In the Shadow of the Storm

by Ella Zeiss

  Chapter 16

  September 1938, City of Armavir, North Caucasus

  ‘Here, my father said I should give this to you.’

  Harri felt a note being pushed into his hand and looked around in surprise. Vanya gave him a conspiratorial grin. Harri’s heart started to beat wildly in his chest and he had to force himself not to unfold the note and devour the contents at once, but casually put it in his pocket instead. ‘Thank you, Vanya. If you want, you can call round later. Tante Gerda’s baking another honey cake today.’

  The little boy’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oh yes,’ he called, skipping off happily.

  Harri’s eyes wandered across to his mother, who was busy talking to a colleague at the other end of the playground.

  He was unsure whether he should go and tell her about the letter, but eventually decided not to. If it really was a letter from his father as he hoped, they would read it together quietly when they got home. It would only unsettle her unnecessarily if he showed it to her now, and if anyone noticed, people might start asking unpleasant questions.

  But he was burning to read the letter nonetheless. Harri strolled over to the other side of the schoolyard and pulled out the envelope far enough to be able to see the handwriting. His heart leapt. It was definitely his father’s writing, even if the sender had a female name. He wasn’t going to be confused by that. The first short message they had received nearly three months ago had had this name on it too. Vater had only written two short sentences at the time saying that he was enjoying the round trip and could highly recommend the region. No addressee, no signature, and yet it had been enough to make his mother glow with happiness for the next two weeks. As far as Harri was concerned, it had been one of the best days of his life.

  Harri felt the envelope curiously as he pushed it right down into his pocket. It was a little thicker this time. When Mutter sent a letter to the given address she had probably begged Vater to write more the next time.

  GUGB officers had called on the family twice more after not being able to find his father but in the end had stopped bothering them. There were plenty of other people around to be charged and arrested. One less probably didn’t make all that much difference.

  When the bell rang, Harri reluctantly followed the other children back into the school building. Normally he loved lessons. He was usually especially keen on algebra, which was next, but today he found it difficult to concentrate or listen to what the teacher was saying. The letter in his pocket seemed to grow heavier with every second that passed. The weight of it almost branded Harri’s skin, he was so aware of the treasure he was carrying.

  As soon as the last lesson ended, he ran into the staffroom. Emma, who had finished an hour earlier, was busy doing her homework at a desk in the corner but there was no sign of Mutter yet. Impatiently Harri ran to his sister.

  ‘Pack up your things,’ he whispered to her.

  ‘But I haven’t finished and Mutter isn’t here yet either.’

  ‘Pack them up!’ he said, laughing in his excitement, and then dropped his voice even further even though there were just the two of them in the room. ‘I’ve got a letter.’ He spoke so softly that he wasn’t sure if she could actually understand what he was saying.

  Emma gasped and clutched his arm. She’d understood all right. ‘Where is it?’ she asked, looking him all over.

  Harri laughed again. Did she think he’d be wearing it round his neck or something for everyone to see? ‘I’ll show you when we get home.’

  Emma slammed her book shut and started packing her pencils away as fast as she could. At that moment Mutter entered the staffroom with another teacher.

  ‘Oh, Harri, you’re here already! You can go on home together if you like. I’ve got some work to finish here.’

  ‘Can’t you do that at home?’ he asked, feeling disappointed. The thought of having to wait even longer to hear what the letter said was pure torture. Emma pulled a face.

  ‘No, I cannot!’ Mutter said sternly. ‘Whatever is the matter with you?’

  Harri and his sister exchanged an uncertain look.

  ‘I don’t feel well,’ Emma said suddenly, holding her tummy.

  Harri was impressed at his sister’s quick thinking.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Mutter asked, sounding very sceptical indeed, but she came over and put her hand on her daughter’s forehead to check.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Emma croaked. ‘I just don’t feel very well.’

  ‘Can you take her home, please, Harri? I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  ‘Oh dear!’ Harri said, sounding unhappy. ‘It would be so much better if you could come with us, Mutter. Emma doesn’t seem very well at all, if you ask me.’

  ‘You really think so?’

  ‘Go home, Hilde,’ the other teacher said. ‘We can talk about the lesson plan tomorrow.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Mutter said, smiling at her colleague. ‘Come on then, you two,’ she said, turning to the children again.

  Harri put an arm round his sister and hung her schoolbag over his other shoulder to keep up the charade.

  ‘Get well soon,’ the teacher called after them.

  ‘Thank you,’ Emma croaked.

  ‘Do you mind telling me what this is all about?’ Mutter asked, half cross and half bemused, as soon as they had left the school building behind them.

  ‘Vanya brought me a letter today. I thought you would like to read it as soon as possible.’ Harri dropped his bombshell with a grin and the effect was startling.

  Mutter stopped in her stride and stared at him in disbelief. Her face broke into a beautiful smile. ‘Are you sure it’s from him?’

  ‘Yes. His handwriting is on the envelope, and why would Vanya give me a letter otherwise? Do you want it now?’ He started digging in his trouser pocket.

  ‘Yes, but not here,’ Mutter said. ‘Let’s get home as fast as we can.’

  Although he had spent the last hours on tenterhooks waiting to read this letter, when the time came, he was even more nervous. What if it didn’t contain good news? Or what if it wasn’t from his father after all?

  His mother was obviously having the same doubts. Her fingers trembled as she took the envelope from him and opened it.

  ‘What does it say?’ Emma asked impatiently.

  Mutter smiled and Harri saw tears shining in her eyes. ‘My darlings,’ she started to read aloud. ‘I am well.’

  All three of them sighed in relief. Emma leaned on Harri’s shoulder and he put an arm round her. ‘What’s the date on it?’ he asked quietly.

  ‘The eighteenth of August.’

  He nodded. The post had taken less than four weeks.

  ‘Carry on reading,’ Emma pleaded, and so Mutter did.

  ‘My darlings,’ she repeated slowly, as if she wanted to prolong every word and savour it all the more.

  I am well, apart from the fact that I miss you all so much. Fate has been kind to me. I’ve found work as the manager of a warehouse in a sovkhoz and also have a roof over my head. It’s a quiet, leisurely life and I’m sure you would like it too.

  I have found a small house with a garden and a shed and there is enough room for a family. It is currently empty and not too far from where I work, where they’re always on the lookout for good staff.

  Oh, my darlings, if you could only see it, you would be as delighted as I am.

  I am longing to hear news from you and hope that our paths will cross again soon.

  Mutter stopped reading and wiped away a couple of tears. ‘He’s safe and wants us to join him,’ she whispered, sounding completely overwhelmed.

  ‘But that’s not what he says,’ Emma said sceptically.

  Mutter stroked her hair kindly. ‘Sometimes you have to read between the lines, darling,’ she said. ‘He didn’t dare be more precise in case the letter fell into the wrong hands. That’s why it’s not signed and he hasn’t mentioned any names.’

  ‘So what are we going to do?’ Harri asked quietly.
‘Do we just leave everything and go and join him?’ He was glad to hear that his father was well and very much wanted to see him again, but he was happy here, all his friends were here, his cousins . . . This was his home.

  Mutter looked at him earnestly. ‘Yes, we will go,’ she said at last. ‘Onkel Otto is dead and your father may have only just escaped a similar fate. I don’t think we’re going to be safe here for very much longer.’

  ‘And who says it won’t be the same somewhere else?’

  ‘No one,’ she said sadly. ‘But your father wouldn’t ask us to come, and talk about a quiet leisurely life, if things were as difficult as they are here.’

  ‘But I don’t want to leave,’ Emma said in a small voice.

  ‘I do understand, darling, but we’re not safe here. And we are a family after all – we belong together. Would you really want to stay here instead of being with Vater again?’

  ‘No,’ Emma said, and lowered her head despondently.

  ‘You see. Now stop looking so glum, you two. Vater is getting everything ready for our arrival. We should be celebrating!’ She beamed at them both as if a terrible weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

  Harri felt ashamed for having been so selfish. She was right. The family was the most important thing. He could make new friends, but he only had one father. ‘When are we going to leave?’ he asked, curious now.

  Creases appeared on Mutter’s brow. ‘Not so soon, I’m afraid. First of all, I must write to Vater. I doubt we can leave before the winter. It would be easiest to leave in the holidays, so we have time to pack everything in peace and won’t be missed immediately. If anyone asks, Tante Gerda can say we’re away on holiday, and when we don’t return, no one can blame her – if anyone even asks. And I’m sure you know’ – she fixed her eyes on the children – ‘that you mustn’t say a single word about this to anyone, isn’t that so?’

  ‘Yes, Mutter,’ they chorused.

  ‘Good,’ she said with a smile.

  The front door opened and voices could be heard echoing through the house. Tante Gerda had come home from the playing fields with the boys, who had been training for a match.

  Mutter stood up. ‘Very well then. I had better tell Tante Gerda.’

  Harri caught his breath. ‘And what about her?’

  ‘She can join us later if she likes.’

  September 1938, Settlement Sor-El, Soviet Republic Komi

  ‘Where are they hiding?’ Anna stamped crossly into the house. She had searched the garden and the barn and even checked the garden next door, but found no trace of her children and it was beginning to get dark.

  ‘They must be running around outside somewhere,’ Wilhelm said peaceably without looking up from the book he was reading. ‘You have to give them some space.’

  Anna sniffed. He was probably right, but at the moment she could only relax if all her loved ones were gathered safely around her.

  The day after he was found out, Eugen had threatened there would be consequences for Wilhelm. His words still rang in her ears.

  Here at last was a thief and a traitor who deserved to feel the full brunt of the law and what happened? He didn’t get off scot-free, but his connections with the GUGB certainly saved him from the worst. Boris Alexeyevich had removed him from his post, unwilling to tolerate thieves at the sawmill, but he had quickly been given a new position as a controller in a tree-felling business. Of course it wasn’t as comfortable or well-paid a position as the one he had had to give up, and he blamed Wilhelm. Although his involvement had never been made public, Eugen wasn’t stupid and he could work out that Wilhelm must have played a part.

  In the ensuing weeks, Anna had jumped every time someone knocked at their door. It took quite a while for her usually optimistic nature to bounce back again.

  Wilhelm was sure Eugen had lost his credibility, at least as far as denouncing him was concerned. He said that not even the GUGB would fall for the same lie twice, but he couldn’t calm Anna down. Anonymous tip-offs weren’t the only way people could do them harm. Two days after the event, three boys including Eugen’s son had ambushed Erich and left him with more than just a bruise or two. He was lucky that a man who happened to be passing had chased them off. Unfortunately he didn’t see the boys’ faces so they had no proof except for Erich’s word. As no one was badly hurt, they hadn’t been able to take any action.

  All Anna heard again and again was boys will be boys whenever she mentioned the incident to her colleagues. She made Wilhelm show Erich a few self-defence moves just in case. Her husband had done some boxing when he was young, but her son had never shown an interest in that kind of thing. She had never thought it would be necessary to teach him how to fight.

  Since then things had calmed down again. Life carried on. The children went to school and she and Wilhelm worked, but tonight just went to show how nervous she still felt. No sooner were her children out of her sight than she was fraught with anxiety.

  Suddenly the door was flung open and Yvo ran in laughing, closely followed by her brother. They stopped in their tracks when they saw their mother standing stock-still in the middle of the room.

  ‘What’s wrong, Mama?’ Yvo asked while Erich tried to hide something behind his back.

  ‘I was about to ask you the same thing,’ Anna said crossly. ‘Where were you? I was worried about you.’

  ‘We . . . er . . .’ Yvo exchanged a quick glance with her brother. ‘We just went out for a walk.’

  ‘That’s all,’ he agreed a little too quickly, and tried to sidle past her without being noticed.

  ‘What are you trying to hide?’

  ‘Who? Me? Nothing!’ Yvo protested, putting on her most innocent expression and holding out her empty hands for Anna to see. ‘Why don’t I make some tea while Erich goes and fetches something he’s forgotten outside?’

  ‘And what might that be?’ The two of them were behaving in the most peculiar way, and there was a very unpleasant odour in the air. It stank of . . . dung! ‘What is that awful smell?’

  Yvo jumped as if she had only just noticed. She looked at her brother, who shrugged his shoulders, looking as confused as she did.

  ‘Give it here!’ Anna marched past her daughter and held out her hand to Erich commandingly.

  He hesitated for a moment, before his shoulders drooped and he gave in, resignedly handing her a basket.

  Anna looked with curiosity to see what was inside. It was full to the brim with thumb-sized reddish Siberian apricots, along with something that smelled remarkably like sheep droppings.

  ‘Ugh!’ Yvo squealed suddenly as she peered over her shoulder. The girl started squirming and shaking her fingers in disgust.

  Anna could hardly hide her amusement. ‘I do hope you didn’t eat any,’ she said drily.

  Yvo ran over to the washbasin and started scrubbing her hands. Erich followed her example.

  ‘Do you mind telling me what this is all about?’ Anna asked after Yvo had washed her hands for the third time.

  ‘I went home a slightly different way than usual and saw this tree. It was full of apricots that hadn’t been picked. They were even falling on the ground.’

  ‘And because we know how much you love apricot jam and because you’ve been so sad recently, we thought we’d cheer you up,’ Yvo said sheepishly.

  ‘So we went back to pick the fruit,’ Erich said.

  ‘And you waited until it started to get dark because you saw the fence behind which the tree was standing, am I right?’ Anna asked sternly. ‘If I’m not very much mistaken, that tree belongs to Widow Ivanov. She’s far too old to climb trees.’

  ‘We thought she didn’t want her apricots,’ Yvo mumbled, ‘and they looked so tasty, and the branches were hanging down over the fence, and we could climb the tree from the road.’

  ‘I see. And how do you explain the sheep droppings?’

  ‘The bucket tipped over while we were climbing back down,’ Erich said. His mouth twitched. ‘Someone must
have driven his sheep past the tree. I suppose we couldn’t tell the difference between apricots and dung in the dark.’

  Anna nodded and tried to decide what she was going to do with them.

  ‘We just wanted to do something nice for you,’ Yvo said miserably.

  ‘It was a nice thought, but you can’t go climbing around in other people’s trees without asking. I want you to apologise to the widow tomorrow and give her back the apricots you took. Yvo, you can help her preserve all the fruit, and Erich, you can pick the rest of the fruit on the tree for her. Understand?’

  ‘Yes, Mama.’

  ‘Now take that bucket outside. It’s too dark now, but first thing tomorrow I want you to sort out the droppings and wash the fruit properly before you go to school.’

  ‘Yes.’ The children stared at her expectantly, waiting to see if there would be any further punishment.

  Anna let them off with a smile. ‘A letter came from Rita today,’ she said, changing the subject.

  ‘Really?’ Erich’s eyes shone in delight. ‘What does she say?’ He blushed. Obviously the separation had not so far changed his feelings in any way.

  ‘She’s very well. Her aunt and everyone else are very kind but she still misses us all very much.’

  ‘Did she . . . did she write anything about me?’ Erich asked in agitation.

  ‘Not exactly,’ Anna said, ‘but there is a separate letter for you,’ she added swiftly when he hung his head.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, here it is.’ She smiled as she watched him hide in a corner to read the precious message.

  Yvo rolled her eyes, grinning, but Anna signalled her to leave him alone. Things weren’t easy for him.

  Yvo took her book and drew up a chair next to her brother so she could read by the light of the candle.

  Anna went over to Wilhelm, who was turning the pages of the newspaper. He put the paper aside and Anna perched on his knee. She rested her head against his and enjoyed the moment of peace and togetherness.

  ‘What are you worrying about?’ Wilhelm asked quietly.

  Anna sighed. He knew her too well. ‘Maria is going back to the Crimea.’