Amit & Adam

Chapter 4 - Admiration

My family and I shared a room with six other families. A room. Not to ourselves, with almost twenty other people. There was hundred people in one building. It was stuffy, cramp and loud, babies and young children were crying and screaming. I wanted to go home, everyone wanted to go home.

If that wasn’t bad enough, everyone was forced to do labor in factories; the men went to a weapon factory, so I was with Karin in a cloth factory with the rest of the women.

I wasn't very good at sewing at all, I would make such a hopeless house wife! But Karin was helping me along the way. But I kept getting shouted at for not working, even though I didn’t really know what to do and the wages we were given was barely enough to buy a loaf of bread.

The Nazi factory boss yelled, "We pay you to work, so work!!"

I snapped as the anger erupted inside of me, “Not every woman knows how to sew, I'm only fourteen!"

"That’s what mothers are for! You stupid girl."  He spat patting his gun, as he walked away.

I felt a lump in my throat, I lowered my head a sudden fear caused my voice to become shaky, "O...Okay."

"Amit..?" Karin asked with concern, "Do you want me to help you, again?"

I shook my head, "No, practice makes perfect… So they say."

"What are you doing here, Hans?" Asked one of the Nazi workers.

"I'm on my break and I thought I should check up on things." Adam replied simply.

He nodded, "You might as well help out here, there are some rude workers here."

I frowned turning away, Adam slowly wondered towards me, "You can’t talk to them like that or you'll regret it.”

I said nothing and tried to continue sewing, he leaned towards me.

"He would have shot you if you weren’t so pretty." He whispered softly.

I looked up at him confusedly as my face grew pink, "Do you know me or something?"

"But you know me don’t you? All the boys in my year admired you, but didn’t want to ask out a girl two years younger than them." He told me.

I felt my heart sink slightly, the thoughts of the days when boys admired me. The life I once knew felt like another world to me now. I wished that I could go back to when I was seen a person and not just a Jew.

I sighed sadly, “Well no one will ever admire me ever again, so don't worry."

Adam glanced down at his watch, "If you say so. I can’t be seen talking to you for too long. Also my break isn’t very long either. Bye, bye."