Displaced by Stephan Abarbanell

Author:Stephan Abarbanell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-06T04:00:00+00:00

Berlin

Winterfeldtplatz

Chapter Sixteen

People jostled across the square pushing her aside, pointing to an egg or plucked chicken, then pulling something out of their pockets to use in barter: a silver spoon, a fountain pen, an ivory comb. From afar, the market had looked like a scene from a silent movie dipped in matte colours.

Farmers had sparse clusters of eggs, leeks, potatoes and turnips spread out in front of them. A book dealer was sitting behind his table reading; despite the heat, he was wearing a woollen scarf around his neck. A man was hanging up pre-war dresses and suits on a cord between two trees, and a few uniforms dangled there too, their rank badges missing or ripped off. Military police walked back and forth, smoking. In front of a partly bombed-out church, people stood patiently waiting for the free food being handed out. Searching for Cordelia’s house, Lilya looked up.

Her journey to Berlin had seemed never-ending; Lilya had spent almost twenty-four hours getting there. The train had constantly come to a halt, sometimes not moving on for a long time. She had stared out at the landscape: endless yellowing fields that looked like the dying embers of a sunset. She’d had to change trains twice, and both times there was a mute, dogged fight for seats. But Guggenheim had even made provisions here too: she always found a seat reserved for her. The faces of the people in the carriage were serious, as if they had turned their gazes inward to search for the people they had once been. She felt their stolen, listless glances, as if they were looking at her but not seeing her.

She took advantage of the hours on the trains to carry on reading. Raphael and Elias, Elias and Raphael. When the morning broke, she’d made some notes and developed something of a strategy: a plan for Berlin. And the closer she got, the more keenly she felt Cordelia’s inquisitive look.

She was going to try to find Desirée von Wallsdorff and talk to her. And she also intended to look up Dr Erich Durlacher, who Raphael Lind had known and who might be able to help her. Westmann had given her Durlacher’s address. After that, she’d get in touch with Elias Lind. It was time to give him an initial report.

She found Cordelia’s house: Lilya knew her apartment was on the second floor. There was a sign hanging on the door: Ring Gertig, the janitor. C.

A man who was missing three fingers on one hand opened the door, gave her a wary look and handed her the key.

Cordelia had given Lilya one of her two rooms. There was a cupboard and a bed, which was made up with a starched sheet and covered with a bulky white blanket. Cordelia had placed a lavender-scented towel on her pillow. The morning sun shone through the window overlooking Winterfeldtplatz.

On the small night table next to her bed there was a well-thumbed city map and a note: See you tonight! C.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.