April 1st, 1933.
She was walking home after a long day of school, like she usually did. It was like a ritual. Everyday after school, she would walk to her father's store with her childhood friend Noah. It was three in the afternoon, so it was not that cold but it was not that hot either. The weather was almost perfect. At least something was near perfect right now.
Being a Jewish girl in Germany in times like these was not easy. She knew that she had nothing to complain about, her family taught her to be thankful for everything she had, but she was not going to be thankful for this. Germany was being incredibly unfair to the Jewish people so far, but obviously, she wouldn't complain. If she did, they would take her daddy away. And she didn't want that.
The eleven year old girl walked down the streets with her hands shoved in her pockets, appreciating the little things around there while the boy jumped in all the puddles, splashing water all over the place.
"Noah!" The little girl hissed, tearing the water away from her uniform. "That's not a very pleasant thing to do. Your mother is going to rip your head off if she finds out you are getting mud all over your uniform." She warned him, gaining mud stains on her uniform skirt as a response. "Saukerl!" She hissed, speeding her rhythm and walking faster than him.
Noah Puckerman. That was his name. He was her best friend ever since they were five, when he "accidentally" pulled her braids and called her short. Five minutes later, Rachel had him on the ground, while she took a handful of sand and stuck it in his mouth, taking two teachers to separate them. Minutes later, they had to stay after school at detention, when they got to know each other. Instant friends.
"You know you love me." He smirked, running his hand in his curly hair and receiving a snort from the tiny girl.
"Please." She rolled her eyes playfully at him. "Hurry up! I want to get some candy at daddy's store and you are slower than a turtle, Puckerman!" She teased, jumping in a puddle in front of him, making his uniform wetter. "I bet I can get there first!" She smiled with challenge in her eyes.
"Get ready to buy me a candy bar, Berry, because you are about to be defeated!" He smiled, pushing her out his way and running in front of her.
Once they got to her father's store, they sat on the stairs of the church in front of it, trying to catch their breath again.
"You…Cheated." He said, breathing heavily.
"Just admit it… I'm…Better…Than…You!" She giggled, her hands resting on her skinny knees. Rachel stopped the giggling when she heard loud cracks and shouts. "Puck!" She poked him. She watched him open his mouth to say something, but her hand flew to his mouth and made a sign for him to be quiet. "Listen…" She said, with wide eyes.
They got up slowly and walked towards the store, being guided by the yelling and the glass breaking noise. They looked carefully from behind the little wall and watched everything go down. Rachel's father was inside the store, while two older men threw rocks at the store's window. She could smell the fear coming out from her father, but she didn't even move. How could she? What would an eleven year old do against two old men with rocks in their hands? Nothing. Like everything else back then, all she could do was swallow her pride and watch everything get destroyed in front of her. Her lower lip trembled with anger, and she could feel the hot tears forming in her eyes when she saw her father hiding behind the counter in order to protect himself from the rocks and broken glass. She watched everything break down, painfully slowly, while her father trembled in fear behind the counter.
Once the men stopped throwing the rocks on the store's window, she wiped the tears away and ran inside. Her father was still kneeling with fear in his eyes, so she quickly ran to him and kneeled beside him. The broken glass cut her thin skin and she could feel the sharp pain, but she couldn't care less. She hugged her daddy tight and sobbed against his chest.
"Shh…" He calmed her, rubbing her skinny back. "It's going to be okay, dear. It's all going to be okay."
Daddy was wrong.
So wrong.