It was dark.
As they walked through the mud, hand in hand their feet keep slipping of the ground.
The mouth of the tunnel was getting closer. The rotten smell of the water was appalling to them.
Sometimes a rodent would pass by their way, which scared her even more. She was clinging to him and he was trying to support her as well as himself on the slimy surface. As they walked he kept checking back to see whether they were being followed. Though there was no one behind, the hair on his neck stood whenever he heard any splashing sound usually made by the things in the drainage pipe.
Suddenly she started crying; "Sara, what happened...," he asked softly.
"I can't walk anymore, I am tired", she whined.
"Just a few steps more,” he persisted.
"When will Mommy and Daddy join us?” she asked
"They are coming dear...they are a bit behind that's all", said Jesiah.
Jesiah was 12 years old and Sara was 6.
But in the past 24 hours both of them had aged 10 years.
As all siblings, both had their share of fights. Usually the fights always ended in Sara's favor being the younger and more aggressive one. But today she seemed tired from all the action she was to young to absorb.
Just 48 hours ago it had been a total different scene. They had been to Uncle Josh’s party.
Even there many people had come all wrapped up in coats and mufflers. The environment had become cold with the news of troops taking over their city. Father was solemn but Mother was worried sick. Most of their relatives and Jewish friends lived in a different country and to travel to their places would need a lot of time which was nearly impossible. In the end, the worst had come true when they reached back home from the party.
Gun shots were heard nearby and now it seemed the whole city would be terrorized and tamed within the night itself. The big bunker Father had created in the yard was sufficient for all four of and so Mother shouted for everyone to move into the yard; carrying Sara in her arms she ran towards it.
As father opened the bunker Jesiah was the first one to dive inside. When he got down, he heard a gunshot, followed by his mother’s scream. Sara came tumbling down the bunker door and it was locked shut. Both children were silenced due to the terror above.
As Jesiah heard the next gunshots, he knew what was happening but he silenced Sara with a movement of his finger to his lips. He hugged her close and sat in the same position for ages. Finally when all was silent he looked around and found a candle. Lighting it he saw that There was no bedding, no food and absolutely nothing in the bunker but a table with candle and matchsticks on it.
In order to survive, they had to go out but Jesiah felt going out at this time won’t be a very intelligent move. So he and Sara slept on the bunker floor and as he lay down he planned what could be done next morning.
Jesiah woke before dawn break. He cautiously opened the bunker door. Seeing no one around, he woke up Sara and took her inside the house. The house was a mess. All wallpapers torn, furniture tossed aside. It seemed as if a whole tornado had gone past it.
Jesiah took his school bag, filled it with food supplies and then asked Sara to do the same. Packing these he cautiously looked out of the window and just then saw a soldier on patrol. He dived down taking Sara with him. All through this his mind was trying to solve the puzzle that his parents had left for him.
The puzzle of survival.
Both of them then quietly made their way back to the bunker. After midnight Jesiah woke Sara up and both of them slowly but cautiously walked out of the bunker into the woods. They had walked for many hours when they saw that a line of soldiers was monitoring the way out of the city. Luckily, Jesiah saw a drainage pipe nearby and they both made headway for it before being noticed.
Jesiah knew that Aunt Liza would take them if they made it out of the city.But Sara understood not much except for the fact that Mother and Father had left Jesiah in charge as long as they were unable to join them on this adventure trip (something that Jesiah told her it was).
As they were wading throught he dirty water, Jesiah remembered the conversation he had with his Father a few days ago.
“So the troops might come marching here any day my son; I know you are young, but I think you would have to grow up soon,” his Father had said.
“Tell me one thing Daddy, why does Hitler hate us so much?” Jesiah had asked.
His Father had reflected on the question, and then answered as a matter-of-fact, ”Jesiah my boy, people have a habit of sharing. People like your Mother who has so much Love inside her can just give love out to others. But people like Hitler don’t have any love at all. They just have Hate, and that’s the only thing they can give others. They don’t have any emotion left in them anymore. They just want to get rid of every one- and everything.”
As he was walking he felt a tug at his shirt. Sara was looking at him innocently.
“What is it Sara?” he asked softly.
“ Jessiah, I really miss Mommy. When will we go home?” she asked in a low voice.
Jesiah looked at the light outside the mouth of the tunnel.
It was showing an open sky with stars in it.
“Soon Sara, soon”. He smiled back.
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