This is the Sequel to Broken Glass. It's the story of what happened to Sarah and Andreas. Please review with any changes you think i should make! They are greatly appreciated!
Chapter 1
When mama and papa told us of Llana and Nathan's death, I didn't want to believe them. I couldn't. I refused to believe that God would allow me, a Jew in love with a Nazi, survive while my dear brother and Llana perished into death's cloud. How could two young people with so much life to live, die?
From the moment Hannah and I stepped off the train and into Oskar Schindler's factory, I knew that something wasn't right. I always felt that not in my stomach telling me that something was terribly wrong back home. I so badly wanted to go up to Oskar Schindler, myself, and ask him if he could send me home. But then I thought about Hannah. She was so young, and she needed me. So many children had been slaughtered by the Nazis already so I counted my blessings that she had been spared, unintentionally. During the first roll call, Hannah never let go of my waist for a second. I held her close to me, afraid that at any moment, she would be ripped from my arms like I had seen so many times before. But then he came out. Oskar Schindler, dressed in his finest clothing, strode out and stood on a wooden platform in front of us all and raised his hands in the air. I lifted up Hannah into my arms so she could see him.
"Who is that, Sarah?" Hannah wrapped her frail arms around my neck and snuggled her tiny face into my shoulder. I patted her back gently.
"That's the boss of the factory we'll be working in. He'll take care of us" I said, craning my neck above the crowd to get a better glimpse at him. I wanted to get a better look at what was going one, so I slowly pushed my way closer to the front of the crowd.
"Excuse, me" I said to the people that I might have stepped on or shoved, but I really needed to see Oskar Schindler and hear what he was saying. "Sorry." I tread on the foot of a short, fat man, dressed in old, woolen clothing. His face turned red with anger. I didn't understand why he got so upset. It wasn't as if I had stepped on it hard enough to break his foot.
"Stupid girl!" the man spat out. Oskar Schindler had turned his attention to some men in uniforms behind him and the crowd was getting anxious again, talking and crying out to one another. The fat man grabbed my elbow in his chubby fingers and pulled me closer to him. "Are you not going to clean them?" He pointed to his shoes like I had actually made them look even worse then they already were.
"I'm sorry, Sir." I apologized and turned to leave, not about to bend down and clean off his already filthy shoes with Hanna in my arms. His hand was still gripping my elbow. I tried shaking him off but he was furious with me, yelling and cursing. Hannah started to cry. That's when I got angry with him. In one quick motion, I slapped the man's face with my hand as hard as I could. The sound seemed to echo through out the crowd, for as soon as I did people around me turned and stared at me. The man instantly let go of my elbow and shuffled away into the crowd. My hand burned from the impact with his bristly face.
I spun around on my heals, turning around when I was face to face with yet another man. He was only a little taller than me, so our faces were pretty close.
"Sorry" he said in a Polish accent much like mine. "But you dropped this" he held out my necklace in his hand. It was the one Andreas had given to me back in the ghetto. I let out a quiet gasp and snatched it out of his hand. How had it fallen off my neck with me not noticing it?
"Thank you so much, Sir." I didn't know why I had called him Sir. He didn't look much older than myself. I carefully place the necklace deep inside my pocket and continued my adventure of filing through the thick crowd towards Oskar Schindler.
"I'm scared, Sarah." I turned towards Hannah. She had her arms tightly wound around my neck as if she was going to be taken away from me.
"Hannah listen to me. I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise that I will never leave you." The crowd around us grew quiet as Oskar Schindler silenced us. He stood with his arms down and a small, confident smile fell across his lips.
"Excuse me. Every one stay calm. You are at my factory, in Krakow, where you will work for me…not the Nazis. You are safe here." Safe. The word stuck to everyone's brains like bubble gum. I searched the crowd for anyone I knew. But everyone's faces looked the same. Gaunt, desperate, scared.
Hannah and I were assigned to the same job which I was pleased at. I couldn't let her work by herself all day. We both worked in the pottery building, melting steel into pots. Pot after pot after pot we heated under a flame and molded into a pan. I managed to get Hannah some gloves that fit her small hands. But I had to admit, the sanitary conditions and staff were much more friendlier than that in the ghetto.
After about three weeks of working at Oskar Schindler's factory, both Hannah and I were summoned to the administrations building. I went cold with the news. People only went to these buildings either to be deported of shot. But he said we were safe here.
"Where are we going, Sarah?" Hannah held my hand and trotted along beside me. Her golden hair fell in tangles around her face as she stared at the ground walking beside me.
I wiped my nose on my sleeve of my dress and looked down at her. "Oskar Schindler wants to speak with us."
"About what?"
"Uh, I don't know, but it's probably news about mama or papa or Nathan and Llana." Her face brightened up at their names, making my heart swell. Her browns eyes sparked with excitement as she held my hand tight and pulled me faster towards the office buildings.
"Come on then, Sarah! We have to hurry. You don't want to keep him waiting, do you?" I began to pick up speed as we entered the front doors to the building. The smell of cigarette smoked and cologne filled my lungs causing me to cough. I picked up Hannah and walked towards the front office desk and said our names to the receptionist. She was a young, beautiful woman with dark brown hair that reached her shoulders. Her eyes looked tired but I could tell by the sound of her face that she was a very, or used to be, a very friendly person.
"Sarah and Hannah Simberstein. I believe that Mr. Schindler wants to see us?" My voice was raspy and tired sounding.
"Oh, yes. Just go up the stairs and into the first office to your right. And knock before you enter."
We reached the office and I tapped lightly on the glass window framed door. A heard a shuffling from inside and a chair scraping across the floor. Then, to both of our great surprise, Oskar Schindler himself opened the door.
"Good after noon, girls. Come in." I set down Hannah and held her hand. I gave her a reassuring smile, easing the fear in her eyes.
"You wanted to see…" Standing in front of Hannah and I were none other but mama and papa. They looked so different. They both looked as if they hadn't showered in years. Papa's beard was longer than usual and mama's hair needed a good washing. But it didn't matter because I was able to see the real them underneath all their pain and torment. They were still the beautiful couple I had known my entire life.
All five of us just stood there for a minute in total silence until mama let out a wail and ran to us. Hannah and I met them half way. Everyone was crying. I clung myself tightly to mama and papa, never wanting to let go. Papa patted my head gently and whispered comforting words into my ear. I hugged him tightly while mama and Hannah embraced. When it came my turn, mama took my face in her hands and kissed my cheeks. I was crying so hard as she held me tightly. Then I realized something. Someone was not here. There was a moment or two that passed until I realized who was missing. That cold sweat that washes over a person when they're scared or worried flushed all the joy and energy from my body.
"Where's Nathan and Llana?" Mama sighed and put a hand to her mouth. Her fingers were trembling as she tried to keep her composure under control. Strands of her brown hair fell in front of her face as she breathed in heavily. My face grew hot and my stomach flopped over like a dead fish. I knew what she was trying to say. Papa put a gentle hand on her shoulder and stepped forward.
"They didn't make it, Sarah" he said in a dead pan tone. Mama buried her face in her hands and cried silently, gently rocking back and forth. Hannah went over and put her tiny arms around mama's waist and cried with her. Stun and shock were the only things keeping me from falling into a puddle on the ground. My breathing grew heavier and louder. Papa reached out a hand to me but on impulse I yanked my body away. I started to panic and whimper in sadness. I knew that papa understood and backed away slowly, putting his arm around mama and Hannah. I trembled with shock. My dear brother and best friend Llana were dead.
Oskar Schindler broke the deadly silence. He walked over to us and put his hand on my papa's shoulder and whispered something encouraging into his ear. I tried breathing threw my nose in slower, deeper breaths to stop the walls from spinning but it wasn't helping my dizziness at all.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Oskar Schindler bowed his head and looked at me. My eyes were wide open and I felt that lump in my throat growing bigger and bigger. "But I want you to know that your parents are working for me now. You won't have to be separated any longer."
"Oh, God" I breathed out. I fell backwards slightly, catching my fall on a desk chair. "Oh my God." I let out a strange cry that arose in my throat. It sounded like a growl but much more sorrowful than one. I darted my eyes around the room until I decided that I couldn't stay in this office any longer. I ran to the door and threw it open causing the wood to crash against the wall with a loud CRASH!
Running down the hallway seemed to take forever. My shoes slapped against the marble floor under me as I came to a sudden stop, sliding and almost falling on the floor. Everyone was looking at me with the same pitiful expression. I picked up speed again, racing myself out the office doors and into the main road that connected to the factory.
To my great surprise, it began snowing as soon as I stepped outside. Cold, wet snowflakes clung to my body, face, lips, eyelashes. I began wailing again, slumping to the ground. Nothing had gone right in my life. Ever since the war, everything I thought was safe really wasn't. I had lost almost everything in my life. My house, my family, my friends, Andreas, and now my dear brother and best friend Llana.
A few minutes passed by when I heard footsteps crunching snow behind me. I turned around to see papa walking towards me with a blanket in his arms. Without saying a word, he carefully draped the woolen blanket over my shaking shoulders. He sat down next to me, still none of us daring to utter a single syllable and raised his arm to put around my shoulder. But it seemed like he thought about what I did last time he tried to comfort me in the office and slowly let his arm drop to the ground beside him. With a painful cry, I leapt into my papa's arms and held onto him tightly, crying and yelling. He held me tight, also crying. This was the first time I had seen papa crying since the time that Nathan was selected out of the ghetto.
"Papa! Oh, God! Why papa? What have Nathan and Llana ever done to deserve what they got?" My body trembled with sorrow in my papa's arms. "It hurts so bad, papa" I cried.
"I know it hurts, Sarah. But I know for a fact that Nathan and Llana are looking down from heaven on us at this very moment." He took in a deep breath and lifted my chin up to him. "Don't be afraid, my daughter." I hooked my arms under his and dig my face into his woolen jacket. "Those evil Nazis will all get what they deserve in the end." Nazis. The word clung to my mind. I needed to tell papa about Andreas. I wanted to get everything out in the open with my parents now that we were together again, that way we all would be able to make a fresh start.
"Papa, I need to tell you something." I lifted my eyes to his and began to tell my entire story about how I met Andreas, how we grew to love one another, and how I had snuck out of our house to see him for so many nights. The entire time I spoke, papa listened to every word I spoke, nodding his head and even smiling at some parts. Snow began to build up around us, but it looked as if neither one of us cared. When I finished, I was worn out and made it a point not to look into my father's eyes from the fear of seeing his reaction. But to my surprise, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly.
"Sarah, Andreas was the boy who helped your mama and I escape. He tried getting Llana and Nathan out but…" he paused for a moment. "I know him and I just wanted you to know that I trust him too." I smiled at my papa and hugged him. "But come now, Sarah. We really need to get inside before you catch a cold like." Papa helped me up and wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders as we walked back to our housing barrack. This was going to be a long night.
Thank you so much to everyone who read my first FanFic -Finding Love During the Holocaust-which has now been renamed to Broken Glass. I like that title much more than the first one. Please don't hesitate to offer me any suggestions to what i need to edit in this story! Thank you so much and have a great week everyone! -TwilightGirl14
