A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Thirty-One

Graciously, Mina accepted the hot cup of tea. The early morning hours had come quickly, and she hadn't lost sleep over the fight the night before. She needed all the rest that she could get, and her body seemed to need the rest more and more every day. Her back was stiffer than usual; even walking across the room seemed to take more effort.

"Will someone be worrying over your whereabouts, Mina?" Armina had been quick to accept the woman back into her home for the night.

"The men in my life can stand to do some worrying. Maybe it will bring a little bit more respect to them." Mina sipped the tea slowly, not regretting her choice for refuge.

"Men can be overbearing at times. Just as long as you will be safe returning home later." There was a question in the woman's statement. "I have seen too many women beaten for not coming home or finding other ways to disrespect their husbands."

"Then I have yet another reason to be thankful for not being married." Mina let a small smile curl her lips for a brief second. "Aldrik took me in after my husband passed away. He has been my best friend since we were kids. And Markus is just a man without a home living with us."

Sipping her own tea, Armina watched her, carefully choosing her words. "It must be nice to have male influence without feeling in danger all of the time."

"It has its moments. Living with two men gives a new definition to brotherly protection." Setting her warm mug down, Mina shrugged. She appreciated the safety, but hated the lack of mobility that they seemed certain to burden her with.

"Mhmm." Armina agreed with the small noise. She looked like she was pondering something. Perhaps it was the same something she had been pondering the day before, yet had never brought the thought forth.

"There seems to be something weighing on you, Armina. I noticed it yesterday too. Please feel free to speak openly with me." All Mina could offer was that. It would be up to her new friend to decide what she was comfortable with speaking about.

The woman looked down at the table as she crossed her hands. She pulled her gaze back up to Mina, an intensity filling them. The same intensity that had been in her eyes briefly the day before. "Mina, I would like to extend an invitation to you to attend some of my meetings. If you are not comfortable with it, I understand, but I feel like we both would benefit from your presence. I believe you have a lot of wisdom and light to shine for such a young age. It is inspiring."

The curiosity was springing up in Mina. The woman had definite leadership skills, but Mina wasn't sure what kind of meetings she could possibly be talking about. "What kind of meetings, Armina?"

"In today's society women have been being shoved to the side. Their opinions do not seem to matter. They appear to have two purposes — to take care of the home and..."

"To have babies." Mina finished the sentence. "I am well aware."

"Then you are also aware that if women step out of place with an opinion that they are shut up or eliminated."

"They get thrown into containment camps where they never get heard from again." Mina couldn't help but chime in. She didn't know if the woman knew of the camps or not, but she needed to know if she didn't. "Along with anybody else who is deemed inferior. Anybody else who is not German and who is not of the same color or have the same thought process. It is cruel and intolerable."

Armina stared at her. She pushed her mug to the side and leaned forward a bit. "You seem to have quite the opinion on this. Almost like you may have been planning something too. Tell me, Mina, are you planning something?"