Run My Darlings, Run
Chapter 14
I knelt in the cold, hands fumbling to cut through the wire. I had on one of the coats from the farm, and a blanket wrapped around me as well, but neither could keep out the biting cold. There was no moon tonight, part of the reason that I had chosen tonight as the night of the breakout. Tulpe sat silent beside me, nose gently touching the side of my leg. She was always there, always watching.
It had been good to bring her. She acted as a lookout, nudging me none too gently if a soldier came too close for comfort. If I didn’t move straight away she would nip me sharply. It was all I could do to not yell out. So I listened to her the first time, whenever she nudged me. Even if it was a false alarm, I was grateful for her being with me. I had to concentrate on the task at hand.
It was tough work. The cold made my fingers numb and unable to work properly. It took me forever to cut through a single strand of wire. And I would need to cut a hole large enough to fit two adults, two children and a dog. Finally though, I had a large enough hole. I gently laid the wire down on the ground and crawled through the gap. I looked behind me for Tulpe. She was gone.
I looked frantically around for her – I needed her to be on the lookout for soldiers. I didn’t fancy running into any, especially now when I was so close to rescuing my family.
I finally spotted her, about 300 metres down the fence line. She had her head down, and was madly digging another hole. She growled softly as dirt flew up her nose but she didn’t stop digging. I crawled back through the fence, and ran down to her.
“Tulpe,” I whispered “Tulpe!” She withdrew her head from the hole and stared at me quizzically. I put my arms around her neck and tried to drag her from the hole. But she resisted me, pulling with all her strength, struggling to get free. “Tulpe, stop it, stop it!” I hissed. She made one last attempt for freedom, then gave up, looking up at me with eyes that seemed to say: “If only you knew.” I took her head in my hands.
“Listen Tulpe, you can’t keep digging holes everywhere alright? One’s enough, two’s plenty, but no more. We don’t want to get discovered now do we?” I said sternly. She whined wistfully, and slumped to the ground. I sighed. “You can dig holes later, now we have to find our family.” She dragged herself to her feet, and followed me like a second shadow through the hole.
We sneaked past the bored soldiers on duty, who were playing a game of cards.
“I bet five,” one drawled.
“Ten!” another shouted.
“I’ll beat the lot of you,” another slurred. “Twenty!” They’d obviously been drinking, and weren’t very keen on hearing, as we were able to pass without them noticing.
I paused a while to think. Up until now my plan had been very precise. But I had no idea in which of the many mud huts surrounding me my family were. The soldiers were well behind us, so far that we couldn’t hear them. The night was silent and still. I was at a loss – how could I find them?
A faint sound pierced the silence. Someone was crying softly, so that the soldiers wouldn’t hear. A girl. And then a soothing female voice could be heard, whispering words that I recognised.
“Hush now mein Liebling, hush. Hans would want you to be brave. Hush now, it’s alright mein Liebling.” I stood rooted to the spot, and then ran to the hut in from which the noises were coming. I flung open the door, peering eagerly inside. A strangled gasp came from a dark corner, along with a soft whimper. I squinted into the darkness, and made out a shape moving in the shadows. As my eyes adjusted, I saw who it was. It was Mama, Papa, and Liesel.
Mama peered at me cautiously, and then recognition spread all over her face. Her worried frown turned into a huge smile. She spread open her arms wide, and said two words. Just two words, but with those two words, I felt as if all of my worries had disappeared into thin air. “Mein Liebling,” she whispered.
I hurried over and embraced her tightly. Tears were on my face – I didn’t know whose they were, as we were all crying together. I examined them both thoroughly for any injuries or illness, but apart from hunger they were both fine. Their faces lit up when they saw the food, and savoured every bite like it was a thousand mouthfuls.
We were all so happy, and Liesel was overjoyed that I had brought Tulpe to see her. The silly dog licked every square inch of her face, all the while Liesel giggled like mad. I looked in relief at my family. I looked around the room. Mama, Papa, Liesel, Tulpe. I had to get them out. Now.
It had been good to bring her. She acted as a lookout, nudging me none too gently if a soldier came too close for comfort. If I didn’t move straight away she would nip me sharply. It was all I could do to not yell out. So I listened to her the first time, whenever she nudged me. Even if it was a false alarm, I was grateful for her being with me. I had to concentrate on the task at hand.
It was tough work. The cold made my fingers numb and unable to work properly. It took me forever to cut through a single strand of wire. And I would need to cut a hole large enough to fit two adults, two children and a dog. Finally though, I had a large enough hole. I gently laid the wire down on the ground and crawled through the gap. I looked behind me for Tulpe. She was gone.
I looked frantically around for her – I needed her to be on the lookout for soldiers. I didn’t fancy running into any, especially now when I was so close to rescuing my family.
I finally spotted her, about 300 metres down the fence line. She had her head down, and was madly digging another hole. She growled softly as dirt flew up her nose but she didn’t stop digging. I crawled back through the fence, and ran down to her.
“Tulpe,” I whispered “Tulpe!” She withdrew her head from the hole and stared at me quizzically. I put my arms around her neck and tried to drag her from the hole. But she resisted me, pulling with all her strength, struggling to get free. “Tulpe, stop it, stop it!” I hissed. She made one last attempt for freedom, then gave up, looking up at me with eyes that seemed to say: “If only you knew.” I took her head in my hands.
“Listen Tulpe, you can’t keep digging holes everywhere alright? One’s enough, two’s plenty, but no more. We don’t want to get discovered now do we?” I said sternly. She whined wistfully, and slumped to the ground. I sighed. “You can dig holes later, now we have to find our family.” She dragged herself to her feet, and followed me like a second shadow through the hole.
We sneaked past the bored soldiers on duty, who were playing a game of cards.
“I bet five,” one drawled.
“Ten!” another shouted.
“I’ll beat the lot of you,” another slurred. “Twenty!” They’d obviously been drinking, and weren’t very keen on hearing, as we were able to pass without them noticing.
I paused a while to think. Up until now my plan had been very precise. But I had no idea in which of the many mud huts surrounding me my family were. The soldiers were well behind us, so far that we couldn’t hear them. The night was silent and still. I was at a loss – how could I find them?
A faint sound pierced the silence. Someone was crying softly, so that the soldiers wouldn’t hear. A girl. And then a soothing female voice could be heard, whispering words that I recognised.
“Hush now mein Liebling, hush. Hans would want you to be brave. Hush now, it’s alright mein Liebling.” I stood rooted to the spot, and then ran to the hut in from which the noises were coming. I flung open the door, peering eagerly inside. A strangled gasp came from a dark corner, along with a soft whimper. I squinted into the darkness, and made out a shape moving in the shadows. As my eyes adjusted, I saw who it was. It was Mama, Papa, and Liesel.
Mama peered at me cautiously, and then recognition spread all over her face. Her worried frown turned into a huge smile. She spread open her arms wide, and said two words. Just two words, but with those two words, I felt as if all of my worries had disappeared into thin air. “Mein Liebling,” she whispered.
I hurried over and embraced her tightly. Tears were on my face – I didn’t know whose they were, as we were all crying together. I examined them both thoroughly for any injuries or illness, but apart from hunger they were both fine. Their faces lit up when they saw the food, and savoured every bite like it was a thousand mouthfuls.
We were all so happy, and Liesel was overjoyed that I had brought Tulpe to see her. The silly dog licked every square inch of her face, all the while Liesel giggled like mad. I looked in relief at my family. I looked around the room. Mama, Papa, Liesel, Tulpe. I had to get them out. Now.