Chapter Two: Returns...

Gretel stood before the barbed-wire fence that separated her family from the "nonhuman" people. Rain fell from the sky in torrents, drenching everything that wouldn't move from it's path, including Gretel.

"Move faster, you good for nothing Jews!" An SS Commandant screeched at the very top of his lungs.

In the roundup of Jews, Gretel saw a familiar petite-figured, short boy struggling to march properly- her mind thought of the worst scenario possible, that the boy was her little brother.

"Bruno?" Gretel whispered, furrowing her eyebrows in worry. Peering at the crowd of marchers once again, she noticed that the familiar-looking boy walked the same pattern of step as Bruno.

"BRUNO!" Gretel shrieked in fear.

Suddenly, a familiar voice emerged from the roundup, and Gretel saw that the familiar boy halted his marching.

"GRETEL?!" The voice shouted- Gretel had guessed right who the boy was.

All of a sudden, the SS Commandant walked from the rear of the ranks to face Bruno- Gretel's heart started to tremor.

"So, Jew, did you think that you'd get away with that stupid act?! Did you now!?" The SS Commandant screeched, his voice echoing for miles. Gretel sensed the fear in Bruno from where she was standing, and her heart began to beat like a racehorse's.

"No, Sir! I-" Bruno's protests were cut off by a sharp gunfire. Bruno fell to the ground limply. Tears now slipped down Gretel's pale cheeks.

"No, Bruno!" Gretel wailed. The rain beat down harder, in a way, expressing Gretel's pain.

Gretel's winter-grey eyes tore open at the sharp sound of her wails- the extent of the nightmare had literally made her cry hard. Gretel sat up in bed, clicked her lamp on, and looked at the bedroom door. Knowing somebody would come running to see what was going on, she slowed her rhythm in breathing, and swiped her cheeks- fresh tears soaked them entirely.

As Gretel had expected, frantic footsteps running down the hallway was what she heard next, and they halted quickly at her door. The door flew open, and she seen the shocked expression on her father's face.

"Gretel, what's the matter?" Ralf questioned, cautiously walking over to her bed, and sitting down slowly on the mattress. In a comfort attempt, Ralf began to stroke Gretel's fine hair. Gretel began to weep out of shock from the nightmare.

"Father, Bruno... The SS Commander shot him... I tried- I tried... To save him... But-but, he-he-" With that, Gretel's weeps escalated into loud sobs. Ralf gently lifted his daughter into his arms, and let her cry into the shoulder of his vertical-grey striped pajamas.

"Oh, Gret... It was just a nightmare, darling... Bruno didn't die that way..." With that said, Gretel sobbed louder and pressed her face hard into her father's chest.

"Who's to say how he died, father?!" Gretel managed between sobs. "He died in a torturous way, that's for sure... Oh, father! I wish that Bruno never ran away!" Gretel now cried so hard that she couldn't make anymore words. Ralf held Gretel as tight as humanly possible, and he quietly shushed her wails.

"Shh, Gretel... He's okay now... Wherever he is... I promise... He's probably watching over us right now, you know that, right?" Gretel nodded slowly into her father's chest. Ralf began to rock Gretel in a soothing pattern as she choked on more sobs. "Shh, try to sleep... My dear girl..."

"Okay, I'll try to sleep, father..." Gretel sniffed. Ralf began to put Gretel down on the bed, but her arms worked like steel bands- Ralf would have to stay with Gretel all night, like he'd done when she was a tiny girl with nightmares of the man in the closet.

"I will stay with you until you get to sleep, okay?" Ralf clarified. Gretel nodded and snuggled into her father. "I love you, Gret... I always will." With that stated, Ralf began to rock Gretel slowly again.

"Thanks, father." Gretel smiled tiredly into her father's chest. " I love you, and I always will..." Gretel's eyes began to tear up- but she was only yawning. Ralf embraced his daughter tightly.

" I love you, now try to get some sleep..." Ralf kissed his daughter's hair gently. A soft ''mm hmm" was heard.

In about half an hour's time, Gretel fell asleep perched in her father's arms. Ralf stayed with his daughter for the rest of the night, cradling her as if she was a fragile baby- he'd even quietly shush her if something incoherent escaped from her lips. This night, Ralf showed his true love for his baby girl and had no hesitation in comforting her- which was surely a good thing.

The next afternoon was absolutely gorgeous. The sun glistened off of everything in it's path, the tiny birds chirped happily, and the temperature was perfectly mild. To embrace the day's generous offerings, Gretel decided to go outside for a change.

Gretel's soft, black flat shoes plodded softly against the concrete sidewalks of North Berlin, and her sunset-colored, no-sleeved sundress skipped along with each step of the shoes. Gretel liked seeing the herd of people crowding the street- it made her feel more invisible to the world.

In a crowd by the bake shop, Gretel swore that she saw a glimpse of someone she hadn't seen in over a year- Lieutenant Kurt Kotler. The honey-blonde hair that glistened in the sun, and his tall stature made Gretel sure that she'd seen him. The man who was only 50 feet away from Gretel, began to walk away.

Gretel's heart had ached to see Kurt since he'd left out-with. Gretel had puppy eyes for him since the first day she saw him, and Kurt quickly realized that she had a crush on him, and began to admire the young girl- despite the six or seven year age difference between the two. They became friends fast, and things had well... escalated quite quickly from there... They'd had quite a bond, they were "friends with benefits", you may say. Before Kurt left, Gretel and him shared a kiss that seemed like it wouldn't end- a kiss that Gretel and him had done on several occasions.

'I need to see if that's my Kurt!' Gretel thought, beginning to race down the sidewalk, and following Kurt's quick-paced path on the sidewalk.

Eventually, Gretel had chased Kurt to the park, where he'd taken a seat on a sun-bleached bench, and held his head in his hands. Gretel smiled brightly, and skipped over to the bench quickly to say hello.

"Hello, Kurt," Gretel greeted, smiling into the mop of golden hair before her. Kurt looked up, and Gretel noticed that his piercing gray eyes had lost their radiant glow, and age lines now were forming on his still-handsome face. With hesitation, Gretel saw, Kurt beamed at his friend.

"Gretel... It's been awhile..." Kurt said tiredly, offering a seat to Gretel. Gretel's beaming smile began to fade as she began to worry for Kurt, and she reluctantly took the spot beside him. Gretel took a glance at Kurt, something gold shimmered on his left hand-Gretel's euphoric mood dropped immediately.

"Kurt... How have you been?" Gretel asked, despair clearly evident in her voice. Kurt laid his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Pretty good, my dear, if you may ask..." Kurt sighed. "I've been... busy... working, surviving, and... this should explain the rest..." Kurt held up his left hand tentatively, revealing a new wedding band. Gretel's mouth dropped, and Kurt cut the young girl off, to explain the rest of his story. " Look, dear, I'm married... I'm happy with my wife... Her name's Kamilla, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. She's five months pregnant with my child, and things have been rough lately... I love you, Gretel, still, but just as a good friend..." Kurt explained, in a tired, but serious tone.

Gretel was speechless, and emotionally torn, but she put on her face and expressed exaggerated happiness for the man.

"Oh,Kurt!" Gretel gave the man a tight shoulder hug. "I'm so very happy for you, darling! Congratulations, she sounds like the greatest person, and I'm glad that you're having a good marriage!" In her mind, Gretel sighed, 'I wonder if she's even worth it? If she's even nice... This man's completely distressed...'

"I didn't think you'd be! Thank you, dear, it means the world to me for you to be happy," Kurt replied in a distant tone. "Oh!" Kurt took a quick glance at his watch. "I have to go, Kamilla has a stew on for me, and she's expecting me home soon. Trust me, pregnant women are quite nasty when their husbands are late home!"

Kurt rose off of the bench, and so did Gretel.

"I hope that I can see you again, Kurt... I've enjoyed catching up with you..." Gretel hesitated with fake content. "Sometime I'll have to come over to your home, and I can meet your wife." Gretel flashed the biggest fake smile as her mind started to spiral in multiple directions.

Kurt drew Gretel in to a tight, loving embrace.

"I hope to see soon too, dear. Maybe when Kamilla's feeling good, or after she has the baby, you can visit her, okay? Or maybe we could go to the movies together sometime in the near future." Kurt pulled back from the embrace, and kissed Gretel's baby-soft forehead lovingly. "Bye, for now, Gretel..." Kurt squeezed his friend's shoulder tightly, and began to walk away quickly, as if to not carry too many emotions.

Gretel stared at Kurt's disappearing body almost absentminded, and placed herself upon the oak bench once again.

"Bye, Kurtsy..." Gretel sighed, holding back a strong amount of tears. 'I wish that you still loved me... I wish that there was no Kamilla in the way of us... Please, come back... Please..." Gretel stared at the cold cement ground below her feet, and stared at the now non-crowded sidewalks- Everything in her life had been ruined the past year.

After about half-an-hour of sitting, Gretel's shoes were once again plodding down the deserted sidewalk- this time, not so happily...