They weren't lost - that much they were sure of - in fact, they were right where they were supposed to be, just hours behind and missing 7 members of their family. However, the spirits of the unlikely trio of Maria, Freidrich, and Kurt were gravely deflated. As the train carriage rambled on, Maria protectively looked out over her two sleeping sons, one on either side of her nestled onto her shoulders, and instinctively held them a little tighter to her. She was fighting sleep herself, but promised herself she would stay awake until they reached their destination, still fearing they were being followed.
She could still hear the cries from her girls as the busy train platform suddenly became flooded with Nazi soldiers. Everything had gone off exactly as she and her husband had planned. After they had driven off from the Abbey, they made it to the train station in order to catch the last train out for the night to Switzerland. Georg and Maria had decided upon it on the way over to the Abbey from the festival quickly realizing their plan to cross the mountains on foot may not have been the best idea. With all the attention on the festival and then the Abbey, the husband and wife pair thought the amount of Nazis at the train station wouldn't compare to the amount they had already seen that night. And so it was decided.
Even now sitting on the train, Maria replayed the events from the last several hours in her head trying to see if she could have avoided the current situation. When they got out of the car, Georg was to take Gretl, Marta, Friedrich, and Liesl with him and Max, and Maria was to make sure she, Kurt, Brigitta, and Lousia were safe and accounted for. But then all hell broke loose. They heard the whistles from the soldiers before they even saw them. Brigitta and Louisa ran ahead as they saw their father and sisters speeding up. When Friedrich noticed this, he hung back to make sure they got caught up leaving him at the end of the pack with a racing Maria and Kurt. Then out of nowhere, mother and sons were separated from the others by a sea of khaki and grey rushing after Captain Von Trapp, not seeing his wife and sons just meters behind him. As Maria ushered the boys into the shadows, she thought she saw her husband and daughters climb aboard the moving train with Max's help just moments before the Nazis caught up to them. At least she thought she did. She had no idea if that was wishful thinking and her mind was playing tricks on her or if it had actually happened. No, there was no way of being sure where her husband and the rest of her family were. How she and the boys were still together was a mystery to her as well. The travel documents she had weren't for all 3 of them, but thankfully due to the hurried nature of getting on their train right before first light, somehow all 3 were granted passage on the train to Switzerland.
She looked down at Kurt as he stirred in his sleep and gave a light sigh while he readjusted his head, turning in his mother's arms so now he slept with his back up against her side, his head still warmly placed on her shoulder. Maria left a soft kiss on her youngest son's forehead as she watched him sleep. On her other side, Friedrich was still in a sitting position with his head drooping slightly onto his mother. He had fought her that he should be the one to stay awake and keep watch instead of her, but once Maria reached over and drew him to her for comfort, he was out just as quickly as his brother was. Even in his sleep, she could tell from his posture and sitting stance he was trying to act like the man she knew he was capable of becoming one day.
Looking out the window in the small train compartment, the sun was just beginning to poke out to start the day. They'd be at their destination shortly and Maria gave an involuntary shiver. Switzerland. Just saying the word to herself left her uneasy. She was determined to keep her sons safe in this strange country. They had no food, no water, no change of clothes. Between the three of them there was enough money to maybe feed them breakfast once they got off the train, and that was only because Friedrich had found some money on the floor of the train compartment they eventually settled in.
Maria and Georg hadn't gone as far to make plans further from deciding the family would make the trek to Switzerland. Beyond that, Georg had assured her they would figure things out once they were safely over the border and off the train. Maria had no idea as to where she and the boys should even go! There was, however, one very tiny remote possibility she would be able to reunite with her family. Weeks before the wedding, she, Georg, and Max were all sitting in the parlor one evening having a nightcap and Max was discussing how his family vacation home in Switzerland had just been renovated and would they and the children perhaps want to take a holiday there once their newlywed parents were back from their honeymoon. There was a chance Georg and the others were there right this instant, hours ahead, resting comfortably while they waited for the three of them. Maria remembered the name of the town where Max's home was and her first priority was getting a map once they got off the train to see how long it would take to get there. With their financial situation as it was, there was the definite promise she and the boys would be walking quite a bit the next few days or so.
Again, she protectively looked down at her two sons as they began to stir. As luck would have it, the conductor began making his way through the train's narrow corridors announcing the station. Combination of fear, determination, hope, and worry suddenly clouded Maria's mind. She had to be strong for her boys, she had to get back to her family.