"Damn… Nikola, do you know why it's so hot this time of year?" Janek Moudry sighed, and fumbled in his worn leather bag for a cloth of some sort to wipe the sweat off his face.
"Um… I don't know, it's summertime? You idiot! Do you think it's winter right now?" Janek's younger brother, Nikola, sighed while they walked down Ulica Zielony looking for building number 15, where they were going to visit.
It was the year 1940; the Nazis and the Soviets had invaded Poland the year before. The Moudry family, who hailed from Bohemia, had traveled a long and toilsome way to live in the General Government, where Janek and Nikola's father thought there would be better living conditions. In retrospect, life wasn't much better here in Poland; on the contrary, it seemed worse. The city reeked with discontent, death, and also sweat. Janek felt a bead of sweat drip slowly down from his brow. He lumbered down the worn street, and staring at the dilapidated buildings with a rather apathetic expression. Hungry Poles wandered the street listlessly, like dead leaves blowing across the snow during the harsh winters of Central and Eastern Europe. Long lines were formed at the food stores, and angry citizens attempted to barter with the storeowners for reasonable prices. Janek figured it was just the exchange rates that were bothering everybody. Somewhere he didn't bother looking, he heard the cry of a small infant, and the sobs of the mother, supposedly. His eyes widened significantly when he saw some SS soldiers, presumably from Munich, tear the baby from its mother's arms, and one suddenly cocked a gun at her. The woman began to tremble like an animal before its predator, as she started chanting phrases in a broken mix of Polish and another Eastern European language.
'Muj Buh… What is wrong with the Naciste?' Janek silently thought to himself, resisting the heavy urge to punch the SS soldier who stole the baby square in the jaw. Doing one's duty was one situation, but forcibly taking a newborn from its loving family was another. The redhead was starting to consider the sanity of "his leader," Hitler.
"Bratr, you saw that too, didn't you…?" Nikola hissed into Janek's ear.
"What is wrong with Hitler, Sakra?" Janek almost said at an audible tone, but Nikola covered his brother's mouth just in time to prevent the SS soldiers from hearing.
"What's wrong with him? What's wrong with YOU? You cannot say these things aloud, Bratr. You could easily be shot along these streets." Nikola slapped Janek's arm angrily. "If you get shot, I'll abandon you right there."
This remark caused Janek to snicker. "That's quite reassuring in these times, Nikola," he replied to his brother with a bitter smile. He continued looking for number 15, until he saw a rather clean and well-kept store just a block ahead of where the Moudry family currently was. This naturally caught the eye, seeing as the rest of the city was so dirty and melancholy.
Apparently Nikola had noticed this as well. "Janek, do you think that's store number 15?"
Janek shrugged. "Who knows? I don't. I don't care, either. Why are we even in Poland, anyways? This place reeks. It's depressing, and there's nothing cool here."
Nikola shot him an irritated look. "First Ruze gets tired of walking and complains and whines until I have to carry her, and now you go off and bitch about how much your life sucks." The younger teen gestured to the mass of strawberry blonde curls currently sleeping on his back. "Be quiet. Maybe there's something nice in this city, Bratr."
"Good? Ha! I highly doubt it. Look at this godforsaken place. Do you really think that there'll be decent stuff here?"
"I'm seriously on the verge of kicking you where the sun don't shine, so I suggest you shut your mouth now, Janek."
"What a prick. Fine."
The rest of the walk was passed in silence, until they reached the nice building they had previously spotted. Nikola looked at the number of the building, and grinned. He yelled to his brother and dad, who had lagged behind. In this process, he had also wakened up his little sister.
"Janek, Tatinek! We're here! I found building number 15!"
"All right, son. We're coming."
"Shut up Nikola, I'm too tired and hot to walk any faster."
Annoyed by the turtle-like pace his dad and brother were walking at, Nikola opened the clear glass door slowly, a rusty bell jingling at the top. At the counter was a lively girl around his age, humming a song while organizing the shelves. At first, she was too busy to notice that an entire family had arrived in the rather large store, but when Nikola tapped the counter, the girl jumped slightly. Quite embarrassed, the girl flushed a light pink.
"I-I'm sorry about that! Please forgive me; our family's store is rather busy, and new items had come from France."
Pan Moudry, their father, spoke in a kindly manner. "Please don't apologize, I understand that the stores are always busy, especially during times like these."
Observing the girl closely, Janek realized that this girl was what Hitler liked; fair hair, pale skin, and pale eyes. She had caramel blonde hair done in long braids, fair Aryan skin, and light green eyes. Even the way her face was sculpted looked of Nordic descent. The girl grinned at all of them, and clasped her hands together.
"Wait! Would you all happen to be the Moudry family that Tata had spoke about earlier?"
Pan Moudry broke into a smile. "How did you guess?"
"Tata never makes a mistake when company comes!" Her grin widened, but then her smile faded away slightly. "Forgive me for not introducing myself." She curtsied. "I am Adelajda Figorska, second oldest Figorski daughter. A big pleasure to meet y'all!"
"I'm Nikola." Said boy put down his fidgeting younger sister, who squealed and ran around the store excitedly the minute she was put down.
"The little magpie running around is Ruze, and this grumpy guy here is Janek." Nikola grinned at Janek as the latter glared at him. The atmosphere remained peaceful until a young boy, looking around seven or eight, ran into the store from the back, as another older boy chased him angrily. The two boys looked a lot like Adelajda, with light hair, green eyes, and pale skin, Janek saw.
"Janko, you idiot! Get back here right now, or Brat's going to get mad at us again!"
"But I don't wanna, Eliasz!" The little boy replied to the taller one. The little boy, apparently named Janko, paused when he saw there were guests. He cocked his head to the side, as Adelajda began to speak.
"Janko, Eliasz, this is the Moudry family Tata was gushing about earlier. Pan Moudry and company, these are my two younger brothers Eliasz," she gestured to the taller of the two, "and Janusz, called Janko here," pointing to the smaller boy. She frowned at Eliasz and Janko. "You two know that Ralph's going to get really angry at you two, right?"
Eliasz shrugged. "Whatever. He's really busy all the time anyways, with the midgets."
Janko puffed his cheeks angrily, his face turning pink. "I'm not a midget, Eliasz!"
"Liliput, Liliput, Liliput!"
Everybody began to laugh merrily, as both boys began to blush furiously from the attention.
"Ada, do we have guests?" A voice called from the back.
"Oh, Ralph! You're just in time! The Moudry family's come already!"
Just then, a very handsome - almost beautiful, in a girly way - young man came into the room. Janek felt his face begin to flood with color. This one truly was the most attractive of them all. His soft, wavy, hair was light straw blonde, a color that reminded Janek of their wheat fields back in Czechia. It was pulled back neatly into a small ponytail, with a white ribbon with a cornflower attached to it.
'It really compliments his hair,' Janek thought.
His eyes were a shade of pale sage, twinkling with kindness and amusement. His skin was very light, but not ghostly pale; tanned just enough to look like a normal human. His lips – Wait, his lips? Janek groaned inside. Just how gay was he becoming? But this guy could seriously pass as a girl if he wanted to. He was tall though, and his frame was slim, but he looked sturdy.
The young man spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Tata speaks gloriously of you all." He bowed his back down slightly. "I am Roland Figorski, the oldest son of this family. But please, call me Ralph."