Broken Wings

The Comfort of a Friend

Else Schüffen-   Munich, Germany 1942

Still nobody seemed to understand. Mama and Father were devastated, yet they refused to talk about it or even think about it. Else was expected to live her daily life as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet, that was hard to do.

He was gone. Maximilian was gone, maybe forever, and nobody was telling her why, or where he was. There was an exception, however, as there always seemed to be. Myna.

"Nobody even cares. It's like he's invisible to them." Little snowflakes fluttered down on her cherry nose. Myna was finally teaching her how to properly play a two-person game of soccer.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm really sorry, Else, but this is trying to take your mind off of Max, not keep it on him," Myna said, sweat dripping down her forehead. The soccer ball lay waiting on the ground, next to Else's stationed feet.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I know, Else! We need to do something more exciting today." The soccer ball drifted to the side slightly, begging to be kicked. It is one of the few things in life that actually begs to be kicked.

"Like what?" Else asked, answering the soccer ball and gently kicking it around.

"I don't know. Do you want to play a prank on someone?"

"I guess, but not for the whole time. And nothing too mean, Myna," Else warned, laughing.

"Okay, fine. I suppose, I'll tone it down a little bit. What prank should we do?"

"Let's just buy some candy first and think about it," Else said. A jolt of excitement pulsed through her entire body. Candy. The word had been foreign for several months, with Else not having any extra money to spend on candy.

"But we don't have any money--" Myna started, but then she understood.

They were either going to steal the money from their parents, or they were going to sell something.

Else started fast walking back home, concocting a devious plan to earn some easy coins. Thievery was not an option, at least not to Else. Maybe Myna, but even she had some sense that maybe thievery wasn't the kindest thing to do.

"Else? Else! Wait up. I've never seen you walk that fast. How are we going to earn enough money, anyways?"

And then she got an idea.

Actually, the idea was lying in a large metal bin, a trash can, staring silently up at Else.

It was a newspaper. The newspaper was from today.

"Herr Dresdner," she muttered.

Herr Dresdner was an old man who lived three houses down from the Schüffens. He had a major passion for reading.

Especially for reading newspapers.

Else and Myna had never seen him around, but it was well known throughout their part of Munich that Herr Dresdner bought a newspaper every single evening from a mysterious source. It was cheaper at sunset, from this anonymous neighbor, when everyone else had already received their papers that morning. Rumor has it that he's never missed a day without his precious newspaper.

"What? Else, speak up."

Else grabbed the newspaper out of the can, inspecting it. It was in perfect condition. She licked her lips in hunger, imagining the candy on her tongue.

"Herr Dresdner," she simply stated.

"Yeah, but why he would buy our newspaper? It has a dirt speck on it." Myna smirked.

"We sell it for even less than he already buys it at... Whatever. I give up on you. I'm going." Else returned the smirk and turned on her heel, marching farther and farther away from her friend.

"Wait! I'll come."

"Finally," Else teased, bumping into her friend's shoulder.

More walking. And more walking. I must say, it would be hard on the feet to walk that much. Else even managed a sympathetic gaze at her feet, which were aching from the strain.

When they arrived, Herr Dresdner's wife answered the door, dressed in a frown.

"Is Herr Dresdner home?"

"Ja." She yelled crabbily into the house.

"Ja?" Herr Dresdner appeared at the door, his chin blanketed in whiskers. His eyes glared at the little children disturbing his midday nap.

"Would you like to buy a newspaper? It's cheaper."

The last part grabbed his attention. Germans back then were always on the lookout for cheaper items.

Then again, aren't we all, even now?

"It worked!" Else celebrated, fingering the coin in her hand.

"I get at least half."

"Fine, but I get to choose."

Candy. Else had forgotten what it tasted like.

Next came a fateful decision. Do they go to Herr Daschen's general store, which is considerably cheaper, or do they go to the other goods store, in which Else has never been inside nor did she know the owner? One would think she would have chosen the cheaper. But Maximilian was fired from Herr Daschen's store for being a Jew.

And Else most certainly wasn't going to support him.

Myna had a different opinion, of course.

"Why don't we just go to Herr Daschen's store? We could get so much more candy."

"He fired my brother just because he was Jewish, okay?" Else said, tears stinging her eyes.

Myna knew that was the end of the argument. She sighed, leading Else to the store across the street.

The little bell dangling at the top of the door jingled joyfully.

"A mixed berry, please," Myna said, forcing a polite smile upon her lips.

A bag of candy was handed over. Myna could already feel the luscious smell drift under her nose, taunting her. Else greedily took a handful of candies, sucking on them until her lips turned purple. Candy. It tasted like heaven. Myna took a handful of red ones, her favorite, and began biting and sucking until they slowly disappeared.

"We should probably save some for later," Else said, licking the remnants of candy from her lips. Together they strolled home, reminiscing on the vibrant splash of sweet flavor that hit their mouth just a few moments ago.

"Okay, since you were so generous."

"I must say, I was very generous, indeed. What about our pranks?"

"We will save those for another time," Myna said, winking.

It was one of the most perfect days Else had experienced in a while. And there wasn't a more perfect way to end it than by painting. This time, the paintings were brighter. A more purple, pink tone than a dark, gray one.

For the first time in quite some time, it seemed like everything might be okay.