"Marta? Marta, oh my God," the man gasped and tried to push past Robert. Robert looked stupid, with his chest puffed out and he was trying to make his voice sound deeper, as if it'd make him more intimidating.
"Robert, move," I said quietly.
"What's going on?" Barb said from next to me.
"Sh," I said and nudged her toward Robert, walking toward the people at the door. "Robert, move," I repeated. He stepped out of the way with Barb reluctantly.
"Mar, what's going on—who is this?" he asked, clearly confused. "Who are you?"
I stood there and looked at the man, wanting to believe what was happening. I couldn't though, my whole family was dead.
"It's me," he a step further. "It's me—"
"Eli," I said as loud as I could, which was barely above a whisper. He nodded and broke out into a huge smile. I had no choice but to return it. "Eli!" I cried and ran the short distance to him. I forgot about Robert and the child he was holding. "Oh my God," I sighed into his shoulder, feeling his chest heave and him make a noise. We stood there in the quiet, the only sounds being those in the apartment building from the rooms around us and the normal city noises. "I thought you were dead," I said as we separated. I was now crying because I looked at him crying.
"Where'd..." Eli trailed off as Robert left the room.
"Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter; all that matters is us. You're here, I'm here, and we're both alive. Jesus, I can't believe this!" I shouted in happiness.
"Marta," Robert called and poked his head into the room. "Are you guys gonna be okay here alone for about an hour?"
"Yeah, we'll be great," I beamed and held both of Eli's hands in my own.
"I'm gonna take Barbara home," he told me and walked back into the room with her in her arms. He put her coat on her and put his own on before saying goodbye and that he'll be back. Eli was still crying, and I'd just noticed how this he was.
"God, you need food! Have you been eating?" I asked him and rushed him into the kitchen, instantly pulling out some food and getting it ready for him.
"Yeah—yeah, I'm fine," he assured but still accepted the food. "I—uh—never regained my weight after, uh..."
"The camps?"
"Yeah," he sighed and looked at the floor. "You—you knew about those?"
"I was in one for a bit," I admitted. "I was a POW."
"Wait—you left, though. Oh my God, you have to tell me everything that's happened to you. Jesus, I mean, who even was that guy? And that girl? That's not your kid, is it?"
"What if it was?" I asked defensively.
"You're—it's 1949, right? You're 25! That's so young!"
"Mama had like, all of her kids by then," I rolled my eyes. It was silent for a second before I saw him smirking at the floor. "What? Get that grin off your face, this isn't funny!"
"I haven't seen you in over 10 years, and we're still fighting. It's just amusing."
I burst out laughing and hugged him. He was still tall and had dark hair, though it was thin and all of his bones seemed to protrude from his body. "Let me answer those questions: That's my husband, Robert, I met him in the Army. And no, that's not my child. That's his cousin."
"The army?"
"Yeah, it's a long story. Tell me yours first!"
"No fucking way, you tell me yours! Apparently you were in the military, which, I didn't even know was a thing!"
"You don't know Robert, and I know you. You won't want to talk while he's here, so you go first."
With a sigh, he started.
I heard the door click shut and took off running. I weaved between houses and alleys and other areas of the city. I heard officers from the SA, SS, and Gestapo knocking on doors, yelling and telling people that needed the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, everyone non-Aryan.
I was sweating, partly from running, but mostly from nerves. I had to get out of the city—out of the area near home. They wouldn't be safe if I was nearby. They can fake being Christian or Atheist or whatever will protect the fine. I'd be lying about multiple things, which makes me more likely to get caught.
God, I hope the kids were going to be okay. I hoped everyone would, but especially the kids. Eventually I slowed to a quick walk to not look suspicious and tried to figure out what I was going to do. Eventually I found a café with no anti-Jewish markings on it and went inside.
"Can I use your phone? Please?" I begged the person at the register.
He scoffed. "Only if you buy something. I gotta feed my family, you know."
I pulled some bills out of my wallet and set them on the counter. "I don't want anything: just to use the phone."
"Through the door," he said and nodded to the door behind him. Thankfully, it was private, which is what I needed as I racked my brain for a specific phone number.
"Hello?" I heard a voice on the other side of the phone.
"Oh, Hugo, thank God. Listen, I need your help."
"What do you want, Eli?" I could hear him roll his eyes.
Listen to me, please," I begged. "I fucked you over and I know I'm the last person you want to hear right now, but I'm desperate."
"You have two minutes before I hang up."
I sighed in relief and I explained the whole situation to him.
"Fuck," he groaned, "okay. Come to my apartment in Aachen. It's only, like, 45-ish minutes from where you are. You can stay with me until you find somewhere else to go."
I felt like a ton of weight just came off of my shoulders. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can."
I hung up and rushed out, muttering a thank you to the owner and putting my coat around my shoulders. It was early March, so the air was still somewhat bitter and I'd rather have my coat for however long I needed it than not have it at all.
Within an hour, I was in Aachen looking for a specific building. Once I found it, I went to the third floor, found apartment 32, and knocked. The door swung open instantly and I was wrapped in a hug. A huge, warm, scared hug. Hugo stood there for a moment before looking at me and releasing me from the embrace.
"I—uh—sorry," he said quietly and looked at my lips, then my chest, then back up to my eyes. I laughed. "What? Don't laugh at me, dick."
"You just undressed me with your eyes. Can you get any more desperate since the last time we talked you hated everything about me?"
"Not... everything."
I grinned and shook my head, lightly putting a hand on his chest and pushing him into his apartment. "Want me to make it up to you?"
"You don't even need to ask, at this point."
