The dirty raindrops stained the window through which one of the town dirt roads stretched in both directions. Black thick cloud arrested both the ever-blue sky and the bright yellow sun. Young Janis was sitting by the window looking disconnected at soldiers in black uniforms. His mother and father were lying across the street with bullet holes pierced through their corpses. The only crime they committed was to be born as Jews. Thick pools of crimson liquid formed underneath their bodies.
Lightning slid on the horizon's end; thunder followed close-by. His grandmother was seated nearby repeating over and over again same long-forgotten prayer. Young Janis for the first time in his life seen death walk within his arms reach, and it made his heart callous; unresponsive to any emotional spark. The only thing he wanted to do was to pick up any old board and beat the executors till they exhale their last breath. In the same instance, Janis knew that if he follows through with his plan, he will join his parents on the same side of the road. He was a very informed kid and knew that the Soviet partisans were operating in the area and were in desperate need of spear hands at all times to put a halt to Nazi's slaughter machine. Janis decided that tomorrow he will go to an old abandoned castle in the woods and hopefully find his salvation in the form of resistance. His fellow Latvian men and women supplied by the Reds to defeat the all-consuming black menace.
"Grandma, I'm going to sleep. Don't worry about me if you won't find me in the morning." - His lips ends didn't fling
"Ak dievs! Ak dievs!" * - His grandmother sobbed in despair
*********
Following morning Janis packed a few food items and clothing essentials in the bag sewed by his grandmother. He silently peeked into grandmother's room; she was asleep, he exhaled with relief and closed the door behind him.
Bright sun rays blinded our little rebel eyes for a short while. At that moment his hope got a second wind, another chance to prove its worth when his vision returned he saw a two pair of boots looking at him.
"Where this youngster goes so early?" - One of the soldiers asked Janis in a perfect Deutsch
"I'm seeking help to kill you both," - Janis respondent with a grin
Janis parents knew German well and were educating their child to speak and understand it fluently. Their plan was a move to Germany at some point, then the war came.
Two soldiers in black hysterically laughed at the little boy's answer. Little did they know how determined this young little fellow is going to be.
********
He walked miles through mud, dense vegetation and un-walkable paths. Crossed on his way a few small rivers and stumbled upon leftovers of a neighbouring village. Seeing this troubled sight only made Janis blood boil with anger, his good friend lived here; he knew that nobody left. Grim smouldering bits of wooden houses gave a few hints to the events that unfolded here not so long ago. Janis wasn't able to keep his eyes open, tears started rushing down his cheeks, knees bent, and he fell on green wet from the rain grass. Emotions rushed through his body, he lost all control and wailed like a wolf from all of the accumulated pain.
Bushes behind him cracked. A few seconds passed as he tried to calm himself down. Four persons with Mosin rifles and PPSh's emerged from the woods. One of them whistled, "Давай, давай, сюда!!" *
The pack surrounded Janis.
"Where are your parents, kiddo?" - A very tall, blonde young woman kindly asked
"They...THEY....." - A new barrage of tears run down his cheeks
She hugged him as tightly as she could
"Vladimir, any suggestions?"- A tall guy with a bear-like physique asked the leader
"Boris, I think we need to take him with us. He suffered enough at the hands of these ANIMALS!" - Vladimir squeezed his teeth from hatred
"Liga, he is all yours." - Boris chuckled
"Comrades, we need to move! Morning patrol can be here any minute." - Edgars said with a slight hint of worry.
"Alright, we go back to the headquarters and plan our next move" - Vladimir frowned.
*****
At sunset, Janis fell asleep after numerous attempts by women to soothe his sufferings at the camp. In the end, they succeeded, and a little boy finally got his well-deserved rest.
Vladimir and Boris were situated next to the radio listening to the static of ether.
Inactive radio came back to life "Attention, Attention comrades! This is Moscow speaking. Latvian resistance fought hard and stood their ground firmly. Your suffering isn't in vain, 1st Baltic front is moving ever so closer to the capital Riga under the command of army general Andrey Yeremenko. Tomorrow an offensive is planned to take place at Aizkraukle. ** Be happy comrades; soon our Baltic comrades are going to be free once again. Ura, comrades, ura!" - Soviet hymn started playing in the background
Boris looked at Vladimir with the biggest of smiles.
"I know what that means Boris. We need to assist our fellow red brother in liberating this town." - He slammed his fist on the table
"Liga, isn't the boy from the same town?" - He raised one of his eyebrows
"Yes, Vladimir." - She responded tiredly
"Excellent, God does exist, and he wants for Janis to be a judge of his parent's executors." - Thought up Vladimir
"We strike at the sunrise spread the word!" - Vladimir commanded
*******
The night before. Red militia and the Red Army had close contact and coordinated their attacks accordingly. At 7:00 Am on July 15, 1944, small groups of partisans and 1st Baltic front attacked in conjunction the town of Aizkraukle which became a strategical point for both sides. Germans were aware of an attack and were instructed to prepare for the long-term defence of this position.
The order was not to retreat no matter what! Germans weren't conscious of an attack from the inside by small groups of resistance.
The ground trembled and shook under caterpillars
of T-34's, T-26's and KV-2's: Artillery was shelling non-stop. The air became infused with gunpowder smell, accompanied by a smell of freshly spilt blood and burned limbs.
The words 'URA'! came from every direction. Boots resonated with one another in a beat of a drum. Soviet forces fought with everything that they had, and by late evening the position was captured by the Red Army.
*******
Two Germans were standing against a wall near two decaying bodies.
"Janis, we found them! Tell me what I should do to them." - Boris licked his lips in anticipation of a command to pull the trigger
Janis took out his cross, a mothers gift to him.
"I...I forgive.....them. They....will...live.....their whole lives with that." - Janis started walking to his grandmother's house.
"Janis but?!" - Vladimir was shocked
"No more blood, no more sorrow" - Were his famous words.
*******
"Commander these two, what should we do with them?" - the partisan enquired
"At the first train station we find, we send them on a lovely journey to gulag" - he flicked a rolled cigarette and grinned
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· "Ak dievs, ak dievs!" --- "Oh god, oh god!"
· "Давай, давай, сюда" ---- " Come, come, here"
YOU ARE READING
Price of forgiveness
Historical FictionA story from my vault, which tells a little story about young Latvian kiddo who seeks revenge for the death of his parents. Was written in 2016/17 Just corrected most of the errors, nothing changed in the text itself.
