Chapter 60 Section sixtieth

That day, when we hid under the barracks, I felt my whole body go stiff and numb. Even though Henrik had warned me again and again, even though I had witnessed so many tragedies, Maxim's words still rang like thunder in my head, and I couldn't get rid of them.I could hardly control my emotions, and I couldn't contain the trembling of my body, but for the sake of Yiluo and Nicholas curled up beside me, I knew that I had to be calm. My intellect still can't convince myself of what I've seen and heard these days. I could still hear the chirping of birds, and through the gray haze, I could vaguely see a piece of blue sky in the distance. I began to doubt everything I remembered.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that Maxim must have been mistaken. His talk about a shower that emitted poisonous gas instead of water was so absurd that no one could believe it.Catherine must have been ill with typhus, from which she did not survive, and her husband, in his weakened state, fancied that the Nazis could have committed such monstrous crimes. As soon as it was said that they would hide here all day, the children became anxious, and Nicholas' concentration was weakened by exhaustion and hunger. I managed to stop him from crying loudly.Even Yiluo became restless. I know that if this continues, one of the two children will be unable to hide.

Keeping quiet is perhaps the greatest difficulty we face.Before, I could joke or sing to ease our pain, but now, with Nazi officers' boots coming and going just meters away, even a whisper is dangerous. However, Ilo may have felt my fear, and Nicholas may have been too weak. We passed the day in silence until dusk fell, and I began to cheer myself up for the night. adventure. Under the veil of darkness, the workers finished their day's work and returned to the barracks.On the other side of the road, the mobile dining car was pushed out again, the smell of food came to the face, but the body could only continue to starve.

But Maxim did not forget us. When people returned to their residences one after another, a group of people gathered at the door and there was an altercation.I was terrified at first, fearing they would attract unwanted attention because they were so close to our hiding place.But at this moment, a hand appeared under the house and pushed a jar of water and a piece of bread towards us. Only then did I know that Maxim had deliberately created this dispute in order to deceive others.I immediately crawled over and gratefully accepted the precious gift. At the same time, I heard a prisoner walk his head into the middle of the quarreling crowd and flick the whip in his hand, and the crowd immediately restored order.A few seconds later I heard the door of the barracks slam shut, leaving the three of us alone outside.

I divided the bread between Nikolai and Ilo, but drank a few sips of water myself, for fear that thirst would overwhelm me. Ilo began to object to my portion, but finally succumbed to hunger and ate his share of bread in a few mouthfuls. Even though the meal was not very nutritious, it gave the children a lot of spiritual support, relieved their hunger, and enabled them to have a good rest.Soon, both children were asleep, but I knew I couldn't sleep, and if we missed the night, we would have to stay here for another day. The night came quickly, but we waited for several hours, and it was not until the early morning that the camp finally quieted down. Only the sentries were still awake, but they were all focused on their own affairs and forgot their duties. the back of the head.

I woke up the children and started to walk quietly through the camp again, this time in the general direction Maxim had indicated. We spent four nights traversing Auschwitz, which is the true size of the camp, a vast area of ​​factories that produce everything from clothing to military equipment. Maxim's words made Henrik's original concerns more realistic. However, in front of a young mind who could not imagine the truth at all, the terrible crime of Auschwitz had just revealed the tip of the iceberg. But on the way to the women's camp, on our fourth day hiding under the barracks, all lingering doubts, all self-delusions in the hope that the facts would be exaggerated or the information misrepresented would crumble in the face of stark reality.