Which Way Is Home? by Maria Kiely

Author:Maria Kiely
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2020-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

THE GERMAN POST

THE GERMAN POST is a small group of single-story, whitewashed, concrete buildings. The American soldiers lead us into the main building, which is slightly larger than the others. A German officer greets us and speaks briefly with Private Babbit. Then he leads us into a small room with a table and several chairs and asks us to sit.

“May I offer you and your children some tea?”

“Yes, thank you,” my mother says. “We’d all love some tea.”

The officer nods to a young soldier standing at the door, and he hurries to get it.

The German officer is very kind to us and not at all like the Nazi soldiers from during the war. He tells us that we can spend the night in a nearby hotel and then tomorrow they’ll take us to the refugee camp in Regensburg.

Then the officer turns to my mother. “I would like to speak with you in my office, madam. I would like to know more about your journey. It is very lucky that you decided to take that road and that the American soldiers found you.”

The officer takes Mama and the American soldiers into his office, leaving Honza, Ruzena, and I alone with our tea. I sit in silence for a while, but then I can’t hold back.

“I wonder why the guide told us to go the wrong way. Do you think he made a mistake? Or do you think we made the mistake by taking the road instead?”

“He may have sent us the wrong way on purpose,” Ruzena says. “He seemed nervous when he left us.”

“I hope our guide was an honest man,” Honza says, “and wasn’t trying to send us into a trap. But either way, I’m sure glad the Americans found us.”

I like that Honza wants to keep the peace and make the best out of our situation. I like to think the best of people, too, but these days it is not so easy.

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