A girl called A-18352: The Story of a Child of Auschwitz

Promise

            Perspiration ran down the back of my neck as Ewa and I headed back to the barracks. I struggled not to allow the wretched tears building up fall. I just wanted to scream and curse the nazis, Hitler, and life. Knowing that me and Ewa are truly alone in this world truly terrifies me. She had no idea what had happened. The events of earlier keep replaying in my head.

           The day began as usual with appell. Mamusiu and I decided to stand next to each other while being counted, we thought it was safe. Oh, how wrong we were. The guards started counting prisoners in the line. When one got to us he eyed us carefully, he yanked Mamusiu out of the line and started beating her with his club.
Thump! Thump! Crack!

It took all my strength not to cry, not to scream. I wanted to wrench that stick out of his hands and beat him with it, but I did not, it would guarantee my own death. I was surprised I could ever think straight as this happened. As my own mother was being killed right in front of me .

      A gunshot snapped me back into reality, I glanced down and nearly fainted at what I saw. Lifeless eyes stared at me, her arm extended out to me. The back of her head was missing her brains scattered in the surrounding mud.

          Ewa and I are in our bunk when I decide to break the news to her. I let my tears fall freely as I embrace my precious Ewa. "We don't have a Mamusiu anymore,". She looks at me with confusion in her eyes, shaking her head. She cries into my shoulder as I rock her back and forth. Her sobs get louder and louder, but are thankfully muffled as she buried her face in my shoulder.

She eventually cries herself into a fitful slumber. I hold her hand and stroked her head gently.
"Ewa, my precious baby sister, I know I may have ignored you before all this. I'm so sorry that I never realized how much I loved you until now, you have such a bright future ahead of you but I'm afraid that you will not live to see it. You are my everything, all that is left of my life, you possess so much potential to make to make something out yourself and I will see that, no, absolutely make sure that you will get that chance. With God as my witness, I promise you will walk out of this nightmare alive!". Ewa squeezes my hand tightly and smiles. I plan to keep this promise, even if I have to go to the gas for her.