Chapter 7

Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to let you know that I've started my new job so I may not be able to update as often but please keep the reviews coming! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! I really love reading your comments! You guys are so sweet :) PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think of this chapter. God Bless.

-Vegter999

Lilla's POV:

Over the next several weeks, as May turned into June, I was forced to endure the same routine of receiving my meager breakfast, being escorted to the Heim's family residence by a very ill-tempered Volkenrath, and working for hours within the house before being escorted back in the evening. Most of the time Officer Heim ignored me, unless he was barking some order in my direction.

In the late afternoon and early evening he often sat for hours working at his desk, furiously typing away on his typewriter, and often crumpling up sheets of paper and tossing them in the fire grate, growling in frustration. I would often observe him from time to time out of the corner of my eye as I scrubbed the floor of his office or dusted and polished his books. I was never able to get a look of what might possibly be on those sheets however, as Officer Heim would always take a lighter and burn them or if he seemed to be satisfied with the pages he would take a ring with a set of keys and use one to open one of the drawers in his desk. I would then hear the click of a dial being turned and assumed he was putting the pages in some sort of safe.

How I wished I could get my hands on those keys and be able to rummage through the drawers and see if they contained any information on the fate of my family.

Yet, I was quickly beginning to learn that Officer Heim was a very meticulous man and was not one to easily misplace things and who often insisted everything be organized and in it's proper area. He'd made an irritable fuss when I placed one of his books in the wrong spot for example.

So as the weeks had dragged on I began to lose hope of ever obtaining the keys.

My stomach rumbled, bringing me out of my thoughts, as I continued to scrub the floor while Officer Heim lounged at his desk, his boot-covered feet propped up on the oak surface, as he engrossed himself in the pages of one of his many adventure novels.

A knock came at the door and I desperately hoped it was the man come to deliver my midday meal.

"Come" Officer Heim called.

Fortune was with me as the same man I had encountered my first day here placed my meal down and scurried brusquely from the room.

I hurried to my soup and began gobbling it down, saying my prayer of thanks to Lord Jesus silently as I ate, as I had been doing ever since Officer Heim had ordered me not to pray aloud. The Nazi's could keep the prayers from my lips but they could not keep them from my head.

When I was finished I quickly made a tiny cross over my heart so Officer Heim wouldn't notice and resumed my duties.

As I continued scrubbing the floor I suddenly felt a pair of eyes on me. I glanced up to see Officer Heim gazing at me. His eyes were still hard but I detected a slight hint of softness and perhaps curiosity in them. Or maybe I was possibly just becoming delusional from the starvation and exhaustion from my labor that my body had been enduring.

When our eyes met he scowled.

"What are you looking at?!" he snapped, and I had a feeling he was trying to cover up his embarrassment at being caught staring.

"I'm sorry sir, I just thought there was something you needed" I replied, civilly.

"I need nothing! Get back to work!" he ordered gruffly, his eyes quickly retreating back to the pages of his book.

Another knock then came at the door. Officer Heim sighed in irritation and marked his place before setting the book down on the desk.

"Come" he called. The door opened and the little boy, Peter, entered the room, carrying a small stuffed bear. I had never really conversed with him before, due to the fact that he was kept away from me at all times or kept under the watchful eye of one of the members of the Heim family whenever we happened to be in the same room.

I had observed that he seemed to be a rather quiet and sensitive child, and not really one to cause trouble very often.

"What is it Peter?" Officer Heim asked.

"Grandma wanted me to tell you that great grandma and grandpa are coming for a visit."

Officer Heim placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"I had forgotten. When are they getting here?"

"Grandma said at six o'clock."

"Very good." Officer Heim then picked up his book and began to resume his reading, yet Peter continued to stand there. Officer Heim noticed.

"Was there something else Peter?"

"Will you play with me after dinner tonight Onkel? (Uncle)"

"Peter I can't. Onkel has to see to his duties after dinner tonight you know that. Ask your grandma."

Peter's face fell and my heart ached for him and anger began to burn inside me at Officer Heim. His own nephew was practically begging for love, attention, and support and here Officer Heim was practically dismissing the poor child's needs! I couldn't simply allow him to do that to an innocent child!

I stopped scrubbing and got up off the floor and made my way to Peter. Before Officer Heim could question me as to what I was doing I knelt down to Peters level and gave him a warm smile.

"How about I play with you? I'd be happy to."

Peter's eyes widened in surprise and delight.

"Really?!"

"Of course."

"Excuse me, but I don't think this is any of your concern" Officer Heim said, snidely, though he was obviously keeping his voice calm for Peter's sake.

"Can you read with me?" Peter asked me, in his joy being completely oblivious to his Onkel's statement.

"I'd love to. I love reading myself" I said kindly.

"She will not be reading with you Peter" Officer Heim said, firmly, coming around the desk.

"Why not Onkel?" Peter whined.

"Because I said so, now please go to your room. I have to talk to her."

Peter folded his arms and firmly said one word: "No."

"Don't test me boy. Go to your room. Now" Officer Heim repeated with an edge in his voice, pointing out the door.

Peter sighed and hurried out of the room and Officer Heim closed the door behind him. He then whipped around to face me, a deep scowl on his face.

"How dare you talk to him?" he seethed, dangerously calm.

At that moment, blinding rage filled me to the point where I almost couldn't see straight. I wanted to snap and yell at him but, then I thought about what he could possibly do to the other prisoners as well as me and so with great skill I held my emotions in and replied calmly "I'm sorry sir. I just wanted to make him happy."

"No you just wanted to get close to him to eventually win my favor and get what you want and not care when you suddenly try to escape or leave and he gets hurt. That's probably why you saved me too! So you could get favors, well let me be very clear when I say that isn't going to happen!"

Win his favor by getting close to his nephew? He was...trying to protect him?

"Sir I don't know what kind of woman you think I am, but let me be perfectly clear. I did not save you for favors. I saved you for my Lord Jesus, not for favors and most certainly not for you. I offered to play with your nephew because I sincerely wished to make him happy, as he is suffering greatly from lack of attention and love in case you haven't noticed" I replied, assertively.

He still glared at me, but his eyes had softened slightly. I took that as a sign that I could continue.

"Think about it. Have I ever once tried to convince you that I should have more food or offered you my dignity in exchange for it? Have I ever even complained once when I was given my meager portions? No. I have been scrubbing this house top to bottom on a practically empty stomach for weeks without so much as a word of protest. And by the way I should wonder why you even brought me here to work in your home instead of simply letting me wallow in hard labor like so many of my people out there, if you really thought I was so crafty and deceiving."

He still glared at me but his gaze had softened a little further though not much, and there was something else in it as well. Was it embarrassment at my pointing out the obvious strangeness of his actions in bringing me here? Or was it perhaps even a twinge of...respect?

Finally he sneered "Don't talk to my nephew again" and turned on his heel, roughly shutting the door behind him.

I huffed to myself.

"What an incredibly strange and awful man" I muttered, before getting back to work.

###

Volkenrath came on time as usual to collect me at the end of the workday in the evening. As I hiked back to camp I mulled over the experience I'd had with Officer Heim, not being able to make head or tail of it.

I was brought out of my thoughts as I was roughly shoved forward by Volkenrath.

"Move faster!" she snapped.

I picked up my pace and focused on maintaining it all the way back to the women's camp. I collected my dinner, which was the same old piece of bread, tablespoon of cheese, and a bit of sausage and gobbled it up.

Afterwards came roll call and we were again dismissed to our barracks.

I went to go find Edith as I usually did in the evenings now. I found her perched upon her bunk, with her knees drawn up and her face upon them, sobbing.

I hurried over to her.

"Edith are you alright? What's wrong?" I inquired, concerned.

She slowly lifted her head and I gasped when I saw that she was sporting a nasty black eye.

I sat down next to her.

"Edith what happened? Who did this to you?"

"I wasn't moving fast enough during work so Volkenrath ordered me to be beaten" she cried.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Edith" I soothed her, placing a hand on her shoulder in empathy.

"I hate them all, every Nazi! I want to kill every last one of them for what they've done to us!" she hissed quietly in case anyone else might be listening. I looked down, not saying anything.

"Don't you?!" she demanded to know quietly.

"I do not approve of the Nazi's and I think they are incredibly cruel to us, but to kill them would mean becoming like them. That is something we must never do Edith. Our best revenge, if we indeed must take it, is to survive this, to be happy and to not let hatred turn our hearts bitter."

"What would you suggest we do now then hmmmm?! Thank them every time they starve us or beat us, take us from our homes and separate us from our families!" she snapped irritably, rising from her bunk.

"Edith please calm down and sit" I said calmly, placing my hand on her arm and guiding her back down to the bunk. Thankfully she chose to sit back down, but I could still feel her ire practically coming off her in waves.

"That is not what I said. I said we shouldn't become like them, but that in no way implies that what they're doing to us is right or acceptable. I'm thinking of the safety of you, and me and all the prisoners here, not of the Nazi's."

This explanation seemed to have tempered Edith somewhat, though she still gazed at me wearily.

"What would you suggest we feel for them then?"

"I don't know. Compassion? Pity?"

"For them?!"

"I'm not saying we can't be angry or hurt as well" I reassured her.

She gazed at me for several moments, and then finally seemed to come to some sort of decision as she nodded.

I then gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as I headed off towards my bunk.

Wow was this a hard chapter to write but by the grace of God I did it! My mind keeps fussing at me over whether or not I did a good job. PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think and whether or not I should continue. God Bless.