Dandelions

Warning: Do not reproduce my work in any way.

"In my speech before the Reichstag on the first of September 1939, I spoke of two matters: first, since we are forced into war, neither the threat of weapons nor a period of transition shall conquer us; second, if world Jewry launches another war to destroy the Aryan nations of Europe, it will not be the Aryan nations that will be destroyed."

The static electricity crackled as the radio brought the Fuehrer into the small kitchen. Then loud cheering and clapping filled the room.

"What a great and clever man our Fuehrer is! Germany will soon be strong once again under his leadership," gushed Mrs. Amsel.

The corner of her lips tilted into a prominent smile. Her hair was braided and tightly pinned up. Although she was no longer a young woman, streaks of her remaining black hair struggled to be seen among the more dominant white. One day soon, however, it was inevitable that a total head of white hair would be victorious. Mrs. Amsel bowed her head, hands scrubbing and rinsing the plates and cups left in the sink after luncheon.
The house shook slightly as a young boy came crashing down the stairs with a pair of gloves in hand and a beaming smile on his face.

"Where are you going dear?" asked his mother, setting aside the dishes to turn around and subsequently wiping her wet hands on a dish cloth as she did so.

"I'm going to give Toby some hay and water," replied Adalwen. He flopped onto a chair, placing his gloves onto the table and stuffed his small feet into thick heavy boots. Leaning back, Mrs. Amsel gazed at her son and rested a hand on the table. She peered downwards as her fingers brushed against something. Scattered dandelions were laid out on the table.

She picked up a few of the yellow flowers before setting them back down slowly. Swiftly walking to the kitchen cupboard, she opened one after the other, rummaging in search of a vase. Her eyes widened as she finally located a small black vase.

Carefully, she removed the vase from the cupboard and placed it on the table, before placing the dandelions into it. As she attempted to let them rest to one side, they sprawled freely against the vase. She sighed, shaking her head in frustration.

"Do you by any chance have some string?" Mrs Amsel asked her son, "or a ribbon perhaps?"

"What for?"

"It's your sister," Mrs Amsel sighed. "She found some dandelions in the backyard and asked me to put them in a vase. Foolish little child! One day she'll realize they are just weeds! "

"Here!" Adalwen handed her a black ribbon which he'd found in his collection.

"Oh thanks, Adalwen", replied his mother. She took it from his outstretch hand and proceeded to tie it around the dandelions and then placed the bunch back into the vase.

"There now! Just as your sister wanted", smiled Mrs Amsel, inspecting the yellow dandelions with a pleased look on her face.

A man walked into the living room, his thin lips turned down in a scowl. Vigorous eyebrows pulled together, making a distinct presence on his sun-scorched face. With a huff, he slumped into a chair and then stuffed one rough hand into a pocket to pull out a cigarette. He quickly lit it with a match and inhaled deeply. Then he tilted his head sideways and blew out with a puff. The smoke came out white as snow around the flowers. The dandelions seemed to breath in the toxic air, their heads visibly bowed downwards, hanging lifelessly against the vase.

Edalwen wrinkled his nose as the pungent smoke stung his nostrils. It reminded him of the burning flesh of cows after slaughter.

"Mrs. Amit is gone for good. They finally took her," announced Mr. Amsel suddenly. "Should've taken her off earlier. Someone said they saw her niece asking about her....."