Seventeen

Her?

Hearing that single word was enough to break Georg's desperate resolve to escape. He immediately let go of the neck he had been squeezing; his palm burned from the act. He heard and felt the other guard fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Immediately after, he felt hands push him back with a "Get away from her!" which caused him to almost lose his footing and stumble back.

What the hell is going on? Georg still had the blindfold over his eyes, and all he could hear above the rumble of the train was the frantic, terrified murmurs of the young guard. His hands now free, he fumbled behind his head to untie the fabric, an ice-cold fear rising in his chest.

When the blindfold came off and he could see what was before him, Georg wished he hadn't taken it off. The young guard was leaning over the body of the other guard. Both were in the standard khaki uniforms, but the face of the other guard was unmistakably female. And not just any female.

Georg stood frozen in horror. Oh, God, no…

"Maria?" called the boy. "Maria? Oh, God, she's not breathing!"

This unfroze Georg in an instant. All of his physical pain went to the farthest corner of his mind as he rushed towards Maria's limp form. The boy was right not to try and stop him, for Georg would have thrown him out of the way if he had to. Bending down over Maria's face, the boy's terrible observation was confirmed. No, no, no, oh please, God, anything but this…Nearly frantic now, Georg pressed his ear to her chest to listen for a heartbeat. There was one, but it was faint and slow. And something else was not right. Looking down at her, Georg saw that her chest was flat, as if she had bound it…to disguise her.

"Where is that knife she dropped? Give it to me!" Georg ordered the young man, as he began to unbutton the shirt Maria wore. The boy saw what he meant to do, and immediately picked it up from where it had dropped on the floor and handed it to Georg. Working as fast as he could while still being careful – inwardly cursing the bumping of the train – Georg cut the linen straps binding her chest until they fell open. Thankful Maria wore a chemise, he watched in relief as her chest expanded, now free of binding.

But still she did not breathe. I am not going to lose her like this! Desperate, Georg began CPR. He opened her mouth and held her face as he breathed into her. He'd been taught the procedure in the navy long ago, and poured everything he had into the process –first breathing into her mouth, then the chest compressions, then all over again. He poured all he had into this process, willing that she be saved, that she would not…

Maria, please…he prayed as he breathed into her for a third time. Please, my love, please don't leave me…Oh, God, forgive me…

Then, her own sweet breath came into his own mouth. Georg lifted his head, looking at her through tears. Her eyelids fluttered as she gained her breath again, but she did not wake up. He placed his palm on her chest, which was rising and falling steadily now, and he felt her heartbeat. A huge sigh of relief escaped him, and a tear fell down from each eye onto her. Embarrassed and ashamed, Georg tenderly wiped them off her cheek.

The full impact of his actions had fallen upon him, now that she was breathing again. The deepest shame and regret filled him, and also the realization that, after what had just happen, this would be the first and last chance he had to touch her so tenderly. Tears blurring his eyes again, he bent down to her face. Her eyelids fluttered slightly but she did not stir. Georg placed a kiss that wouldn't wake a baby on her lips, then brought his own to her ear. He only whispered a few words in her ear, but they held his whole heart.

Then, he lifted his head, and dragged his body away from hers. His physical pain was coming back a hundredfold now, and he knew it was because of what he had just done. He barely felt the young guard help him up, and guide him to a dark and sheltered corner, where the stacks of suitcases blocked his view of Maria.

"Leave me…" he hissed through his teeth, which were gritted in pain. "See to her, please…"

The boy obeyed his request and walked away. Georg laid himself down upon the cold wood floor, and the jolts and rumbles of the train wracked through him just like the fists and boots of Zeller and his cronies. But he welcomed them as tears spilled from his eyes.

For the second time in his life, he would have welcomed death gladly, for death seemed sweet relief compared to his reality.

Maria's journey back to the realm of consciousness was a slow one. One sense came back, then another and another, one by one, very slowly. Smells so familiar and words she couldn't make out swam in her foggy mind. Her body was being shaken and jolted about, though she could not move a limb, and loud noise filled her ears.

Finally, Maria opened her eyes, only to see a cheap light bulb hanging from a ceiling, its light flickering in quite an irritating way. But that was soon blocked by the appearance of Rolf's face over her. "Oh, Maria, thank God! How are you feeling?"

Her thoughts still quite foggy, Maria opened her mouth to answer, but all that escaped was a weak croak. She tried again with the same result. Confused, Maria brought her hand to her neck, but when she pressed on the flesh there, Maria winced in pain. Still she gently touched her neck; it was tender even to the slightest touch. Her mind was clearer now, and what had happened came back to her.

She looked back up at Rolf with terror in her eyes, the message clear: Please tell me it's not true.

All Rolf could do in response was look back at her with devastated eyes, shake his head and whisper, "I'm so sorry…"

Maria's eyes filled with fresh tears as Rolf helped her sit up. After wiping her eyes, she rasped, "Where is he?"

Rolf pointed to a dark, protected corner of the compartment. "We're close to reaching the border. You should change out of that horrible uniform."

As he helped Maria stand up, she felt the linen binds she had wrapped so securely around her torso fall torn to the floor. She looked at Rolf in confusion while covering her chest.

"The Captain cut those away when we saw you…had stopped breathing…he performed CPR and you started breathing again."

The thought of the Captain performing CPR on her, in spite of everything, made her blush. Rolf was now rummaging through a suitcase they had brought with them and took out a bundle of clothes. Then he led Maria to another secluded alcove made of stacked suitcases where she could have some privacy. Vaguely, Maria noticed that Rolf had already changed.

Once she was holding her bundle of clothes, Maria breathed to Rolf as loudly as she could, "Leave me…see to him, please…"

The ghost of a smile flitted over Rolf's face. "That's exactly what he told me."

Tears filled Maria's eyes again, and looked Rolf straight in the eye. "Be good to him…" she rasped, fighting to be heard. "You know…he didn't mean to…"

Rolf nodded, for he did indeed know. How could he not after watching the Captain with Maria after starting her breathing again, or after seeing Maria now defend him as valiantly as ever, even without her voice.

He was a teenage boy, true, but that didn't mean he was blind or stupid.