Part One

Part One

The radio was turned up to it’s loudest volume and the whole family crowded around it, blankets pulled up over their knees, keeping them warm and protecting them from the cool winter breeze.
“Mother?” the youngest in the family asked, his voice wavering with fear.
“Shh, Leo,” his mother soothed, her eyebrows knitting together with more worry than fear. “They’re just about to make the announcement.”
Then, right on cue, the hollow song ended, the silence after it dragging on for what seemed like minutes rather than seconds.
“And here is a song dedicated to our new Chancellor, Adolph Hitler!”
Leo felt his mother stiffen at his side. A sudden rush of anxiety pulsed through his veins, sending a shiver down his spine. No one seemed to hear the proud anthem as it played, despite it being so loud that it could probably be heard at the other end of the street.
“Right,” his father said, his voice strong. He had to be strong, if only for his family. “Let’s get these six to bed then.”
He pushed himself from his armchair, hiding his shaking hands behind his back so that no one would see them. When young Leo looked back at that moment later in life, he couldn’t help remember how brave his father had been. He had always looked up to his father with admiration, and it was times like these that showed why.
That night, the house rang with a painful silence. For the first time, the whole family went to bed at the same time. No one wanted this day to last any longer. Leo stirred restlessly in his sleep, moaning loudly. He woke up around midnight, his scream echoing round the house. His parents were by his side as soon as they could get there. His mother pressed the palm of her hand to his forehead and sighed. “You seem to be perfectly fine,” she told him, smiling weakly. “Just a nightmare, sweetie?” Leo nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted before he could utter a single syllable. “No, darling,” his mother rushed, pressing a finger to his mouth to silence him. “Don’t talk – it’s a waste of energy. Just sleep.” Again Leo nodded. He took a long, deep breath and lowered himself back onto his pillow.
“I’m scared,” the young boy admitted as his mother reached the bedroom door. She turned on her heal to look at her son before smiling at him. The smile was all wrong – it didn’t reach her eyes. “You have nothing to be scared about,” she lied, a lump in her throat. Then, before either one of them could say any more, she turned quickly and left the room. Leo had seen right through his mother’s lie and now he felt more alone and more scared than he had ever before in his short life. Whoever this Hitler guy was, Leo definitely did not like him.