Chasing Colours

19. Safe

(Edith)

It had been a tiring journey all the way to the border of Germany from Munich. Disguising ourselves and saving our identities, somehow we had managed to escape. There had been times we had had close encounters with officials stationed at regular stops. We had come across hidden jews being dragged out. Being the Aryan in the group, I would ask for a bit of water at halts and sometimes, people would comply while at times, they would get ideas of me being alone out there. Finally, we had reached our destination in the Germany-Poland border. Was it days already? We wouldn't know.

It was dark and freezing. The eerie silence was tightening our throats. There were one or two flickering lights there and people walking around hastily in the shadows. But otherwise, nothing. All I could hear was my own heart thumping loudly and that of two accompanying me. Hugging my arms closer to my chest, I began moving faster, my lips releasing puffs of white breath which rose and vanished gracefully into the darkness.

I came to a halt in front of an old wooden door. I looked at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand.

Arno placed a cold palm on my shoulder and whispered, his hot breath hitting my ears, sharply, "Is this it?"

I gulped and nodded my head.

Taking a shaky step forward, I knocked.

----x---x----

The old couple sat, relaxed with a cup of warm coffee in their hands. It had been peaceful all day, with no bombs, no Nazi officers running around neither were there any cries of the desperation of hidden jews being dragged out.

The couple sighed in relief and took a sip of their aromatic coffee when suddenly, there was a big bang on the door. The couple jolted up, their eyes wide with surprise.

They waited for the knock to come again to assure that they had heard it right. There it was, again, a knock louder this time, a little more desperate.

The old man grabbed his stick, exchanging glances with his wife, he opened the door.

There in front of him were figures of three youths, a woman and two men, he assumed. They were carefully cloaked and gave out a pale aura.

One of them handed him a crumpled piece of paper with the couple's address scribbled horridly on it. The tip of the latter's slender fingers had turned blue.

From behind the cloak, the middle one, the woman as he assumed, spoke. All he could see was her blood drained lips moving weakly.

"Herr Braun, I am Edith. Edith Fischer. Leah Fischer's daughter. She has guided me here."

The old man scrunched his eyebrows in confusion trying his best to recognise any girl named Edith or Leah while the old lady's eyes flew up to the girl's figure.

The old lady named Lisa Braun hurriedly made her way past her husband and grabbed the girl's hand, firmly yet assuring ushering her and her two companions inside quickly. Herr Braun swiftly closed the door checking and re-checking if anyone was keeping an eye on them, confusion still overwhelming him.

He turned to the three strangers who were now inside his roof. The cloaks were off now revealing two brown haired pale young men and a young girl in her early twenties with messy yet long blond hair and electric blue eyes. She looked so vulnerable yet so determined. Something about her made him light in the heart.

The girl's voice wavered as she tried to speak again, "Help us, please." Dazed, she passed out cold. The young brown-haired man and twinkling green hues of eyes, caught her soft fall, wrapping his arms around her as if a warning for others not to dare come near her.