The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander
Author:Rose Alexander
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781837907175
Published: 2023-08-30T16:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER THIRTY
Lilli was weeping.
âItâs my food,â she cried, âin case I need it. In case Ernst needs it. Heâs a growing boy, donât you understand?â
It was impossible to feel sorry for her when they were all hungry and struggling. Katja seethed. All this anger, it wasnât good. But how could she prevent it? She was doing her best to protect her fellow refugees, these people she barely knew, to make them all pull together on this perilous journey, and that took energy that she should really be preserving for herself, Hans and Gerta. A little gratitude from Lilli would go a long way, but instead everything Lilli did was self-serving.
âOh, we understand all right,â Katja spat. âWe have shared everything with you, all that we have. Isnât that right, everyone?â She looked around at the group, all of whom nodded silently. Friedrich had dropped off, his head on Friedaâs shoulder, mouth open and dribbling. âBut weâve been walking for nearly a week and, all this time, youâve selfishly kept food for yourself. How can you be so heartless? I donât think we want to be walking with someone like you,â she went on, unable to stop herself. âYou donât deserve our company.â
âPlease,â begged Lilli, fear in her eyes, âIâm sorry. I-I-I didnât think; weâre all confused. I didnât do it on purpose, I just forgot I had that stuff. Please let me stay with you.â
Without responding to Lilliâs obvious lie, Katja leaned over and picked up two of the cans of sardines. Swiftly, with a strength born of fury, she opened them and mixed them into the pan of potatoes, making sure she got out every last drop of oil from each tin, then stirring it all around. Everyone had their own bowl or plate and Katja divided out the mash, filling a spoonful at a time and flattening it with a knife to be sure that each measure was identical. Each adult had four spoonfuls, Hans three and five for Ernst. A tiny amount remained.
âBreakfast,â said Katja, definitively, slamming the lid down on the pan.
But Friedrich had other ideas. Heâd woken up, slurped down his food and was clearly still ravenous. Lunging forward, he tried to grab the pan. With lightning speed, Alice snatched it away from him. But he was already in motion and he could not stop his forward propulsion. Always unstable, he teetered for a moment and fell, landing face and hands down in the fire.
The scream he unleashed was one of pure agony.
As one, Alice, Maria and Katja pulled him off, but he was burning, his hair, his shirt, his skin. The nauseating, acrid stench of frying flesh filled the air. Wildly, Katja slapped her palms against the flames, while Alice snatched up Katjaâs fur coat and covered Friedrichâs body with it, pressing him to the ground and lying almost on top of him to smother the fire. His screams, like those of an agonised and trapped animal, rent the foetid air at the same time as Frieda began to howl and wail like a banshee.
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African American | Contemporary |
Divorce | Domestic Life |
Friendship | Mothers & Children |
Single Women | Sisters |
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