The following day, on February 15th, I went to my usual work site, and I saw Jonah (as
usual), so I approached him and told him about Dina.
"Oi Jonah, I've got some news for you," I said with a mysterious tone.
"Ooh, I hope they're good." He replied, with an enthusiastic tone.
"I kissed a girl last night." I blurted out.
His face quickly shone with excitement. To this day, I still don't know why he was so happy,
but I guess a best friend feels exactly what his best friend feels.
He then grabbed my arm and shook it while gasping,
"Do you know what this means!?" He shouted.
"Shh, you want to get killed or something!" I said.
Why did everyone love screaming in such a risky place?! It still baffles me.
"So, tell me... who is she?" He whispered in a menacing tone whilst deviously smiling.
"It's... Dina Katz, Number 444." I blurted out.
He went emotionless, his face became pale white, and then he suddenly started laughing
hysterically,
"Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, Dina!? You mean the girl that joined at the same time as me!?" He
said whilst laughing hysterically
"So that's where she's from eh?" I said to myself
"I was right, I did know her from somewhere," I said to myself once again.
"Oh, my days Jonah, scream one more time and I swear on Mother Mary, I will rip your
tongue out and beat you with it," I said with a frustrated tone whilst rubbing my nose
bridge.
"Anyways what's so funny about me dating her hm? You immature 14-year-old." I asked.
"Well firstly, she's 15, and your 16, kind of weird, no? And, why date someone in a
concentration camp when there's almost always a risk of her dying." He stated.
"Listen to me child, love surpasses all human matter, love is not bound by danger. Plus, a
one-year difference is nothing, just look at your parents." I said calmly.
"I am not a child, I was born in 1926, she was born in 1925, and you were born in 1924,
there is a maximum amount of 2 years between us. Don't call me a child." He said with a
silly and playful tone.
It was times like this, that made me miss him and all my friends so much. Even though we
were in a ruthless and cold concentration camp, we still had brotherly and romantic
love alongside us. Sure, it wasn't freedom, and to be brutally honest, I would trade all of
that for eternal freedom. Is that the right thing to do though, Rufus? Is a life without friends
or love, truly freedom? I am yet to know, Rufus, at least I still have you, eh?
"So, let me see her pal. Where is she?" He asked.
"I don't see her actually, I don't know," I replied.
Suddenly, 2 hands covered my face, and I quickly fell to my knees I thought it was a
Nazi. I then looked up and behold, the sun aligned perfectly with Dina's face, her beautiful
green eyes staring down at me and her dreamful lips calling out my name, calling my lips to
prayer like my left hand would call my right and they would touch my lips and she's wished
to do the same. I stood up and looked her in the eyes, I was like a tower over her (even
though she was, by modern standards, gigantic, standing at a whopping 6'3 but, I was
6'8 so I was like an even bigger giant. Jonah was a midget, standing at 5'3, I was over a foot
taller than him).
"Are you okay, Johan?" She said with a worried face.
"Yeah, I-" I got cut off.
"Who is Johan?" Jonah asked out of term.
"I mean Johansen, but I call him Johan." She replied.
Jonah looked at me menacingly, almost like he was asking me why only she was calling me.
Johan.
"Anyways, aren't you Jonah, the short creepy guy who kept staring at Eva Rosen during our
introduction? Ha, never thought I'd see you with my boyfriend!" She said.
"Damn she is brut- Wait, did she just call me her... BOYFRIEND!?!?, what in the world!?" I
thought to myself.
I was shocked that she called me that, in a good way, of course, I thought that she
regretted kissing and that is why she ran away, but now I had no clue why she ran. Jonah
didn't even notice she called me her boyfriend; he was too down because he got called a
creep.
"Hey, but that's not... Who cares." Jonah failed miserably at trying to justify himself.
I then looked at her, she looked back at me, I looked into her eyes and eliminated the rest
of my environment, Jonah, the guards, the grass, the equipment, the sky and everything
else disappeared and it was just me and her in a blank room, I walked up to her and
grabbed her head and then I kissed her on the forehead.
"Hello, are you with us Johansen?" Asked Dina whilst waving her hand in front of my face.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"Sorry Dina, my friend here is a bit slow." Said Jonah before grabbing me and pulling me
into a corner.
"Control yourself, man, what are you doing." He said before pulling me back to the scene.
"Jonah, can you leave?" Asked Dina.
"Yeah, Jonah, I think that would be for the best," I added with a violent tone.
"But-" Before he could finish, I cut him off with a wink.
He immediately understood and went to another workplace and I and Dina were alone.
"So, what happened yesterday, 'girlfriend'?" I asked.
She was happy I called her that and it was obvious by her expression and her repetitive
blushing.
"You mean... when I ran?" She asked back.
"Yes, was it something I did?" I asked once again.
"You don't know girls now, do you? As girls, when we confess, we tend to get embarrassed,
and then we run away, but that doesn't mean our confession was fake. I do... love you-" She
paused for a moment.
My jaw sank and I was all ears to what she was saying.
"I'm sorry if I gave off the wrong expression, I hope you know now." She said with a light
smile.
I was relieved, I thought that she regretted it, or she accidentally did it or she didn't
necessarily want to kiss, but I suppose I was wrong, she was just embarrassed, the best
possible outcome.
"So... are we dating or was it just a play of words to fool Jonah?" I asked.
"I mean... if you also agree, then yeah, it is official, Johan." She said with a hopeful smile and
a glimpse in her eyes.
Suddenly, I felt his aura, his presence, I felt him as he was getting ever so closer, his aura
would drive away even the birds of the sky and summon rain.
"He is coming for me, for me!" I said under my breath.
"What was that? Oh, look at that it's raining." Dina asked whilst looking up, her beautiful
hair covering her petite ears and only revealing her eyes ever so slightly, she was also
smiling at the rain, smiling at the enemy, she was an innocent puppy.
She was clueless, she didn't know, and she didn't need to know.
"Leave, go to work, now!" I shouted.
"What, why, what happened?" She replied with a tone that indicated worry.
"Go before it's too late!" I shouted again.
She quickly went after Jonah and my uncle, but before she could get out of the vicinity,
Otto Schwarze arrived, with a cigarette in his mouth and a bottle of cold whiskey in the
other, he was drunk. He then saw a Jew who slightly turned his head around, so he threw
his burning cigarette at him,
"Oi, Oi! What you think you're doing, Filthy Merchant!" He exclaimed before kicking an
innocent Jew who was just working.
He put his foot on his face and pushed it into the wet mud,
"Learn your place, Jews are always below my feet, you ba-"
I was staring at him deeply with a clenched fist and a killer gaze. The funny thing is, I didn't
even mean to stare or clench my fists, it was my nature, I despised seeing my fellow
brothers and sisters being treated like shit, and I despised seeing someone else's freedom
being taken away and spat on. Unfortunately, Dina was still there and saw the whole
scene.
"Hey, what the fuck are you staring at!" He roared like a lion, directly at me.
He then started sprinting towards me, he was not short, he was a good 6'5. As he ran
towards me, I could feel my family's blood screaming at me and pushing me to attack him,
but I resisted, because I knew that if I did anything, I would've suffered the same fate as
them, and I was not ready to die before avenging them. So, I stood there, like a sheep
waiting for the lion, like a sitting duck. Whilst this was unfolding, I was brought back to how
Marcus was beaten, by Otto himself.
"Will I... Suffer the same fate?" I asked myself.
I didn't suffer the same fate as him, but it was alike.
Otto then reached me and smashed the bottle on my head, breaking it and cutting my head
open. He then proceeded to stamp on my head. I managed to maneuver my head in such
a way that I could see Dina, she was getting ready to attack but I signaled to her not to with
my eyes because if she did, she would've died too. I saw her crying, her tears falling on the
ground, I was like that, exactly like that, when my brother was getting beat up, I wanted to
join in but... I couldn't and If I did then I would've died. Since then, I vowed to never have a
person cry over me... ever again. 'No more, no more weakness, no more doubt, no more
tears', is what I was thinking whilst it was happening, I wanted to be free from this, from
this abuse, it was as though I was in a cage, a cage! A cage, like an animal, I was human
though, not an animal! So, why!? Why!? Why!? Why was I treated like that huh?! Why did Dina
have to cry over me, HUH!? Tell me, Heavens, why!? Why did I deserve that at that point!? I
was still innocent, so why!? Why punish an innocent child in that way!? What horrible deed
did I do to deserve that!? Poor Dina, having to watch her lover being beaten and stomped on to
a pulp must've been difficult, and it is something I could relate to. I needed to be free, I
couldn't live that life anymore, I just couldn't handle it anymore, if only they just gave me
my freedom.