It was then that her sky turned black, fading into a deep shade of nothingness.
The death camp was not what she expected. It was colorless and smelled of burning flesh. Of course, that was what it was. (This, she did not know.) She was put through the dehumanizing process of intake and was stripped of her clothes, made to stand naked in front of the guards and mocked for her beauty. It was three days before she was fed, and by the end of the seventh day of eating nearly nothing, she'd already lost weight. The continuous labor kept her focused and strong for a while, but at night, dreams of Belle and her parents filled her broken mind.
Day after day progressed with few eventful things to mention, until one morning at roll call, Emma did something forbidden. She tripped.
"Stand up, swine!" a female officer screamed, stomping over to her and grabbing her by the back of her torn and dirty shirt. "Get the fuck up. Do you hear me, Jew?"
"I'm not a Jew," Emma retorted boldly, earning a backhanded slap across the face.
This rendered her speechless. Suddenly, she realized that perhaps being a Jew was better than being a homosexual former Hitler Youth leader. She said nothing.
This did not help. In fact, it infuriated the woman to the point of explosion, and the blows rained down on Emma from above until she was crouched and bent over. She could feel the blood throbbing and rushing to the site of each impact, and she could hear the ringing in her ears.
"Did you hear me, Jew?"
Emma kept her eyes on the ground. It seemed the safest place. At least, that was what she'd thought.
"Look at me, you horrid piece of Jewish filth!"
It was only when Emma lifted her eyes that time that she noted just how beautiful the officer was. Her hair was soft and brown, and it danced to the side of her face as though a soft breeze had blown it there. It was darker than Belle's. Her eyes were dark, like deep water, and alluring. Her features, though her expression was contorted into fury, were soft and elegant. The woman was lean and fit nicely into the uniform that hugged her shape like a diamond buried comfortably in a mine. Emma swallowed air, and her thoughts, but they pushed their way back up, like vomit.
Belle.
Emma's eyes welled with tears, and given that the officer assumed they were tears of pain, she scoffed and laughed out loud, stepping closer again, with cruelty flashing in her midnight eyes.
"I expect you to stay on your feet," the woman said, "from now on. If not, I will snap your legs at the knees, make you kneel in front of your fellow Jews, and shoot you."
Again, Emma swallowed.
That night, Emma didn't dream of Belle, or her parents. She dreamed of the officer's cruel eyes.
She saw the officer every day at role call, but never again fell out of line or drew attention to herself. She faded into the crowd of Jews, Gypsies, and other homosexuals. Even among them, she was alone.
It was not until one month later that she endured another painful confrontation.
This time, when she stumbled, she was delirious with hunger and a fever, hobbling back to the wreckage the prisoners called shelter. Unforgiving rained poured down, soaking her clothes, which weighed her down. She was no longer strong.
When the officer saw her, she drew her gun and approached, but stopped just before she reached Emma, who was on her hands and knees, coughing.
"You're sick," the officer managed slowly, finally stepping forward as she holstered her gun.
Emma knew what that meant. She would disappear like smoke, her life snuffed out like the candle it streamed from.
"No, ma'am."
"Yes, you are. You're coughing."
"It... I... Something in my throat," was all Emma could manage before breaking out into another fit of coughing. When the officer opened her mouth to speak, Emma cried, "Please. I don't want to die."
"You won't-" the officer started, but quickly dropped the sentence.
She knew. If she could no longer work, the girl would be shot.
"Please," Emma begged.
"You'll go to the infirmary."
"Please," she sobbed, her tears mixing with the pouring rain.
Suddenly irritated, the officer roughly grabbed Emma's arm and dragged her to a broken-down infirmary building at the back of the camp.