Of Windmills and War (13 page)

18

“Anya,
they won’t listen. I know my parents,” Lieke Grünfeld argued. “They think if we
just do as we’re told, we’ll be treated fairly. Besides, the papers said it’s
just until the war is over. We’ll be back in—”

“The
papers? The German papers?” Anya cried. “You believe the lies of the Nazis over
the truth of your friends?”

“Shhh! Mama
will hear you!” she snapped. “She’s scared enough as it is.” Lieke lifted her
young sister into the high chair. “There, little Inge. Eat your
koekje
like a good girl.” She broke the cookie in two and handed it to the child.

“Lieke,
you have to listen to me.” Anya followed her friend around the kitchen table. “There’s
no time to argue. You must convince your parents to let us help them. To help
you and your brothers and sisters.” She looked toward the door then lowered her
voice just above a whisper. “There is a whole network of people who will take
you and your family to a safe place. You can stay together.”

“That’s
only asking for trouble,” Lieke insisted. “Who knows what the Germans would do
if they caught us all sneaking out in the middle of the night.”

Anya
held her tongue, afraid she might say something she regretted. She blew out a
slow breath. “And if you stay, they will split you up, put you in cattle cars,
and send all of you off in different directions where you’ll all be baked alive
in ovens!”

Lieke spun
around and slapped Anya’s cheek. “How dare you! What an awful thing to say!”

Anya
touched her hand to her stinging cheek. “BECAUSE IT’S TRUE!”

Inge
wailed at the outburst, wailing at the top of her lungs.

“Now
look what you’ve done!” She lifted the child from her high chair.

“Look
what
I’ve
done? You’re the one who’s too stubborn to listen to truth!”

“No,
you’re
the one who’s trying to get us all arrested. Honestly, Anya, how can you believe
all that gossip? Father says the Resistance crusaders are the ones causing the
most harm. He spoke to a member of the Gestapo the other day, and he promised
we will all travel together. He said—”

“Lieke!
Listen to yourself! You might as well lie down on the railroad tracks and let
them roll their trains right over you and your family.”

“Get
out, Anya.”

“What?
You can’t—”

“I said
GET OUT! You are no longer my friend. You and your ignorant friends will get
all of us killed. So get out and don’t come back. I never want to see your face
again!”

Anya
froze, too stunned to move.

“GET.
OUT!”

She
pulled in a long, rugged breath, staring in disbelief at the friend she’d known
her whole life. The one friend who had always loved mischief as much as she
did. The only friend she’d ever trusted. Anya wanted nothing more than to drag
her from the house and force her into hiding, with or without her family. But
even as she blinked back the wretched tears, she knew that would never happen.
As a haunting groan took root inside her, she turned on her heel and ran.

By the
time Anya reached home, she was panting, angry, and so frustrated she could
hardly think. Pausing to catch her breath before going inside, she rested on a
bench under the tree in her front yard.

“Hello,
Anya.”

She
looked up to see Mr. van Oostra coming out of her house. Most likely he’d been
to visit her father. She smiled but didn’t return his greeting.

“What’s
wrong, my dear? You look like you’ve lost your last friend.” He adjusted his
spectacles, then donned a cap over the ring of gray on his head.

She
knew he couldn’t have known, but the question caught her off guard. “I fear
that’s exactly what’s happened.”

He took
a seat on the bench beside her. “Really? My dear child, you’re much too young
to have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Would you like to tell me
about it? Perhaps I could help?”

Bram’s
warning echoed through her mind, though she wasn’t remotely tempted to tell the
church busybody anything, much less what had just happened. She stood up and
walked toward the front porch steps. “I’ll be all right.”

“Of
course you will. Your father will see to that. Still, if you ever need to chat,
I’m always happy to offer a listening ear.”

And a big
mouth.
“Thank you. Goodbye.” She hurried up the steps and into her
house. “Father, what did that windbag Mr.—”

“Anya,
you remember Mrs. van Oostra?” her father interrupted with a warning glare.
“She and Mr. van Oostra just stopped by to invite us to a gathering tomorrow
night at their home. A chance to get to know our new German friends one-on-one
and perhaps find some way to get along.”

Anya
felt her mouth drop open.

“What’s
the matter, my dear? Mrs. van Oostra said. “Be careful lest you catch a fly,” she
teased with a giggle.

Anya
snapped her mouth shut and glared back at her father.

“Yes,
well, so nice of you to drop by, Mrs. van Oostra. We look forward to seeing you
tomorrow night.”

“Good.
Good! I’ll be on my way now to catch up with that husband of mine. Good day,
Reverend Versteeg. Anya, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once
the door was closed Anya turned to her father. “What is wrong with you? How
could you even consider going to such a meeting? I can’t believe you’d—”

“Enough,
Anya! What was I to do? If I declined, the van Oostras would most likely report
me to their new Nazi friends. That would only lead to more scrutiny and perhaps
another more thorough search of our home. Yes, I agreed to go to their stupid
meeting, but I have no intention of going. God forgive me for the lie, but it
seemed the wiser thing to do, all things considered.”

Anya
flopped down onto the sofa. “Thank goodness. I thought you’d lost your mind,
Father.”

He lifted
his wire eyeglasses from his face and began cleaning them with a handkerchief.
“Nevertheless, young lady, I will not tolerate such behavior as that which was
displayed when you walked into this house. You have no way of knowing who might
or might not be here, and I will not stand for such disrespect.”

“But
Father—”

“No
buts! Were it Hitler himself, I will not allow you to come in here calling him
names or throwing your attitude around like some brat of a child. Do you
understand?”

“No, I
do
not
understand. If Hitler were your guest, I’d rip off his ugly mustache
and kick him in the shins. And if I had a gun, I’d blow his brains out without
so much as a second thought!”

“ANYA!”
Her father shook visibly as he neared her, as though trying to calm a caged
beast inside. “How can I make you understand how dangerous such words are now?
You cannot continue to speak your mind so recklessly when all around us are
ears listening for any excuse to take us into custody. You can’t tease about
such things. You must not!”

She
planted her elbows on her knees, then dropped her head into her hands. “I can’t
help myself, Father. It’s as if everyone around here has handed their brains
over to our enemies. How on earth will we ever survive such madness?”

She
heard him blow out a heavy sigh, then felt him sit beside her. “You’re right,
of course. I’m completely baffled by such actions. Still, we cannot for a
single moment be careless or let an unguarded thought slip from our mouths.”

She
leaned back against the sofa. “Today I begged Lieke to let us help her family
escape.”

“No!
Anya, what did you say?”

“How
could I
not
say something to her? But it did no good. She threw me out
of her house, Father, and told me we could no longer be friends.”

He put
his arm over her shoulder and drew her close to his side. “I’m sure she didn’t
mean it. Perhaps under the circumstances she only—”

“No,
Father, she meant it.” She put her hand to her cheek. “She slapped me and told
me never to come there again.”

He grew
quiet. Anya wondered what he was thinking.

“Father?”

“You
won’t want to hear this, but I must say it anyway. I ran into Lieke’s father
earlier today. In our conversation, he assured me the Germans would take good
care of them. I was careful in choosing my words when I responded. Still, he
made it clear to me they intend to follow the edicts of the Germans and comply
as instructed.”

“But how
can they be so blind?”

“I
haven’t a clue. And yet, even as we spoke, I realized the danger in trying to
reason with him. Which is what I must insist you do as well. Anya, we can’t
save them all. We can try. We can state our case, but in the end the decision
is theirs.”

She
tried to make sense of it. “You’re telling me to give up on Lieke? To let her
and her family go knowing full well we may never see them again?”

He
tucked her head under his chin. “I’m telling you we can only help those who
want to be helped.”

She
ground her jaws together, feeling an acidic burn in her gut. And there, in that
moment, as her mind reeled along with her imagination, she saw the Grünfelds—all
twelve of them—board a cattle car already crammed with other Jews, never to
return.

She
closed her eyes and tried to pray, quite sure it was already too late.

19

Anya awoke
with a start. It took a moment to realize something was scratching against her
bedroom window. She gazed at the clock on her nightstand. It showed
2:45
. As
her heart pounded she tiptoed across her room, assuring herself it was probably
nothing but a branch blowing in the night breeze.

“Anya!”
a voice whispered.

She
jumped back out of sight, wondering who would come calling at such an hour.

“Please,
Anya, it’s me, Lieke.”

Anya
threw open the window. “Lieke! What are you—”

“Let me
in. Hurry!”

She
looked at the bundle in her friend’s arms. “Meet me at the back door.” She
rushed down the hall to open the door as quietly as she could.

Lieke
pushed her way inside, quickly closing the door behind her. When she turned to
her friend, her face crumbled. “Oh, Anya!”

“Lieke,
what’s wrong?”

She removed
the blanket, revealing the angelic face of her youngest sister Inge.

Anya
looked at the drowsy child then back at Lieke. “I don’t understand. What has
happened? Why are you here?” She lifted the child from her friend’s embrace.

Lieke
tried to stifle her sobs, clamping her hand over her mouth. She fell into a
chair at the kitchen table, crying so hard her shoulders were shaking. “They
came . . .”

“Who
came?”

“The
Germans. Anya, you were right! It must have been one of their razzias—they
broke down our door and stormed into our house yelling and shouting in their
horrible language!”

“Oh,
Lieke, no!”

Lieke
pulled a scarf from her coat pocket and wiped at her tears. “Mother and Father—they
rushed from room to room, gathering my sisters and brothers. But as she and
Father opened my door, Mother shoved little Inge into my arms, covered me with
her coat, and told me to run! I begged her not to make me go, but she pushed us
out the back door just as the German soldiers came running down the hall. I was
so afraid they’d come after us! I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know where
else to go!”

Anya
cradled Inge in her arms as she sat down at the table. “Of course you came
here. Where else would you go?”

Lieke
covered her face. “But I said such awful things to you yesterday!”

Anya
reached out to pull her friend’s hand into her own. “It’s all right. I knew you
didn’t mean any of them. You were scared as much as I was.”

Lieke
cried harder. “I’m so sorry, Anya. How could I have been such a fool?”

“Shhh,
it’s all right.”

“Hans,
is that you?”

They
both looked up to find Anya’s mother standing in the kitchen doorway in her
nightgown.

“Mother,
what are you doing up?”

Her
mother shuffled toward the table as she pushed her tangled hair out of her
face. “I thought I heard Hans, and I wanted to make him some breakfast.” She
blinked, looking at Lieke, her face falling. “You’re not Hans.”

Lieke
wiped her face, trying to compose herself. “No, Mrs. Versteeg. I’m Lieke. I’m
sorry I woke you.”

Anya
watched her mother’s vacant eyes track toward the child in her arms. “Mother, do
you remember little Inge?”

She
came closer, taking a seat next to her daughter as she gently reached out to
touch the child’s head. “Anya? You had a baby?”

“No, Mother.
This is Lieke’s sister, Inge. Remember when we took them flowers and cookies when
she was born?”

“Flowers?”

Anya
bit her lip, her patience wearing thin. She’d tried to accept the diagnosis of her
mother’s illness as a serious psychological problem. But whenever she was tired,
Anya couldn’t help thinking her mother was merely weak, choosing to remain lost
in her perpetual fog. Weak and fragile, unable to function as anything more
than an echo of the person she used to be.

“Trüi?”
her father called out as he entered the kitchen. “What are you doing up?”

Anya
watched as her father took in the situation, obviously understanding at once
what had transpired. “Father, I was just telling Mother about little Inge
here.”

He
winked, his face awash with compassion for Lieke and the baby in Anya’s arms.
“Well, isn’t that nice.” He put his arm around his wife, helping her to her
feet. “But it’s not time to get up yet, dear. Let’s get you back to bed.
Perhaps tomorrow you can visit with Lieke and Inge.”

“Do you
think? Will Hans be here too?”

He
herded her back down the hall. “There, now. Let’s just worry about all that
tomorrow. Come along, dear.”

When
her parents disappeared down the hall, Anya turned to Lieke. “We must hide you
here until we can find a safe place for you and your sister.”

“What
do you mean? How can you hide us here?” Lieke wiped her nose with her scarf.

“There
are others already here. A young family with three little ones. We took them in
when they had nowhere else to go. They’re in our attic right this moment.”

“I
don’t understand, Anya.”

“It’s
what I was trying to tell you yesterday. There’s a whole network of people who
want to protect their Jewish friends and neighbors. In secret attics. In hidden
cellars. Everywhere, people are taking in those who need to escape before the
Germans arrest them. Tonight you can stay with our guests. Then tomorrow, I’ll
see what I can do to find you and Inge a place to disappear until it’s safe
again.”

Lieke’s
face mirrored the confusion obviously traipsing through her mind.

“You
don’t have to understand all of it tonight.” She reached for Lieke’s hand once
more. “You’ll see. But for now, you’re safe. I promise you’re safe.”

“But
what about Mother and Father?” Lieke asked, her voice quivering again. “What
about the rest of my brothers and sisters?”

“We
must pray for them. And we will, but right now we have to focus on you and
Inge.”

Half an
hour later, Lieke and her sister had been introduced to Margrit and Bernard
Wolff, the young couple who’d been hidden away in the parsonage attic along
with their three children. Margrit’s maternal instincts took over as she took
Inge into her arms and welcomed Lieke into their tight quarters.

As Anya
turned to leave, she hugged Lieke. “Get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning,
all right?”

Lieke
simply nodded, hugging her back.

Anya
closed the door and found her father there to help move the heavy bookcase back
in front of it.

“And so
it continues,” he mused, “as we add two more.”

She
laced her arm around his waist as he draped his arm across her shoulders. “Yes,
Father. Our little secret grows larger, it seems. Just promise me Mother won’t
remember any of this in the morning.”

“The
bigger concern tomorrow is to find more hideaways for many more of our Jewish friends.
I fear time has run out for them. Perhaps for all of us.”

The
following morning, Anya rode her rusty bicycle out to the farm. Thankfully, she
encountered no more Germans and made the trip in record time. There, she asked
the Boormans what to do with Lieke and her baby sister.

Bram
scratched his head as he led her and Wim into the house. “I don’t know what to
tell you, Anya. Already our cellar is at capacity. Even now, we are securing
false identification papers to move them farther south into the farmland near
the Belgian border. Perhaps we could—”

“Oh,
please don’t send them away! Lieke is so frightened. I couldn’t bear to send
her and her little sister so far away.”

“But
can’t you see? Everywhere we turn, another family needs shelter. How can we
help one and not another? You would want us to send away one family to make
room for your friend? How do we choose? Tell me.”

Anya
paced the large kitchen. “There has to be a way, Bram. I can’t make her go. Not
now.”

“Maybe
there is a way,” Wim said, leaning against the kitchen counter. “Father, we can
send the Kleins and the Emmerings to the van Deen’s farm. They still have a
little more room left.”

“Why
the Kleins and Emmerings?” Bram asked.

“Because
if I hear one more complaint from either of those men, I shall turn them into
the Gestapo myself.”

Bram
laughed. “That’s true enough. Perhaps it will do them good to have a change of
scenery.”

“It
will do
me
good to have them out of here.”

“How
will you take them?” Anya asked. “Will you hide them in your wagon?”

“No,
it’s too risky. We get them new IDs then we act as if they’re family traveling
with us to visit our grandparents or some such.”

Anya
studied him. How easily he offered to solve the problem for her, willing to
make a way for Lieke and Inge to remain close by. “I’m coming with you,” she
said, surprised to hear the words come from her own lips.

“No,
you’re not,” Wim answered, dismissing the idea with a chuckle.

“I’m
coming and you can’t stop me. Just tell me what to do and when we’ll go.”

“It’s
very kind of you to offer, Anya,” Bram said. “But Wim is right. You cannot go.”

“Why
not?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest. “You accepted my offer to
help the Resistance the other night. You’re making this move in order to help
my friend. I’m going and you can’t stop me.”

They
looked at each other, back and forth, back and forth. Finally, Bram shrugged.
“Fine. You want to go, you go. But hear me, Anya, and hear me well. This is not
a Sunday school picnic. This is very dangerous. The slightest mistake or slip
up could be your last. Whatever Wim tells you to do, you must do it with no
questions asked and no arguing. Is that understood?”

A chill
raced down her spine as she acknowledged the seriousness of Bram’s warning. “I
understand.”

Wim
rubbed his hand over his face. “I still don’t think she’s ready, Father.”

“I am
too ready,” Anya said, stomping her foot. “Stop treating me like I’m a child.”
She flushed, embarrassed as she realized the irony of her reaction.

He held
up his hands in defense. “All right! All right!”

“She’ll
do fine, Wim. You’ll explain the routine step by step and she’ll comply. Won’t
you, Anya?”

“Of
course. Now when do we go?”