Chapter 28 The Apprentice

As Vati drove her down into the state of Saxony, Maria studied the landscape. They had been through here before, on their way to Liechtenstein, but now she paid special attention. She would spend most of the next two years here, so she wanted to know the place. The lush green hills and blue mountains impressed her. When they stopped in towns for snacks, gas and bathroom breaks, she admired the quaint old houses, modern office complexes and imposing Gothic churches. Mein Gott, she thought her own state had majestic woods and Potsdam had impressive buildings, but Saxony was charming. Vati admitted that Dresden was lovely, even after the American bombings had damaged and destroyed so many buildings. "It's what people think of when they think of Germany," he muttered, and she almost felt sorry for him.

Onkel Gisil greeted her warmly when they arrived at his home in Dresden. He was polite to Vati but she could see there was no love lost between the two personifications. They brought her suitcases up to the room that she would live in during her apprenticeship. The whitewashed plaster walls, timbered ceilings and wavy glass windows told her this was an ancient building. An iron-frame bed and ornately carved wood furniture made her feel at home; it was as if she felt truly German for the first time in her existence. She and Vati had always lived in post-World War II era buildings and they had been functional but anonymous. When Maria dropped off her last bag off in her room, she went downstairs where Vati and Onkel Gisil chatted stiffly over a cup of coffee.

"Your father plans to head back to Potsdam today," Saxony said to her. "I thought he might need the caffeine." Vati nodded, looking uncomfortable among the antique furniture, cuckoo clocks and shelves of china plates and figurines. His odd coloring and sharp, fine features contrasted with Saxony's golden hair and skin, and stolid, muscular frame.

"I've got to hit the road, Spatzchen," Vati finally said. He put his cup down and turned to Maria. She realized this would be the first time in her existence that they would be separated for more than a week. Suddenly, she felt a rush of love towards her father that she had not felt in years. Her handsome, clever Vati, he of the strange laugh and fierce tenderness, was not going to be there to greet her in the morning with amusing news. He would not roast a chicken and vegetables for their dinner or tell her stories of Old Fritz or Onkel Ludi as a boy. She ignored Saxony's presence and ran to her father, wrapping her arms around him. When she smelled his familiar scent of gunpowder, Spanish leather, earth and musk, she began to tear up.

"Ich liebe dich, Vati," she murmured. She felt terrible for those years she had avoided and mocked him. He had done his best, she realized, and from the way he looked at her, she knew he was proud of her.

"Ach, Liebling, it's not the end of the world," he laughed and wiped his eyes. "You'll come back to Potsdam in three months, just in time for the holidays. And now you're closer to Muti than you've ever been. Surely she can come up or you can visit her for a weekend, ja?" They looked hopefully at Saxony, who shrugged and nodded. "But I've got to go if I want to get back at a decent hour. Pay attention to Onkel Gisil; he knows his stuff. And remember this, Maria," his voice dropped to a whisper. "Ich liebe dich, and I've only meant that to a few entities in this world. You're at the top of the list." As he turned, Maria's heart stopped. Vati's eyes were the same deep purple she had glimpsed when he had gazed at Muti. She smiled bravely and waved as he left.

When he shut the door behind him, Maria turned to face Onkel Gisil. His eyes were as inscrutable as Onkel Ludi's and the eyeglasses worked as a further shield. He smiled kindly at her. "It's a rare bird that can make Gilbert Bielschmidt look that way," he admitted. He picked up the coffeepot and looked meaningfully at her. "Let's begin with your first assignment as an intern. You need to learn how to make a decent pot of coffee." Maria smiled and followed him into the kitchen.

The first quarter of Maria's apprenticeship went well. Saxony was everything her relatives had said: firm, fair, and eager to have her learn more than how to make good coffee and transcribe notes. He assigned her readings in the history of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German history and law. She had weekly reports due on some aspect of her state, whether the geography, economy or voting patterns. It required research and time, but she learned where to find the official information and which of her mortals to contact for particular information. Onkel Gisil had her read her reports to him and he would ask her questions that she was expected to answer extemporaneously. She realized she had to become so familiar with certain aspects of her state, that she began studying beyond what he expected.

She also began to realize certain things about herself and her relationship to her state. She loved it, but especially the landscape and wildlife. Even Saxony commented that she became more lively when she discussed the species of flora and fauna in her woods or the sea creatures off the coast. "If we were still pagans," he noted one evening, "I would definitely see your calling is an acolyte of the goddess Ostara.1 Your love for the land and its creatures is strong." Maria confided her disastrous experience with mortals in Gesamtschule, and to her relief, Saxony nodded sympathetically. "Mortals can be cruel and thoughtless towards us even when they know who we are," he said. "But when they think you are the same as they…" he shook his head. Maria told him what Vati had wanted her to do, and Saxony snorted. "That only works if you are like him and you have the inner confidence to pull it off," he retorted. "Mortals and nations can tell when you are acting a role. Now if you had asked me what to do, I would have advised this," and his plan made such good sense, that Maria wished she had contacted him when the whole terrible year had happened.

Muti visited once a month and Maria was proud to show her around Dresden. Even if she could tell that Saxony disliked Vati, she could see him warm up to her mother. She was amused when they traded baking tips. Saxony had a piano and sometimes Muti would play it while he accompanied her on the violin. Handel and Bach were favorites and Maria wished desperately that she had some musical skill so she could join in or at least appreciate it.

Her first break was for the whole month of December. Maria went to the Christmas markets in Dresden and Liepzig to find presents for her parents, Onkeln Ludwig, Gisil, and Vash. She even found an ornament that she wanted to send to Poland. When she told Saxony she wanted to send a gift to the nation, she was relieved that he was pleased rather than simply tolerant. "Do you know about my past with Poland?" He asked one evening over dinner.

"Historically, you were in personal union with him through most of the eighteenth century," Maria recalled. "Some Polish mortals call that the 'Saxon twilight.'"

"Better a Saxon twilight than a Prussian night," Onkel Gisil said. He had a collection of magnificently carved pipes, and he liked to smoke with his coffee after dinner. "I liked Poland and wanted to keep him a kingdom. He wanted to side with the West and I would have helped him with that against Russia. But other nations were better warriors than I was." He gazed meaningfully at Maria. "I'm going to tell you something your Vati would prefer you didn't know." He leaned towards her. "Shortly after the establishment of East Germany, the mortals decided to kill me and some other German entities off as they redesigned the districts. Your father was supposed to hunt me, your Tante Magda, and Onkel Günther—who was just a lad at that time, mind you—down and kill us. Magda and Günther got over the border and Bavaria took them in. But do you know who protected me from 1952 to 1989?" Maria shook her head, even though she would have bet money on the answer. "Poland and his sister, Krakow. Gdansk would have done it also, but I never needed to travel that far." Saxony chuckled and looked off into the wall of clocks and china. "Imagine your father's face when we emerged and walked into West Berlin to greet Ludwig!" He turned to face her, eyeglasses distorting the light as it danced against the lenses. "He will tell anyone that he didn't look that hard on purpose, but I say that he will say anything to protect his reputation as a successful spy and warrior."

Three months ago, Maria might have defended her father to her uncle. But now she had learned enough to realize that Vati was not perfect. So she simply nodded and said, "Well, no one is unbeatable, Onkel Gisil. History shows us that."

"Ja," Saxony admitted. He sighed and shifted himself. "Now how about wrapping those presents so that's one less thing to do when you get back to Potsdam?"

December was a welcome change of pace. Vati made her pancakes every morning and Muti spent Christmas day with them instead of going to Austria. They skyped with Switzerland, who had flown out to spend the holidays with Colorado. He sent them video of him skiing in the Rockies, and Muti sighed with envy.

"What powder, what grooming!" she murmured. When Vash sent them a video clip of him and Colorado on a dogsled and American cowboys cooking and singing around a campfire, Muti clapped with delight. "Ach, we must go there some day!" Maria stared at her father and they burst into laughter.

After New Year's (celebrated in Potsdam with fireworks, concerts and champagne), Maria returned to Dresden. She was startled to see Poland and another female her age in Saxony's parlor.

"Maria, this is Barbara, and she is going to apprentice to me as one of Poland's voivodeships."2Onkel Gisil explained. "Pan Feliks is too busy to train her right now, so I agreed to it."

"You'll have a study buddy!" Feliks exclaimed. Maria looked at the other girl. She was startled by how much Barbara looked like her. Same height, same build, same wavy amber hair: only her eyes were different, more blue than violet. Maria smiled at her, and the other entity grinned back.

"So where should I bring my stuff?" she asked in impeccable German.

Onkel Gisil nodded at Maria. "Show her the bedroom next to yours," he said. "You two youngsters can chat."

"Call me Basia," the Polish entity said as Maria helped her drag her suitcases upstairs. "I'm, like, so excited to be here! Wuj Feliks told me you were the coolest girl in Germany!"

"No, I'm not." Maria blushed. "I'm sure lots of German mortals are cooler than I am!"

"Mortals don't count," Basia sniffed. "Do you know it's been, like, forever, since a new entity has appeared in Europe? Serbia, Croatia and those types don't count, because they were in hiding during the Cold War."

"How about you?" Maria had learned that it was hard to base an entity's age simply based on appearance. Basia looked her age, but she could easily be twice as old.

The Polish entity shrugged. "I go back to right after the Cold War ended," she said. "The mortals changed districts and names and there I was. But enough about me!" She plopped down on her bed and pulled Maria to sit next to her. "Tell me about you! You're Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, tak? Wuj Feliks raves about your art and smarts! Have you met my Ciotka Gdansk?3 I bet she could teach you a lot about being a Baltic entity! She gave me this." Basia pulled at the ornate amber pendant hanging from a silver chain around her throat.

"That's beautiful," Maria admitted.

"You have to come home with me on a break and visit her," Basia said. "She has jewelry dating back to, like, the Renaissance! If she likes you, she'll give you something nice."

"But I should bring her a hostess gift, then," Maria murmured.

"A promise of cooperation and friendship goes a long way," Basia said. She squeezed Maria's hands and she was startled at the rush of warmth she felt towards the Polish entity. "My uncle and yours want friendship. We can help them with that, tak?" Basia smiled winningly, and Maria couldn't help grinning back. Another personification, who was her gender, age and status. It was too good to be true.

Maybe Maria will see that personifying a state is not so bad after all. Or maybe something else will happen. What do you think of Saxony? or Maria's new friend Basia? Thanks for reading and reviewing!

1 Germanic goddess of spring, new life and animals. Yes, our term "Easter" has something to do with her.

2 A vovoideship is a province or administrative term for a subdivision of Poland.

3 Polish: Aunt