Chapter 4 No Entry

There was only one thing to do now, and that was to talk to my father. Father did not leave Berlin with them in the car that morning.Because, he left several days earlier, that day, when Bruno came home, he found that Maria was sorting his things, even including his personal items hidden in the back of the closet.The next few days, mother, Gretel, Maria, the cook, the housekeeper and Bruno spent all their time packing and loading all the belongings into the truck that was bound for Get Out Together's new home . In the early morning of the last day, when the house was empty, the warmth and warmth of the old home no longer existed. When they put the last piece of household items into the box, a car parked at the door A bus with a red and black flag in front waited to take them away.

Mother, Maria and Bruno were the last to leave the house.Bruno was sure that his mother hadn't noticed the maid's presence while they stood there.Before leaving, they took a last look around the hall where they had spent countless good times together. Here, a Christmas tree was placed in December, and there were storage boxes for wet umbrellas in winter. There was also a special place for For Bruno to put his dirty shoes - although he never did.At this time, my mother shook her head and said a few strange words. "We shouldn't have a head of state over for dinner," she said. "Some people and their decisions finally worked out."

As she spoke, she turned away, and Bruno could see tears in his mother's eyes.But when she saw Maria standing not far away watching her, she was startled. "Maria," she said, still in shock, "I thought you were in the car." "I just got out of the car, ma'am," said Maria. "I didn't mean..." Mother began to explain, shaking her head, then continued, "I didn't mean to say..." "I just got out of the car, ma'am," repeated Maria, who probably didn't know the rules about not interrupting while her mother was talking, and walked quickly through the door and into the car.

Mother frowned, then shrugged her shoulders, as if there was nothing more to care about. "Come here, Bruno," she said as she took Bruno's hand and closed the door, "let's pray that we can return home when it's all over." The bus with the flag in front pulled them to the railway station, which had a wide platform with a railway on each side, and a train on each railway waiting to pick up passengers.There were a lot of soldiers patrolling that side of the platform, and there was a long row of huts for the signalmen between the two tracks, so Bruno just took a quick glance at the waiting crowd on the other side, and boarded a comfortable carriage with his family. .There are very few people in the carriage, and there are still many empty seats. With the windows down, fresh air flows in the carriage.If the two trains were going in different directions, Bruno thought, it would be no surprise.But it is not.They all face east.A thought once crossed Bruno's mind to run across the platform and tell the people waiting there that there were still plenty of vacancies in his car.But he gave it up because he knew that Gretel would be hysterical even if her mother wasn't angry, and that would make matters worse.

Bruno hasn't seen his father since arriving at Get Out Together and their new home.He thought his father was in his bedroom, but from the door came an unfriendly young soldier, staring straight at Bruno, stern but without warmth.He didn't hear his father's booming voice, or the rumble of his father's boots on the floor below.However, people do come and go.Just as Bruno was struggling with what to do, he heard a commotion downstairs.So he went to the stairwell and looked down. He saw the door of his father's office downstairs was open, and there were five people standing at the door, smiling and shaking hands with each other.Father stood in the middle of them, looking handsome and handsome in his military uniform.His thick hair was freshly dyed and carefully combed, and although Bruno watched him from a distance, he could feel a sense of reverence and awe for his father.He didn't like the way the others looked. They were certainly not as handsome as his father, and their uniforms weren't broad enough, their voices weren't loud enough, and their boots weren't as polished.They all tucked their hats under their arms and seemed to be competing to express themselves to their father.Bruno could only understand a few fragments of the conversation that floated up.

"...he made a mistake as soon as he got here. So the Führer had no choice but to..." said one. "...discipline!" said another, "and efficiency. We've been stagnant since 1942, and there's no..." "...Obvious thing, the data speaks for itself. Clearly, Commander,..." said a third. "...if we built another one," said the last, "imagine how exciting it would be... imagine that we could...!" Father waved his hand in the air, and the four fell silent immediately.Father is like the conductor of the quartet. "Gentlemen," he said.Bruno could hear every word now, because, like his father, no one could make his voice heard clearly in any part of the room. "I really appreciate your advice and encouragement. But let the past go. We have a fresh start, but let's start tomorrow. Now, I'm going to help my family settle here, otherwise I'm going to be in trouble like the guys out there, you understand?"

These people all laughed and shook hands with their father one by one to say goodbye.When they left, the four of them lined up like toy soldiers, waving their arms in one direction in unison, just like their father taught Bruno to salute, palms flattened, pushed from their chests into the air ahead, and two high-pitched yells. words.Bruno was taught that whenever he heard someone say these two words to him, he must also say these two words.Then they left, and Dad turned back to his office, his "no entry, no exceptions" office. Bruno walked slowly downstairs, hesitating for a moment at the door.He was a little sad because he had stood there for almost an hour and his father didn't come over to say hello to him.But he also knew that his father was busy most of the time and shouldn't be disturbed by trivial matters such as saying hello to Bruno.The soldiers were gone, though, and Bruno thought it would be all right to knock on the door now.

In Berlin, Bruno came into his father's office only a handful of times, usually because he was mischievous and needed a tough lecture.However, the rules around his father's office were among the strictest he'd ever learned, and he wouldn't be fooled enough to think that here, on "hanging out together," the rules didn't apply.But since he and his father hadn't seen each other for days, he figured no one would be to blame if he knocked on the door now. So, he knocked on the door cautiously.Twice, gently. Maybe his father didn't hear, or maybe Bruno didn't knock hard enough for no one to answer, so Bruno knocked again, louder this time, when he heard his father's loud voice from the room, "Come in!"

Bruno turned the doorknob, walked into the room, and performed the habitual movements again, his eyes widened, his mouth opened into an "O" shape, and he unconsciously felt his arms stretched out from his side again.The rest of the house might be a little dark and there's not much to explore, but this room is an exception.The ceiling was so high that Bruno felt like he was sinking in the carpet under his feet.Bruno could barely see the walls because they were all blocked by mahogany bookshelves filled with books, just like the study in his home in Berlin.The wall opposite him was framed with huge windows, from which one could look beyond the garden, so it was a good place to sit.My father sat behind the huge oak desk in the middle, and when Bruno walked in, his father looked away from the papers in his hands, looked at Bruno, and laughed.

"Bruno," he said as he came around from behind the desk and shook the child's hand firmly, because fathers are not the ones who hug everyone like mothers or grandmothers, they give too much and offer kisses. "My boy," he added after a moment. "Hello, Father." Bruno greeted softly, slightly dazed by the splendor of the room. "Bruno, I was going to see you in a few minutes, I swear," said the father. "But I have a meeting and a letter to write. You got here safe and sound, didn't you?" "Yes, Father," Bruno said. "You helped your mother and sister clean up the old house in Berlin, didn't you?"

"Yes, Father," Bruno said. "Then I'm proud of you," said his father, praising him. "Sit down, son." He pointed to a wide armchair opposite the desk, and Bruno climbed into it, his feet barely touching the ground.Father, on the other hand, turned back to his seat behind his desk and looked at Bruno.They looked at each other for a while, but said nothing.Finally, the father broke the silence. "So," he asked, "what do you think?" "What am I thinking?" Bruno asked. "What am I thinking?" "Missing your new home. Do you like it?" "No." Bruno replied quickly, because he was trying to be an honest person, and he knew that if he hesitated, he might not have the courage to answer what he really thought. "I think we should go home," he added bravely. The smile on Father's face faded a bit, he looked down at the letter in his hand, and looked up again after a while, as if he was about to seriously consider how to answer this question. "Well, this is our home, Bruno," my father said peacefully at last, "and going out together is our new home." "But when are we going back to Berlin?" Bruno's heart sank when he heard his father say this. "It's much better there." "Okay, okay," my father didn't want to hear Bruno go on, "let's stop thinking about it," he said, "home is not a house, it's not a street, it's not a city, it's not something superficial like bricks and lime. Home is where there is family, don't you think?" "Yes, but-" "Your family is here, Bruno, so ①, going out together is our home." Bruno didn't know what an "ergo" was, but he didn't need to either, because he'd already thought of a clever answer. "However, Zu My father and grandmother are in Berlin," he said, "and they are our family too.So, this is not our home. " Father thought for a while, then nodded.It was a long time before he answered, "Yes, Bruno, they are our family. But you, me, mother and Gretel are the most important people in our family. Now we live four Here, live together and get out. Now, don't slouch!" (Because, Bruno looked so unhappy.) "You haven't given it a chance. You might actually like it." "I don't like it here." Bruno insisted. "Bruno..." Father said he was tired. "Carl isn't here, Daniel isn't here, Martin isn't here, and there are no other houses around, no greengrocers, no streets, no sidewalk cafes, no one to jostle you around on a Saturday afternoon." "Sometimes, Bruno, there are things in life we ​​have to do and we have no choice," said the father.Bruno could hear his father getting tired of the conversation. "I'm afraid that's the case this time. It's my job, a very important job. It's important for our country, it's important for the head of state. You'll understand later." "I want to go home," Bruno said.He could feel the tears welling in his eyes, and how much he wanted his father to realize how bad a place like Hanging Together was, and that he should agree to get out of here right now. "You have to understand that you are at home now," the father's answer was just the opposite, much to Bruno's disappointment. "This will be your home for the foreseeable future." Bruno closed his eyes.In his life experience, he rarely insisted on his own ideas like today, and never wanted to change his father's ideas like today.But Bruno needed to think hard about the idea of ​​staying here, in this ghost place where no one was playing.After a while Bruno opened his eyes and his father came from behind the desk and stopped beside his armchair.Bruno saw him open a silver box, pull out a cigarette, tap it on the table a few times, and light it. "I remember when I was a kid," said the father, "of course there were things I didn't want to do, but if my father told me that what I was doing would be good for everyone, I would do it , I will do my best to do my best." "What kind of thing?" Bruno asked. "Oh, I don't know," said the father, shrugging his shoulders, "it's either this or that. When I was a kid, I didn't know what was best. Sometimes, for example, I didn't want to stay at home and write homework; thinking of going out on the street and playing with friends, just like you. Looking back now, I feel how stupid I was." "So you can know how I feel," Bruno said hopefully. "Yes, but I also know that my father, your grandfather, knew what was best for me, so I was happy when I accepted his request. Why did I succeed? Because I learned when to argue and when to shut up and obey orders. You understand, Bruno, don't you?" Bruno looked around, and finally his eyes fell on a window in the corner of the room.Through this window, one can see the disgusting scene in the distance. "Did you make a mistake?" Bruno asked after a while. "Annoyed the Führer?" "Me?" said the father, looking at him in surprise, "what does this mean?" "Have you ever made a mistake at work? I know that everyone says you are an important person, and that the Führer always assigns important tasks to you." task. But if you had done nothing wrong, he would not have punished you like this, and sent you to such a place." His father laughed, which upset Bruno even more; nothing annoys him more than a grown-up laughing at his ignorance, especially when he's looking for answers. "You don't understand the importance of such a position," said the father. "Well, if we all left our beautiful home and all our friends to come to such a horrible place, I think maybe you didn't do a good job. I think you must have done something wrong, and you should go and apologize to the Führer. It's over. If you're sincere, he may forgive you." Bruno hardly thought about these words as he said them; he heard them floating in the air, not like what he was supposed to say to his father, but they had been said, he had said them, like water poured out I can't get it back either.Bruno swallowed nervously, fell silent for a while, and looked up at his father, who was looking at him with a livid face.Bruno licked his lips and looked away, he thought it best not to look into his father's eyes. After a few minutes of silence and awkwardness, my father slowly got up from the chair beside him, walked back to the desk, and put the cigarette in the ashtray. "I guess if you're brave," there seemed to be some sort of struggle going on in the head.After a while, he said calmly, "Instead of being rude, then it's not necessarily a bad thing." "I do not want……" "But you should be quiet now." His father interrupted Bruno, raising his voice, because all the rules of the house did not bind him in any way. "I'm very concerned about how you feel here, Bruno, because I know this change will be hard for you to adjust to. And I've heard how you feel, although your youth and inexperience force you to make a faux pas rhetoric. But you also saw that I didn't have any reaction to it. It's time for you to accept the reality..." "I don't want to take this!" Bruno yelled, then blinked in surprise because he didn't know why he was yelling like that. (It was an utterly shocking move for him.) He tensed up, readying himself to run away if necessary.But today, nothing seemed to make Dad angry--and, to be honest, Dad wasn't very angry; Dad became calm and strange, and used his way of ending conversations--instead of yelling at Bruno, filling the room Chasing him - Father simply shakes his head to signify that their argument is over. "Go back to your room, Bruno." Father spoke in such a calm tone that Bruno knew he meant it.So he stood up, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes.He headed for the door, but before it opened he turned around, asking one last question. "Father?" he asked. "Bruno, I don't want to—" Father grew impatient. "Not about that," Bruno said quickly, "I'm going to ask another question." Father sighed, but ended the conversation and argument by saying it was okay to ask. Bruno thought about his question again, this time trying to find the right way to express it without being reckless and uncooperative. "Who are those people outside?" Finally he uttered his question.