally allowed to visit Hanna in the hospital. That day after school, Martha stopped into the florists to buy a boquet of crysianthyms, Hanna's favourite, before strolling over to the inner-city hospital. There, with the help of the nurses, Martha had managed to find the ward Hanna was in, in less than ten minutes. And since Hanna was keen to see her friend, she insisted that Martha be allowed to visit as 'honourary family'.

"You look a little worse for ware," Martha commented, as she popped her head through the door. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Hanna smiled weakly, "come in though. I want to tell you what happened."

And so Martha let herself into the private room (Courtesy of her parents), and placed the boquet onto the side table, beside another bunch that Bart had brought into her before school. They weren't the only kind of flowers Hanna got: since Brams and Cecil didn't know what kind of flowers Hanna liked, they gifted her with their latest comic strip of Hitler and Churchill, as well as a boquet of daffodils 'To match her hair'. And for once, Hanna didn't feel like screaming at those idiots! For they were sweeter idiots this time, and that was something she could quite easily tolerate.

So over those few minutes, Hanna related back to Martha what had happened. Both before the crash, and after. Martha was stunned! Had it really taken a car accident to make her family realise how much they loved her? It was a bit of a desperate call, but it must've worked. For when Martha looked at Hanna as she spoke, she seemed different. Far more...happy. It was as if all over weight had been lifted from her shoulders; Eve's abuse, her mother's coldness, and the unnecessary guilt. It was as if all of that had been knocked out of her, by the cold, steel force of that car.

"So you and Bart?"

"We're okay now," Hanna grinned, "In the end, I had to come clean to him about Eve. He was angry at her and all, but he understood why I couldn't tell him. Eve is my sister; and no matter what happens, she'll always be my sister."

"And what does Eve say to that?"

"The same thing," Hanna smiled, with the most care and sincerety she'd ever expressed about her sister before. "I think that for once, things are looking well for me and my family."

"Well, I'm happy for you." And Martha really meant it. "You deserve it."

"Thank you Martha," She said, "When do you go to the Ghetto for the last time?"