Thursday 10 September 2020

The Secret




by Gill James 

cold coffee


Käthe watched Renate as she coloured in the picture she had drawn. Later today the girl would post the exercise book to another from her class. All of the girls decided to keep in touch after their lovely school had closed down. Renate loved this. No, she wouldn't tell her just yet. She'd let her carry on enjoying herself for a few more hours.
Had Renate suspected something when she'd refused to go to the opera? "They'll stare at me, Hans," Käthe had said to her husband. "They'll know.  I'm sure they'll know."
"Nonsense," he'd said. "You are the glamorous wife of a respected professor. They may be more suspicious if you don't go."
But she just couldn't.
"Why have you been crying?" Renate had asked.  
"Because I have such a headache." Oh dear. A lie.
Had she believed that about the school camp? That she shouldn't go because she was still getting over a cold? Well, she'd argued a lot.
Then there were the girls in their lovely uniforms. The navy calf-length skirts and those smart little flying jackets. Yes, they did look elegant. Käthe could understand why her daughter would want to join. "You're too young, dear," she'd said.
They would have to write to the Göddes and say that Renate had chicken pox and wouldn't be able to stay with Hani this year.
No, she wouldn't tell her daughter just yet that she was Jewish and was being sent to England in a few days. Better wait until tomorrow.     

About the author

Gill James writes shorter and longer fiction for all ages. She is writing a  series of novels set in World WarII. She also edits this e-zine. 
   

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