Chapter 16 Never To Be Forgotten
The days flash by for Aaron, Nachum, and I. Nachum has become very fond of him; in a matter of two weeks over various games of fetch with Nachum, we have reconnected with each other just by remembering past good memories instead of the present or the horrid past. Still, we have a long way to go, but I feel like I have never been apart from my brother. Maybe I haven’t or maybe it is the fact that we are twins that makes reconnecting easy. Whatever it is, I thank God for him every day.
“Anne, Aaron, your…father will be here soon. He wishes to talk to Aaron about going to Hitler Youth and what will be expected of him,” the General says.
“Danke, but I’m not going. I don’t want to talk to him, either. I want to stay here with my sister,” Aaron says from beside me.
“Well, I can’t help that. You must talk to him. Anyhow, Anne, will you go get Jason? I think he’s out in the stables. He can’t seem to stay away from that place. Hurry along, I have some Christian guests to arrive soon, and I want them to meet the whole family. Don’t get dirty. You know Mother would not approve,” he says.
“I won’t,” I assure. “Come on, Nachum.”
We jog to the stables, remembering that mysterious door. I stop for a second to try to remember anything, but I still can’t. We keep running until we see Jason coming toward us.
“What’s the rush, Anne?” he asks.
“Your uncle wants to see you…” I stammer.
This is the first time I have been up close to Jason because he has been so distant when I am around my brother. I peer into his green eyes and recognize him immediately.
“You…” I gasp.
“Me?” he inquires.
“You…that day…Jason.”
He studies me with little surprise and looks at my dog tag…his dog tag.
“That’s my dog tag, isn’t it?” he asks.
“Yes, I never got to thank you that day…thanks for saving my life.”
“Oh it was nothing. I just barely survived with a light scar,” he says, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a giant scar on his right shoulder that goes all the way to his elbow. I am speechless.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he brags.
I grin, fumbling with the chain.
“I knew all along you were the girl I saved…by the way, I’m really glad you found you your brother. So many mysteries have been cleared up. He’s so much happier now than he has been in a long time.”
“Me too,” I say. “As well, I’m glad to have met you again. I guess you want your dog tag back.”
I take it off, and he accepts it, scrutinizing it. Suddenly, he approaches closer and gently puts it back around my neck, brushing my hair out of the way so that he can slip it on. Nachum doesn’t know whether to growl or stay easy; instead, he settles for a soft glare. I put my hand gently on his head, my heart racing.
“You keep it, so that you never forget me,” he murmurs, stepping back.
“I don’t think I ever could,” I manage, realizing I have been holding my breath.
“Anne, did you find you Jason?!” comes the General’s bellow. “The guests are here!”
Nachum and I rush to meet him.
YOU ARE READING
A Country Not Your Own
Narrativa StoricaIn 1939, as World War 2 began, a Jew named Analiese Baldwin is rescued from an explosion by a German soldier. She has only his dog tag to remember him by. Now, four years later, she is rounded up like all the other Jews to be placed in a cruel conce...
