now.
She ducked down and took Walter’s gun, and then, clutching her clothes to her chest, she ran for the gap they had cut in the wire.
~
“They didn’t do what I said, Danny. I told Eva not to tell Walter.”
They were in the Berlin apartment again, Eva moving around in a trance, packing the things she would need. She was not going to stay here for much longer. It was too risky, now that the rest of her family had fled.
“It is futile,” said Hodeken, shrugging. “The Stasi will come for her and arrest her and this time there will be nothing I can do. There are some things in this modern world that are hard for an ancient being like me to deal with...
“The Neues Deutschland only reported one death: Bernhard Schmidt, Konstanz’s husband. Shot in the water and pulled out the next day. Your grandfather, Danny. I am so sorry, but what could I do?”
“You failed them,” said Danny. “You got it wrong.”
Hodeken shook his head sadly. “If only little Eva had done as I told her. Everything would have worked out. You just need to trust me, Danny, and everything will be fine.
“Konstanz found her brothers, Christian and Dieter, in West Berlin and, eventually, when they had given up hope for Eva, they left for a new life in England.
“Poor Eva. On her own now, in a city that has become a different city. She does not know what has happened. While she is in prison, she will vow to reunite the family, and I will promise to help her. But it is hard, and it is a long time before I get her out of jail. And by then it is a struggle simply to survive, as she hears no news of her brothers and sister... She will cope. She will survive. And when Eva finally finds her family again, I know I will be needed and so I travel with her, all the way from Berlin.”
Hodeken turned, and gazed at Eva as she packed.
Danny watched her, too.
When she had finished, she slid down with her back against the wall, and sobbed. Hodeken went to her, and put his arms around her, and the two embraced.
Finally, Hodeken looked up and winked. “Trust me, Danny. Trust me and you will get your wish.”
Danny blinked, and when he looked again, Eva was alone, hugging herself tightly. From beyond the room, there was a heavy knock at the door.
~
When he woke, there was a pressure on his chest, a gentle weight. Something pressing softly down.
He felt the panic rising.
Half-awake, he swung an arm.
And struck something. A figure, a creature. A being.
He opened his eyes, but it was dark.
He brought both arms up again, but this time there was nothing.
He pressed at his chest, clawing at himself as if trying to peel the tee-shirt from his body.
He fumbled for his lamp, fearfully, not wanting to reach out from his bed, thinking at any moment that some nightmarish creature might grab his wrist.
The light came on, momentarily blinding him.
He peered around the room, but nothing. No thing. Nobody.
He turned onto his side and curled up into a tight ball.
Out in the kitchen, Oma was still moving about. She was humming softly, and now the sound drifted into Danny’s room, calming him, soothing him. She had done this when he was little, singing for him, calming him when he had woken with the night terrors.
He closed his eyes tightly and longed for morning.
14 Voices...
...in his head. Echoing around inside his skull as he lay awake the next morning. Eva sobbing, alone in the empty Berlin apartment. Konstanz, giggling over a glass of sparkling wine on the night before Berlin was split in two. All four of them, talking nervously on the night of their attempt to swim across the River Spree, a night on which two of them were to die and one would be stranded, lost, and finally arrested for aiding those violating border regulations.
And Hodeken, of course. The hinzelmannchen . Their family guardian.
Their family madness , now lodged deep in Danny’s head.
Trust me, Danny. Trust me and you will have your wish. Together we will fix everything and
She ducked down and took Walter’s gun, and then, clutching her clothes to her chest, she ran for the gap they had cut in the wire.
~
“They didn’t do what I said, Danny. I told Eva not to tell Walter.”
They were in the Berlin apartment again, Eva moving around in a trance, packing the things she would need. She was not going to stay here for much longer. It was too risky, now that the rest of her family had fled.
“It is futile,” said Hodeken, shrugging. “The Stasi will come for her and arrest her and this time there will be nothing I can do. There are some things in this modern world that are hard for an ancient being like me to deal with...
“The Neues Deutschland only reported one death: Bernhard Schmidt, Konstanz’s husband. Shot in the water and pulled out the next day. Your grandfather, Danny. I am so sorry, but what could I do?”
“You failed them,” said Danny. “You got it wrong.”
Hodeken shook his head sadly. “If only little Eva had done as I told her. Everything would have worked out. You just need to trust me, Danny, and everything will be fine.
“Konstanz found her brothers, Christian and Dieter, in West Berlin and, eventually, when they had given up hope for Eva, they left for a new life in England.
“Poor Eva. On her own now, in a city that has become a different city. She does not know what has happened. While she is in prison, she will vow to reunite the family, and I will promise to help her. But it is hard, and it is a long time before I get her out of jail. And by then it is a struggle simply to survive, as she hears no news of her brothers and sister... She will cope. She will survive. And when Eva finally finds her family again, I know I will be needed and so I travel with her, all the way from Berlin.”
Hodeken turned, and gazed at Eva as she packed.
Danny watched her, too.
When she had finished, she slid down with her back against the wall, and sobbed. Hodeken went to her, and put his arms around her, and the two embraced.
Finally, Hodeken looked up and winked. “Trust me, Danny. Trust me and you will get your wish.”
Danny blinked, and when he looked again, Eva was alone, hugging herself tightly. From beyond the room, there was a heavy knock at the door.
~
When he woke, there was a pressure on his chest, a gentle weight. Something pressing softly down.
He felt the panic rising.
Half-awake, he swung an arm.
And struck something. A figure, a creature. A being.
He opened his eyes, but it was dark.
He brought both arms up again, but this time there was nothing.
He pressed at his chest, clawing at himself as if trying to peel the tee-shirt from his body.
He fumbled for his lamp, fearfully, not wanting to reach out from his bed, thinking at any moment that some nightmarish creature might grab his wrist.
The light came on, momentarily blinding him.
He peered around the room, but nothing. No thing. Nobody.
He turned onto his side and curled up into a tight ball.
Out in the kitchen, Oma was still moving about. She was humming softly, and now the sound drifted into Danny’s room, calming him, soothing him. She had done this when he was little, singing for him, calming him when he had woken with the night terrors.
He closed his eyes tightly and longed for morning.
14 Voices...
...in his head. Echoing around inside his skull as he lay awake the next morning. Eva sobbing, alone in the empty Berlin apartment. Konstanz, giggling over a glass of sparkling wine on the night before Berlin was split in two. All four of them, talking nervously on the night of their attempt to swim across the River Spree, a night on which two of them were to die and one would be stranded, lost, and finally arrested for aiding those violating border regulations.
And Hodeken, of course. The hinzelmannchen . Their family guardian.
Their family madness , now lodged deep in Danny’s head.
Trust me, Danny. Trust me and you will have your wish. Together we will fix everything and
Similar Books
