A Flicker of Light (29 page)

“Take m
e to the woman. I will help you,
” Aaron said.

The young Nazi told Aaron to lie down on the floor in the back of his auto. Then he covered him with a black blanket. From the street and in the darkness, Aaron could
not be seen. If the guard at the gate did not scrutinize the car, they would soon be outside the camp grounds. As they approached the gate, Aaron felt a sudden need to cough and clear his throat. He knew his nerves were on edge, but still the need grew stronger. Stifling it, he nearly vomited as the car moved smoothly out of the camp and into the world. As they drove, Aaron cleared his throat and sucked in air, sighing with relief. At the end of the road, the Nazi turned the car into an open lot behind a factory where he threw a set of civilian clothes at Aaron.

“Put
these on in case we are stopped,
”
t
he Nazi guard said.  Aaron changed his cl
othes, but stayed under the cover
of the blanket as they continued their journey.

The young man lived in a small flat, with only a single bed and an attached kitchen. The girl sat on a metal chair at the table
,
sipping tea
,
when they arrived. As he studied her, Aaron pegged her at about fifteen years old and very afraid.

“This is a doctor,
Elki
. He is a good one.”

“Hello, Herr Doctor. You already know everything?”
Elki
asked Aaron.

“Yes, I know,” Aaron said. H
e saw the terror in her eyes as he took
Elki’s
hand into his own. “You will be all right. I am here to help you.”

“Girls die from this sort of thing.” Her heart
beat frantically her chest
.

“You will not die. I’ll take care of you.” The kindness in his eyes and the gentleness of his voice soothed her. In many ways she reminded him of Petra, just an innocent child. Although he could easily do so, he would never hurt her to avenge his hatred for the Nazis.

“May I clean
myself up?” Aaron asked the
guard who had brought him.

“Is it necessary?”

“It wi
ll help to prevent
infection.”

“Yes, then go ahead.”

“Do you have hot water?
Alcohol?
Clean towels?”

The boy nodded.

“Gather them please. It will also be wise for you to steal some medication from the hospital tomorrow. I will tell you what you need to take.”

Once again, the boy nodded in agreement. Aaron studied him. Outside the camp, he looked like a young boy
wearing an adult’s uniform. His clear gray eyes looked on as the Jewish doctor prepared to operate on his girlfriend. He had no choice but to trust him.

“I will do this for you, but first I have a req
uest, and if you agree to it, you
will be on your honor as a man
to keep your promise,
” Aaron said.

The boy’s eyes grew wide.

“If I take care of this problem and all goes well, which I have no doubt that it will, you must set me free.”

The boy looked at
Elki
. If he were caught releasing a Jewish prisoner, he would face certain death.

“I cannot. I command you to do this.”

“And if I refuse? You will kill me? Then you will be in the same situation that you are in now, only then you will be forced to explain why you have a de
ad Jewish prisoner in your home
.”

The boy thought for a moment. He glanced at his girlfriend. Her eyes pleaded as she looked back at him. She could never let her father find out about this. He would never forgive her.

“I will allow you to go free.” The boy’s head dropped, and he sank onto the bed. Sitting there, he looked back at Aaron and added, “On my honor as a man.”

“And as a German?”
Aaron asked.

“And as a German.”

“Gather the things I asked, please. I will scrub my hands and ready myself.”

Aaron had never performed an abortion before, but he knew what he needed to do. The girl undressed and lay across the bed with just a sheet to cover her.

“Please bring her a blanket.
I don’t want her to be cold,
” Aaron turned to the officer.

The boy laid a blanket over
Elki
.

“Peter, I am scared,
” s
he reached for her boyfriend’s hand.

Aaron heard the young man’s name for the first time. Peter grasped her hand, and Aaron began. He had no anesthetic for the pain, and it hurt him to see her suffer. But left with no other choice, Aaron resolved to be as quick and precise as possible, and to keep her discomfort as minimal as he could.

Sweat beaded upon her brow as Aaron pushed the makeshift instruments inside her body. He had carefully sterilized everything, and swiftly went about his work. A few times she winced and soft cries escaped her lips. But he did not linger, and soon he had completed his task. Now it became essential that she experience no extensive bleeding.

Throughout the night Aaron watched her. She slept comfortably, and he checked often to be sure she did not start to bleed heavily. He knew he would be missed at the first morning roll call. He could almost hear the guard in his agitated, guttural
German calling out, “Aaron Gold!
Aaron Gold!” When he did not answer and no one claimed they had deposited him in the pile of the dead, the guard would rush to his superior with the news. “We have an escaped prisoner,” he would report. Then they would begin looking for him. The dogs would be introduced to his scent so they could track him through the countryside. He wished he could get a head start and leave tonight, but he could not abandon the girl until he was sure of her survival.

When the sun rose in the morning, Aaron had dozed off in a chair beside the bed. Peter prepared to leave for work. Before he left, Aaron reminded him of the medications he
must secure from the hospital. These drugs would be necessary to prevent infection. He told Peter that the drugs could be found in the hospital medicine cabinet, which stood behind the door in the doctor’s private office. Aaron told him to look for the key to the cabinet in the upper right hand desk drawer.

“Be careful,” Aaron told Peter as he departed. If Peter got caught stealing the drugs, Aaron thought he might turn him in. But Aaron realized that if Peter betrayed him
,
he would need some excuse to explain why he’d stolen the drugs, not to mention how and where he’d found the prisoner. It did not behoove the young Nazi to hand Aaron over to the Nazis. If he did, he risked sharing his fate.

Near Munich

A

gainst orders, the soldiers did not detain the two women.
Siegland
and Petra had shown them the utmost hospitality during their stay, and they demonstrated their appreciation by intentionally failing to notice their departure. Those who knew the circumstances took the side of the gentle, grandmotherly woman and her pretty young niece. They had no idea what had become of the old man - only that he’d been arrested for stealing food - but they hoped he had not been used as an example. For the sake of the two women who went to find him, they hoped he had not met a tragic end.

Determination gave Petra strength. She set her jaw as she took
Siegland’s
arm. Together they walked to the train station in town. The trek seemed long and tedious to
Siegland
. Her age and weight made her slow. She had trouble catching her breath. But Petra supported her along the way by anchoring her arm around the older woman’s waist and helping her along. The walk to the station would have taken a younger duo two hours, but it took Petra and
Siegland
nearly four. They arrived late that afternoon, just
as
the sun shone
a final bright gleam in the western sky. There they boarded a train headed for Berlin.

The station master had advised the women against traveling to Berlin. “There is a lot of bombing going on, Frau and
Frauline
. It seems as if the Allies are hitting Berlin hard. You could be injured.”

“Yes, we understand
,
and
we
appreciate your concern, but my husband
is there and we must go to him,
”
Sie
gland
said.

The station master, with his silver hair and faded blue eyes nodded with understanding. Quietly he whispered a short prayer for these two vulnerable women. Then he sold them the tickets.

The train clanged and wobbled along the unstable track on its way to Berlin. Petra held fast to the papers Klaus had paid for
which identif
ied
her as his niece. She felt she would need these to request information about him.
Siegland
carried her authentic papers. At each stop, a guard came through the train car to chec
k everyone’s papers.

The two women were shocked to see the buildings that lay in ruins throughout the city when they arrived. Chaos
and terror seemed to grip the entire population. A mass exodus
from the city
had already begun
.

Together they left the train, shaken by the destruction, bu
t resolved to find Klaus. Petra
approached strangers, asking for directions to the Nazi Headquarters. Berlin seemed like such a massive city to them, frightening and ominous. Debris from bombed out buildings was scattered all over the sidewalks. Automobiles sped by as aggravated drivers honked frantically at each other. Dust from the rubble hung in the air. Bombs rained out of the sky, bringing the smell of death and near-constant fear. The enemy was coming. At last, after much frust
rating navigation, Petra and
Sie
gland
entered the Nazi Headquarters building. A man was speaking to the group
of
people there as they walked in.

“Hitler has gone to his underground bunker. It is only a matter of time before the Allies reach us. Get out now if you can.”

Petra went to the man.

“I am here looking for my uncle. Klaus
Bruchmeier
?”

A loud crash sounded somewhere outside, but close to the building. Petra gripped the side of the desk so she would not be knocked to the ground.

“
Frauline
, that
was a bomb. I don’t know where your uncle is. Get out of Berlin. The Allies are coming. The city is under siege. When they get here, they will kill every German. I am sure of it. They are vicious. Get out.”

“Please, I must find my uncle.”

“We know nothing of him here. For your own sake, leave Berlin.”

Then he hurried away. Petra tried to find someone to help her, but everyone she spoke to rushed by, caught up in their own efforts to flee and save themselves and their families.

“Sit here and wait, Mama. I will try to find the jail area and see if I can find Papa.”

Siegland
felt her chest tighten. A sharp pain shot through her arm and her jaw tightened, but she did as Petra asked. Petra ran through the headquarters. Everyone was too caught up in their own troubles to even notice her. When she found the jail cells, she saw that they were empty. Where could they have taken Klaus? A guard approached her.

“What are you doing,
Fauline
?”

“The SS arrested my uncle. We believe they brought him here. He is guilty of nothing. Please, he is just an old man and not well. I implore you, please, help me.” She felt fairly confident that the officer would not arrest her in the midst of all the turmoil going on around them. For once, the Nazis did not have time to engage in persecution. Instead they tucked their tails and ran like cowards.

“All of the prisoners are gone, released. Go home. He is probably on his way there right now.”

“Do
you recall an older man, heavy-
set
,
with thin white hair? His name is Klaus, Klaus
Bruchmeier
.”

“I don’t know,
Frauline
,” he paused looking at her. “I think so. I think we released him,” he lied. “Go home.” Poor young girl, he thought. Pregnant too - it is best she leave Berlin immediately. He assumed her uncle had died somewhere. At this point he cared little for the crime the old man may have committed. He wanted to leave the headquarters quickly in order to find his wife and children and exit the city.

“Oh, thank you so much, officer. Thank you. Thank you.”

Her heart raced as she ran up the stairs, back to where she had left
Siegland
. “Mama, they’ve released him He is
on his way home. An officer told me. Let’s go.” Another loud explosion came from outside as a building across the street collapsed.