Life Is Beautiful

Dinner was quiet tonight, no one had much to say. Rebecca felt bad for the soldier eating alone in their room. But she couldn't say or do much with him, she didn't speak much English. She'd been looking all day for her English textbook from school, and when she finally found it, it was time for dinner. All you heard were the clicks and the clangs of the forks against the plates and the low breathing of the Straughten's. Rebecca wanted to go to her room and speak with Frank, but she had a feeling her parents didn't approve. He wasn't dangerous, at least she didn't think so. But there was something different about him than anyone she'd ever met. He had some form of flame inside him that leered her in and interested her. After this morning, when Frank introduced himself to Rebecca, Mr. Straughten changed his bandages and applied more medication. Franks low screams were muffled by a pillow.
Rebecca never thought of getting wounded by a gunshot, and she prayed she would never have to go through that kind of pain.
She had heard stories from her neighbors about the concentration camps and how brutally cruel they were. Her teachers wife had been shipped off with her kids as well. He broke down in class and thats when the rumors started.
Women getting shot down with their babies in their arms. Babies getting thrown in the air and shot. Real live stoves, where they shoved people in, alive. Rebecca shook these thoughts from her head and continued eating. She had said Grace and was grateful that she wasn't going through such a horrible thing. But in the back of her head she wondered about Hannah and her family. Where were they? Still at home? Did they go into hiding too? Had they been picked off the street?

Rebecca felt her mind growing heavy and excused herself from dinner.
"May I excuse myself? I'm having a terrible headache."
Her mother got up from her chair and placed her palm on Rebecca's forehead. "Are you sure you're not ill? David, do you think shes sick?" David Straughten knew his wife was overreacting and knew that Rebecca just had a lot on her mind. He could read it on her face.
"No Adalinda, she's fine. Just a lot on her mind, isn't that right Rebecca?"
Rebecca smiled and nodded towards her father, "Yes father. I think I might go to bed early. May I be excused?"
Both her parents nodded, "Thank you." Rebecca picked up her plate and placed it in the small sink.
She walked over to her parents and kissed them both goodnight.

As she walked towards her room she was prepared to see Frank wide awake but as soon as he walked in she saw that he was fast asleep.
Disappointment washed through her but left quickly, she just wanted to have him awake. She liked talking to him even though they didn't say much.
She walked over to her small drawer and picked out her nightgown. She knew better than to change in front of an older man. But he was asleep and she would change rather quickly. As long as her parents didn't find out, it wouldn't be wrong.

She quickly removed her clothes and hastily slipped on her nightgown. Letting her hair fall loose from the small bun and placing the pins on her small desk.
Just behind her Frank hadn't been fully asleep. He peeked out from one eye and saw Rebecca place something on her small desk.
He saw that she had changed into her nightgown and felt like scum when his dirty thoughts filled his head. Don't get him wrong, Franks not like every other low-life teenage boy out there. He may be seventeen, but his parents taught him how to treat a woman in the right way. His hormones would just get a hold of him sometimes. Sharing a room with a beautiful girl like Rebecca, he just couldn't handle himself sometimes.

Rebecca turned around and found Frank awake and she gasped. She didn't know he had woken up and was surprised when she caught him staring.
"Hello." He spoke, his face turning red from embarrassment. He knew he got caught staring, and cursed at himself inwardly.
Her eyes were still wide and she gulped before speaking, "Hello."
Frank smiled and tried to prop himself up on his elbows, but he wasn't strong enough to do it on his own, so he quit and lied back down. Rebecca got the hint that he wanted to get up and needed help, so she walked over to him.
"Help?" She asked softly and pointed to his bed. Frank nodded and raised his arms up. Rebecca wasn't strong, but she was strong enough to carry a few pounds of heavy weight and managed to help Frank up and sit against the wall. He winced from the small pain in his side, but he held in a groan.
"Thank you." He said out of breath as soon as he was up.
She smiled at him, "You are welcome."
She walked over to her bed and sat down, her legs dangling over the side. She looked towards the night sky, out of her small window and sighed. Frank wondered what was going through her mind and debated on asking her.
Rebecca was nervous of speaking to Frank again, not wanting to make a fool of herself with her poor English.

Frank finally decided and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Rebecca's head shot over to look at Frank and she looked at him before tilting her head in confusion.
He didn't know she didn't speak much English but he realized it when she didn't reply. "You don't speak much English, do you?"
He used hand gestures to emphasize his words and help her out a bit.
She shook her head no and looked down at the ground. There was a short silence until Frank finally spoke again. "German?"
She looked up at him and knew what he said, "Yes."
He nodded and looked over to the window before looking back at her, "How old are you?"
She understood the old part and had a feeling he was asking for her age.
She tried to remember the numbers in her head and replied when she remembered how to say her age, "Fifteen."

Frank wasn't surprised at her age, he knew very well she was young.
But he somewhat expected her to be a bit older, at least sixteen.
Just because by the way she carried herself. She looked mature and very graceful to him.
"You?" She asked him, meaning his age. He laughed and replied, "Seventeen."
Rebecca nodded and smiled, relieved that he wasn't old.
But also relieved that she hadn't changed in front of an old man.