• “Alright,” said Maria. “This is as much as I know.”

    “As you know, Pavel was a doctor. He was a doctor from Poland and very well known in his town. He lived with his beautiful wife and daughter.”

    “He had a family?” said Bruno surprisingly.

    “Please, Master Bruno, not so loud,” Maria asked in a quiet voice, worriedly looking out the window and around the house. Bruno was confused as to why Maria was so worried of getting caught. Father wasn’t home, which was not unusual for him, and Mother had some errands to finish in town with Lieutenant Kotler. Gretel was playing in her room with her dolls, which was expected from a Hopeless Case. “Yes, Pavel had a family. They lived in a small town and had many friends before...”

    “Before what?” Bruno asked in a whisper, becoming intrigued by the story, although it had hardly begun.

    “Before the Fury came to power,” said Maria in a small voice. “Everything changed then for Pavel and his family. Life became worse and soon Pavel and his family had to leave their home and get on trains that did not have a buffet room or separate compartments. The trains brought them to a camp here in Germany guarded by soldiers who weren’t very friendly and treated everyone with no respect.” Maria’s expression had become quite sad but Bruno did not notice. He was very interested in the story now and could not help but realise that almost exactly the same thing happened to Shmuel. Except that Shmuel lived on a farm and that he came from Poland too. Maybe the soldiers are the bad soldiers that Shmuel had told him about. Yet, Bruno could not help but wonder what the Fury might have to do with the story and Pavel. He was a very short man even though Father talked about him in a very highly respected manner. “Very bad things happened to Pavel and his family, very bad things.”

    “What sort of bad things, Maria?” asked Bruno frankly.

    “I can’t tell you that, Master Bruno. It is nothing appropriate for a young man like you to hear. But I suppose…” Maria paused contemplating her answer. “I suppose I can tell you that one day the soldiers separated Pavel from his wife and daughter.”

    “You mean bad soldiers, don’t you Maria? They should meet Father who could teach them how to be a good soldier,” said Bruno proudly. Maria nodded and smiled sadly to herself. Bruno always thought all soldiers were good soldiers, just like his father. Then he met Shmuel and a lot of things changed. Before he met Shmuel, Bruno had never talked a lot to anybody. He was either in school, where they weren’t allowed to talk except when talked to, or playing with his friends, whose faces he can barely remember now.

    “Yes, Master Bruno, they were bad soldiers.”

    “Was Pavel very sad? I would think so, considering he was separated from his family by those soldiers.” By now, Bruno had many questions he wanted to ask. He was confused at the idea of trains without buffet rooms and had a puzzled look on his face. “Did Pavel try to find his wife and his daughter? Why did Pavel stop being a doctor to become a waiter when he could be looking for his family?” What an adventure that would be Bruno thought excitedly. Travelling around Germany searching for a lost family and maybe even travelling to different countries like Poland and places Herr Liszt taught about to Gretel and Bruno. Bruno started to smile as he thought about the adventure and Maria could not help but notice it, speculating at his smile.

    Maria continued the story in a small quiet voice but her expression changed. “Pavel was very sad but he could not find his wife and daughter. It was very hard for Pavel to look for them as the soldiers would not let him leave the camp. That is why he became a waiter, because the soldiers were very frightening and did not let anyone leave the camp. Instead the soldiers forced everyone in the camp to get a new job like waitering for important men like your father.” Bruno realised that Maria’s expression was the same as his Grandmother’s when she talked about the Fury in front Father.

    “Did Pavel do anything wrong in his whole life, Maria?” asked Bruno with an almost childlike expression.
    “No, I don’t believe so. Why would you want to know something like that, Master Bruno?”
    “Mother says that bad things come upon people who live a bad life and do hardly anything good.” Maria opened her mouth to say something when suddenly Mother came in to the kitchen. Lieutenant Kotler followed behind and put shopping bags on the table leaving with a slight nod of his head in Bruno’s direction.

    “Hello, Bruno dear. Good afternoon, Maria. What are you and Maria doing in the kitchen?” Maria’s expression was similar to the one Bruno made yesterday when he was caught making a sandwich for Shmuel, by his mother (Of course he did not tell his mother who the sandwich was for when she asked).
    “Nothing at all,” Bruno said nonchalantly as he got up to leave the kitchen, “I was just telling Maria about an adventure book I was reading. I’m going outside for a play, now. Goodbye.”

    “Goodbye, Darling. Don’t be late for dinner,” said his mother who was now helping Maria unpack the shopping bags. Bruno walked out of the kitchen and glanced at Gretel who had come out of her room and was now talking to Lieutenant Kotler. Bruno wondered what made Lieutenant Kotler interesting enough that his sister and mother spent a lot of time with him.

    As Bruno left the house to meet Shmuel at the fence, he had a thoughtful look on his face as he considered Pavel’s story. If Father knew what the soldiers did to Pavel and the other people he was sure Father would talk to the soldiers. The soldiers would have to listen to him because Father is a very important man whom the Fury had big things in mind for him. But as Bruno contemplated this, he decided it would not be a very good idea to tell Father about Pavel. Father almost never acknowledged Pavel except when he was slow in serving the food or wine, which hardly ever happened.

    Bruno doubted that Father or Mother or Gretel had ever spoken to Pavel. Gretel was always busy in her room reading or playing with her dolls and when Mother needed something, she asked Maria. He did not have the slightest idea why no one talked to Pavel seeing as he is a very nice man. In fact Bruno liked him better than Lieutenant Kotler, whom never smiles and always has a hard expression. Although, Pavel himself never smiles and has an almost grey face and is so skinny that you can see his bones. Bruno supposed he liked Pavel because he helped him when Bruno fell from the swing. The fence was in sight now and Bruno could see the small figure that was Shmuel. With a smile on his face Bruno dismissed all his thoughts and was eager to talk to Shmuel that he ran all the way to the fence, careful to avoid the fallen branches.