Live For Tomorrow [Heidi, Claude]

[Otto Wolff]

Country: Berlin, Germany
Current Time: 7:30
Weather Conditions: The morning air is chilly, but the rising sun is warming up the air gradually. There is no wind and no clouds are visible on the sky.

Otto woke up with a flinch, opening his eyes quickly to make sure that the images he had just seen in his dream would disappear. He didn't want to accidentally fall asleep again and return to the dream he had just seen, so he tried to wake up as effectively as possible. He propped himself into a sitting position on the bed and glanced at the clock. It seemed as if he had barely slept for two hours and he certainly felt like it, too.

His dream had been filled with images of endless seas of naked bodies being carted into ovens, the sight accompanied by the smell of the burning flesh he could sense so vividly it seemed almost real. He could still hear the sounds of children crying and the constant, horrified screams of people... No, not people. Jews. They were only Jews, Otto thought with a sigh as he got up from bed and gathered up his clothes from a chair nearby.

It was his day off today and it was still early, but since he didn't really want to fall asleep again he might just as well go and fix some breakfast. Putting on a neat pair of dark trousers, matching socks and a white dress shirt, he snapped a pair of black suspenders up on his shoulders and headed into the bathroom for a quick check to make sure that he looked presentable. He only managed to notice how much older he seemed to look today and Otto sighed at the image in the mirror with frustration. It was because of this job, that's what caused all of this. And he had not slept well, of course he looked tired. If he only would have a chance to take time off for a week or two, that would surely chip at least five years off from his appearance.

With disgust, Otto continued his way into the kitchen to see what kind of breakfast he could come up with. It was still very quiet, the city of Berlin was in the process of waking up. Luger seemed sleepy and the dog followed Otto lazily into the kitchen, slumping down on the polished wooden floor with a great big yawn.

Otto prepared some coffee (real coffee, not the awful Ersatz some people were forced to drink these days) and contemplated on what to have for breakfast. He wasn't any good at cooking, so he took the easy way out and used whatever was still left of the bread, cheese and meat from yesterday. He had not really eaten well for some time either and it made Otto wish that his wife would return soon. She at least knew how to cook and then Otto didn't have to worry about such menial things as food. Of course Otto would have the housemaid over later and she would be preparing Otto's meals for him. Otto made a mental note to ask her if she was ready to look after Heidi during the days or if she knew someone who could. It would be only for a few days at most, of course, because Otto was sure that by then Heidi would already have a better place to stay at.

Otto placed the rather simple breakfast on the table, with a clean plate and glass of milk for his guest. When he was relatively happy with what he had come up with, he headed to the door of the guest room and knocked on it carefully a few times. "Heidi, wenn Sie wach sind, gibt es ein Frühstück in der Küche," his voice was easily heard through the door, but he didn't want to startle the girl and he returned back in the kitchen, leaving Heidi to make up her mind in peace.

The first lazy rays of sun had reached the kitchen window and were now creeping up the floor as the sun slowly climbed higher over Berlin. The thought of the sun rising made Otto glance at the clock. Indeed, the Jew would be arriving here this morning to work on the courtyard.

Otto had instructed the guards that they should not harm Claude, he didn't want them getting all unruly on the Jew. If he was injured, Otto would have to go and search for a new worker and he didn't really want to do that after all the trouble he had just gone through for this one. The guards had been also told to bring Claude straight into the courtyard where he would work for the next eight hours before being escorted back to his cell. Otto figured that he still had good time to finish his breakfast before his new worker arrived.

The Kriminalkommissar turned on the radio sitting on the windowsill and took a seat at the table. Picking up a newspaper from the previous day, he proceeded to stir his coffee, his eyes skipping from one headline to another. Luger had settled lying down faithfully next to his feet and the dog kept his eyes half-closed, listening to the monotone voice of the radio's news presenter.

Translation:

"Heidi, wenn Sie wach sind, gibt es ein Frühstück in der Küche."
"Heidi, if you are awake, there is some breakfast in the kitchen."

[Heidi]

Indeed, Heidi was awake, and staring out the now-open window of her room. Her focus was on the horizon, her mind in a daydream, the warm blanket of the bed wrapped around her. Birds sang, even though the early November day was proving cold, and not a cloud was in the sky. Berlin was still sleepy, but even then, Heidi could see people walking down the street to work or school. The child couldn't help but feel a little nervous - what if Doctor Strumfelder passed by? Even though he had one eye, what if he managed to spot her at the window? Her own eyes narrowed now and then, watching closely every dark figure that passed by. She may have been free, but Doctor Strumfelder would obviously be looking for her. He was that kind of person: a real hunter, a big bad wolf straight out of a fairytale.

Sleeping in her new bed had been strange. It wasn't dusty, like the mattress, and it didn't feel like everything was about to fall on her. The openess of the room proved frightening at first, Heidi's mind playing tricks on her, thinking every shadow was a bad Nazi or Doctor Strumfelder. She had eventually fallen asleep, but even then, she was restless. In her dreams, the forest felt like it was closing in on her, the mist was nearly opaque, and Doctor Strumfelder's voice sounded closer than ever. Despite being feeling nervous in her new...place to stay, Heidi had to admit that it was a lovely place. Sun flooded through every window, her room's door wasn't locked, the apartment was immaculate, and Herr Otto had not yelled at her at all. In fact, the only sign of rage she had seen from him was when he had clenched his fist the day before.

Knock knock, knock knock. Heidi jumped, caught off guard by the sudden sound. Her eyes wide, she began to panic, but calmed down when she heard, "Heidi, wenn Sie wach sind, gibt es ein Frühstück in der Küche." It was time for breakfast, that was all; nobody was there to collect her or anything. She remained quiet, taking a moment to compose herself, before calling back, "J-Ja. Danke, Herr Otto!"

Turning back around, the child closed the window, then unwound the blankets around her. Quickly, but with as much care as possible, she made her bed, not wanting to anger Herr Otto. Heidi had always been a clean girl when possible, but there was an element of fear to her actions this time; Doctor Strumfelder hated messes. Or rather, any mess made by Heidi. She could still remember when he had hit her with his cane, and the anger he had shown. The girl did not want to experience such a thing ever again.

There was no point in changing; she had gone to sleep in her clothes, merely removing her socks before bed. Rubbing her sore ribs - she had strained them a little the day before - she quickly walked over to the door. The cold floor sent small shocks through her feet, and she moved daintily, frowning in distaste and finding the sensations uncomfortable. Carefully getting into a sitting position, she put her socks back on, rubbing her ribs again afterward.

She did not make a sound as the door opened, the door matching with a near-silent squeak. Slowly, she walked across the floor, the door softly clicking shut behind her. Giving Luger a wide berth, the girl made a beeline for the table, giving a soft, "Guten Morgen," to Herr Otto as she passed him. Retrieving a plate and a couple of sandwiches, Heidi sat at the far end, beginning to nibble on her breakfast without another word.

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

The sun was rising over the trees and buildings of Berlin. From what Joe could see from the tiny window of his cell, it looked to be a nice day.

He hadn’t slept at all the previous night, his mind had been whirring about strange figures all dressed in black and then the figures changed into Jewish labourers at the camp and then a little black haired girl appeared, all happy and jolly but a figure hung over her and Joe saw that that figure had an eye patch on and had a long walking stick.

Today was the day he’d be going to his first proper working place since he had come to this country, of course he was not getting paid and his hours would be long but at least it would be away from the camp or the death march.

His cell had been the normal standard cell for any prisoner of the Gestapo; he had had some food which was nice. It had been bread with butter and water to drink which had been nice, much nicer than the food at the camp. Having said that they had had no food at all at the camp so Joe couldn’t complain.

Guards had arrived at around 6:45am; Joe was leaning against the wall of the cell, his eyes on the doors, awaiting the entrance of the people who would take him to Otto’s.

The cell door creaked open, a clang of keys in lock was heard and two guards approached Joe, ordering him to stand up and a pile of clothes were thrown at him. Joe glanced down at the pile, frowning. There were some old jeans and a white, strap like top. The guards went over to the door and ordered Joe to put the clothes on. Joe did as instructed, hurrying as he pulled off his uniform of white and blue stripes into the more normal clothing. It was the first time he had seen his body without the uniform on and it made him feel physical sick.

Joe had been skinny, he knew that of course back when he had been in the American army. But he didn’t realize now how skinny he had become, rib bones stuck out through his skin, his collar bone was sticking out and his legs, and arms were as thin as a stick from a Willow tree, like the Willow tree that had been in his garden when he was smaller.

The clothes were of course far too big but they were warmer and cleaner than the other ones which was nice. The guards then grabbed him by the arms and escorted him out of his cell towards the car that was waiting on the deserted street.

The car journey was dull and boring and painfully slow. It was as if suddenly there were a lot of cars on the road and the traffic was awful, the car driver had beeped his horn about a hundred times but to no avail and so they had to wait until the traffic moved on. It was now coming up to 7:30am and Joe could feel the sudden tension in the car as the men in the car realized that they were running late.

But like all things, they got there at one minute past half past seven. The car doors were thrown open and Joe was rushed inside to a small courtyard that belonged to Otto. The guards from the prison left him there and so now he was alone.

He stared about him, looking at the stones on the ground. He had never done stone work like this, Joe was more into cars. He had been an engineer before the war and had worked with some of the top car industries in America…maybe he could get a job doing that here…but that was unlikely.

[Otto Wolff]

The girl walked into the kitchen so quietly that her sudden appearance nearly startled Otto. She politely wished Otto good morning, took her place at the table and started nibbling on the sandwiches. Otto felt slightly embarrassed that he had nothing better to offer, he wasn't being the best host. "Guten morgen, Heidi. Ich hoffe dass Sie gut geschlafen," he said in his low voice, sipping some coffee. "Es tut mir leid, dass es nicht irgendetwas besser für das Frühstück gibt, aber ich erwartete Gäste nicht."

Watching the girl he could see how careful she was around Otto, the zest and courage he had seen in the girl the previous day was now gone. Of course, very few children would have felt comfortable when left alone with strange people, but there seemed to be more than that to this girl's behavior. She was very careful, almost fearful of something. Otto had not so readily believed her story of being taken from an orphanage and he had already found some obvious holes in her story, of which he had questioned Joe Claude earlier. The detective in Otto told him that he should be more subtle about asking questions from Heidi and he had decided not to make his suspicions known to the girl quite yet.

Finishing off his sandwich and coffee, Otto folded the newspaper and got up from his seat. He walked to the window and glanced into the courtyard, then at his wristwatch. "Es scheint, dass Ihr Freund hier ist," he said when he saw the Jew, now wearing more decent clothes than yesterday. The Jew was standing in the courtyard and looking somewhat lost.

"Essen Sie Ihr Frühstück zuerst, und dann können wir gehen und ihn sehen. Merken Sie sich, Ihre Milch auch zu trinken, es ist gut für Sie. Ich werde bald zurückkehren," Otto glanced at Heidi and then proceeded to go and fetch his suit jacket along with a few things from his study, including a case of cigarettes, a set of keys and his Gestapo Dienstmarken, which he slipped into his pocket before going back into the kitchen.

"Es ist sehr kühl draußen, aber ich habe keine wärmere Kleidung um mich zu bieten," Otto seemed sincerely apologetic. "Vielleicht wenn das Dienstmädchen hier heute kommt, konnte sie gehen und Sie eine warme Jacke oder Ähnliches kaufen. Ich werde daran denken müssen," Otto kept talking, maybe mostly to himself, as he walked into the hallway to look at the various jackets, hats and gloves that were stored there. He pulled out a luxurious white wool scarf from a cabinet, the sight of this simple piece of clothing stopping him in his place for a small moment. The mere sight of the scarf made him realize how much he actually missed his wife and how lonely he now felt in this big apartment all on his own. He hadn't appreciated the fact too much earlier, but he did really like it when Zelda was at home with him.

Realizing that he was just staring somewhere into the distance, he quickly snapped out of it and he spoke again. "Vielleicht wird das Ihnen helfen, warm zu halten. Es gehört meiner Frau, aber ich bin überzeugt, dass sie nicht Acht hat, wenn Sie es leihen."

Otto set the scarf on a chair next to the cabinet, focusing on putting on his long, dark coat and shiny black shoes that matched his outfit. Luger was already fussing about in the hallway, anxious to go out. Otto ordered the dog to sit so that the animal would not frighten poor Heidi and the dog reluctantly stayed on it's place, although his small tail kept wagging happily.

When everything seemed to be in order and Heidi was also ready to go outside, Otto unlocked the door and Luger leaped into the stairway with one happy bound. Otto waited for Heidi again and escorted her to the ground floor. He proceeded to unlock the backdoor leading into the courtyard and held the door open for Heidi before following her outside.

Luger was already on the courtyard before anyone else and the sleek and powerful Doberman shot out of the door like a speeding bullet. It noticed Claude in a matter of seconds and came to a skidding stop just a few paces from the Jew, it's ears folding slowly backwards as it regarded the strange person. To the dog this human smelt oddly familiar and new at the same time and it seemed to hesitate. The dog stared at Claude, clearly contemplating whether it should regard this person a threat or not. What must have seemed like ages to Joe Claude, was still only a matter of mere five seconds as Otto called the dog back to him. Luger whined, blinked at Claude and then trotted back to it's owner, sitting obediently next to him.

"I see that you got here in a good shape," Otto said to the Jew, it seemed that the guards had followed Otto's orders and refrained from roughing up Claude. Otto had also requested for the Jew to have a set of better clothes. This he had done for several reasons, the most important one of them being that he didn't want to be reminded of the camps with a Jew wearing the prisoner's uniform. For some reason he had also wanted to make little Heidi slightly happier and he had figured that if the Jew seemed to be faring a bit more comfortably, Heidi would also feel better. Otto had not really thought about it before, but he realized that the third reason was that he had actually thought that the Jew should be maybe... well, be permitted slightly better conditions.

What a stupid and weak thought, utter blasphemy! Otto scolded himself and quickly tried to appear unaffected, occupying himself with petting Luger's head. "Sie sehen Heidi? Ich behalte immer meine Versprechungen," he remarked, although he kept his gaze on the dog as he spoke.


Translations:

"Guten morgen, Heidi. Ich hoffe dass Sie gut geschlafen."
"Good morning, Heidi. I hope you slept well."

"Es tut mir leid, dass es nicht irgendetwas besser für das Frühstück gibt, aber ich erwartete Gäste nicht."
"I'm sorry that there isn't anything better for breakfast, but I wasn't expecting to have guests."

"Es scheint, dass Ihr Freund hier ist."
"It seems that your friend is here."

"Essen Sie Ihr Frühstück zuerst, und dann können wir gehen und ihn sehen. Merken Sie sich, Ihre Milch auch zu trinken, es ist gut für Sie. Ich werde bald zurückkehren."
"Finish your breakfast first and then we can go and see him. Remember to drink your milk too, it is good for you. I will be back shortly."

"Es ist sehr kühl draußen, aber ich habe keine wärmere Kleidung um mich zu bieten."
"It is very chilly outside, but I don't really have any warmer clothes to offer."

"Vielleicht wenn das Dienstmädchen hier heute kommt, konnte sie gehen und Sie eine warme Jacke oder Ähnliches kaufen. Ich werde daran denken müssen."
"Maybe when the maid comes in today, she could go and buy you a warm jacket or whatnot. I will have to keep that in mind."

"Vielleicht wird das Ihnen helfen, warm zu halten. Es gehört meiner Frau, aber ich bin überzeugt, dass sie nicht Acht hat, wenn Sie es leihen."
"Maybe this will help you keep warm. It belongs to my wife but I'm sure she would not mind you borrowing it."

"Sie sehen Heidi? Ich behalte immer meine Versprechungen."
"You see Heidi? I always keep my promises."

[Heidi]

OOC - They weren't known as jeans back then. They were known as "waist overalls" until 1960.

Translations:

"Und Ihre belegte Bröte sind sehr gut, und sehr lecker. Sie sind ein gutes Frühstück, nicht beunruhigend sein." = And your sandwiches are very good, and very tasty. They are a good breakfast, don't worry.

"Wirklich?!" = Really?!

"Sie, sind Herr Otto am besten!" = You're the best, Herr Otto!

"Es sind Sie!" = It's you!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Ja," Heidi replied after swallowing a bit of sandwich. "Und Ihre belegte Bröte sind sehr gut, und sehr lecker. Sie sind ein gutes Frühstück, nicht beunruhigend sein."

The girl ate slowly, but not because she wasn't hungry. She was watching Herr Otto's movements, and Luger's too, making sure they weren't about to do anything threatening. So far, Luger seemed content to lie on the floor, looking intently at Heidi as he quietly wagged his little tail. Herr Otto was busy leafing through a newspaper, sipping some sort of hot drink. He looked quite tired, and Heidi wondered if he was feeling all right. She decided against asking, though, in case he felt grumpy or something.

Herr Otto finished his sandwich quickly, and folded his newspaper back up. Luger's ears perked up, and he lifted his head watching his master intently. Toward the window Herr Otto walked, and after glancing outside for a moment, said, "Es scheint, dass Ihr Freund hier ist."

Heidi's face immediately perked up. Eyes shining, she cried, "Wirklich?!" and stood up abruptly.

"Essen Sie Ihr Frühstück zuerst, und dann können wir gehen und ihn sehen. Merken Sie sich, Ihre Milch auch zu trinken, es ist gut für Sie. Ich werde bald zurückkehren," Herr Otto answered. His charge squealed in delight, but then looked confused, wondering what he meant about milk. A quick look to her right showed a full glass of milk, which Heidi downed in two goes. Stuffing the last bit of sandwich in her mouth, too excited to remember manners, she quickly hurried towards the door. After a quick - if not uncomfortable swallow - she wiped her mouth with one arm. By the time she got to the door, Herr Otto was going on about warm clothes, but Heidi didn't care.

"DANKE, HERR OTTO!" the child yelled, causing Luger to flatten his ears against his head. Her voice was a wee bit too high-pitched with enthusiasm for him. The dog jumped back a little as Heidi wrapped her arms tightly around Herr Otto's waist. "Danke danke danke danke danke! Sie, sind Herr Otto am besten!"

Even with her arms around him, Herr Otto kept to the matter at hand. He put out a lovely white scarf for Heidi to wear, and the girl's eyes widened. She calmed herself a bit, though, when the man said it was his wife's, and Heidi made a mental note to take care of it. Wrapping it around her neck as best as she could, she ignored Luger as he came close, her fear of him dwarfed by the excitement she felt. Herr Claude was okay! Nothing was going to happen to her friend!

With giggles and quick feet, despite her sore side, Heidi went down the staircase almost as quickly as Luger did. The Doberman bounded out the door like a deer, skidding to a stop when he saw Herr Claude. Heidi's eyes widened even more when she saw the kindly Jew, but her face turned sour when she saw how Luger was positioned.

"LUGER!" the young girl yelled. She was about to call the dog back with a scolding, but Herr Otto's whistle did it for her. With a sigh of relief, she ran down the front steps as fast as she could. Within less than a minute, she was in front of Herr Claude, aiming to plow into him with a great big hug.

"HERR CLAAAAAAAAUUUUUDE!!" squealed the girl, for what had to be the third or fourth time that morning. "Herr Claude Herr Claude Herr Claude Herr Claude Herr Claaaaaude! Yay! Es sind Sie!"

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

OCC – Thank you Addie, I didn’t know that!

The Star of David had been embroidered with some sort of cloth, it had been badly done and Joe felt angry at the men or women who had done it. Did they not realize they were ruining a sign of God? But the Nazis didn’t seem to believe in God, they seemed to think that God was Hitler.

A door opened the other side of the courtyard. A dog entered who Joe recognised as Luger came running towards him. Fearing that the big dog would attack him, Joe took a few steps back but the dog had skidded to a sudden halt and was staring at the man with wide eyes. Joe stared back and jumped as a whistling sound came through the air and then a shout by Adelhied who was now pelting towards him like a bullet out of a gun.

The dog went back to its master while the girl ran past it, and nearly caused a tumble as she hugged him tightly, repeating his name over and over again. ”Hallo.” he smiled softly at her, hugging her back tightly. He felt a lump in his throat as he thought of the girl; she was the only person to like him here.

Once, Joe would have been liked by many people in Germany, once he would have been liked even by Otto way back before this war, before Joe’s own family had moved to America. Joe’s parents could have been friends with Otto and his wife, they could have gone to parties together, ate bread and jam, drank tea. Joe didn’t know Otto’s background, but things could be possible, what he was thinking was that he could have been friends with the men who he now was afraid of, the men he feared.

Otto came up from behind the girl who was still clinging around Joe’s skinny waist and spoke in English. ”Yes, I see that but that does not necessary mean that I shall leave in good shape.” he spat slightly, not able to hide the resentment in his voice. ”I’m better with fucking cars then I am with those stones.” he jerked his head at the pile that were lying there. ”But I shall not complain, complaining gets me no-where, I complained when I joined up for the airborne. That got me no-where; I was told to climb a bloody steep hill about twenty times so you won’t hear me complaining.”

Why he was saying that he didn’t know, he just wanted to tell Otto that he was not a person to give up easily, yes he was ready to beg for his life to Strumfelder but that was because that doctor had no heart and emotion in him but Joe figured that Otto did, Otto had not been brainwashed so much as to do the deeds that the doctor had done. Otto hadn’t lost his marbles just yet. He may be on the way to loosing them but he wasn’t loosing them right now.

[Otto Wolff]

The little girl ran to the Jew to give him a great big hug and Otto watched the two with a curious mixture of distaste and contentment. The sudden hug that the girl had given Otto earlier still warmed Otto's heart in a strange manner. He had never been hugged by a child, not even by his own son and Heidi's happy embrace had left Otto more than confused. He knew he had been a terrible father to his own son, Johann. Otto had left him with his previous wife when Johann had been around ten years old, maybe about the same age that Heidi was now. As a father Otto had been cold and distant, sometimes even ruthless just as Otto's own father had been to him.

As he had watched little Heidi shout and giggle with happiness, the memories of his son had returned to him and an uncomfortable feeling of guilt weighed heavily on his heart. Maybe this was the real reason for Otto's desire to try and help the little girl and keep her safe, to try and make up for his past mistakes? He wasn't sure, but for some reason the girl's warm hug and genuine happiness had filled him with a feeling of accomplishment, something he had never felt before. Maybe if he would have given his son a chance, he could have experienced these feelings earlier, but it was too late for that now. Johann was a grown man, fighting for the glory of Germany like other young men of his age. Otto had not heard of him for a while, so he could only assume that he was still alive.

Otto's thoughts were interrupted by a dreadfully familiar sharp pain on his left temple, his migraine was giving him a fair warning of things to come. For the last year or so he had suffered from horrible headaches, at times severe enough to almost drive him mad. Sometimes the headaches left him alone rather quickly and sometimes the pain could last for several hours. Right now Otto really had no time for a migraine and the pain made him irritated.

Touching his temple with his hand, Otto tried to regard the Jew's words the best he could, although his thoughts now felt awfully muddled. He missed Claude's first sentence entirely and concentrated on his next words the best he could, the Jew spoke with clear resentment and anger.

”I’m better with fucking cars then I am with those stones. But I shall not complain, complaining gets me no-where, I complained when I joined up for the airborne. That got me no-where; I was told to climb a bloody steep hill about twenty times so you won’t hear me complaining.”

"Mind your language in front of the girl," Otto warned with a frown, he did not care if Heidi could understand the English words or not, it was a matter of proper etiquette. The pain inside Otto's head seemed to slowly subside for the moment and he let his hand slide down from his temple, regarding the Jew with clear distaste. Otto was a man who liked to treat others with gentlemanly behavior, sometimes even when they did not really deserve it. He had a very old-school sense of following etiquette and showing respect to other people. Brenner often accused Otto of behaving like an "dusty old aristocrat", which just made Otto scoff at him. There was nothing wrong with good manners. These younger people just thought you could do just about anything these days.

"You will find that I am a fair employer, but I will not tolerate such language. And when it comes to what you can do and what you cannot do, I can assure you that even a fool with the simplest mind could manage the task that I have set aside for you," Otto's words had a flair of self-importance and he raised his chin slightly as he spoke.

Meanwhile Luger had gone nuts over seeing the little girl running and yelling. The girl had infected the Doberman with her pure, overflowing joy and the black dog ran around the small courtyard recklessly. It didn't seem to understand why it felt like running and jumping, but it was immensely enjoying the freedom to do so. Picking up a chewed up ball from the ground, the dog bounced back to Otto and dropped the ball at his feet. Otto's sharp and overbearing attitude was hopelessly lost when he regarded the dog. "Oh, Sie fanden Ihr Spielzeug. Hier, lassen Sie mich es für Sie werfen..." the man spoke to the dog in a softer and friendlier tone, picking up the ball and lazily throwing it towards the other end of the courtyard.

Luger let out a happy bark and speeded after his toy while Otto tried to catch the train of his thoughts again. "Oh yes. I need the old stones lifted up and moved to the other end of the yard, you can pile them up in the corner over there," Otto pointed towards the entrance with the black iron gates. "Then you must merely place the new stones in the same fashion as you can see here. With a path here and around the fountain, the bigger stones are for the edges of the path. Use the sledgehammer if you must. Food will be provided around midday. There's a wheelbarrow over there. If you have any questions, I will be happy to provide you with answers," Otto ended his instructions and leaned down to pick up the ball which Luger had once again brought back to him.

He hurled the ball towards the other end of the courtyard, watching as Luger bulleted after the toy once again. Otto regarded Heidi next and his expression told the girl that he had something very important to say. "Heidi, Herr Claude wird hier am Hof während des Tages arbeiten. Das ist der einzige Weg, wie er mit jenen Männern des SS entkommen konnte. Weil er für mich arbeitet und diesen Hof befestigt. Wenn Sie wollen, können Sie Zeit hier mit ihm verbringen, aber Sie brauchen eine wärmere Kleidung zuerst. Ich will nicht, dass Sie Grippe bekommen. Sie können hier jetzt eine Zeit lang bleiben, Es ist dabei ein schön Tag zu sein," Otto said and there seemed to be something else he wanted to say, something that made him hesitate. He wasn't sure how much the girl trusted him and by what she had said earlier in defence of the Jew had clearly indicated that the girl hated "the Nazis". She might be terrified of the guards who were just nearby and Otto carefully contemplated on what to say next.

"Es gibt etwas anderes auch..." Otto started and walked to the girl, crouching down near her so he could regard her better. "Weil Herr Claude hier arbeitet, wird es zwei Wächter dort in der Nähe vom Tor geben. Sie sollen nicht Sie hier fangen, und ich werde sicherstellen, dass sie Ihren Freund nicht verletzen werden. Für jetzt ist es am besten, wenn Sie entweder hier auf dem Hof oder im Haus bleiben. Sie sagten, dass die Nazis nach Ihnen sind und ich sowohl Sie nur als auch Herr Safe von Claude halten will. Ich brauche Sie, um mir darauf zu vertrauen, wie Sie vertraute mir gestern, als ich versprach dass Sie Herr Claude wieder sehen werden. Ganz recht, Heidi?" he asked, his voice calm and steady, but his expression slightly worried as he awaited Heidi's reaction.

Translations:

"Oh, Sie fanden Ihr Spielzeug. Hier lassen Sie mich es für Sie werfen..."
"Oh, you found your toy. Here, let me throw it for you..."

"Heidi, Herr Claude wird hier am Hof während des Tages arbeiten. Das ist der einzige Weg, wie er mit jenen Männern des SS entkommen konnte. Weil er für mich arbeitet und diesen Hof befestigt. Wenn Sie wollen, können Sie Zeit hier mit ihm verbringen, aber Sie brauchen eine wärmere Kleidung zuerst. Ich will nicht, dass Sie Grippe bekommen. Sie können hier jetzt eine Zeit lang bleiben, Es ist dabei ein schön Tag zu sein."
"Heidi, Herr Claude will be working here on the yard during the days. This was the only way he could get away from those men of the SS, because he works for me and fixes up this yard. If you want, you can spend time here with him, but you need some warmer clothes first, I don't want you to catch a cold. You can stay here now for a bit, it looks to be a nice day."

"Es gibt etwas anderes auch... Weil Herr Claude hier arbeitet, wird es zwei Wächter dort in der Nähe vom Tor geben. Sie sollen nicht Sie hier fangen, und ich werde sicherstellen, dass sie Ihren Freund nicht verletzen werden. Für jetzt ist es am besten, wenn Sie entweder hier auf dem Hof oder im Haus bleiben. Sie sagten, dass die Nazis nach Ihnen sind und ich sowohl Sie nur als auch Herr Safe von Claude halten will. Ich brauche Sie, um mir darauf zu vertrauen, wie Sie vertraute mir gestern, als ich versprach dass Sie Herr Claude wieder sehen werden. Ganz recht, Heidi?"
"There is something else, too... Because Herr Claude works here, there will be two guards there near the gate. They are not here to get you and I will make sure that they will not hurt your friend. For now it's best if you stay either here on the yard or inside the house. You said that the Nazis are after you and I only want to keep both you and Herr Claude safe. I need you to trust me on this, like you trusted me yesterday when I promised that you will see Herr Claude again. All right, Heidi?"

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Aber Herr Otto ist es wunderbar!" = But Herr Otto, that's wonderful!

"Es bedeutet, dass er sich über diejenigen nicht sorgen muss, bedeuten SS Männer mehr richtig?" = It means he doesn't have to worry about those mean SS men anymore, right?

"Ja, Herr Otto. Ich war nicht dabei, irgendwo anders, aber der Hof zu gehen; es ist dorthin sehr gruselig. Ich will bei Herr Claude bleiben." = Yes, Herr Otto. I wasn't going to go anywhere else but the yard; it's very scary out there. I want to stay with Herr Claude.

"Luger spielt... gern Fang richtig?" = Luger...likes to play catch, right?

"Ich denke, dass ich etwas weiß, was er möchte." = I think I know something he would like.

"Bewachung, Herr Claude, Herr Otto!" = Watch out, Herr Claude, Herr Otto!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Why did Herr Otto look so worried? Heidi tilted her head as she looked at him, wondering if anything was wrong. She listened carefully as he spoke, her grin only growing as he explained Herr Claude was to stay.

"Aber Herr Otto ist es wunderbar!" said Heidi, hugging Herr Claude tighter. "Es bedeutet, dass er sich über diejenigen nicht sorgen muss, bedeuten SS Männer mehr richtig?"

Herr Otto seemed to pause, as if he didn't want to say anymore. Heidi's grin faded, and she began, "...Herr Otto...?"

"Es gibt etwas anderes auch..." Herr Otto said, trailing off and walking towards Heidi. He leaned down into a crouch, and out of reflex, Heidi's grip on Herr Claude tightened. Had she done something wrong? Had Herr Otto found out about Doctor Strumfelder? Was there a catch to Herr Claude staying at Herr Otto's fancy house?

"Weil Herr Claude hier arbeitet," continued Herr Otto, "wird es zwei Wächter dort in der Nähe vom Tor geben. Sie sollen nicht Sie hier fangen, und ich werde sicherstellen, dass sie Ihren Freund nicht verletzen werden. Für jetzt ist es am besten, wenn Sie entweder hier auf dem Hof oder im Haus bleiben. Sie sagten, dass die Nazis nach Ihnen sind und ich sowohl Sie nur als auch Herr Safe von Claude halten will. Ich brauche Sie, um mir darauf zu vertrauen, wie Sie vertraute mir gestern, als ich versprach dass Sie Herr Claude wieder sehen werden. Ganz recht, Heidi?"

So...there were guards, like that day at the school. Heidi nodded obediently, and replied, "Ja, Herr Otto. Ich war nicht dabei, irgendwo anders, aber der Hof zu gehen; es ist dorthin sehr gruselig. Ich will bei Herr Claude bleiben." She held tightly onto Herr Claude for a moment, as if to reassure Herr Otto she was telling the truth, then let go. By now, Luger had come bouncing back, and was wagging his tail madly, ball in mouth. Heidi glanced at the dog with a small, shy smile.

"Luger spielt... gern Fang richtig?" asked the young German, taking a small step toward the Doberman. "Ich denke, dass ich etwas weiß, was er möchte."

By now, Luger had dropped the ball, waiting anxiously for someone to take it and throw it. With a slight scrunching of the face - the ball was sticky and warm with dog spit - Heidi picked up the toy with her good side's hand. Eyes narrowing, she looked carefully at the nearby fountain, the gears turning in her head. She took a couple of steps back, hand behind her shoulder as far as it could go.

"Bewachung, Herr Claude, Herr Otto!" the girl yipped, and with an almighty throw, had the ball soaring into the air in a high arc. Luger barked merrily, chasing after the ball, his eyes never leaving it. It was headed toward the fountain, and it looked like poor Luger would crash into the thing....

...But then, the ball hit the edge of the fountain, and bounced in an arc back towards Luger. The dog yelped and jumped back, surprised, and scooped up the ball as it bounced a little off the ground. He shook it back and forth furiously, jaws digging into it like it was prey; how dare his ball come back and spook him like that!

At his antics, Heidi giggled, proud at the almost-perfect shot she had made. If only Luger had caught the ball as it came back....

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

”Watch your language in front of the girl.”

Joe raised an eyebrow, debating with himself whether to respond with a smart remark or not but decided against it and just shrugged his shoulders in reply. Maybe the Nazis should watch what they say to children of Adelheid’s age, brain-washing them about who were good and who were bad in this world, saying that Hitler was the master and that everyone should bow down to him. Yeah, the Nazis should not manipulate children that way.

Otto had been having some difficulty with his head, he was pressing his finger tips to his temple…a headache, or a migraine, serves him right.

"You will find that I am a fair employer, but I will not tolerate such language. And when it comes to what you can do and what you cannot do, I can assure you that even a fool with the simplest mind could manage the task that I have set aside for you,"

”I was only stating what I can do better, just in case there was any chance your car needed fixing or anything but obviously not.” Joe shrugged again and glanced down at Heidi who was still clinging on around his waist.

Otto now spoke to his dog and Joe hid a laugh, smirking slightly as he watched the sudden child-like man play with his dog like he had seen some many children do in parks or on beaches back home. The dog meanwhile was going mad, jumping about, and running to catch his ball. How Joe sometimes wished that he was a dog, his life would be much easier if that was so.

”Ok fine.” Joe said in answer to Otto’s instructions. At least it was better then if he was at the camp and at least he got food be it nice or not it was food at least and that was always a good sign.
Otto now spoke to the girl Adelhied who was still clinging on around Joe’s waist. After he had spoken, she spoke up.

"Aber Herr Otto ist es wunderbar! Es bedeutet, dass er sich über diejenigen nicht sorgen muss, bedeuten SS Männer mehr richtig?"

Joe felt suddenly very over protective of Adelheid and hugged her tighter as Otto approached and knelt down. But after a few minutes of speech and Adelheid responding to what Otto said, she let go off Joe’s waist and ran after the dog, throwing the ball high in the air, the dog running after it.

Joe looked over at Otto, ”See, not everyone hates us Jews.” he muttered angrily, his eyes suddenly flashing with anger but the anger subsided and he began to shuffle over to the pile of stones.

[Otto Wolff]

Otto was slightly surprised when after his words, Heidi only seemed happier and the girl energetically proceeded to fetch the ball that Luger had been playing with. The Jew still seemed sour and in Otto's opinion, all too unthankful for all the lenience Otto had shown him. Otto pondered whether the Jew was just so full of hatred for Germans that he could not even regard Otto with the slightest amount of appreciation. Maybe he thought that Otto would continue listening to his sharp remarks endlessly. It might have been an easy mistake to make, since Otto rarely snapped at anyone. Of course, he wasn't one to show his frustration and anger too openly, but his quiet retaliation could be swift and ruthless if he so chose. He would let Claude vent out his frustrations for now, but Otto's patience had it's limits and Joe Claude was closing in on that limit.

Otto's thoughts were distracted when Heidi shouted for "Herr Claude and Herr Otto" to watch out before proceeding to sling the ball towards the fountain. The Doberman bolted after it, adamant on catching it, but was left confused when his toy seemed to suddenly attack him as it bounced off from the edge of the old fountain. Of course Luger finally caught his toy and the dog attacked it furiously, the whole scene making the little raven-haired Heidi giggle happily.

Otto found himself laughing heartily at the scene along with the girl, his face suddenly appearing like that of an entirely different man. His eyes were squinted and there was something alive in the man once again as he watched the child find joy in the simplest things of life. His laugh faded away when he actually realized that he had not laughed for... well, he couldn't really say when, but it had been years ago. Otto felt awkward and his face was soon back to normal, which in Otto's case meant that he was back to looking quite serious and formal once again.

He cleared his throat and searched quickly for his fine case of cigarettes from the pocket of his jacket, scolding himself for dropping his dignified front, even if it had been for just a few seconds.

”See, not everyone hates us Jews,” Joe Claude said with anger, before starting towards the pile of stones.

Scoffing after the Jew, Otto tilted his head and raised his chin as he searched for his cigarette case from the pocket of his jacket. "A true man hates no one," Otto remarked as he looked towards Claude, who of course did not see Otto's self-important gestures. "Napoleon Bonaparte said that... and I have to agree with him. You accuse the common German of hating the Jew, yet you do not take time to even ask if he does so. Do you not in doing so fall victim to the same hatred you accuse others of? Should we not propose the question to each individual before judging them? You seem to presume that everyone here has the choice of opinion. Now there is some food for thought, is there not?" Otto's words did sound maybe all too vainglorious, but they also indicated that despite all the Nazi propaganda Otto still possessed the ability for individual thought and that he most likely pondered about these things quite often.

Otto poked the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, shielding the flame of the lighter with his hand even when there was no wind. "Heidi, Sie können zu Luger und Herr Claude Gesellschaft leisten, hmm? Ich werde gehen und mit den Wächtern sprechen, ich werde zurück bald sein."

Luger had already proudly brought back the ball which he had so skillfully managed to catch and subdue. The dog now glanced at Otto, a comically clear expression of puzzlement appearing on it's canine face. "Luger, Sie spielen mit Heidi und kümmern sich um sie. Bleiben Sie hier," Otto presented the palm of his hand at the dog and Luger wagged his little tail, looking next at Heidi and dropping the now rather drool-covered ball at her feet.

With a sigh Otto started towards the gates of the courtyard, he could see the two SS guards chatting and laughing next to the gate. They regarded Otto carefully when he arrived at the gate, clearly not sure if this was their employer or just a local resident. When Otto stopped at the gate, introduced himself and showed them the ID Disc he was carrying, the SS men were suddenly much more attentive. Otto commented on the nice weather, offered them some cigarettes and just to be sure, repeated the instructions he had already given earlier. The men were all too happy, of course, to have been assigned such an easy task and Otto went on to casually discuss the latest news with them for a while.

Their discussion was interrupted by the rumble of a motorcycle engine, the vehicle driven by another dark-clad man of the SS. The motorcycle slowed down when the driver spotted Otto with the two SS guards and the man stopped the vehicle to question Otto's identity. When he was sure that he had come upon Kriminalkommissar Wolff, the messenger handed Otto a letter and looked at him expectantly.

Glancing at the messenger, Otto threw away his cigarette, opened the envelope and his eyes quickly scanned over the message. It was from doctor Strumfelder who was searching for his daughter, the content of the message was more than enough to make Otto wonder about many recent things. In his message Strumfelder implored for the Kriminalkommissar to take the task upon himself, due to the Kriminalpolizei being too incompetent. The message made Otto raise his eyebrows and for a moment he stared back towards the courtyard. Noting the messenger again, Otto realized that he was waiting for an answer to take back to Strumfelder.

"Ja... Ja, sagen Sie ihm, dass ich ihn morgen werde empfangen. Heil Hitler," Otto didn't bother to do the salute, but the messenger answered with vigour before speeding off again. Telling the guards that food would be served around midday, Otto returned back to the courtyard. He still held the letter in his hand as he slowly walked across the courtyard, clearly in his thoughts.

Maybe he should have listened to Brenner when he had told Otto that he had a bad feeling about this all. Otto felt like as if he was getting mixed up in something much bigger than he had at first thought and the notion made him feel worried. Things were good for him right now, at least as good as they could be under these circumstances during the war. He had a good career, a lovely wife and enough wealth to live quite comfortably. There was really no reason to get mixed up in something that wasn't any of his business.

Glancing at the Jew and Heidi, Otto frowned and stuffed the letter into his pocket. Maybe he was just reading too much into things? Most likely he was just seeing enemies and conspiracies in every shadowed corner when there really were none. He had been working in the Geheime Staatspolizei for so long that he now first looked for complicated answers instead of just going for the more obvious ones.

"Claude," Otto started and walked to the Jew before asking his question in a low voice, at the same time regarding Joe Claude very carefully to see if his expression would change. "Does the name 'Adelheid' mean anything to you?"


Translations:

"Heidi, Sie können zu Luger und Herr Claude Gesellschaft leisten? Ich werde gehen und mit den Wächtern sprechen, ich werde zurück bald sein."
"Heidi, you can keep company to Luger and Herr Claude, hmm? I will go and exchange a few words with the guards, I will be back shortly."

"Luger, Sie spielen mit Heidi und kümmern sich um sie. Bleiben Sie hier."
"Luger, you play with Heidi and look after her. Stay here,"

"Ja... Ja, sagen Sie ihm, dass ich ihn morgen werde empfangen. Heil Hitler."
"Yes... Yes, tell him that I will meet him tomorrow morning. Heil Hitler."

[Heidi]

"Ja Herr Otto," Heidi replied, happy to keep Herr Claude company. Luger didn't seem that bad after all; he just could be a bit...on the gruff side. He probably thought he was a big, tough guard dog, but he was actually quite silly. The canine looked expectantly at Heidi, and the girl scooped up his ball again, pitching it towards the other side of the yard. Barking madly, Luger sped after it, as if he were a hunting dog in the bush. Heidi had seen a couple of those back at the orphanage, usually when she was playing in the fields during autumn-time.

Other than a quick, curious glance over her shoulder, Heidi paid no attention to Herr Otto's conversation with the guards. It was none of her business - eavesdropping was very rude - and the guards intimidated her. There had to be a reason Herr Otto wanted her to stay in the yard; why else would he say so, when she was going to already? Unless, of course, he didn't know Heidi was going to. Besides, Herr Claude might need help with the heavy stones he was moving. She couldn't help him if she was over by the guards, now could she?

Luger came trotting back over to Heidi, abruptly dropping the ball at Heidi's feet. Feeling a bit mischievous, Heidi grinned and picked the ball up, and moved her arm back to throw it. The Doberman barked, jumping back and readying himself for the throw. With what appeared to be great strength, Heidi's arm snapped forward, and Luger went flying after his ball.

That is, the ball that Heidi still had in her hand. She snorted in amusement, an impish smile on her face as Luger stopped at the other end of the yard. Pausing, he sniffed, wondering where his toy had gotten to, and began to search. Heidi only giggled, and threw the ball to land beside him, laughing merrily. Luger turned to see what the commotion was, and barked loudly in surprise when the ball landed a few centimetres away from his back right foot. Once more, he turned upon the ball with ferocity, much to young Heidi's amusement.

She did not hear Herr Otto's question to Herr Claude, too far from the pair to pick up on anything, Luger's barking and her laughing too loud.

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

”A true man hates no one.”

”That means you aren’t a true man.” Joe muttered softly, just loud enough for Otto to hear a little bit of what he said but not everything. But Otto’s words had struck a cord with Joe, he had been thinking that every single dam German on this earth loathed Jews and he hadn’t paused to think that maybe that wasn’t true.

"Napoleon Bonaparte said that... and I have to agree with him. You accuse the common German of hating the Jew, yet you do not take time to even ask if he does so. Do you not in doing so fall victim to the same hatred you accuse others of? Should we not propose the question to each individual before judging them? You seem to presume that everyone here has the choice of opinion. Now there is some food for thought, is there not?"

”I suppose…” The Jew began but thought better of it and just walked faster over to the pile of stones while Otto occupied himself in talking to the girl who was having maybe too much fun with the dog. Joe didn’t pay attention to what the man said and so began to lift one of the stones that stood waiting.

The sound of shoes making their way over to the guards who were chatting by the gate came to Joe’s ears and he glanced over to see that Otto was now speaking to the two men who now had stopped their chatting and were looking very formal and smart now that a superior man was speaking to them.

The rumble of a motorbike came into ear shot, a few words were exchanged with the driver, a note passed and then the motorbike was on it’s way again. Joe took no notice, nothing to do with him. Just as he was about to bend down to pick up a stone, Otto called his surname and he glanced around to see what the man wanted now.

The man stopped in front of him and began speaking quietly to him, watching him closely.

"Does the name 'Adelheid' mean anything to you?"

Joe’s heart sank and a sickening feeling erupted in his stomach but he kept his face the same expression – blank.

”Adelheid? No, not that I know of.” he shrugged his shoulders, ”Why?” he had a feeling why. The look on Strumfelder’s face that day outside the playground flickered into Joe’s mind, the man hitting the girl hard with his boot, producing a gun. Joe had had a feeling that the girl had run away from him, and Strumfelder had found her. Like aways.

[Otto Wolff]

”Adelheid? No, not that I know of. Why?” Claude said when Otto questioned him about the name of Strumfelder's missing daughter. The expression on the Jew's face remained unchanged and for all Otto could see, the Jew was telling the truth.

"Hm," was all that Otto said as he turned around to look at the little raven-haired girl playing with the Doberman. Heidi was giggling at the antics of the dog and had obviously lost her worst fear towards the animal already. Luger was enjoying the time with his new playmate, Otto usually got very quickly bored with throwing the ball around the yard, but this little human seemed to possess enormous energy.

"Sehr gut, Heidi. Ich denke, dass Luger Sie mag. Ich habe viel Zeit nicht gehabt, um mit ihm kürzlich zu spielen, er ist gelangweilt geworden," Otto spoke more loudly this time so that Heidi would hear him and the man managed even a small, friendly smile at the child. His attention soon turned back towards Claude again and Otto's dark eyes studied the Jew carefully, searching for even the slightest change in his demeanor or any signs of hesitation.

Otto stared at Joe Claude for a moment, before turning his attention back to the little girl playing with the black dog. Leaving the Jew without an answer to his previous question, Otto walked to where Heidi was playing with the dog and smiled at her slightly. "Heidi, über Morgen... Ich werde zur Arbeit gehen müssen, aber eine sehr nette junge Dame genannt Elise wird hier auf das Haus aufpassen sollen und sich um Sie zu kümmern. Sie wird uns hier auch heute etwas machen sollen, um zu essen, aber Morgen wird sie hier für den ganzen Tag bleiben. Sie werden sich merken müssen, zu ihr sehr nett zu sein. Sie können natürlich draußen kommen, um Gesellschaft von Herr Claude Morgen auch zu behalten. Ich werde zurück am Abend sein. Vielleicht Morgen konnten Sie sich um Luger für mich kümmern?" Otto asked the girl. "Ich würde Ihnen sehr dankbar sein," the man added and leaned in to pat Luger on his head, the dog overjoyed of all the extra attention it was getting today.

Picking up the toy from the ground, Otto handed it to Heidi. For some reason it made him strangely happy to see the girl playing and laughing in such a careless manner. If there had been any sense in Otto, he would have tried not getting too attached to the little girl, who of course needed a better place to stay at as soon as possible. Still, Otto had to admit that he had already developed something of a soft spot for this spirited little child and he made a silent promise to make sure that wherever the girl ended up at, she would be well taken care of and as happy as he had seen her today.

Nodding and smiling slightly, Otto left the girl with the dog again, slowly returning back to where Claude was. He had left the Jew's previous question deliberately hanging in the air, just to see if not getting an answer might make Claude even the slight bit nervous.

"Oh yes, you asked me why I wish to know. Well, I just thought that since you have had a run-in with Strumfelder, you might have come across that name," Otto shrugged casually. "I guess I was wrong. But anyway, it is of no matter. Tomorrow when I get to my office, I will find out everything there is to know about the hospital that was blown up, this little girl here and also about you, Joe Claude. It is what I am good at... Finding out things. If it appears that you have lied to me... well, I cannot say that I will be very pleased," Otto warned, although his expression was still as calm as ever and his voice betrayed no anger or any other emotions, for that matter. "If there is anything you would like to add to the story you gave me earlier, now would be a good time to do so."

The feeling that there was something more complicated behind this, had not left Otto for a moment and he figured that if he pushed the Jew enough, Claude might just happen to remember something else that might be of interest to him.


Translations:

"Sehr gut, Heidi. Ich denke, dass Luger Sie mag. Ich habe viel Zeit nicht gehabt, um mit ihm kürzlich zu spielen, er ist gelangweilt geworden."
"Very good, Heidi. I think Luger likes you, I have not had much time to play with him lately, he has grown bored."

"Heidi, über Morgen... Ich werde zur Arbeit gehen müssen, aber eine sehr nette junge Dame genannt Elise wird hier auf das Haus aufpassen sollen und sich um Sie zu kümmern. Sie wird uns hier auch heute etwas machen sollen, um zu essen, aber Morgen wird sie hier für den ganzen Tag bleiben. Sie werden sich merken müssen, zu ihr sehr nett zu sein. Sie können natürlich draußen kommen, um Gesellschaft von Herr Claude Morgen auch zu behalten. Ich werde zurück am Abend sein. Vielleicht Morgen konnten Sie sich um Luger für mich kümmern?"
"Heidi, about tomorrow... I will have to go to work, but a very nice young lady called Elise will be here to take care of the house and to look after you. She will be here today also to make us something to eat, but tomorrow she will be here for the whole day. You will have to remember to be very nice to her. You can of course come outside to keep Herr Claude company tomorrow also. I will be back in the evening. Maybe tomorrow you could also look after Luger for me?"

"Ich würde Ihnen sehr dankbar sein."
"I would be very grateful if you did,"

[Zelda Wolff]

Zelda had been working on a skit that following morning. She had not seen sights of her husband for a few weeks and she missed him terribly. She was just too busy with her work she just could not keep up with anything. From time to time she would send him telegraphs on how her work was doing and most importantly, on how she was doing and he sent telegraphs back on himself. He had said he was looking for a girl by the name of Adelheid. Zelda knew nothing about it. She had also asked Otto about Joe Claude. He said he was fine. That was his only answer but Zelda could not argue with the facts. That following morning, Zelda would be on a train to Berlin. She was busy working in Munich anyways.

The train ride was fairly dull and as she had finally arrived to Berlin, she could see rain clouds forming up in the dull skies. Why did it always have to rain in Berlin? Munich was fairly sunny and that was why she liked it so much. She pulled herself off the train pulling out her black umbrella. She glanced around putting on dark sunglasses just to keep a low profile on. She was certainly not in the mood for many fans that following morning. She sighed glancing around the train station. Otto wasn't in sight. He was probably working anyways, it wasn't surprising anyways.

She made her way out of the train station and that was when the rain began to pound. "Oh lieb," She muttered. And there wasn't a car she knew in sight, nor a person either. What sort of wonders were these? It was certainly an unlucky day for young Zelda Wolff. She decided to walk home. She began her journey down and up the streets of Berlin. She had almost tripped due to the wet ground. She didn't want to take off her sunglasses. She knew she looked like an idiot but she did not want to be identified by any sort of civilian. She had finally reached her and Otto's home. [Translations: Oh dear]

She reached their door and silently unlocked it. "Otto?" She asked with a calm tone of voice. "Otto ist Sie nach Hause?" She hanged her coat on the coat hanger placed her black umbrella against the wall, placing her dark sunglasses down on the side table near the door. She began walking around the apartment exploring it. There was nobody in sight although she could have sworn she head a dog barking outside. She approached the window and glanced outside. There was Joe and Otto, Luger and a ... young girl? It seemed as if lots happened when she was out of the house. She opened the backdoor that led into the garden. "Otto?" She said in a faint whisper. She glanced at Joe as she approached them. She slightly smiled nodding and then glanced at the little girl with Otto. [Translations: [1] Otto are you home?]

She glanced at Otto. "Und sie ist?.." She asked faintly. She then turned to face the little girl watching her play with Luger. Oddly, the rain had stopped a while ago too. The young girl seemed a bit lost. She noticed the faint scars across the girl's face. She simply didn't wait for Otto's answer. She carefully approached the girl leaning down towards her height, although her knees weren't touching the ground. "Hallo. Mein Name ist Zelda. Was ist Ihrig?" She said with a faint smile and a welcoming voice to top it all off. She pushed the hair out of the little girl's face taking a better look at the faint scars. "Was geschah?" She asked with a motherly voice. [Translations: [1] And she is?... [2] Hello. My name is Zelda. What's yours? [3] What happened? ]

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Ich werde ein gutes Mädchen für Sie, Herr Otto sein." = I will be a good girl for you, Herr Otto.

"Und ich werde mich um Luger auch kümmern. Ich werde Sie wissen lassen, ob er Herr Claude oder Fräulein Elise irgendwelche Mühe gibt." = And I will look after Luger, too. I'll let you know if he gives Herr Claude or Miss Elise any trouble.

"Um... schöner Luger... schöner Hund...." = Um...nice Luger...nice dog....

"HERR OOOOTTTTTTOOOOOOO! Das Verfolgen von Luger ich!" = HERR OOOOTTTTTTOOOOOOO! Luger's chasing me!

Fräulein = Miss

"Ich stieß... meine Nase." = I bumped...my nose.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



It would be nice to talk to another girl. Heidi nodded, smiling, and said, "Ich werde ein gutes Mädchen für Sie, Herr Otto sein." She took the toy from the kindly man, and then added, "Und ich werde mich um Luger auch kümmern. Ich werde Sie wissen lassen, ob er Herr Claude oder Fräulein Elise irgendwelche Mühe gibt."

A hint of pride stirred within Heidi, even though the nuns had said pride could be a bad thing. Heidi had only stayed a night with Herr Otto, and here she was, being asked to look after his dog! Well, he was a big dog, and scary, actually...but not if he had his toy. If Herr Claude was ever bothered by Luger, Heidi could always distract Luger with his toy. Distracting was something she could do; back at the orphanage and during her travels in the world, she used her slingshot to distract mean people all the time. She wished she still had that slingshot of hers.

Suddenly, an idea clicked in her head. Her slingshot had been hand-made; one of the orphan boys had showed her and bunch of his friends how he made one himself. She just needed a certain-shaped stick, one that was good and sturdy, and something rubbery. All she had to do was tie the rubbery thing onto the stick, and she could have a slingshot again! But then again, Herr Otto might not approve...the only one who really said it was okay to have was Onkel Mac, back where the Not-Nazis were.... Despite this, it didn't mean she couldn't ask, right?

Luger barked loudly, surprising Heidi. She jumped back, and Luger barked again, getting into a play-bow. Heidi, however, did not understand this - combined with the increasing number and volume of the barks, she thought the dog was about to attack. Stepping back slightly, cautiously, the girl held the ball up, keeping her eye on the Doberman.

"Um... schöner Luger... schöner Hund...."

Luger barked louder, and Heidi gulped, shrieking in fear as the dog came barreling toward her. She ran for Herr Otto, squealing, "HERR OOOOTTTTTTOOOOOOO! Das Verfolgen von Luger ich!" The dog, however, bolted right past her, accidentally bumping her out of the way as he did, and Heidi tripped and fell. She immediately came to her feet, springing up and ready to flee, a little overwhelmed by the situation. Her heart was racing wildly - Luger was not so nice, after all! He scared her!

But when Heidi caught her breath, and looked to where Luger had run to, her mouth dropped, eyes wide.

There, standing beside Herr Otto, was the most beautiful lady Heidi had ever seen. She looked exactly like one of those "perfect Aryan girls" the Nazis kept talking about - shining golden hair, crystal blue eyes, and a perfectly girlish form. The woman was familiar to the young orphan; Heidi had seen the lady's face on a poster a long time ago, back when the child lived in the orphanage. Starring in a play, or something like that, one of the orphans had said being in a play was a one-in-a-million thing. They had said the lady was either lucky or rich - and Heidi couldn't help but believe the other children.

After a quick word with Herr Otto, the lady turned, and walked toward Heidi. The child gulped, taking a nervous step back - what would she say to a rich and famous star? And how did the lady know Herr Otto? Were they friends? Were they married?

"Hallo. Mein Name ist Zelda. Was ist Ihrig?"

"H-H...Hei...di...F-Fräul-lein Z-Zelda," Heidi said, blushing and looking down a little. She squeaked when the woman brushed the hair out of the child's face, peering closely at the bump on Heidi's nose, and the faint, roughly X-shaped scars there. They had been from when Heidi first met Doctor Strumfelder, when he had hit her after Herr Jonas had abandoned the girl.

"Was geschah?" the woman asked. The girl bit her lip, silent for a moment, debating on what to say.

"Ich stieß... meine Nase."