Liesel was in the dark corners of her mind. She barely slept and she couldnt shake this feeling of overwhelming dread as if drowning in a deep dark sea. She knew in her heart that Rolfe would never do those things but there was the doubt eating away at her she just wanted to scream.
"Liesel?! Liesel are you alright" Asked Friedrich shaking his sister
"What!" she said suddenly awake she saw friedrich looking worried
"You were screaming and it woke us up" he said
"Are you alright Liesel?" asked Louisa " were you having nightmares again?"
" Yes Lousia they have returned" she said tired
" You know you should really tell father-"
"Tell him what that i'm having nightmares at best he will tell me i'm being a baby at worst he will send me to an asylum" she said darkly " No i am not going to tell him"
"But Liesel i only want to help-" said louisa
"Why don't you mind your own business louisa" shouted Liesel she instantly regretted saying it
Lousia got up out of the room and sped away tears in her eyes, Liesel said " Lousia wait i didnt mean to-" she got up out of bed to run after her but Freidrich stopped her
"Let her go give her time, Liesel we just want to help you we are not here to harm you" he said kindly
"I know i know but i still shouldnt have snapped at her like that." she said sadly
"I know just leave it be for now but you should get some help liesel you are not alone you have us and we will support you in anyway we can" he said hugging her
"Thank you" she replied
" Why not go to Mr Freud see if he can help you"
"I wont go see a psychiatrist"
"Why not if helps"
"That will prove to everyone im crazy"
"No one thinks that i promise"
" But father says-"
"To hell what father says all i see is my big sister in pain and im trying to help her if she would only let me"
"I suppose i could make an appointment"
"Thats all i ask he will help you i promise
" Ok Fredrich, for you I will get help" she said "Has father left already for Vienna?"
"I assume so i heard his car leave about an hour ago"
Good that was one weight off her chest now all she had to contend with was her dreams, maria and her siblings and her feelings about rolfe, she felt as if the whole world was against her and there was nothing she could do, she felt isolated and afraid hopefully Mr Freud would be able to help her
"Ok Fredrich can you get everyone ready i have to make a phone call"
"I love you sis"
"I love you too" she smiled as she made her way to the hall where the phone was kept. It was a most beautiful thing indeed everything in the house was beautiful, something befitting a palace indeed and she knew she had it luckier than most she was painfully aware of that. Ever since that new political party took hold in Germany things had become different. Friends she knew in school who were jewish were shunned. their families forced to clean the streets and wear those awful yellow stars and she knew two of her friends had to wear the pink triangle because of their lifestyle choice then as the days passed she would wonder and cry where her friends went and everyday she would see those ugly brown and black shirts marching the streets carrying that wicked symbol proudly as if any of the austrians wanted them there but to her shame many of her countrymen did want them there and they did not care who they stepped on the way to achieve their goal.
She rarely talked politics as that seemed more of fathers thing but she was keen to learn but what she learned from this new party the more worried and worried she grew that it would ensnare her brothers but she banished that thought from her head they would not buy what the party was selling it was founded on hate she knew this. She screwed up her face she dialed for the operator and said
"Hello Operator connect me to Sigmund Freud's Office in Salzburg" she waited a few moments until a very refined lady spoke on the phone
"Dr Freud's Office"
"Hello is Dr Freud in?" she asked
"Hes currently seeing someone. May I ask who is calling?"
" My name is Liesel Von Trapp i was hoping to make an appointment"
" Hmmm well let me see hes available tomorrow at noon does that work for you?"
" Yes, where are you located exactly?"
" We are right by what used to be the deli"
"The one with the divine pickles"
"The very same"
" What do you mean used to be?"
" Didnt you hear some of those brown shirts torched it 3 nights ago the police have not arrested anyone but everyone knows they did it"
"Thats horrible"
"That's the world we live in now i will write you down for;tomorrow. have a pleasant day" the receptionist hung up. Liesel stood there shocked. Well not so much shocked but more saddened lately these brown shirts had the run of the city and the police did nothing to stop them just another fear crept into liesel she couldn't stand it. So she went back to her room trying to shake the fear that was taking root in her heart. She would have to do something but in all honesty this would paint a huge target on her back but she had to try if not for her then for her family she would not live in fear any longer
"Liesel?" knocked maria "May i come in?"
"You may" said liesel not wanting this not wanting her to see her like this
"Well i was going to inform you that we are going into town today"
"But what about our march around the grounds"
"Well what your father doesnt know wont hurt him besides you can get your exercise in town" said maria noticing something was off she said "Is everything allright?"
"What yes" lied liesel
"You sure"
"Yes fraulein maria"
"Allright well my suggestion to you is to get ready "
"Ok i will put on my uniform"
"Oh you wont need those anymore"
"Why not ?"
"I have made you new clothes" she said pulling out a dress from her bag "This is for you something for you and the children to play in" liesel held up the dress it was very beautiful and it looked vaguely familiar
"I feel like i have seen this somewhere" she wondered
"Well i should hope so these hung on your windows not too long ago"
"You used the curtains" liesel said in a burst of laughter oh father would be furious if he knew they were wearing curtains
"Why of course like benjamin franklin says waste not want not" she said suppressing a laugh
"Oh i didnt mean to say it was ugly its rather nice"
"Its allright well i will let you get dressed and be ready in ten minutes or we will miss our bus"
"Ok and fraulein thank you so much for this and keeping my secret you didnt have too"
"You are very welcome and i hope we will become fast friends" with that she smiled at liesel and left the room for liesel to try on her new dress. Liesel thought to herself curtains she is certainly full of surprises well no time like the present so she got out of her night gown and put on the dress it was very comfy and fit her like a glove it was wonderful. Now for shoes hmmm ok she put on a pair of loafers and with that she was nearly ready she put her hair up into a half ponytail and with that Liesel von trapp was ready she heard Brigitta shout "Liesel where are you the bus is waiting for us"
"Coming" she said running the stairs well was more like gilding while she had these dark thoughts it would not bother her today. Today she would be able to have fun she couldn't wait for the day in the town they all headed onto the bus all decked out in their new clothes the von trapp children were ready to meet this new adventure head on
"Alright everyone how about a song"
"We dont know any but liesel does"
"Allright liesel you can start us off" said maria
"Um im not sure i mean i wouldnt even know what song to sing"
"How about a song from snow white" said gretel
"Yes that sounds wonderful gretel"
"Very well ummm Heigh ho" she sang sheepishly
"Heigh Ho" echoed the kids and with that they sounded like the seven dwarfs as the sped into town singing as they went, Liesel thought what an excellent start to a wonderful day as they stepped out into the fresh air of the city they all took it in the medieval buildings the old church the market bustling with vendors selling their wares it was though she was seeing her hometown for the first time. "Isnt it wonderful children?" said maria "Now what shall we do?"
"Lets go see the art museum" said brigitta
"No lets explore the castle" said kurt and freidrich
"I wanna see the park" said gretel
"Yes maybe we will see some rabbits" said marta with glee
"Allright children tell you what we will do all of that but i say we let liesel choose our first destination" said maria
"Well maybe we could run down by the river"
"That sounds like a marvelous idea" said maria and so Liesel and the children followed Maria down to the river where they saw the ships making their way and the little fishing boats and the fishermen waving hello and the kids waving back to them liesel took off her shoes and kicked her feet in the water she had not felt this alive and giddy in a long time not since her mother was alive. They ran and sang by the river they then explored the ancient castle itself being built on an ancient roman temple. It was marvelous she admired the tapestries and old glass windows depicting knights slaying dragons. It was absolutely amazing. They went to the old church. It was almost as old as the castle they admired the history at work in here. She had to wonder though maybe there was a hunchback running around she wondered if all churches had a hunchback bell ringer she giggled at the silly notion but she swore she saw a figure from the rafters but no it couldn't be true maybe just a pigeon but it was nice to dream. They played in the park where indeed there were bunnies and it was so cute seeing little marta and gretel chase after them she said " Dont follow them to wonderland girls" she laughed they went to the art museum next and she couldnt help but be drawn to the paintings of van gogh she was her favorite artist starry night was her favorite. It was so sad that he died the way he did but she wondered how he would react if saw all these people enjoying his work. What would he say what would he do? There would be no one like him again that was for certain. "Look Marta do you see that one" she pointed to a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci "you see that look at how he painted the last supper what do think was going through his mind when he painted it?"
"He must of loved painting this one he showed so much care"
"Exactly its rather beautiful" said liesel as they made their way through the museum the admired all the wonderful paintings it seemed they were from every part of the world and their time at the art museum was over. It was a wonderful time indeed.
"Well children let us go to the market and then straight home for dinner"
"Allright fraulein" they said in unison as Liesel made her way through the market. They sampled all the fruits and veggies and cakes. It was so wonderful that they ended up buying a few cakes for dessert and some fresh strawberries and blueberries. It was wonderful. They all stopped at a vegetable stand filled with fresh tomatoes and big heads of lettuce. Liesel saw the tomatoes and knew that this was her one chance so she took three tomatoes and began to juggle her siblings stared amazed at their sister acting like a clown then she said "what? I saw it in a book once and they explain it well"
They all giggled but maria said "Well liesel if you want to juggle dont let anyone stop you in pursuit of your dreams" she smiled "Now children let us finish up i will get the bus tickets for all of us" With that maria went to offices and the children followed her liesel held martas hand as she made her way through the big crowd she made her way through she bumped into a priest and marta and her were separated as liesel was dragged away she couldnt see her sister anymore in a panic she screamed out her name and asked the people around the market if they had seen her liesel was crying she couldnt find her baby sister where could she be then she heard a voice it was marta! She rushed over to hear her with another voice this voice was speaking english it said
"Now dont be sad little one im sure your sister is looking for you" a male voice said in english it was the most peculiar language she had only ever heard it when going with her friends to temple or to get a bagel from the bakery this was yiddish and sure enough there was Marta being comforted by a boy of about 16 wearing a prayer shoal around his waist. He was by all accounts handsome and had the most gorgeous green eyes like two emeralds he looked up to see Liesel "See marta i told you your sister is there " he pointed to liesel marta ran to her and hugged her tightly
"You had me worried i thought i lost you"
"Im sorry"
"Its not your fault dont worry marta all that matters is your safe" she looked up to the stranger and met his eyes they seemed to carry with them a weight unknown to her she said in english "Thank you so much i dont what i would have done if something had happened to her"
"Not at all Ma'am now marta you best stay with your sister next time ok" he said kindly
"Ok mister" he chuckled liesel said
"Now marta i'm sure he has a name"
"Names Johnny nice to meet you" he extended hand for a handshake liesel took it and shook it
" Johnny thank you for looking after her my names Liesel"
"Pleasures all mine Liesel"
" You speak excellent german may i ask where did you learn"
" From school and tutors my mother insisted that i learn about the world and its different cultures and languages"
"Smart woman she must be very proud"
"I hope so its been a while since i have seen her" he said mildly
She said in what limited yiddish she knew "thank you again"
"You dont have to speak to me in yiddish liesel we can speak in german if thats alright with you?"
"Oh of course i figured id try and impress you with my skills" she instantly regretted saying it she sounded like a fool but he laughed
"Well its alright your yiddish is not all that bad" she took in more details he was as tall as her and had brown hair and the kindest eyes she was wondering why she had never seen him around before
"I have not seen around are you new here in Salzburg?" asked liesel
"Yes my family and i are from Vienna but we had to move her because there was a better job offer for my father hes a professor at the university"
"Really thats amazing i bet he knows everything" said marta giggling
"No he is very smart but he doesnt know everything" he laughed and then he smiled at Liesel
" you know if nots too much trouble with you of course but i was wondering if i could invite you to dinner as a way of saying thank you for keeping her safe" she didnt know why she said that but she felt it the right thing to do
"Oh i wouldnt want to be a bother" he said
"Trust me you wouldnt it would be no trouble and chef does an amazing beef stroganoff"
" with an offer like that how could i refuse"
"Great how does tonight sound"
"Oh sure yea let me get finished up with work where do you live just curious?"
" we live near the lake by the old tower we are the last house down on the lane you cant miss it"
"Then tonight it is" he smiled and liesel smiled he was indeed very different and she knew maria would harbor no objections "Thank you again come on marta we dont want to be late" with that she carried marta on her back and waved goodbye to johnny as they made their way to the bus station maria was pacing looking worried and she said as they approached "Oh goodness children you gave me quite the fright are you hurt are you alight"
"Yes i got lost but then johnny found me and then liesel brought me back"
"Johnny who is johnny?" asked maria
"He was the nice young boy who watched me while we waited for liesel"
"I am so sorry maria we got separated and next thing i know i couldnt find her" liesel said
"I am just so glad you both are safe"
"Yes and liesel invited him to dinner tonight"
"You did but you just met this boy"
"I know but i was hoping if it would be allright he did look after marta"
"Ohhh allright but none of you are to tell your father allright" they all nodded
"Hes handsome too" said marta
"Marta! Im not interested in him he just did a very nice thing and i wanted to thank him thats all" liesel blushed
"Well i suppose we will get to know him better tonight now children on the bus back to the house" they all went on the bus and as liesel looked at the window she didnt know why she invited him but it felt right she had feelings for rolfe but would it be so bad if she had a friend who was a boy who wasnt her brothers well it would all be settled at dinner when they met him officially as she stepped out of the bus with her siblings and maria they all entered the house looking and feeling exhausted it had been a wonderful day in town but also tiring and she decided that a hot bath was what the doctor prescribed right now so she took off her play clothes and got into a nice hot bath and relaxed and soaked until she was so relaxed she fell asleep and she was snoring but in a very lady like way as she dreamed she was in salzburg again but this time with her mother and father walking about both of them holding her hands they walked by old buildings and went into the most wonderful smelling shops she even got a vanilla ice cream it had been a most wonderful day and then she saw these funny men in strange hats with big beards carrying books and she had asked her mother why were their beards so long
"Thats because they are rabbis my sweet" she smiled
"Whats a rabbit momma?"
"Rabbi dear its hebrew for teacher those men are holy men of the jewish faith"
"Jewish?"
"Yes just like Jesus was and his 12 disciples"
"Oh ok but why do they have long beards"
"Because god commands them too its part of their religion" her mother said
"Oh how come daddy doesnt have one"
"Because hes christian you silly goose"
"And i would look absolutely ridiculous" said georg
"Now georg remembered that beard you used to have especially after long voyages"
"Indeed and i looked ridiculous" he said again
"No you were still the same handsome man i married no matter how much facial hair you had although you did look like a sea captain an old salt"
"Indeed" he said "Hoist down the mizzen mast thar be a whale off the port bow" with that he picked up liesel and flew her around as her mother laughed and laughed then something that wasnt part of her memory her mother said "Liesel will you be my brave girl?"
"What ?" she asked
" Please my darling girl you must be strong especially for the road that lies ahead of you, you will have to make a choice soon and either go down the path of fear or the path of hope, i hope you will make the right one"
"Mother what do you mean mother"
"I love you my little edelweiss"
"Mother! Please come back mother" and with that liesel awoke in sweat splashing water everywhere another dream and a memory but this time her mother spoke to her what did it mean? What choice did she mean? It was all so confusing but she would have to talk to Dr. Freud about it tomorrow right now she got out of the tub and wrapped her hair in a towel and put on a robe and waited to dry out as she sat on the bed Lousia sat down next to her and said slyly
"So whats he like?" she asked
"Who ever do you mean?" she said coyly
"You know who i mean that boy Johnny"
"Well hes very tall and has the most wonderful green eyes but i dont see how thats any of your business"
"Oh come on we never get to gossip about boys he must of impressed you if you invited him to dinner"
"It was nothing of the sort he just did a nice thing and i wanted to thank him"
"All right if you sure that's the only reason"
"Get out of here let me dry" she said laughing pushing her out of the room, she thought to herself why did she invite him well of course to thank him for helping marta but a voice was in her was saying there was another reason the boy was handsome but she belonged to rolfe but then another voice said she didn't belong to anyone no one owned her and thankfully it was liesel saying it so she just layed down on her bed and stared at the ceiling until she heard the doorbell ring and with that liesel ran down the stairs and opened the door smiling just remembering she was in the robe and her hair was wrapped in a towel she felt so foolish
"Im sorry i could wait a bit i just didnt realize i caught you at a bad time"
"Oh no trouble at all you see i heard the doorbell and i just ran down not thinking and well here you have it"
"Indeed" he laughed
"Whats so funny"
"May i say you look ridiculous fuzzy slippers and everything"
"then you shant be invited goodnight to you" she went to close the door dramatically he put his foot in its path
"Look im sorry friends?" he said offering up a bottle "it was my mothers idea this is from our vineyard in yugoslavia an excellent vintage"
"Friends" she said taking the bottle " Thank you didnt have to bring this considering only chef drinks wine and well i assume you?"
"Just one glass for dinner"
"One glass huh?" she said with a glint in her eye
" Well thats nothing you should see my grandfather he drinks 5 liters a day"
"Five liters thats so much how is he able to function?"
"He mostly sleeps he says if the good lord wanted him to work he would have made humans live to 200 years old"
"Well anyway thank you for the wine please come in im going to go upstairs and get ready" she said walking up the stairs as he was led to the dining room with franz taking the bottle in hand that had been the most peculiar thing not only was he dressed like a prince getting ready for the royal opera he brings a bottle of his own wine what a strange fellow indeed she couldn't wait to pick his brain at dinner