This was part of a Creative Writing competition at Goodreads, called, "If You Were There" where we were required to imagine ourselves watching as a Historic Event unfolded.
This was my entry.
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(I also have the pleasure of posting the Story that was entered by Leyla, K.C., The first time I've had a Guest Contributor at my blog. Link will be at the bottom.)
BROKEN GLASS
“Are you sure we can afford it, Dear? Things haven’t been going too well at the store.”
“Yes. I’m positive. In fact, I think not only Sarah should go to the Salon, but I think we should pay for Anna as well. The two of them have been inseparable since they were 5 years old and soon they will have to be separated for a long time when Sarah goes away to University and Anna has to stay behind. This dance is the last one they will ever go to together, they each have a young man to escort them, new dresses and a last chance to have an evening of fun together.”
I decided to give in to my husband (because I wanted to) and if he thought we could afford it, I wouldn’t disagree. It’s true our family bookstore had been doing poor business in recent months, but Micah said it was only temporary because of the current political climate. Steppmeyer Classic Books had been in business for almost one hundred years and I’m sure would be for another hundred.
The following morning when Anna came cheerfully bursting into our kitchen as she had for the previous 13 years, we revealed the surprise to the girls together to their obvious mutual delight. I had often gone to "Madame Espere’s Hair Salon" through the years, but neither of the girls had. Our daughter, Sarah because she wasn’t overly concerned with her appearance and her best friend, Anna because her family couldn’t have afforded it.
I was putting on a thick shawl to keep out the November chill when the giggling, chatting girls suddenly got silent. I wasn’t sure what the problem was until my diplomatic husband stepped in to smooth the situation.
“Esther. I’m sure the girls can go by themselves". He responded with his warm voice.
Of course. They didn’t want me coming along. This was supposed to be a special day for the two of them to share as friends. Almost a right of womanhood. I felt a bit deflated but found other things to occupy my time as the day wore on. I spent the day doing ordinary things, but I knew in my heart this would be a special day the girls would remember their entire lives.
By late afternoon my husband was already home from the bookstore and my mother-in-law and Anna’s mother had also gathered in our living room. But as time wore on, we all became overly conscious of the ticking of the mantle clock and constantly glancing at it. Finally Micah rose like a bear from his favorite chair and announced that he could wait no longer and was going to go to Madame Espere’s and hurry the girls along. Their escorts were due to arrive soon and they still needed to change into their dresses.
I wasn’t worried because I knew how long Madame Espere could take and also how long the girls could chatter without realizing the passing time. But after another 30 minutes both the boys had arrived and Micah had still not returned home with the girls. My stomach had turned into one big knot, but when Micah walked in and I read the distressed look on his face, my tight stomach heaved and I had to run to the bathroom to vomit.
My husband came into the bathroom to help me, then maneuvered me back into the parlor with everyone else, but once I was seated again it was to me he spoke directly.
“Stay calm, Esther, but the girls didn’t get their hair done at the Salon today".
Anna’s mother jumped up and almost screeched at him, “Then where have they been all day?!”
“Madame Espere refused to serve them, Anna got upset, ran out of the Salon and Sarah rushed after her". was Micah’s too short for my liking explanation.
I tried to picture it in my mind, but my brain was spinning and I just couldn’t make any sense out of it. Like a tornado of mental nonsense.
“Why after all these years would Madame Espere decide not to take our business?” I pondered out loud.
“She said it’s the law now". Micah answered.
As the look on my face became even more puzzled and worried, he took a big breath and said,
“She didn’t refuse to do both their hair. Just Sarah’s. Madame Espere says that the hair of a Jew is infectious and she refuses to serve Jewish customers anymore in her Salon".
So there it was. This “passing political atmosphere” that everyone kept referring to was here to stay. That maniac Hitler would be accepted, followed and even embraced.
But at that moment I could care less about politics or Hitler. I just wanted my daughter and her sweet friend back under my roof and safe in my arms.
Just as my husband and the young men were getting warmly dressed to go out and look for the girls, we heard a loud crash. Then another and another. As rocks started flying through our parlor window, everyone fell to their knees on the floor, except for me. I didn’t know what was happening, but I did know that my daughter was out in it and I was going after her. But Micah restrained me before I got out the door and he was the one that spent the entire night systematically walking through the evil and chaos hunting for the girls.
He found Sarah and Anna when it was near dawn, in a nearby park, laying under the same large bush they used to play hide and seek under as little girls. Their arms were tightly wrapped around each other’s naked and bloodied bodies.
The soldiers who had brutalized them had given Anna the option to leave because she wasn’t a “dirty Jew”. But she had refused to leave her friend and they faced that horrible night the way they had faced everything else. Together.
That night also saw the destruction of Jewish homes, shops, stores, schools and synagogues. Over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed and 30,000 Jewish men rounded up and sent to Concentration Camps. The first most documented event of the beginning of Hitler's "Final Solution" to exterminate every one of us. Even history remembers that “special” night. Kristallnacht .The Night of Broken Glass.
by Laura-Lee Rahn
Alberta, Canada
For more information about the Historic Event of Kristallnacht Follow the LINKs
Kristallnacht Wikipedia
Kristallnacht The Holocaust Encyclopedia
NOTE: I invite you to read the second part of this Creative Writing Competition. Published here at the Master's Peace Theatre blog by Guest Contributor, Christian Writer, Leyla K.C.
"Finding You" by Leyla K. C. is NOW posted at Master's Peace Theatre blog. I am so grateful to Leyla for agreeing to allow us to publish it here. LLR
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Might I also suggest that, if you like a good, modern mystery you follow the clues, I mean the Link to my blog post,
It takes about 2 hours to read, but includes several external links to YouTube and remains my most popular posts by far.
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