The Reverend Mother had been very understanding when Maria had expressed her wish to leave Salzburg. She had seen it coming for a while, and she had always known that Maria would never become a nun; she had too much energy, too much life within her, to be contained inside the walls of the Abbey. She smiled sadly to herself, the place would certainly be a lot quieter without Maria, but she would find her own way out there in the big wide world, and live a happy life, she was sure of that. She uttered a small prayer to God to keep her Maria safe.

Maria was in her small postulants room, hurriedly packing her small carpet bag, she was glad now that she had kept all her dresses from her governess days, even though she had felt guilty at the time, part of her had wanted to get rid of them, wanting to free herself of all memory of him and every thing that she had felt that summer, but the other half wanted so desperately to cling on to them because they were the only memories that she had.

She chose the brown and orange striped one to wear for her journey, a smile trying to form at the corners of her mouth, remembering the dress she had worn on the first day at the von Trapp villa and his reaction to it. You really must stop this, she told herself, moving swiftly over to her chest of drawers in order to empty them of her few belongings. After packing everything she owned she left the room, with one wistful glance. She moved downstairs, all the nuns and postulants were waiting to say goodbye. She hugged them all, tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes at any second. At the end of the line stood the Reverend Mother – the nearest thing to a real parent that she had ever known. And that's when she finally allowed the tears to fall.

"Hush, hush, my child", she soothed. "God will take care of you now my daughter, never forget that." She kissed her lightly on the forehead and gently pushed her towards the Abbeys gates. Maria began to walk quickly away, without looking back, knowing that if she did she would never go.

O

"That's mine!"

"Friedric! That was my hair!"

"Where's my doll?"

"Liesl, what are you doing?"

"How long will we be here father?"

Much as he loved having his children back, at that moment in time Georg wished they could be anywhere else but there. Question after question after question, how on earth had Maria every coped? But now's not a time to be thinking about her or anything like that he told himself sternly, You have the lives of your children in your hands, anything could happen at any moment.

They were camped out in a disused barn for the night, having left Salzburg earlier that week. Georg had picked the children up from their various schools en route from Vienna. They had been surprised to see their father, but they were all delighted, none of them sensing quite the danger they were in, with the exception of Liesl. She had been absolutely wonderful; Georg didn't know how he would have managed without her. She was so organised, getting everyone in the right place at the right time, keeping a calm exterior, even though he could clearly see the fear in her eyes.

And as if things had not been complicated and dangerous enough already, on arriving in Salzburg, they had learnt that the borders to Switzerland were now closed, there would be no way over on the roads, they would have to go over the mountains on foot. It seemed like an impossible feat to Georg, with the seven children tagging along, but he had been amazed and proud at their perseverance and determination, even little Gretl could be seen marching along, never once complaining, even though her tiredness showed through as her steps got slower and slower. And again Liesl was a Godsend helping everyone along, pointing out wildlife and other things to keep the childrens minds off their aching feet and tired eyes.

He sat on an upturned box now, chin in his hands as he watched them arguing with each other. Only Marta was quiet, crouched low in a blanket against the wall of the barn. Now he came to think about it, she had been very quiet recently, not joining in with the others in their games or laughter, sitting apart from them all, trailing behind. Maybe I should have a word with her, he though to himself. She looks a bit tired now, maybe tomorrow.

"Right that's it! All of you settle down now, another hard day ahead of us tomorrow." He reminded himself of his days as a Naval Captain.

"Yes Father"

"Good night Father"

"How much further tomorrow?"

"Not that much further now Gretl" He replied, smiling softly at his youngest daughter, and hoping to goodness that what he was saying was true.

"Now go to sleep" He tucked her blanket around her and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Goodnight Father" she murmured as she turned over. Georg tucked in the other younger children, and checked on the older ones before slipping outside into the cool night air. He loved this time of day, when he could leave everything behind, all the worries, the hustle and bustle of the children, the responsibility, and spend some time looking aimlessly into the dark sky, thinking. He thought about so many things in those evenings, but most of all he thought about her, and wondered what she was doing…

o

Maria couldn't sleep, she felt too exhausted. Instead she stood in the window of her new room, looking out over the small back garden. The moon shone down from the crystal clear sky, causing the shadows to make mysterious shapes on the ground. Maria sighed contentedly, resting her chin in her hands. She hadn't felt this happy in such a long time, it was as though she had lost a great weight from her shoulders, as though she really had left everything behind when she had left Austria.

o

She had arrived in the little Swiss town late in the afternoon, after travelling for two days on the last train out of Austria; she had been so lucky, she knew there were many people who would have given anything to get on that train. She had found the dressmakers shop easily enough, and although she had been slightly dismayed by the outside appearance as soon as she had stepped through the door she had felt instantly at home. She had been greeted by a young woman of about her own age, who had introduced herself as Helga, "Frau Schacts housekeeper, maid and general extra pair of hands". Maria knew as soon as she saw Helga that they would be good friends. The woman had talked non – stop as she showed Maria around the shop. Then she had met Frau Schact. She was a very frail looking elderly woman, but her voice was powerful, suggesting that she had once been a very imposing woman, although she was very kind to Maria.

They had all eaten together, in the brightly lit, scrubbed and sparkling kitchen, and then Helga had helped Maria to take her belongings over to the apartment that the two of them would share.

"You see, we could have the flat above the shop, but Frau Schact likes to rent that one out because its slightly more spacious", a worried look had crossed her face, "Although there's no - one who wants to let it right now. Its not good for the mistresses health, having to fret about money…" she had bustled off muttering to herself.

o

Maria stood in the window, they seemed such caring people, she knew she would be happy here, and hoped she could help them. She already had a lot of experience with making clothes, so she would be able to start helping in the shop very soon. Although she knew that she would never forget Austria, and especially not that previous summer. She sighed once more and stared up at the stars, thinking briefly of certain man and his seven children, and praying to God to keep them safe…