Dear Clara

Arrival

Dear Clara,

Send me water, send me food, send me life. Right now I'm on a train to one of those camps I am the most frightened person on earth right now. Papa keeps telling me I'll be okay he tells me that those camps are a ugly rumor made up by the Anti-Jewish ladies at Mama's beauty parlor. I want to believe him but part of me is saying the camps are real. Marie has made a new friend she is good at making new friends always had. I don't want to make new friends at least not here, everyone is sick. The train I'm on is not a nice passenger train it's a cattle car. The car is packed full of sick, tired, hungry and thirsty Dutch Jewish citizens. I do not have paper or a pen but I do have a wall and a sharp rock, you probably won't find this letter you won't find many of my letters passed this one. So far on this trip five men has died and one woman has gone into labor. Clara I will make one promise to you this will not be my last letter, that is a promise.

Violet

Mama sat in the Conner of the cart holding Anna for dear life. Papa was talking to another man about the war. Marie was talking to her new friend about the cutest movie stars and what they wanted to wear at their weddings. I looked around the train trying to see if I could find any familiar faces all the Jews on this train were Dutch so maybe I would see someone I used to know. A older man started to stumble towards me holding his mouth tripping over sleeping and dead people. I tried to get up to move but the man kept coming towards me I moved faster but my foot was underneath a sleeping man, at least I thought he was sleeping. The older man was signalling people to move but I couldn't. Finally I manged to stand the man tripped on a child and started falling towards me. Out of a miracle I was pulled away and only my shoes got vomit on them.

I looked to see the face of my rescuer and was delighted to see Shane. His hazel eyes and brown hair looked even more perfect now that he was older. I melted there and for a second the world seemed stand able again.

"Violet? Violet Baker?" I must have looked awful and I could feel my cheeks going red.

"Yes and you are?" I knew it was Shane but I didn't want to look stupid.

"It's me Shane Pivar, please say you remember me." I could feel my cheeks burning up Shane was begging me to remember him.

"Shane oh my God! Of coarse I remember you." It felt like hours of me just staring into Shane's perfectly brown eyes. 

"Madison!" I looked around for my best friend, Shane took my hands and I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Madison is not here." he couldn't look me in the eye.

"She's not... she can be..." 

"I don't know the SS came to our house I was out with my Father. When we came home there was a note on the table from my Mother explaining what happened. They took her and Mother to God knows where, I just hope they're safe." my eyes flooded with tears and I wiped them away I could tell Shane was holding his back.

"They came for us a week later, Madison left a note for you I have it in my bag." Shane lead me to a spot on the train where we could sit and have a conversation.

"So where have you been for the past two years? It's like you just disappeared off the face of the earth Madison thought you had been taken, we all thought you had been taken." Shane looked at me as if I was imaginary. 

"We went into hiding because we didn't want to be called up. The laws were getting so strict and Anna she's just a baby. All Papa wants is for us to stay together he wants us to stay a family." I felt very guilty telling Shane about how we will try to stay together when his family was split apart.

"I hope your family stays together, I mean Anna can't make it on her own she's about three right?"

"Yes three on August, the twenty second." I stopped talking and noticed Shane just staring at me I grew very self conscious. Five more minutes went by and Shane was still staring at me a smile ran across his face.

"What are you staring at?"

"Your perfect blue eyes, long silky brown hair they just bring back happier memories." if I had just met Shane or if I didn't have a gigantic crush on him I would have been creeped out by those last couple comments but I wasn't. I let him comb his fingers through my hair and kiss my lips gently, I let him love me.

I couldn't contain myself I giggled then in my head slapped myself for being so immature. This wasn't the place I thought I would experience my first kiss but this was the person I wanted to experience it with.

Shane and I talked and he even gave me a few more kisses for the rest of the train ride. I never wanted this moment to end but it did and when it did it felt like a slap in the face. 

"Schnell! Schnell!" the guards came in yelling at us everyone headed for the exit at once. I found Mama, Anna, Papa and Marie I held Shane's hand for dear life.

"Schnell! Schnell!" Papa grabbed my other hand we were told to jump out of the cart onto the ground. I saw old men and women that had fallen or been pushed dead in front of the train. I felt sick, scared and happy all at the same time. I looked to see where I would be staying, I was living in my nightmare that's where I would be calling home.