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Somewhere
Life During War (Part II)
The date is still November 11, 1939, 6:30 pm.
Elsa finishes writing her last report and sets her pencil down, stretching her spine forward, backward, and side to side. Her shift was finally over. She stands, stretching once more, then takes her stack of health reports to the head nurse at another desk, who scans through them quickly then nods her approval. Elsa pulls her dirty blue dress from its place on the shelf and returns to the bathroom she had changed in that morning. She emerges from the door a few minutes later, wearing her slightly torn blue dress, white uniform folded neatly in her arms. The young woman dodges and weaves her way through the still bustling hospital until she finally reaches the front door. The coolness of the evening air seemed refreshing to her after thirteen hours of being in the Munich hospital, and it beckoned her as soon as she opened the door. She didn’t hesitate and she accepted the invitation with a happy heart.
The sky was like fire: hues of red, orange, pink, yellow, and the slight purple lined the horizon. The light was just beginning to fade into the first stages of night. Knowing this, Elsa began a swift walk to the grocery store, eyeing the ground for treasures as she went. About a block away, the grocery store stood in front of her, a slight line of people trailing out the door. She sighed, but took her place in line anyway.
Alexander Kaufmann, a small and lanky man, stood behind a counter, taking names and running to and from the back room that was concealed by a dark curtain. He would bring back a paper sack labelled sloppily with the customer’s name and the word “RATIONS.” Then, he would yell in a slightly high voice, “Next in line!” and the line of people would slowly shuffle forward.
When Elsa finally reached the front, Alexander Kaufmann smiled at her. “Guten abend, Frau Steiner. Good evening, Ms. Steiner.” She smiled and shook her head.
“Herr Kaufmann, please call me Elsa! I’ve known you since I was a little girl.” This made Herr Kaufmann laugh loudly.
“Ha! I know, but I’ve watched you grow up into such a beautiful young lady! You deserve the title.” He laughed again, then hustled to the back, emerging shortly with a brown bag with the same labeling as the others. “Here you are, Frau Steiner! Tell your siblings hello from me!” She nodded, thanked Herr Kaufmann, and squeezed through the front door, turning left toward the farmlands, keeping an eye out once more.
On the outskirts of Munich, just before the cobblestone street changed instantly to dirt road, Elsa stopped abruptly by the side of the dirt road, squinting through the growing darkness at a small, plastic object protruding from the earth. She rushed to its side, tugging gently on it until the whole object was pulled up from the dirt like a root. The object was a small toy airplane, but not just any plane. It was a mossy green fighter jet with faded red lettering that read, “RAF-045,” on its side. “What is a British Royal Air Force plane doing on Nazi Germany soil?” She thought to herself as she dusted off the last bits of dirt to read the letters a little better. Nevertheless, she slid the toy into her pocket, thinking of her younger brother’s excited face when she got home.
The discovery of the little toy plane was the only excitement she had on her walk home, otherwise the journey was uneventful. Her mind wandered (as it always did) about joyful things, such as Verena and Garrin’s adventures on the farm while she was away, but also more emotional things, such as her father, the war, the harsh life during the war. But as soon as she saw the light of candles in between the dark trees, her demeanor changed from sorrow to happiness at the thought of seeing her siblings.
She rounded a corner and there, on the farmhouse steps, Verena and Garrin sat waiting silently and patiently for their sister to come home. At the sight of her blue dress, brown bag, and white uniform, they jumped up, ran through the gate, and hugged her waist, simultaneously busting into conversation about their day.
“Elsa! You won’t believe what I found today!” Garrin yelled over his shoulder as Elsa was herded toward the house, through the front door, and into the kitchen-dining-living room.
“What did you find?”
“A bug!” He separated his hands to show her the approximate size. “It was so big!”
She chuckled, but before her brother could continue, Verena interrupted him. “Everything went really well today. I milked Adelaide while Garrin plowed a plot of the field. I think we’re going to have a good crop season this spring!” Elsa nodded, laughing to herself about the complete opposite behaviors of her siblings.
She reached the table and set her uniform down first, then the paper bag. Garrin and Verena scuttled up into two of the four wooden tables as their older sister began to pull their rations for the week out of the bag, saving the toy airplane for last. Altogether, they counted one small jar of jam, a thin link of salami, a fresh loaf of bread, a couple of potatoes, and a bundle of carrots. Hardly anything to live off of, but still better than nothing. Then, they began to organize their rations. The bread was sliced by Elsa and given to Verena to take to the bread basket in the cabinet. She then gave Garrin the job or putting the rest of the stash into the cabinets, while he rambled on about how he scored the winning goal in soccer today.
Finally, they could have dinner. The stiffer slices of bread were taken from the bread basket, an older potato from last week’s bag was cut into three equal parts, and the last smears of jam were all brought to the table for a meager supper. As always, once seated, the Steiners held hands, said a small prayer of thanks, then ate without hardly any conversations, despite the minutes before.
Later that evening, just as the moon was beginning to make its debut in the dark blue sky, Elsa finally showed her siblings in the comfort of their shared bedroom her only finding: the small toy Royal Air Force airplane. Even though she thought it was a minor gift, Verena and Garrin were rather excited. They thanked her several times and gave her a long hug before adding the airplane to their collection of knick-knacks. Soon afterward, the young girl and boy began to rub their eyes and yawn from an exhausting day on the farm. Elsa, not wanting to show her extreme exhaustion, tucked them into bed, kissed each of them good night, and blew out the candle in their room before climbing into her own bed.
As the sound of her siblings’ soft breathing filled the room, Elsa gently turned the knob on the radio on her bedside table. Instantly, soft whispering mixed with the occasional static and white noise emitted from the little radio. She didn’t close her eyes until she the gentle voice of Judy Garland, singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a new hit in America since the movie “The Wizard of Oz” premiered. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about that song was comforting to Elsa. Maybe it was Judy Garland’s voice, the static fading in and out of the music, or the orchestra in the background, she didn’t know, but it was soothing.
Elsa finally closed her eyes, allowing the music to fill her ears and lull her to sleep and distract her from the thought of beginning the same day again tomorrow.
Elsa finishes writing her last report and sets her pencil down, stretching her spine forward, backward, and side to side. Her shift was finally over. She stands, stretching once more, then takes her stack of health reports to the head nurse at another desk, who scans through them quickly then nods her approval. Elsa pulls her dirty blue dress from its place on the shelf and returns to the bathroom she had changed in that morning. She emerges from the door a few minutes later, wearing her slightly torn blue dress, white uniform folded neatly in her arms. The young woman dodges and weaves her way through the still bustling hospital until she finally reaches the front door. The coolness of the evening air seemed refreshing to her after thirteen hours of being in the Munich hospital, and it beckoned her as soon as she opened the door. She didn’t hesitate and she accepted the invitation with a happy heart.
The sky was like fire: hues of red, orange, pink, yellow, and the slight purple lined the horizon. The light was just beginning to fade into the first stages of night. Knowing this, Elsa began a swift walk to the grocery store, eyeing the ground for treasures as she went. About a block away, the grocery store stood in front of her, a slight line of people trailing out the door. She sighed, but took her place in line anyway.
Alexander Kaufmann, a small and lanky man, stood behind a counter, taking names and running to and from the back room that was concealed by a dark curtain. He would bring back a paper sack labelled sloppily with the customer’s name and the word “RATIONS.” Then, he would yell in a slightly high voice, “Next in line!” and the line of people would slowly shuffle forward.
When Elsa finally reached the front, Alexander Kaufmann smiled at her. “Guten abend, Frau Steiner. Good evening, Ms. Steiner.” She smiled and shook her head.
“Herr Kaufmann, please call me Elsa! I’ve known you since I was a little girl.” This made Herr Kaufmann laugh loudly.
“Ha! I know, but I’ve watched you grow up into such a beautiful young lady! You deserve the title.” He laughed again, then hustled to the back, emerging shortly with a brown bag with the same labeling as the others. “Here you are, Frau Steiner! Tell your siblings hello from me!” She nodded, thanked Herr Kaufmann, and squeezed through the front door, turning left toward the farmlands, keeping an eye out once more.
On the outskirts of Munich, just before the cobblestone street changed instantly to dirt road, Elsa stopped abruptly by the side of the dirt road, squinting through the growing darkness at a small, plastic object protruding from the earth. She rushed to its side, tugging gently on it until the whole object was pulled up from the dirt like a root. The object was a small toy airplane, but not just any plane. It was a mossy green fighter jet with faded red lettering that read, “RAF-045,” on its side. “What is a British Royal Air Force plane doing on Nazi Germany soil?” She thought to herself as she dusted off the last bits of dirt to read the letters a little better. Nevertheless, she slid the toy into her pocket, thinking of her younger brother’s excited face when she got home.
The discovery of the little toy plane was the only excitement she had on her walk home, otherwise the journey was uneventful. Her mind wandered (as it always did) about joyful things, such as Verena and Garrin’s adventures on the farm while she was away, but also more emotional things, such as her father, the war, the harsh life during the war. But as soon as she saw the light of candles in between the dark trees, her demeanor changed from sorrow to happiness at the thought of seeing her siblings.
She rounded a corner and there, on the farmhouse steps, Verena and Garrin sat waiting silently and patiently for their sister to come home. At the sight of her blue dress, brown bag, and white uniform, they jumped up, ran through the gate, and hugged her waist, simultaneously busting into conversation about their day.
“Elsa! You won’t believe what I found today!” Garrin yelled over his shoulder as Elsa was herded toward the house, through the front door, and into the kitchen-dining-living room.
“What did you find?”
“A bug!” He separated his hands to show her the approximate size. “It was so big!”
She chuckled, but before her brother could continue, Verena interrupted him. “Everything went really well today. I milked Adelaide while Garrin plowed a plot of the field. I think we’re going to have a good crop season this spring!” Elsa nodded, laughing to herself about the complete opposite behaviors of her siblings.
She reached the table and set her uniform down first, then the paper bag. Garrin and Verena scuttled up into two of the four wooden tables as their older sister began to pull their rations for the week out of the bag, saving the toy airplane for last. Altogether, they counted one small jar of jam, a thin link of salami, a fresh loaf of bread, a couple of potatoes, and a bundle of carrots. Hardly anything to live off of, but still better than nothing. Then, they began to organize their rations. The bread was sliced by Elsa and given to Verena to take to the bread basket in the cabinet. She then gave Garrin the job or putting the rest of the stash into the cabinets, while he rambled on about how he scored the winning goal in soccer today.
Finally, they could have dinner. The stiffer slices of bread were taken from the bread basket, an older potato from last week’s bag was cut into three equal parts, and the last smears of jam were all brought to the table for a meager supper. As always, once seated, the Steiners held hands, said a small prayer of thanks, then ate without hardly any conversations, despite the minutes before.
Later that evening, just as the moon was beginning to make its debut in the dark blue sky, Elsa finally showed her siblings in the comfort of their shared bedroom her only finding: the small toy Royal Air Force airplane. Even though she thought it was a minor gift, Verena and Garrin were rather excited. They thanked her several times and gave her a long hug before adding the airplane to their collection of knick-knacks. Soon afterward, the young girl and boy began to rub their eyes and yawn from an exhausting day on the farm. Elsa, not wanting to show her extreme exhaustion, tucked them into bed, kissed each of them good night, and blew out the candle in their room before climbing into her own bed.
As the sound of her siblings’ soft breathing filled the room, Elsa gently turned the knob on the radio on her bedside table. Instantly, soft whispering mixed with the occasional static and white noise emitted from the little radio. She didn’t close her eyes until she the gentle voice of Judy Garland, singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a new hit in America since the movie “The Wizard of Oz” premiered. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about that song was comforting to Elsa. Maybe it was Judy Garland’s voice, the static fading in and out of the music, or the orchestra in the background, she didn’t know, but it was soothing.
Elsa finally closed her eyes, allowing the music to fill her ears and lull her to sleep and distract her from the thought of beginning the same day again tomorrow.