Sabine woke before daybreak, feeling like she’d been run over by a train. Wishing to remain hidden beneath the covers for the rest of her life, she groaned and traipsed to the front door. Since nobody else lived in the apartment at the moment, she didn’t bother to put on her dressing gown or her slippers.
A piece of paper lay on the floor mocking her with its pristine white color. She slowed down her steps, approaching it carefully, as if the innocent paper would transform into a dragon and spew fire. Her heart thumping high in her throat, she waited a few moments and listened. Nothing. Not even Frau Weber seemed to be up at this ungodly hour.
Someone had braved the night to slide this piece of paper beneath her door. The instructions. Fighting the urge to return to bed and pretend she’d never existed, Sabine bent down and picked it up with her fingertips, holding it at arm’s length.
With the paper unfolded, black, typewritten letters sprang at her eyes. It felt like a stroke of lightning and she let go of the paper. It sailed to the ground, flapping its wings like a bird.
Sabine left it lying and turned on her heels to attend to her morning routine first. Taking extra care with her make-up and hairdo, she dressed in her usual immaculate way. After making tea and a meager breakfast, she finally couldn’t find any more reason to procrastinate and returned to the hallway to pick up the dreaded instructions.
Pick up Ellen and take the underground from Ruhleben to Zoologischer Garten at 7 p.m. Wait beneath the big clock in the main hall with a newspaper open on page 7. Your contact will do the same.
Sabine’s breathing became quick and shallow and she had to sit down on the couch to steady her trembling knees. After a few minutes she picked up the telephone and called the number Kriminalkommissar Becker had given her.
A female voice answered, and Sabine had to wait for endless minutes until he finally took the call.
“Frau Mahler? What a pleasant surprise,” his deep voice said.
It’s not pleasant at all and definitely not a surprise, you bastard. “I…have…received my instructions. The handover will take place tonight at 7 p.m. at the station Zoologischer Garten,” Sabine stammered into the receiver.
“Well done. I’m always surprised, how much a little motivation can boost morale.” Sabine wished she could drag this depraved monster through the cord and strangle him. “You will do exactly as told, but my men will wait for you and your contact person. Don’t make a foolish mistake…” The unconcealed threat in his voice reverberated through the room and Sabine swallowed hard, nodding. Then she remembered that he couldn’t see her and said, “Yes.”
“Good girl. Your husband will be so proud of you,” Becker said and disconnected the call.
Sabine slumped against the back of the couch. As a firefighter her husband constantly put his life on the line to save others. And his wife threw others in front of the train to save him? Werner would most certainly not be proud of her.
Grateful, yes. But proud? A horrible thought entered her mind. What if he wouldn’t even be grateful? What if he accused her of being a depraved monster just like them?
She grabbed the key for the allotment and hurried off to the factory a few minutes later, grateful for the distraction her work provided. After her shift, she went straight to the allotment area. A patchwork quilt of deep browns and vibrant greens, it consisted of vegetable patches with small huts and sheds. She stopped in front of a wooden gate with the same number as the key in her hand, taller than the height of a full-grown man, flanked by equally high thuja hedges, and opened the padlock.
Inside the hedges, the small garden glowed with vegetables and salad greens, unmistakably bearing Frau Klausen’s signature. She followed the stepping stones past the water well and came to stand in front of a wooden shed. The wood showed signs of age but was amazingly well-kept. Sabine couldn’t help but wonder how often the shed received guests who came to hide.
Sabine stepped inside the hut, closing the door firmly behind her, and said, “Ellen? I’m Sabine and I’m here to take you out of here and help you get to safety.” It took a few moments until her eyes adapted to the darkness in the hut, lit only by sunshine filtering through cracks in the closed window shutters.
A girl crouched on the mattress in the corner and when she got up, Sabine’s heart filled with compassion at the bundle of nerves in front of her. That girl was but a child and couldn’t be more than twelve years old. “Come here. We need to go.”
“You’re not Ursula,” the girl said, feeling with her hands for the wooden planks at her back.
“No, I’m not, but Ursula had to travel and sent me instead.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Ellen asked, her lips pursing.
“You’ll have to trust me on this. We don’t have time because I have to hand you over to another person in forty-five minutes.” Sabine observed the emotions raging on Ellen’s face and added, “I won’t hurt you.”
Ellen nodded and finally took a hesitant step toward Sabine. “I’m so frightened. I don’t want to die.”
“You won’t die. Now come.” Sabine extended her hand and Ellen took it. A stab of pain seared through her as she realized that Ellen’s blind trust put her life in Sabine’s hands…and ultimately, she’d betray her – hand the innocent girl over to the most atrocious bastards who ever roamed the earth. With Ellen’s small hand lying in Sabine’s they walked together to the terminus of Underground line 2 Ruhleben.
How fitting. Ruhleben meant “live in peace” and was an euphemistic name for a cemetery. It seemed like a bad omen and Sabine shuddered despite the warm May sunshine. They stepped onto the platform and waited for the train to arrive. Before the war, the trains ran every few minutes, but due to the many damaged tracks now their arrival was more hit and miss, and Sabine nervously glanced at her wristwatch.
When the train finally arrived, hundreds of people disembarked, including the conductor, who had to walk to the other side of the train to change direction. Sabine and Ellen were two of the few passengers wanting to get into the city. Everyone else had happily left it for the much safer suburbs at the end of a workday.
Eight stops until Zoologischer Garten, where she’d meet her contact person and hand over Ellen. But the Gestapo would be waiting, too. And they’d most likely take Ellen away.
Reichssportfeld. Neu-Westend. Adolph-Hitler-Platz. With every passing station, Sabine’s guilt mounted, until she believed she’d suffocate from the darkness enshrouding her.
She looked at the pale young girl. Her raven-black hair hung in strands to her shoulders, the dark eyes filled with anguish – and hope. I’m not a monster. I can’t do this! At the next stop, she jumped up, yanking Ellen’s arm and said, “Hurry, we need to get off.”
Ellen gave her a confused look, but fell in step behind her, barely able to keep up with Sabine’s frantic pace.