cut created when the horse kicked him was never properly cared for, and now Anja found it to be quite infected.
She turned to Erich. “You left this poor boy to deal with this on his own? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“I tried to help him with it!”
“You should have told your parents!” Anja said, “This is serious.”
Erich snapped to attention, “Tell our parents? No way. Noooo way.”
Anja took Lukas off to the kitchen. Soon I could hear what sounded like cupboards and drawers opening, water boiling and the shredding of rags. They returned shortly with Lukas proudly displaying his freshly bandaged arm.
“It’s getting late!” Anja announced. “You kids need to get some sleep.”
The children piled together on the bed in the guest room, not bothering to pull back the covers. Anja moved their things inside the hiding space then pushed the armoire into place, she checked several times to make sure it was still ajar. She leaned over to Erich, giving him instructions in case of an emergency, telling him what he would need to do should she give him the signal. He listened carefully and nodded firmly once she’d finished.
Chapter 19
I followed Anja back out to the kitchen. “Oh my God Anja! What is going on today? Could things get any stranger?”
“I don’t think so,” she laughed, “and I certainly hope not.”
I asked her what happened before I got home. She said she’d just happened to be looking out the kitchen window when she noticed the boys wandering around in the garden. Her finger shot into the air, “I knew right away who they were and pulled them inside. And I thanked my lucky stars that I’d been the first to have seen them.” She leaned into me and said a bit more quietly, “Those boys stuck out like a sore thumb out there, I hope to hell they didn’t walk around much before I got ahold of ‘em.”
Anja went to the kitchen and strained her neck to see over the top of the curtains that covered the bottom half of her window. “I had just enough time to get them all a bite to eat and the dishes put away when I heard voices out front. I saw who it was and had a pretty good idea they’d be at my door soon enough.” She moved to the windows in the living room and peeked through the small crack that ran along the edge of the curtain. “But luckily they went to your place first… and thank goodness they did! That extra few minutes gave me just enough time to get the kids out of the way.”
Anja continued compulsively checking the windows.
“Is someone out there?” I asked.
“No, no. I don’t see anyone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they came back.”
“Why? Why would they? What did they say to you?”
“Oh not much. I talked to Friedrich and that other nice boy for a few minutes, they came in, looked around a bit and left.”
“Weren’t you scared?” I asked.
“Eh!” she flipped her wrist casually. “Why would I be afraid of those boys? I’ve known most of them since they were about this tall.” She lowered her palm to mark a spot about three feet above the floor. “It’s only when they send the old, cranky ones over that you have to start to worry.”
I told her about my trip to the police station, she said she’d seen us leave and felt horrible that she couldn’t do anything to stop them from taking me. With the kids hiding in her guest room, she figured it probably wasn’t a good time to draw any attention back to her place. She went on to tell me that she hadn’t been too worried about anything happening to me personally, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep quiet about the girl. She knew how they worked people over and how easy it was to say the very thing you were trying not to say.
“You didn’t tell them anything… did you?” she asked.
“No. Well… not really.
“What do you mean not really?”
“I just told them that I’d talked to the girl in the garden,” I replied nervously.
“What?” she exploded. “Why? Why
She turned to Erich. “You left this poor boy to deal with this on his own? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“I tried to help him with it!”
“You should have told your parents!” Anja said, “This is serious.”
Erich snapped to attention, “Tell our parents? No way. Noooo way.”
Anja took Lukas off to the kitchen. Soon I could hear what sounded like cupboards and drawers opening, water boiling and the shredding of rags. They returned shortly with Lukas proudly displaying his freshly bandaged arm.
“It’s getting late!” Anja announced. “You kids need to get some sleep.”
The children piled together on the bed in the guest room, not bothering to pull back the covers. Anja moved their things inside the hiding space then pushed the armoire into place, she checked several times to make sure it was still ajar. She leaned over to Erich, giving him instructions in case of an emergency, telling him what he would need to do should she give him the signal. He listened carefully and nodded firmly once she’d finished.
Chapter 19
I followed Anja back out to the kitchen. “Oh my God Anja! What is going on today? Could things get any stranger?”
“I don’t think so,” she laughed, “and I certainly hope not.”
I asked her what happened before I got home. She said she’d just happened to be looking out the kitchen window when she noticed the boys wandering around in the garden. Her finger shot into the air, “I knew right away who they were and pulled them inside. And I thanked my lucky stars that I’d been the first to have seen them.” She leaned into me and said a bit more quietly, “Those boys stuck out like a sore thumb out there, I hope to hell they didn’t walk around much before I got ahold of ‘em.”
Anja went to the kitchen and strained her neck to see over the top of the curtains that covered the bottom half of her window. “I had just enough time to get them all a bite to eat and the dishes put away when I heard voices out front. I saw who it was and had a pretty good idea they’d be at my door soon enough.” She moved to the windows in the living room and peeked through the small crack that ran along the edge of the curtain. “But luckily they went to your place first… and thank goodness they did! That extra few minutes gave me just enough time to get the kids out of the way.”
Anja continued compulsively checking the windows.
“Is someone out there?” I asked.
“No, no. I don’t see anyone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they came back.”
“Why? Why would they? What did they say to you?”
“Oh not much. I talked to Friedrich and that other nice boy for a few minutes, they came in, looked around a bit and left.”
“Weren’t you scared?” I asked.
“Eh!” she flipped her wrist casually. “Why would I be afraid of those boys? I’ve known most of them since they were about this tall.” She lowered her palm to mark a spot about three feet above the floor. “It’s only when they send the old, cranky ones over that you have to start to worry.”
I told her about my trip to the police station, she said she’d seen us leave and felt horrible that she couldn’t do anything to stop them from taking me. With the kids hiding in her guest room, she figured it probably wasn’t a good time to draw any attention back to her place. She went on to tell me that she hadn’t been too worried about anything happening to me personally, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep quiet about the girl. She knew how they worked people over and how easy it was to say the very thing you were trying not to say.
“You didn’t tell them anything… did you?” she asked.
“No. Well… not really.
“What do you mean not really?”
“I just told them that I’d talked to the girl in the garden,” I replied nervously.
“What?” she exploded. “Why? Why
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