She walked the streets as if she was new and renewed of the war that had just past, the smells of the city mixed with the autumn air and it filled her lungs, she hated the smell but rather preferred the toxic smell of cigarettes.
People stared at the woman wondering who she was, she whispered to herself
"Woah I must be famous"
An old woman overheard the woman's voice and screamed
"YOUR A GERMAN?"
The old woman spat on her, the woman stared at the old lady and replied to her vulgar comments
"I WAS RAISED IN GERMANY I NEVER SAID I SUPPORTED WHAT THEY DID, INFACT I NEVER SAID ANYTHING"
The old woman spat on her a second time
"Your people killed mine you DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT YOU GERMAN".
Bernadette walked away and wondered why her son ever wanted to come here, the people were rude and had no sense of dignity. the memories of Auschwitz flooded back remembering how the people were there, again she whispered to herself
"Ehh it's an improvement"
It was hard there but thankfully they never found out she was Jewish, unfortunately it wasn't so lucky for her friend, who waited too long for her sister, blood is thicker than water but machine gun bullets break that blood.
Memories of the past was something she wanted to forget but she held on, as long as she held on she had her friends and her family and she knew sooner or later she'd have to let go of them.
*Bernadette Flashback 1*
The sound of planes going past the dark cloudy sky's, the full moon was cascaded by the sounds of bombs blasting and the large sirens going off but that was not the only thing bernadette was worried about she looked over to her friend as they hid only a kilometre away from the there ticket out of here.
she checked to see if her friend was alright
"Are you alright sweetheart?"
she nodded her friend turning to her
"I cannot wait till we are out of here then I can show you the beauty of the circus just like we promised 5 years ago and when Angeline gets here…"
"Bernadette looked confused
Angeline what do you mean Angeline I thought she already escaped?" Screamed bernadette to her friend.
In her influenced french accent her friend replied
"Bernadette, I have a family you must understand, ID DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THEM, and besides she nearly got caught hiding in the crates so I had to bring her, just as you did with your family months ago"
Bernadette sighed
"I'll stay with you, it's not like we had anything better to do"
she hugged her friend and began to start a conversation swaying swat from the topic of family.
"Remember when we first met"
The memory of that polish bar came to both there minds,
"And how I called you a whiny bitch for not having a proper drink"
They both gave out a small laugh and tears slowly running down Bernadette's face as she wiped them off slowly.
"It was at that bar the one with the old lady who owned it, and you had a pathetic margarita and I had a go at you and got you a proper drink, a scotch on the rocks"
Her friend replying in a cocky accent,
"hey you aren't that young, you shouldn't call the poor lady old"
They both laughed and Bernadette continued,
"And after we got totally wasted, I began talking about my childhood and said 'when I was a little girl I wanted to be in the circus, that dream never changed but I'm guessing that dream won't be coming any time soon' "
Her friend was feeling bad as if she was going to wrongfully take a life, and then it came there was a small voice whispering to her
'God will thank you, you must save her life and you will receive a second chance'
She couldn't help stop the feeling and she felt the voice had good reason and she followed it
"Bernadette, go QUICKLY GO NOW!"
Bernadette stared back
"wh, why? I can wait for your sister"
now her friend started crying, knowing her sister wouldn't come it had been 3 hours they waited her friend pleaded to Bernadette
"You have a future just as I do, but the longer you stay here the higher the chance they'll take your future away from you"
Bernadette couldn't help and stare at her friend she continued her reasoning
"I can't do that, YOU KNOW I CAN'T YOU'RE COMING WITH ME AND SO IS ANGELINE!"
her friend was balling in tears and asked her something
"Promise me, promise you'll accomplish our dream, join the circus take drugs do whatever the fuck you want just have fun and live life for the both of us"
Bernadette just stared wondering what she would do without her best friend she leaned over and hugged her
"I promise you, just say goodbye from me to Angeline "
Her friend nodded and handed her a pendant "remember me by it ok? Whenever you feel sad just look at it and remember the good times ok?"
she nodded and whispered "thank you" as she opened the door and ran out, not looking behind as she ran.
As she ran she heard a voice but she tried to ignore it as she kept running.
"Sie ist hier greifen die jüdische Hure!"
Bernadette turned around and ran behind some houses trying to keep out of sight. She saw her friend getting pulled out by a Nazi general, Bernadette could hear every scream and knew she couldn't do anything about it. Her friend screamed again
"LET ME GO! Please I have to tend to my children!"
The Nazi soldiers laughed and one of them said something so grotesque that people started to stare from there windows at what was going on
"Look at the animal it looks like its trying to say something, would you like yiur leg broken? Hahaha stupid Jewish whore"
she stared at him crying and shaking her head
I'm not Jewish" she said,
"I'm a faithful Christian"
The soldier laughed
"Pray then, PRAY TO MOTHER THERESA AND ASK HER TO SAVE YOU, ASK JESUS CHRIST TO PROTECT YOU!"
He began to punch her and he could not hold his rage it consumed the soldier,
the woman began to scream and cry and she slowly began praying
"Hail Mary full of grace our lord be with thee..."
the soldier got enraged and grabbed his riffle
"DON'T LIE, DO NOT LIE TO ME!"
he kicked her in the stomach
"YOU ARE A JEW DON'T LIE TO ME!"
He put his hand on the trigger and he shot her in the head
"ENJOY HELL YOU FILTHY JEW!"
The soldiers saw everyone staring at the horrendous crime from there windows he stared back, and then turned to his battalion
"KILL THEM ALL!"
The voice of mothers screaming came forth and then men pleading to let the children be saved the. The soldier did not care and he ordered his battalion fire at everyone at sight, the memories the tears and the blood stained the town. The soldier stared at the remains,
"We burn EVERYTHING to the ground WE LEAVE NOTHING"
Bernadette stared from a distance as she saw the whole thing happen, she saw the inferno destroy everything that was there and she broke down in tears, she allows herself this final moment of sorrow before she let go of the whole sadness she then took a deep breath,
"No I will not cry, I will be strong for the both of us" she ran and ran and slowly put on her wig, something she stole early back, to disguise herself, reaching the train station she got her ticket for the train and left not looking behind
She kept walking enjoying the site of the city but not the smell, she craved tobacco.
She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, she saw the sun slowly beginning to set and light reflected on her red ruby earrings, a gift she had received before she had left Paris. She arrived there on that train from Poland. The gift was from a man called Gustave, he was a so called acclaimed chef, she admired him for the first day she'd known him until his mysterious suicide where he left Bernadette everything he owned, the stuff some people do is just insane.
He was a very confusing man but charming like an angel, she wouldn't miss him though as their time together was short and very brief.
*Bernadette flashback 2*
She got off the train and quickly lit a smoke,
"God damn train conductor not even letting me enjoy my damn cigarette"
She began walking and stared at her surroundings, like a cat to a new home. she whispered
"Paris"
She got her bags from the station as she wore her newly acquired pendant, she would not forget the hardships that she had been through. She walked the new found streets staring at all that around her it was early morning and she saw people were already up and they were all so happy and she heard voices screaming
"It's over!"
She was wondering what's over more voices started screaming
"IT'S REALLY OVER!"
An outburst of laughter and joy filled the streets, she ran to see what was going on because she was ignorant to what was over. She saw a man and he ran and hugged her
"IT'S FINALLY OVER CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?"
Bernadette was confused
"Get your hands of me lover boy"
the man stared at her,
"You're Jewish? They already released you from the camps?"
Bernadette stared at the man wondering if he was joking before slapping him
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS MY FAMILY DIED IN THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS…"
the man now truly realised what she'd been through
"Oh my, I didn't mean it like that…"
Bernadette staring down replying
"I'm sorry it's just been a long week, but you said something was over?"
the man's confusion changed back to a happiness
"YES THE WAR IS OVER!"
Bernadette clasped her mouth and broke down into such a happiness and started crying and hugged the mysterious man
"Oh my god, all the hardships all the hate all the prejudice OVER!"
She was still hugging the man.
Bernadette was in tears wondering what would happen next as she constantly ran
The man staring at her, and said
"Would you be free tonight to come enjoy dinner with me? I know this is a little forward but I think that's called for celebrating the end of a war"
Bernadette now smiling
"Of course I would I don't see the issue of enjoying a meal with someone"
The man walked of and Bernadette wondering were he lived shouted
"WAIT WHERE DO YOU LIVE?"
The mysterious man replying
"Everywhere"
Bernadette more confused than she was before shouted again
"THEN WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
The man replying "Gustave" before disappearing in the crowd of cheering strangers to be seen the later that day, Bernadette assuming they'd meet again where she was before, but until then she wanted to rest, she was really lagged behind from the memories and 3 days of travel. She could now let go of the fear which can hopefully float away in the sea of her dreams and be carried to somewhere dark where she wouldn't have to feel that fear for a long time.
It was 6:00pm, she had no idea what time she was supposed to go but this time seemed like an alright time and there were lanterns everywhere celebrations from the end of the world war were still going on and they probably weren't going to stop for awhile,
Bernadette couldn't blame anyone as she went a little bit wild and ask out a random stranger, still remembering most of her family were killed in the Auschwitz concentration camps, although those memories can't be blocked out she 'dampened' them with the joy of the day.
Bernadette put on a dress she manage to sneak with her during her escape she looked fierce in it, it was a red sheath dress something that looked sexual but still left quit a lot to the imagination.
She started heading out walking nearer and nearer to where she was before and she stared at those French woman who were smoking and they stared back with death stares
"Jesus Christ, French woman who think they're so cultured speaking there Goldman French".
She finally reached the spot near the train station were she was yesterday and she saw a man, the same man
"Bonsoir Madame, may I escort you to dinner?"
Bernadette smiled as she put her arm out for the man to hold her as they walked, he slowly grabbed her arm and held it and then began to walk.
"Gustave"
Bernadette said
"Tell me what we are going to enjoy tonight?"
Gustave laughed
"Well Madame we have a rare type of beef, something I really enjoyed during the siege of Paris"
Bernadette was confused wondering if he just mean rare cooked beef but she was happy to try new things.
They walked, and she stared at the area the man was thought to live in, it looked really high class a lovely, but it overlooked the slums, it ruined the general appeal of the area but Bernadette truly couldn't afford to be choosy times were tough and money was scarce.
Finally they reached Gustave's apartment,, they walked in the front and he signed his name into the log book, it wasn't what Bernadette was expecting, she wanted to see something fancy and not the rubbles of something that was once great, it looked horrible but Bernadette faked a smile as she learnt to do in Poland.
They walked in and immediately a putrid smell filled her nose
"Ugh I'm sorry but what is that horrendous smell"
Bernadette asked. Gustave replying
"Shit, I left out the meat too long. Wait here"
Bernadette assumed he'd be gone for a while,
"Hey Gustve would it be alright if I go in the apartment as well?"
Him replying
"Sure if you don't mind the smell, i'll have to prepare something else though I didn't expect the meat to go off though"
She sat on one of the couches and rested, the smell of the food and the noises of pots boiling gave her a headache. After ten minutes the headache became a thump and she asked
"Hey Gustav do you have any aspirin I have a headache and Jesus it freaking hurts"
He replied in a worried voice s his gravy slowly began burning
"OH NO OH NO OH NO! YEAH I HAVE SOME IN MY..CRAP NO PLEASE DON'T BURN, I HAVE SOME IN MY ROOM"
Bernadette replying with a thank you, so she went into his bedroom and looked around, it was such a beautiful room although that fowl odder lingered, she went to his drawers and saw the aspirin on top of it and picked it up and took a pill and lay on his bed and took a deep breathe the headache slowly blew off.
She blocked whatever little pain was left from the headache and desired to look around, maybe he was rich who knew and maybe he wouldn't miss a couple hundred Franc. She looked in the draws only to find photos, possibly of the man's previous family. She sighed and whispered to herself softly.
"Really? NOTHING BUT PHOTOS?"
she took a proper look at the photos, might as well as she already snuck a peak, she stared at them to see something truly grotesque
"Oh my good god"
she looked at the photos to see that there was women tied up, they were cut deeply with possibly a machete and pieces of their flesh removed, and another photo of the man showed him in a battalion of soldiers, not French soldiers, Nazis. Gustave was finishing of his meal
"Bernadette we will be enjoying a rare steak tonight with vegetables"
Bernadette afraid to reply but did
"Sounds… delicious but I will be out with you in a second, I need to use the lady's room"
She went in to the bathroom to disguise the fact that she had been through his stuff, she sat on the toilet seat and decided to think about want she'd do. She then saw a cupboard in the bathroom and thought there might be something she could use to protect herself, she opened the cupboard to find a bottle of chloroform and thought why not, but then she noticed the backboard of the cupboard was loose so she pushed it back and saw bundles of money and a pair of red ruby earrings and thought,
"maybe it'd be best if this psychopath was dead for the safety of women in this neighbourhood"
She grabbed the bottle, hiding it under her dress and left the room.
She returned to the table, Gustave wondering why she took so long asked,
"What were you doing so long in there?"
Bernadette smiled and replied
"A woman must not reveal her secrets"
Gustave smiled,
"Try to enjoy the steak... well whatever I could save from it before it burnt, I made it as tender as possible, for you to enjoy, I can tell you now it's not beef"
before smiling he began eating his 'steak' Bernadette smiled and got her knife and fork and thought 'this knife is a steak knife, it could probably kill him if I stab it in his throat" she stood up following her impulse , Gustave asked
"What are you doing?"
Bernadette replying
"sorry these were dirty I'm just going to rinse them off"
before walking past Gustave she turned to him and said
"goodbye"
Gustav looked confused
She lunged both the knife and fork into his neck and pulled out the chloroform and shoved the bottle into his mouth.
"DRINK IT YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
The chloroform slowly poured down his throat and she saw him begin to violently shake.
A torrent of blood burst through his neck, he was choking, but that wasn't what Bernadette cared about. She went straight to the bathroom and grabbed as much cash in which could fit in her and hand bag, and saw those red ruby earrings before saying
"What lovely earrings, and such a great gift, thank you Gustave"
than she walked out to check if Gustave was dead, he was shaking violently in his pool of blood Bernadette then raised her heel and dug one right into his skull, before laughing
"Stupid Nazi, murderer thinking you were going to get another one of my people? I WOULDN'T GIVE YOU THE SATUSFACTION OF IMMEDIATE DEATH, YOU CAN POUR OUT SLOWLY YOU PATHETIC WORM, also thank you for the gifts I loves those red ruby earrings"
she walked out of his apartment only to return to hers where s packed up her stuff and prepared to flight out the next morning~~
She kept walking to the place she had bought. She walked past a young boy with a monkey on her way home,
"Hello Madame would care to give some money to me, I'm an orphan"
the monkey howled at the lady, the lady smiled and she laughed
"here you go"
she pulled out $40 for the boy he smiled the monkey screamed at the lady and she walked past.
"They shouldn't allow beasts on our roads"
she then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, she inhaled the smoke through her lungs forgetting how good the tobacco made her feel, she inhaled what made her feel good and exhaled what didn't, she wondered how her son was going as she helped him escape to Louisiana much before she did.
She sighed trying to remember her granddaughter's hugs she took another puff of her cigarette to keep herself warm and to try and forget her grand daughter for the moment.
*Bernadette flashback 3*
She stood next to her son and they began talking,
"So Aaron how have you been?"
she pulled out a smoke and lit it offering her son a smoke. Aaron was stirring his freshly poured coffee and replying
"Mother you know I don't smoke"
she laughed lightly
"Aaron, if we live healthy we exercise and we care for others and at the end we will all die, so take the dam cigarette boy and step out of your comfort zone"
Aaron plucked the cigarette out of her hand and put in in his mouth
"You.. Know mother….. God damn lighter, there we go"
he inhaled the smoke before saying what he initially was going to say
"You know mother we can escape if you want to we may be Jewish but I don't look it and you could get a wig…".
Bernadette stared her at her son before reaching his face and slapping him, he fell off his chair with scolding coffee pouring on his left hand he cringed in pain trying to show no pain as tears slowly ran down his face, she began shouting at Aaron
"I AM NOT HIDING MY IDENTITY FOR ANYONE! WE WERE A GREAT PEOPLE ONCE, OUR LORD WILL NOT FORSAKE US"
She took another breathe of her cigarette to calm herself. Aaron got up Bernadette staring at his hand
"I'm sorry Aaron you know how am when people try to get me to hide who I am, just as they do with your bastard daughter"
Aaron getting mad
"Dianne's mother died at birth, AND DON'T BRING HER UP IN THIS SHE'S LIVING WITH LOVELY CHRISTIAN FAMI…"
Bernadette scoffed
"CHRISTIANS? OH PLEASE THOSE UPTIGHT …."
Aaron screaming back at her
"I'D DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT HER EVEN LIE ABOUT OUR HERITAGE FOR HER MOTHER, SOMETHING YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Bernadette in a teary eyed rage began crying
"When your father was taken to the concentration camps you were 5 months old a sweet child blessed by El Shaddai, I remember one time I faked my heritage and said I wasn't a Jew too, AND THEY TOOK YOUR FATHER BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT I WAS LYING SO DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT PROTECTING YOUR CHILD WITH THAT EXCUSE, I HAD TO RUN I NEVER SAW DAVID AGAIN!"
Aaron was tired of all this talk
"You know what mother give me another cigarette I may need it whilst I'm here with you"
She pulled out two one for herself and the other to her son, he lit the cigarette then inhaled.
Bernadette woke up the next morning in her small house with a constant reminder that the city was under German occupation, she hadn't been found out, yet anyway although the thoughts lingered in the back of her mind luckily neither of her friends and family hadn't been found out too (Not including her husband). She went to the front of her house taking of her star of David necklace and quickly praying an Alieun hoping she wouldn't get discovered today and hoping the Nazi's realise what they're doing is wrong. She went to get her mail and she saw three letters, the first was a bill it wasn't as if times weren't already tough, the second was from her friend in Russia and the third was a white envelope that had a pink spot, she went to her kitchen and began opening each letter to see what was in it, she read her friends letter, apparently Russia has been a lovely place and she's enjoyed it, Bernadette stared out the window and saw Auschwitz, for it was a gorgeous city ruined by hateful Germans,
"Why must people be so evil she thought what has a Jew done to a German?" and wondered if moving to Russia was a good idea she shrugged and continued to the next one.
It began to read out.
"Dear mother,
I've decided that Auschwitz is no longer safe for me and Dianne we plan to escape at the fall of night when the city guards are changing shifts, there's been rumours of a so called corrupt train driver taking us France and from there we'll catch a plane to Louisiana America we are inviting you to come, or say your good byes either of which you mind but please do not leave Dianne waiting, she wants to say goodbye to her grandmother or welcome her to a new life with her'.
Bernadette had no idea what to do because she didn't want to leave but she knew she'd never see her son and her granddaughter, the ideas of her leaving consumed her more and more till she was packing a suitcase with some clothing and a few memento's from home. She went to her phone trying to dial her son, someone picked up
"Hello?"
that voice wasn't her sons she couldn't tell who the woman on the other end was, the woman repeated the word
"hello"
Bernadette replied back
"Who the hell are you?"
The woman on the end replied back with nothing and placed the phone down and made Bernadette feared the worst she grabbed her suite case and ran out from the back knowing she had to get to that train station to leave with them, but she wasn't no spring chicken anymore, she was old and somewhat fragile but she was a fighter dammit and that's what fuelled her to run there with all her energy and all her life.
Finally nearing the train station she saw the train and its last 2 borders Aaron and Dianne but then she got on and the train slowly began riding off and Bernadette screaming
"WAIT FOR ME"
but her voice was puffed out she fell to the ground screaming and hit herself
"MY SON, MY GRANDDAUGHTER NOOO!"
she burst into tears not knowing what else to do. ~
She missed her son and he probably missed her but it's been a long day and all Bernadette wanted to do was lay down on her bed and listen to the radio, finally arriving home that's just what she did she took of her earrings, placed her heels in the cupboard and pulled out another smoke,
"Damn these things are addictive"
she placed it in her mouth and began to smoke, the feeling pleasured her, she began to turn on her radio and listen,
"And tha be a new hit from a lovely jazz band, I'm hopping everyone is having a great night as planned celebrations for the end of ww2 are about to start later dis evening wit da mayor cuttin da ribbon for fairground oppening, Dat be Coco's afternoon report and back to a new hit from the touring new yark orchestra, who are alsah performin tanight"
The sounds of saxophones and pianos and violins lulled Bernadette into a much deserved rest, the music played all night, it helped Bernadette sleep, the weeks were fine and the celebrations slowly died down always to be remembered in history, the months passed and life was normal until march.