The Airman's Girl: A gripping and moving World War 2 historical novel by Carly Schabowski

Author:Carly Schabowski [Schabowski, Carly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bookouture

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I woke with Agata whispering in my ear that she needed the toilet. The room was lightening a little, and I could make out shadowy shapes as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. I took her to the bucket, then went myself. As I sat, I could feel underneath me that the bucket was almost full, and I wondered what I was to do with it. It wasn’t like there was somewhere to pour it away.

‘Can we go home now, Helena?’ Agata asked me.

‘Soon, my darling. Soon.’

She rubbed at her eyes and yawned, when suddenly the door was flung open and a guard came in with two metal trays that he slid across the floor, then closed the door behind him.

Ola and Sabina raced towards the trays, then looked at each other. ‘They didn’t bring much extra,’ Ola said.

As morning was breaking, light was trying to fill the room as best it could, and I saw Ola hold up mouldy bread and indicated the three cups on the tray, each filled with coffee and two bowls that seemed full of hot water with a few vegetables floating on top.

‘I thought they would have brought more – you know, for the twins,’ Sabina said, shaking her head.

Between them, they broke up the bread, and told Michal, who was now awake, to come to them and eat.

‘You too, Helena,’ Ola said, dipping her meagre piece of bread in the warm water.

I shook my head. My stomach would not take it, I was sure of it. I let them eat, telling Agata and Michal to eat too, even though they pulled faces at the taste.

Halfway through, Sabina told the children to stop eating.

‘Why?’ Michal asked. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘It has to last all day,’ Ola said.

Michal placed the tiny bit of bread that he had left on the tray, and Agata followed suit.

My head was banging with pain, and my ears were ringing too. All of a sudden, the reality of the situation was too much. I wanted to cry out. Where was Mother, where was Father! Why were we here! I want to go home! I didn’t, though. I counted my breaths instead, trying not to show the twins how scared I really was.

The door swung open again, and Leo Wagner himself stood in the doorway.

‘Come, come,’ he said gently to the twins, then looked at me and smiled. ‘Come.’

I looked to Ola and Sabina, who both gave me a weak smile.

‘Come,’ he said, sterner now, and I walked to him, Agata and Michal following in my wake.

Wagner led us down the rabbit run of bricked, stale corridors, his booted footsteps echoing as we walked.

‘Helena,’ I heard a voice, no more than a whisper, and wondered whether I had imagined it. ‘Helena,’ the voice said again, weaker now, and I looked to a barred cell on my left but could see no one inside the pitch black.

As we walked away, I realised how tired I was, how confused and upset I was, and had obviously imagined that voice.

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