“Operation Pied Piper” - September 1, 1939

 

          The smell of dense and noxious smoke filled the blank sky. Not the pleasant and nostalgic smoke you smell at a campfire. This was the smoke of war and vengeance that took over my hometown. I crouched next to my bucket of water, hopelessly wiping the ash mark off my torn shoulder.

“Richie! Oh you little boy, come over here!” cried Mother in her pleasing voice. I scrambled up from the curb and ran towards her in delight. It had been two worrying days since I last saw her. She scooped me up with her scraped up and worn out hands, and I hugged her with all the energy that I had left.

Once I opened my eyes and saw her tear-filled cheeks, I knew something was wrong. She hugged me for a bit longer and put me down while still holding my hand. We walked up an almost deserted street, with a couple carpenters still repairing a house that suffered a bomb raid last night. The decimated house had huge cracks ripping down the side. A few home guards were patrolling the streets with young and fearful faces.

“Where are we headed, Mother?” I asked.

“You will see, darling,” answered Mother in a rather sad and tired tone. In the distance, I could see the dark, gloomy clouds and the sun peaking out from the side. Sometimes I looked at the sun glancing down at me from behind the clouds and I saw hope, hope that lightened my skin and dangled in my milky eyes.

After strolling through emptiness for a few minutes, we saw a large amount of bustling people crowded around the ticket area at the train station. A lot of them were hugging their children and sobbing uncontrollably, and I couldn’t understand why. A train was waiting on the far side of the station, already with five to six small and plump heads peeking out of the packed windows like goats gaping out from their pen, desperate for food. We headed towards the railway, tears dropping down from Mother’s cheeks. As we approached a side entrance, we came to a stop.

“Mother, are we going on the train?” I asked excitedly.

“No, Richie. You must go alone; I have to stay,” she uttered. The tone of her voice had haunted her, and she became silent. I knew she was trying to hide her sadness and worry. We hugged until our arms got numb, while tears filled my eyes. I was one of the last people still on the sidewalk, but I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to hug her forever until the last days of humanity.

Soon, she let go. I hurtfully walked onto the train and huddled onto the closest window seat along with a couple other kids. As the train started to move, I scooted over from the others and peaked through the window for one last time, and I waved at her, knowing it might as well be the last time I saw her.

As the train gained speed, I gazed out into the empty half of the city. Piles of debris and wood scattered across the deserted streets. Clouds covered the gaping sun, making the sky colorless. It was as if a wave of dread and emptiness had burned through a once blossoming city.

Just as I was examining an old closed down book store, a loud roar rippled through the train, followed by a colossal explosion. The train skidded to a stop, lurching me forward and slamming me into the seat in front of me. I yelped in pain, blood leaking down the front of my head. As I regained my balance, I heard the crying and screaming of other helpless and scared children. Instantly, two more explosions set off on a train car nearby. A savage vibration spread through the bottom of the train, bursting a fire at the exit.

“Mother, help!” I looked to both sides of my seat to find nothing but some debris. I was alone. I had no one to help me but my terrified self. Just as I started crying uncontrollably, a lady with a white and red badge that read WVS Civil Defense scooped me up along with a couple other children, and she ran for the exit. The left frame of the door was already in flames, but there was still a slight opening on the right side, just enough to let someone slide through. I closed my eyes in fear as she dove through the door and tumbled onto the rocky track with us on her stomach.

I opened my eyes to see the lady wincing in pain as the sharp rocks sliced her back and her legs. I looked to the distant golden wheat fields to see Mother running from a distance, weeping her eyes out with her arms spread open. When she got to where I was, she gave me a delightful hug, and I knew everything was going to be okay. I gazed up at the horizon and saw a Luftwaffe bomber jet speeding into the distance. Up above, a giant sun was on full blast towards my skin, with the clouds out of sight.

 

 

 

 

-Young X.