Finding Destiny
Everyone has a destiny, except me. My mom tells me that is good that I can work in my dads shoe store for the rest of my life. That's fun I guess. My name is Aaron Ray I'm fourteen and I have a younger bother that is eleven named Festus. I live with my mom and dad in this old brick house that our family has been living in for generations, I live in Czechoslovakia and it's 1933. Adolph Hitler is killing Jews left and right.
I just woke up when I heard my mother and father crying in the next door over. I walked in the hallway and I didn't smell the regular breakfast that is usually made. I opened the door to see they were listening to our old radio,' And Hitler is 5 miles from taking over Czechoslovakia and ruling it. Soon he will come soon he will ki...' dad turned it off when he saw me at the door, he was probably hoping I didn't hear that last part but I already knew the word was "KILL."
"What are you doing in here?" Dad said.
"I heard crying and I wanted to know if it's true that Hitler is going to kill in Czechoslovakia."
"No, he's just here to kill the different people and apparently we are different. You may not know this but Hitler is here to kill the Jews and we are Jewish."
The news came as an impact on me. Everything flashed in the back of my head my family, gone because we were different. The knock came as sudden as the news. Dad went to answer it and I couldn't quite make out what he was saying or who he was talking to. It sounded like a man. Father was carrying a package when he came up the stairs. He was pale white, let a little pink was showing. It was like he wanted to be angry but he couldn't. He looked terrified. I wondered what was in the box, "What is it, Dad?"
He looked up slowly. "He's here right now. He's already barking orders. He said you can't go to school if you are Jewish, you can't go outside except for an hour a day. You can't have friends, and you have to wear this."
Father pulled out a figure that looked like a star, yet it didn't have the same characteristics of a star. It had a word sewn on it, "Jude".
"It is the Jewish star we have to wear. We must wear it at all times."
I went to wake up my ten year old brother, Festus. He didn't look a lot like me, but everyone told him he did.
"Festus, wake up. There is something Father and Mother want to talk to you about." Festus got up and walked into their room. They told him everything they told me with the additional Hitler rules.
"I can't believe I can't have any friends," said Festus.
"I'm sorry, son, but..." Dad was interrupted once again by the door. "Everyone stay here." Dad left and we didn't see him again. He just disappeared, or the Nazis took him, he didn't even say goodbye.
Mom cried for three days straight. Every now and then, I would have to turn off the radio, so she wouldn't cry any more.
After Dad left, three weeks ago, another knock came and Mom disappeared. We didn't know where she went and there was no goodby. I had to be in charge, or they would take Festus and me. When our house got too lonely, we went to live with our cousins that lived not too far from our original home. We only packed the important stuff, and left the house to be lonely all by itself.
My Uncle's name is Fredrick, and my Aunt's name is Eve. My Aunt is a Jew, but since she married my Uncle, she has not been taken away. They have two kids, my cousins, George and Adam. Adam is my age and George is a year older than Festus. We all get along for a few weeks, then my uncle brings more news, bad news.
"You're going on a little trip to a place called Auschwitz. I'm not going to lie to you, it is a Jewish ghetto."
So we pack it up again and there is someone to pick us up. It looked like the same person who took Mother and Father. We walk out and we go to this place with barbed wire, and the walls were huge. There was someone who looked like a soldier at the front gate. The soldier let us by and the man who came to pick us up showed us to our room. Luckily, Festus and I are in the same room.
The next morning, I was hoping for breakfast, but a strange man with a large coat gave us a list, and we were on it. We can't eat, because they told us we have to pack. It said we must leave by tonight. We got here yesterday, so we were already packed.
The night came quickly and Festus and I were starving. The soldiers loaded us on a train and we were on there for several hours, before reaching our destination. We were dropped off in nowhere land. I had nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat and didn't have any idea where I was. So I slept on the cold floor of this little hut. Everyone had to sleep in it. We were cramped, but I was so tired, I slept perfectly.
I woke up to the sun shining brightly. Another train appeared, we all got in line to get on. I overheard an old Jew say, "They are taking us to a concentration camp in Auschwitz." I was next to get on the train. The man waiting to give me my ticket took my suitcase, opened it, took out one pair of clothes and threw the suitcase to the side. I got so mad, but my father always said, "Don't argue with them, it could be your death."
So I walked on ahead, watching them do the same to Festus. When he was about to blow, I put my finger on my lip, and Festus walked on.
We got there in no time, and we got food. It was not enough, but at least we got food. I found out this is where they execute Jews if they can't work, or if they did a bad job. They made people did their own graves before they were executed. When I knew Fetus was assigned to a digging job, I knew we were in danger. They came to pick him up around 7:00 a.m. I told them, "He's not going." I knew I shouldn't have, but I even fought with them.
One Nazi hit me in the head with his gun and I blacked out. I woke up cold and alone, wondering what had happened. I knew Festus was dead. I found out he had been shot in the head around 7:15 a.m.
I was given a plumbing job in 1937. For seven years I was all alone, and then, they let us out. We were free! I ran to my uncle and aunt's wondering if mother and father survived. I'm 25 and survived. I survived!
I opened the door to their house and they gave me a hug, and some food. They told me my father and mother were dead, so now I live with them.
This is my destiny, to live to tell and stand up for my brother.