Soul to the Rhine

Chapter 21 Lisa
It was a dirty face with indistinguishable facial features that suddenly emerged from the ground.There is also a brown wooden board on his head, which is the same color as the ground beneath his feet. You can't tell if you don't look carefully.

Only then did Rosia discover that there was a hole in the ground in front of the warehouse door, with someone hiding in it.

The two sides looked at each other for two seconds. The man on the ground shrank back hastily, and the wooden board hit the ground with a dull sound.

Is it a Jew?
Rosia was surprised and confused. She just saw the man's tall nose.Although the other facial features and face were not clearly visible, who else besides the Jews and reactionaries would want to hide now?

If this was a Jew, that would be a big problem.Who asked him to hide here? Did the hospital know about it? Did this person ever join the Polish stormtroopers who resisted the German army?

Now most of the Jews in Poland have been deported to the Lodz Ghetto in southwest Warsaw. Although the SS has always been fierce and cruel, it has not yet reached the point where Jews will be taken to concentration camps.Unless you have participated in the resistance or are a fugitive from a concentration camp.

Either way, once the SS finds out, neither the Jew nor the hospital can escape.

Rosia looked at the barely traced wooden board on the ground and felt that it was unlikely that the Jews themselves were hiding. With such a hidden place and an exquisite entrance, someone in the hospital should have helped, or the hospital had known about it and had done it here. There is an underground passage for people to hide.

The crime of hiding Jews could be serious or minor, depending on the mood of the SS, but no one dared to offend that group of devils.Rosia didn't know what to do. She was just thinking about whether to leave or stay. Suddenly, a thin crack opened in the wooden board in front of her, and a weak and timid voice came out.

"Xia...is it Xia? Is it you?"

Rosia was startled and looked down. There was no light in the dark tunnel. She only saw a pair of familiar eyes, glistening with tears.

"Lisa!"

Rosia couldn't believe it, but she had to believe what she saw in front of her. Countless thoughts and doubts ran through her heart in an instant.

How could Lisa be here, Mrs. Conman didn't come to Poland to find her?They have a lot of property, how can they live in such embarrassment?

"Sia..." Lisa called her again with a choked voice.Just like a year ago, she would still show her most vulnerable side in front of her, as well as her unconcealable grievances and dependence.

"Lisa, where is your mother? Didn't she come to see you?"

Mrs. Cornman disappeared on the night of her return and has not been heard from since.At that time, Germany was only deporting Jews, and even if they arrested them, they were always men.Rosia also asked her neighbors in the Jewish Quarter several times. No one saw Mrs. Cornman being taken away, so she guessed that Mrs. Cornman went to Poland to find Lisa.

But now it seems that something happened.

Lisa put her hands on the ground, revealing half of her dirty head. Her long curly hair disappeared and only reached her neck. Even so, her hair exuded a strange smell.

"She's gone... Xia, I'm so hungry, do you have anything to eat?"

Lisa's cheeks were sunken, her cheekbones were protruding, and she was so skinny. Rosia couldn't imagine how long it had been since she had eaten anything. She reached into her pocket and found only a piece of chocolate.

Lisa's eyes suddenly lit up, her muddy hands quickly reached out to grab the chocolate, and she couldn't wait to tear open the package.

The moment she was about to bite it, she hesitated, then carefully broke off half of the chocolate and handed it over.

Rosia immediately guessed something: "Is there anyone else inside?"

Lisa nodded slightly and quickly stuffed the chocolate into her mouth.She kept chewing in silence, as if she would never finish it, but soon, the taste in her mouth disappeared.Looking up again, Rosia found tears sparkling in her eyes.

Lisa licked her chapped lips and said in a hoarse voice: "I have been feeling like this for the past few months... as if I have returned to seven or eight years ago. At that time, Germany was very poor, and everyone did not have enough to eat. , we don’t have enough to eat either. We have nothing to do, we are cursing hunger every day, damn the hungry world, until the prime minister comes to power. But we don’t understand what we have done wrong..."

Lisa was already crying, but the tears never fell.

Nearly a year of torture has made her stronger. At this moment, Rosia clearly had many questions to ask, but she couldn't say a word.

It is already very cold in Warsaw in November, and it is even colder when there is no sunlight underground.Rosia squatted on the ground in silence for a while, then stood up and took off her long skirt and coat.

Mrs. Cornman bought this dress for the two of them. Hers was still very new and had not been worn a few times.

Lisa didn't really want to accept it, but Rosia explained that she was working here, so she still gave her the clothes.

It had been a long time since they had seen each other. Perhaps the difference in experience had created a sense of strangeness between the two. After a moment of silence, Rosia was about to ask her why she was here when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind.

She was shocked, but Lisa had already hid quickly.

Rosia turned around and saw Henry carrying a bag of things.

Henry was obviously more surprised than she was, and obviously didn't know that she had also come to Warsaw.

"Bello sent me a letter yesterday, saying that he would come to see me in Warsaw for a while. I didn't expect you to come here so soon."

Rosia clapped her hands nonchalantly: "I came here with the dean, but he was too busy and left me when he arrived. I have been lost for a long time."

Henry was amused by her slightly aggrieved tone. He stood upright and acted like a gentleman: "I wonder if I have the honor to send you back?"

Rosia also smiled: "It's my honor."

Henry put the things in his hands at the door of the warehouse, then turned around and walked to Rosia, introducing her to the layout of the place and how to take the path.

Joking all the way.Soon we arrived in front of a building. Although the branch in Warsaw was not as big as the one on the border, the building was obviously more exquisite. Even though it had been slightly affected by the war, it did not affect its beauty at all.

Almost all the people in the hospital were Poles, mostly girls, and most of them were medical students from the University of Warsaw. They were very high-quality. They did not have any hatred of Jews like ordinary Polish civilians. On the contrary, they respected Henry very much.

"Is this Mrs. Henry?" A group of girls gathered around curiously.

Henry smiled good-naturedly: "Miss Franti is our dean's student and assistant. She is very smart. She knows nine out of ten things taught by the dean."

Dean Fritz's reputation and honor must be very high. After hearing this, a group of girls all let out "wow" sounds of admiration.

Rosia's face darkened, and she looked sideways at Henry.

Do you think she can't hear this kind of word play?It clearly means she knows nothing.

(End of this chapter)