Elsa nodded. ‘I thought as much.’ She took the ladle and drank deeply. ‘I was hoping to shelter here. We won’t be any trouble.’ She drained the ladle, savouring the warm creamy texture as it passed over her tongue into her empty stomach, before handing it back to him.
‘Where are you heading?’ he asked.
‘Bremen. My aunt lives there.’
‘You won’t find many trains that will take you all the way there.’
‘I know.’
‘The bombing raids have damaged the main lines.’
‘I know.’
‘They want to bring us to our knees.’
‘I know.’
‘They want to destroy Germany.’ He raked her slim frame with a cursory glance. ‘You should find someone else to travel with. It is not safe to be on your own. Desperate times make for desperate people.’
‘I know.’
His frown questioned if she really understood what he was telling her.
‘We are safer now that we’re west of the Oder.’ She didn’t know if she was trying to convince him or herself. She noticed Klara’s dark hair had come loose and tucked it back under her scarf.
‘You think the Russians will put down their rifles at the river?’
Elsa hadn’t thought about it — hadn’twantedto think about it.
The farmer took her silence as her agreement. He returned to his milking. ‘The enemy has a foothold in France too,’ he continued. ‘I think they will advance and enter Germany from the west. It is the only way to remove Hitler.’ He looked up at her. ‘Don’t you think this?’ he pressed.
‘I have to get to Bremen,’ Elsa repeated stubbornly.
‘And you think you can get there without transport in this winter? And then what will you do if the Americans and British turn up, like the Russians? Will you turn around and run back here?’
‘I have to get there. My family is there. I would rather die with them than die alone.’
The farmer stared at her. ‘Death is not something to embrace,’ he said, not unkindly. He stood up. ‘Perhaps you should do as I am doing and prepare for the time when Germany surrenders.’
Elsa frowned. ‘Germany will never surrender.’
‘Germany may not have a choice.’
Elsa was shocked to hear him speak so openly. Inside the protection of her home, doubts could be raised within the family, but outside and in the presence of others — never!
The farmer ignored her silence. ‘You can stay here for one or two nights. I will bring you some food so you can build up your strength and then you must be off.’ He waved a finger at her. ‘See that the child doesn’t make any noise. I don’t want my wife finding out.’
Elsa nodded. ‘Klara won’t be any trouble. She is a quiet girl.’ That was an understatement. Klara had still yet to speak to her.
‘Follow me.’ The farmer paused at the doorway to check the yard was clear before leading the way.
Elsa obediently followed him out of the cowshed and into the falling snow and freezing temperatures. ‘What did you mean “prepare for when Germany surrenders”?’
He raised his eyebrows and tilted his forehead towards her as his cap turned white with flakes. ‘You’ll see.’ He lifted the latch, eased open the large wooden door of the adjacent thatch-roofed barn, a sturdy construction of timber and brick, and entered.
She silently followed with Klara. The interior felt instantly warmer, thanks to the straw-lined walls. Two goats stood in the corner, chewing hay, and turned their narrow heads to watch her with interest. A scrawny cat ran across the floor and scrambled up the hay bales, disappearing into the dull yellow strands as if it had never existed at all. Elsa was thankful to have found such a place until her gaze fell upon the young man sleeping on a pile of straw. Despite his civilian clothes, she knew instinctively that he was a prisoner of war. She had seen many such men digging useless defence trenches around Gollnow. They worked hard, under the supervision of their guards, but they could not hide the hate and resentment in their eyes. Only this man was sleeping and his hate-filled-eyes were hidden from her.
‘He’s not one of us!’ she whispered urgently. ‘He’s the enemy! I know whattheylook like. We had camps near us in Gollnow and I saw them working!’
