𝙴𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 - 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚍

Chapter 6

In a silent symphony, Josef and Izabela walked through a mist-draped park. The air carried a hushed stillness; each step was a soft echo against the damp ground, adding to the sound of nature awakening in the morning mist.

"Are you nervous?" Izabela suddenly asked, her voice gentle.

Silence settled, and within it, Josef's thoughts stirred.

"Maybe," he confessed, his response carrying the weight of unspoken thoughts and the palpable tension that lingered between them.

"I keep thinking that each day we spend here is another day closer to our death. I know I shouldn't think that way, but I just have this feeling," Izabela told him.

Josef, grappling with the weight of her words, found himself at a loss for a response, a heavy silence settling between them.

"I want you to understand," Josef began, "That in a situation where it's a matter of my life or yours, I would choose yours," he assured her.

Izabela, caught off guard by the statement, quickly turned her gaze towards him, her eyes reflecting a mixture of gratitude, concern, and protest.

"You can't just say things like that, Josef. It's not fair,"

Josef's expression, usually composed, betrayed a flicker of frustration. "What's not fair? Izzy, it's part of the reality we can't escape. Sacrifices will need to be made, and if it comes to that, I want you to live."

"But that's not your decision to make," she countered, "We're in this together. Equal partners. Equal in risk and consequence. We face this together, or not at all."

"Izzy, I—" he began, but she interrupted.

"No, Josef. We are not playing the game of who sacrifices more. If we're committed to this cause, we face whatever comes together,"

Another moment of silence settled between them.

"Can we talk about something else, please?" she asked, her voice quieter.

"Like what?"

"Well, I have a cat," she said with a smile.

"Luna is her name," Izabela continued with a smile. "Back home, my sister and her husband have been looking after her. She's only fifteen, which I guess is old for a cat. I'm not really sure how that works. After all this, I hope to return home and spend some time with her."

Josef's soft smile acknowledged the warmth in her words: "I'm sure you will,"

As their journey through the park continued, they reached a bench occupied by a man engrossed in a newspaper. Josef and Izabela settled beside him, revealing the familiar face of Uncle Hajsky.

Izabela took the central seat, creating the illusion that Josef was addressing her, but his words were meant for Uncle Hajsky.

"We have checked the route," Josef informed him, the flare of a freshly lit cigarette punctuating his words. "We think we know how to do it."

"I will arrange a meeting at the café the day after tomorrow, 3:00 pm," Uncle Hajsky responded without diverting his gaze from the newspaper.

"Our original contact in Prague was Oldrich Novák," Josef stated. "Did you ever discover who gave him away to the Gestapo?"

Uncle Hajsky shook his head in the negative.

"Who was his direct handler?" Izabela inquired.

"Ladislav Vanek."

"He is the one who's most opposed to what we have to do," Josef declared, ushering in a moment of silence. He stood, the cigarette's ember burning brightly. "All I'm asking is, what is he so afraid of?"