Once in Nazi Germany, there was a girl called Heidi. She was a joyful, sweet little thing, who couldn’t go a minute without laughing. Even when her face was sombre, her eyes laughed. Her family consisted of her parents, Detie and Fritz Haiber, her little brother, Gregor, aged 7, her elder brother, Peter, aged 16 and herself, 10 years old. She went to a school in her village, Dorfli, and she and her friends would play in a little field filled with flowers, and oftentimes pick numerous bouquets for their mothers. Her life was perfectly content, and if you asked her, she couldn’t ask for anything more. Until THEY came into the happy family’s lives. The Nazis. Heidi, Peter and Gregor, were blissfully oblivious of what was going on at home behind their backs. In fact, Fritz and Detie were part of the Resistance. The resistance was a secret organization working against the German Secret Service, or the Gestapo and the Nazis. They wanted to stop the Nazis and what they feared would soon become a holocaust. However, they were in great danger and they knew it.
One day, while Heidi, Peter and Gregor were in school, their house was bombed. Their neighbours were unhurt, and when the threesome came home, were desperately searching for Detie and Fritz in the ruins. As soon as the children saw what was left of their house they stopped as if struck by lightning. Gregor fainted, Heidi sank to the ground, began to sob and Peter felt like he was going to go into hysterics, but he reminded himself he must stay strong for his little brother and sister. He rubbed Heidi on the back, propped Gregor on a huge chunk of rubble blown to the front of the house, and made a mad dash to the interior of what used to be their beautiful abode. He stood in midst of the rubble. Tears ran down his cheeks as his neighbours offered words of comfort to him. His little sister came and stood next to him, trying to hold her tears in, but failing miserably.
Suddenly Heidi had a horrible thought. “What about Mama and Papa? Are they okay?” Peter’s head jerked up. The neighbours looked at one another sadly. Mrs. Muller said nervously “About that…. We don’t know……… either they escaped or……. Got… well, you know.” Peter and Heidi both blanched and clutched one another for support. The next few hours passed in a blur. All they could remember was that Gregor woke up, they had been arranged to stay at Mr. and Mrs. Muller’s place, and were now sitting in their temporary room, which Mrs. Muller had artfully chosen to face their home’s backyard, the only place devoid of rubble, yet put them slightly closer to home. Gregor asked “Are Mama and Papa safe?” Heidi replied that they were fine. Gregor, being too young to understand the pain that welled up in her eyes as she said this, assumed her tears were for the house went cheerfully to bed, thinking Mama and Papa were fine, and they would be back soon, they they’d build a new house and make Heidi happy again.
The next day, they had to go to school. The Mullers were sure that if the children were around their friends, they would help them keep hope alive. However, her hopes were unfounded and Peter wouldn’t crack a smile, even when his friends papered the classroom wall with pictures of motorcycles, and the teacher freaked out. But they did help Peter keep hope. But Heidi on the other hand had no hope. She was completely changed. She walked the school path like a robot. Her bouncy, shiny hair now hung lank around her face, as she hung her head. Her rapturous brown eyes were dull, they had lost their characteristic sparkle, her feet which used to dance down the road, now dragged themselves wherever they needed to go. Her musical voice, that sounded like a new melody each time she spoke came to sound as flat as a board. She harboured the slightest hope though and even that faded away in the next two weeks. Now you couldn’t tell that this was the laughing, singing, bouncing Heidi Haiber who danced all the way to school. The Heidi who looked forward was replaced with one that dreaded it.
A month later, the siblings trudged home. Even little Gregor had lost hope. And lo and behold, before them stood two smiling figures. Their parents! “Mama! Papa!” they screamed in unison. After much smiling and tears, Peter began to feel the first twangs of anger. Why had they stayed away so long? To protect them, they said. Well, reasonable enough, but why didn’t they wire or, or send a letter or SOMETHING. Whatever, they could answer the questions later, now the only thing that mattered was that they had come home. Not all kids would be this fortunate.
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