Sixteen-year-old Anna Cohen, her dark brown pigtails flapping in the wind and younger brother, Michael, sprinted through the woods under a threatening sky.
She breathed in deep gulps of air. Her lungs felt as though they would burst. It was so cold. When the Nazi soldiers broke into the front of their house, she and her brother had barely escaped through the back door, and she’d left her heavy coat behind.
Snow-covered pine branches had turned the forest into a glistening ice cathedral as tiny white flakes floated to the ground. They must find shelter from Hitler’s men soon.
She glanced behind her. “Michael, they’re following us, but we’re far ahead of them. If we reach the stone house by the river quickly enough, we might be able to hide.”
Unoccupied for several years when the owners had abandoned it to get away from the Nazis, the house with its winding halls and secret staircase might provide safety. Anna and Michael had played there with the couple’s children when they were much younger. Why no one had claimed the ancient building by now was a mystery. Steps with a camouflaged sliding door in front of them might become the means of escape.
“Please help us make it in time,” Michael prayed.
She gasped. “There’s the house!”
The siblings charged to the front door, and he opened it.
Panting, they ran into the kitchen and then toward the back of the home with the camouflaged entrance to the stairway. As they descended the rickety steps, Anna closed the sliding panel behind them.
The ancient wooden stairs creaked as they made their way down, not knowing what they’d find below. Neither one of them had ever played in the basement.
A board creaked and gave way.
Anna’s foot slipped into the crack. “Oh, no! The step broke. It trapped my ankle.”
As she strained to free herself, a splinter pierced her foot. It hurt. This was no nightmare. It was real.
“Hurry, Anna!”
She held her breath against the pain and jerked her leg hard. The board gave way.
They finally reached the bottom of the stairs. It was pitch black. The sound of small, scurrying feet rustled nearby.
Anna grimaced. “Rats.”
They huddled, trembling in a corner. “Oh, Michael, let’s hope the soldiers don’t find us.” She had to be strong for her brother’s sake, though perhaps in a few minutes the Nazis would capture them and send them to the gas chamber.
“Anna, what will the authorities do to Papa, Mama, and little Joshua?”
“We might never see them again.” She tried to stop the flow of tears running down her cheeks. “Why do the Nazis hate us so much?”
Michael breathed in raspy gasps. “I don’t know. We haven’t harmed them, but they view us as an inferior race to exterminate.
The sound of soldiers’ shouts above them drifted into their dark hideout. Anna shook her head and moaned.
“Maybe they won’t find the secret stairway,” Michael said.
She felt around the pitch–black room. “We’ll have to stay here until we’re certain they’ve left. Might as well make ourselves comfortable. There’s a bunk bed next to the wall. At least there’s someplace we can rest.”
“I found a doorknob,” he said. “It’s a bathroom with a toilet and sink, and the faucet still works.”
“That’s good. We’ll have water while we decide what to do. If only the soldiers don’t discover the secret stairway. We’ll be trapped if they use the house as their headquarters.”
On the afternoon of the third day of hiding, footsteps sounded on the stairs above them.
“Oh, no! Michael, they discovered the secret stairs! We’re doomed.”
“Quick, let’s hide in the bathroom.”
Anna held her breath. Soon, the Nazis would transport them to a prison camp and their deaths.
The hidden panel slid open and soldiers, talking loudly, entered the secret room.
“Jack, this house is a lot larger than I expected.”
“What a good place for our headquarters while we spy on the German troops’ movements,” another man said.
Anna whispered, “Those men are speaking English. I think they’re Americans. Mama and Papa said they were coming soon. I’m glad I chose that language to study in school.”
All at once, the bathroom door opened.
“Hey, Jim, I just found a couple of scared kids down here. Well, you two, come on out. We won’t hurt you. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, we haven’t eaten for three days,” Anna said.
“You poor kids. Here, have a candy bar. You’re safe now.”
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