p class="MsoNoSpacing"Although the events that happened in this story is real, the story itself is a work of fiction. I am planning to write a story based on Holocaust and will share some snippets of the story/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"_/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Warsaw, Poland/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"October 1940/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Sometimes, Ania Rubinstein wished that she was waking up from a nightmare and that Poland was no longer under Nazi occupation. That she would freely cycle to school, enjoy the walk around the park and then chatting about cute boys with her best friend, Kasia. She and Kasia would have played pranks on other children in school and would have gotten into trouble with their teacher, Mrs. Kuzmerick. She dreamed of becoming a pianist someday, like her mother, dreamed of going around the world, performing pieces of Chopin, Schubert and Beethoven./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"But those dreams have shattered. She wasn't even sure if she could even fulfill her dream of becoming a pianist./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Germans invaded Poland, a few days after her thirteenth birthday. Britain and France declared war soon afterwards on Germany and Ania's Papa was hopeful. But Germans soon took control over Warsaw, inflicting strict rules on Jews including wearing an armband with a blue colored Star of David on their right arm. Ania had to wear that whenever she had to leave the house. They were not allowed to walk around the park let alone some restaurants even forbid the Jews. Ania's older sister, Raisa was very upset that one of her favorite restaurants in Warsaw had forbidden Jews from entering into the restaurant. Ania didn't even go to school because Mama was afraid of sending her. Kasia acted as a dutiful best friend, allowing her to borrow her schoolbooks and teaching her as well. Ania was grateful to have a friend like Kasia./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Then the food became scarce for Ania's family though thanks to Kasia's family who is secretly letting the Rubinstein family to have a share of some of their rations, they barely manage to have three meals a day./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"But one day, a certain news soon devastated the entire Rubinstein family./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"All Jews living in Warsaw area are forced to leave their house and move into the ghetto that was newly built for them, by the end of October. Ania was crying—she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay in the house, where she grew up in./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""I don't want to go!" Ania wailed./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""We don't want to Ani…but we have no choice," Raisa grumbled./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"On the night before the Rubinstein were leaving, Ania went around the house, to say final farewell bid to the place where she grew up in. She first said farewell to her bedroom, where she would play with her dolls and Kasia and she would jump on top of the bed, making the room messy. She then walked into the kitchen, where she would sometimes sneak into, where she would steal a slice of chocolate cake from the table and eat it. She went into the living room, where the grand piano used to be in. Papa and Mama sold the piano so they could have money to buy potatoes and flour. She could still picture the piano in the living room, her mother playing some Chopin piece—Nocturne in F minor, her delicate fingers touching the white and black keys, Ania dreamily standing beside the piano, watching her mother playing while Papa and Raisa would sit on the sofas enjoying the music. Ania stifled back a sob as those fond memories came./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"And last of all, she would remember that party Papa and Mama hosted, a few months before the Germans invaded. Lively music, chit chatter and laughter filling the house and Kasia and Ania entertaining the guests. Ania wondered if she will ever have those moment back again./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"She went back into her room to sleep on her comfortable bed for the last time before leaving to the ghetto the next day./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"The next day, it was a gloomy cold day. Mama, Papa, Raisa and Ania are already in the living room, with their suitcases around them. Ania was holding her favorite doll, Sasha in her arms, although she was too old to own a doll. But Sasha had always been her favorite doll and she would not want to leave the doll behind./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Let's hope that we will return back to our house, once…everything returns back to normal," Papa said in a reassured tone although Ania could sense doubtfulness in his tone as well. He was merely trying hard to bring light into this whole grim situation./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Whatever will happen, we are always together," Mama said bravely, her voice sounding hoarse. She was trying hard not to cry./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Come on, let's leave,"/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"They all filed out of the house. Papa glances at the house with a sad melancholy expression on his face. Already, the Jews laden with their belongings, their armbands around their right arm is walking on the street. The others, the non-Jews were silently watching from the pavement. Ania wondered how many of them are genuinely feeling helpless to help their fellow Jews and how many of them are actually supporting the Nazis and glad to see the Jews suffering./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Ania!" someone was shouting. Ania turned around and her heart leaped a mile. Patrik, the non-Jewish boy that she used to have crush on, a boy with wavy blonde with a dimple on his face ran towards her./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Patrik…" Ania said looking around. Her parents and Raisa are waiting for her./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Patrik looks at the passing Jews on the street./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Kasia told me…I…I can't believe this…" he muttered shaking his head. "These bloody Germans…"/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Papa says this won't last long," I said, trying to sound reassured./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Patrik bit his lips. He takes my hand and then puts something—like a piece of paper./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""I know it's…late…but…I will be waiting for you Ania," he said softly. Slowly he kisses me on the cheek, his soft kind brown eyes looking into mine. "Come soon Ania," he said./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Tears are threatening to stream down my cheek and I smiled at him and then join my parents. We then join the other Jews and I see Patrick watching me from the pavement, with a sad look on his face./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"As I was walking, I slowly open the piece of paper that Patrick had given me. Three simple words./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I love you…/em/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"I clutch the precious paper into my heart as we walk towards our new place—the ghetto. And despite the horrors that may await us…I can't help but think about Patrick…my first love…/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"_/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Warsaw, Poland/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"October 1940/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Sometimes, Ania Rubinstein wished that she was waking up from a nightmare and that Poland was no longer under Nazi occupation. That she would freely cycle to school, enjoy the walk around the park and then chatting about cute boys with her best friend, Kasia. She and Kasia would have played pranks on other children in school and would have gotten into trouble with their teacher, Mrs. Kuzmerick. She dreamed of becoming a pianist someday, like her mother, dreamed of going around the world, performing pieces of Chopin, Schubert and Beethoven./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"But those dreams have shattered. She wasn't even sure if she could even fulfill her dream of becoming a pianist./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Germans invaded Poland, a few days after her thirteenth birthday. Britain and France declared war soon afterwards on Germany and Ania's Papa was hopeful. But Germans soon took control over Warsaw, inflicting strict rules on Jews including wearing an armband with a blue colored Star of David on their right arm. Ania had to wear that whenever she had to leave the house. They were not allowed to walk around the park let alone some restaurants even forbid the Jews. Ania's older sister, Raisa was very upset that one of her favorite restaurants in Warsaw had forbidden Jews from entering into the restaurant. Ania didn't even go to school because Mama was afraid of sending her. Kasia acted as a dutiful best friend, allowing her to borrow her schoolbooks and teaching her as well. Ania was grateful to have a friend like Kasia./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Then the food became scarce for Ania's family though thanks to Kasia's family who is secretly letting the Rubinstein family to have a share of some of their rations, they barely manage to have three meals a day./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"But one day, a certain news soon devastated the entire Rubinstein family./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"All Jews living in Warsaw area are forced to leave their house and move into the ghetto that was newly built for them, by the end of October. Ania was crying—she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay in the house, where she grew up in./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""I don't want to go!" Ania wailed./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""We don't want to Ani…but we have no choice," Raisa grumbled./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"On the night before the Rubinstein were leaving, Ania went around the house, to say final farewell bid to the place where she grew up in. She first said farewell to her bedroom, where she would play with her dolls and Kasia and she would jump on top of the bed, making the room messy. She then walked into the kitchen, where she would sometimes sneak into, where she would steal a slice of chocolate cake from the table and eat it. She went into the living room, where the grand piano used to be in. Papa and Mama sold the piano so they could have money to buy potatoes and flour. She could still picture the piano in the living room, her mother playing some Chopin piece—Nocturne in F minor, her delicate fingers touching the white and black keys, Ania dreamily standing beside the piano, watching her mother playing while Papa and Raisa would sit on the sofas enjoying the music. Ania stifled back a sob as those fond memories came./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"And last of all, she would remember that party Papa and Mama hosted, a few months before the Germans invaded. Lively music, chit chatter and laughter filling the house and Kasia and Ania entertaining the guests. Ania wondered if she will ever have those moment back again./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"She went back into her room to sleep on her comfortable bed for the last time before leaving to the ghetto the next day./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"The next day, it was a gloomy cold day. Mama, Papa, Raisa and Ania are already in the living room, with their suitcases around them. Ania was holding her favorite doll, Sasha in her arms, although she was too old to own a doll. But Sasha had always been her favorite doll and she would not want to leave the doll behind./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Let's hope that we will return back to our house, once…everything returns back to normal," Papa said in a reassured tone although Ania could sense doubtfulness in his tone as well. He was merely trying hard to bring light into this whole grim situation./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Whatever will happen, we are always together," Mama said bravely, her voice sounding hoarse. She was trying hard not to cry./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Come on, let's leave,"/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"They all filed out of the house. Papa glances at the house with a sad melancholy expression on his face. Already, the Jews laden with their belongings, their armbands around their right arm is walking on the street. The others, the non-Jews were silently watching from the pavement. Ania wondered how many of them are genuinely feeling helpless to help their fellow Jews and how many of them are actually supporting the Nazis and glad to see the Jews suffering./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Ania!" someone was shouting. Ania turned around and her heart leaped a mile. Patrik, the non-Jewish boy that she used to have crush on, a boy with wavy blonde with a dimple on his face ran towards her./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Patrik…" Ania said looking around. Her parents and Raisa are waiting for her./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Patrik looks at the passing Jews on the street./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Kasia told me…I…I can't believe this…" he muttered shaking his head. "These bloody Germans…"/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""Papa says this won't last long," I said, trying to sound reassured./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Patrik bit his lips. He takes my hand and then puts something—like a piece of paper./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing""I know it's…late…but…I will be waiting for you Ania," he said softly. Slowly he kisses me on the cheek, his soft kind brown eyes looking into mine. "Come soon Ania," he said./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Tears are threatening to stream down my cheek and I smiled at him and then join my parents. We then join the other Jews and I see Patrick watching me from the pavement, with a sad look on his face./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"As I was walking, I slowly open the piece of paper that Patrick had given me. Three simple words./p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I love you…/em/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"I clutch the precious paper into my heart as we walk towards our new place—the ghetto. And despite the horrors that may await us…I can't help but think about Patrick…my first love…/p