A Twin's Tale

Part One

We crept through the dark night, our eyes vying for any hint of light, and, with it, the dreaded Nazis. Snow crunched beneath our shoes, clumps of it drifting through the air, landing in my father’s fair hair.

“Shh,” my father beckoned us onward, then reached for our mother’s arm. “Come here, Dalya.” She complied, twisting around, her long dark hair blowing in the harsh wind, and grabbed hold of Cordula’s hand, who in turn stretched out her pale arm and grasped mine.

We were escaping Germany tonight, our intended result being Sweden. My father, mother, twin sister and I would certainly be sent to a concentration camp if we stayed any longer. It was the year 1943, the 16th day of November. I shivered, the cold seeping into my skin.

My father slipped around the corner, searching for the telltale sign of his older sister, Anelie, who was assisting us in this endeavor.

When I was younger, we’d visit her sometimes. I remember that she looked like my father, except she was all soft curves where he was hard edges. She’d pull us inside her warm house, her husband and kids welcoming us to their residence. I recall our laughter and smiles, back in a time when they were common. Now they are rare in our society, at least among us Jews and other unwanted people such as homosexuals.

“Halt!” I froze, pulling my Cordula into the deep shadows. My mother and father had been already spotted, however, and Nazi soldiers swarmed around them. No! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! I thought. We were supposed to get to safety. Anelie was supposed to be here. “There are more of them!” Two soldiers grabbed Cordula and me, their rough hands digging into our shoulders. They curtly steered us into the open, our parents attempting to wrestle out of the soldiers’ hands and free us. As the Nazis faced my parents, one soldier knelt, unseen by the others, into the snow beside me, his face the only gentle one I saw.

“How old are you?” He inquired, his light blue eyes peering into my stormy ones. Nine, I spoke softly him, gesturing to both Cordula and me. “And your names?” I hesitated. My name would be the only possession I would have left if we made it to the camp. What would he do to it?

As if sensing my thoughts, he tucked a stray section of hair behind my ear and whispered.  “Please. Please tell me."

“Valeska Mendelssohn,” I said. He turned to my sister, being careful not to alert his presence to the others.

“What about you?”

“Cordula Mendelssohn,” she whispered, staring at the ground.

“Well, Valeska and Cordula, I’m on your side, okay? My name is Benno. When you get on the train, look for me. Don’t tell anyone you’re twins, as I assume you are?” He looked me directly in the face, then at Cordula. We both nodded, yes to we would look for him, and yes to that we were twins. He stood back up and returned to the group of soldiers, pretending he’d never spoken to us. I watched him compose himself, turn his face into a mask of disdain.

Mother had told me there were Jewish sympathizers among the Nazis, people who joined the rancorous cause only in order to help the victims escape. We were lucky enough to have met one, though I knew viscerally that our luck would soon run out.

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Sorry that each part is only one page long, but it was never meant to be an extensive story. This was a school assignment that I decided to prolong and rewrite.

~ Eyes