The woman jerked her head towards a glass of water on the bedside table. Elsa reached for it, held the cool glass in both hands and tentatively sipped as she studied the woman over therim. For someone who had cared for her while she was ill, she seemed rather unfriendly.
‘Are you hungry?’ Despite the question there was no tenderness in the woman’s voice and, from the slight lift of her top lip, it left a bitter taste too.
‘Not really.’
The woman suddenly got up, walked towards her and needlessly offered her more water from a jug on the dresser. ‘You should eat. I will get you something in a minute.’
‘There really is no need,’ said Elsa. She didn’t want to be more trouble than she was already being made to feel. ‘Where am I?’
The woman sniffed and replaced the jug on the dresser. ‘You don’t know?’ she asked as she returned to her seat. Instead of sitting down, she began to collect her sewing together.
Elsa shook her head. ‘No.’
‘You are not from around here?’
Elsa shook her head again. It was disconcerting to hold a conversation with someone who continued to present their back to her. ‘No. I’m from Bremen originally, but my family moved to Gollnow for work and with the Russians advancing—’
‘You are south of Soltau.’
Elsa could hear the sounds of village life from outside the window. The woman apparently did not want to give the name of the village. It appeared a line had been firmly drawn between them until she could win the woman’s trust.
The woman finally turned to face her, sewing basket and unfinished sock firmly clutched in front of her. ‘Did you travel alone?’
Elsa thought of Klara, who had spent all of her life hiding her identity in order to live. And how, if anything happened to her, she would carry the guilt and grief for the rest of her life. And Sam... with his boyish grin. She instantly felt the pain oflosing him. She had not only found comfort by just being next to him... but also discomfort when he challenged her about her beliefs before the war. Their arguments. His anger. His feelings she had betrayed him. The fear she might never make it right with him again.
‘Yes, I travelled alone.’
‘Where is your family now?’
‘My mother and sister are in Bremen. My grandfather and brother are dead.’
The woman nodded and Elsa thought she saw the woman’s stiff stance soften a little. The first day of a wilting flower came to mind — its petals still open and battling the wind, but its strength to stand up to it a little weaker and less sure.
‘Is that where you are going? Bremen?’
Elsa nodded.
‘There are displaced people everywhere. The larger cities and ports are in a terrible state. Many have left.’
Elsa already knew that, yet strangely she had not thought about her destination in the same terms. In her mind Bremen was still in one piece, with her mother and sister waiting for her. What was the purpose of her going westward, towards the advancing front, if Bremen was no more?
‘Bremen has been hit badly too,’ the woman remarked as she refolded the sock. ‘Many families have died.’ She glanced up and, maybe seeing the horror on Elsa’s face, shrugged a glimmer of hope in her direction. ‘Many have left. Perhaps your mother and sister have found safety elsewhere, although it may be difficult to find them.’
‘I will still go to Bremen. I have to find out if they are still alive. I have to start somewhere.’
‘You do know that the enemy are advancing from the west as well as the east, don’t you?’
Elsa nodded.
The woman shrugged and began to examine the sock in her hand. ‘Do as you wish.’ She looked up. ‘You are welcome to stay here until you are strong enough to travel.’
The unexpected invitation caught Elsa by surprise. ‘Thank you.’
‘A man brought you here.’
Elsa slowly lowered her glass to her lap. She stared at its contents, forgetting to breathe. The woman was expecting a reply. Should she sound surprised? Concerned? Nonchalant? Did this woman know Sam was English? Had he been captured? Or was he still able to hide in plain sight — was he here in the house? And where was Klara?
Every answer might lead to trouble. The safer course was to claim no memory of her arrival, which would be true.
