Rachel Swor Family vs. War

It was a cold, dark evening on the night of January 22nd 1940, and Johnny Alfas was settling down with a cup of tea and a chess table.

He was 52, retired and at home with his cat Ginger. He got his cat from his mother, America. America used to make brown sugar, ginger cookies. He loved them; therefore he named his cat Ginger because ever since his mother died, that 's all he could think about was his mother's wonderful cookies.

His cat had been there for him when he needed her most, in all the times that he didn't have anyone or when he was alone. She was there for him when he recruited to the army, when he met Betty Joe in pilot school and married her. She was there for him when Betty gave birth to a daughter named Eliza Ann, and when they had to give her up to foster care because they were both picked for the army, and finally when Betty Joe died in a plane crash. She was there for him in all these times and more and she would have to be there for him now more than ever.

The next morning he got a letter in the mail. He opened it, it read " To dad, if that's who you are, exactly?"

Then he knew what it must have been, a letter from his daughter of course. But once he got deeper into the letter and then saw the picture it wasn't her. The girl was pretty, as his daughter was too but it just wasn't her. He had been searching for years for his beloved 13-year-old daughter. But he guessed it still wasn't enough.

The next couple of months he put out flyers on all the tearooms, telephone poles, and houses he could. Some people asked him "Why keep looking, She's gone, face the facts John." But John wouldn't listen.

That next Tuesday he got a letter saying, "Excuse me sir we are the ginge'r family, we think we may have your daughter."

He was scared he didn't want what happened last time to happen again. He carefully looked under the picture and it read "Eliza Ann Alfas"

He started jumping up and down it and saying "It's her it's really her"

That next month he was scheduled to meet his daughter for the first time at the Anderson tearoom in the town Garston, Pennsylvania. The town she had been living in the last 13 years of her life. That day he walked into the tearoom. The door made a cling clang noise as he walked in. He was whistling in delight. For he was finally going to meet his daughter! He was very excited. He walked into the tearoom and saw Eliza Ann sitting there at the table. She was eating a danish and drinking a cup of soft marshmallow tea. She looked happy but yet kind of depressed as she looked out the rainy window. He thought maybe her depressiveness was because it was cold and dark outside. But it wasn't, it was because she was filled with fear, for she had never seen her father. S he was frightened he wouldn't like her or even love her and she would be tossed back into foster care. As he walked by the table he whispered, "Eliza… Eliza Ann, is that you."

She whispered to him, "Yes, and are you my f..F…father."

He said, "Yes, I am your father." "Would you like a hug?"

She stood up and hugged him, and said, "Let's go home."

Later that night after John went to sleep, Eliza snuck into his office and she looked all around the office. She saw a desk, a chair, some papers and a file cabinet. That was what she had been looking for. She scampered around to the side of the desk and opened the file and started reading it. She stayed up until 1a.m. reading his files. When he woke up at 7:00a.m. he realized that his office door was open. He walked in and saw his daughter asleep on the floor with the files on his desk spread out and wide open. He realized she was curious and took a peek of what exactly she was reading about. Turned out it was about Betty Joe. It was a picture of their wedding day. He started to sniff in sadness for he remembered that day so well. All of a sudden a voice from below him shattered his moment of sadness.

She said "Was that my mother?"

He said "Oh yes, her name was Betty…Betty Joe, She was beautiful"

"Well," she said "what happened to her?"

He continued "A couple years after you were born she was called to fight for our country, that was her dream, so she put you in foster care where she knew you were going to be happier then with her and She was a pilot in World War 1.Then on May 1st 1943 she was killed in a plane crash, over in Germany." He began sniffing again.

She said "Oh father don't cry you still have me and this fur ball over here."

He said " Now don't talk to Ginger like that, She's been a part of my family for almost as long as you have."

"So you just got her yesterday?" miss confused Eliza said.

"No," he said "is that what you've been thinking that I just started loving you yesterday well it's not, you've been part of my life all my life and no one will ever take you away from me."

"Thanks,father," she replied. "I love you"

Four months had gone by since this had happened and Eliza was settling down,getting used to Ginger and making new friends. One day she asked to go to her friends; Samantha, Kit and Molly's house. Her father said it was ok and said good bye to her and she was having a great time until "bing bing bing." It was the radio, it said " Special Report, Special Report, Hitler has gotten a group of soldiers together and they are attacking Germany, they are looking for Jews, I reapeat Jews they have already captured 345