6 Years

December 24th

The day after Astrid's papa left, she decided that she would write letters to him every day. She would tell him how sorry she was, how she wished he would come back, and how she was praying that he was okay. In the end she would have enough letters to fill 6 books, but only about 10 letters were actually sent to him. She would never forget those letters though. They became her beacon of hope.
••••
Astrid was in the kitchen helping her mother bake apple pie for Christmas. It was snowing outside and Christmas was only a day away. Her mind was packed with all sorts of thing, like: her papa, Christmas, the war, and when apple pie on Christmas had become a family tradition. One thought kept jumping out to her though. Maybe her Christmas was rotten, but why should others be the same?
Her mind kept unwillingly jumping back to the Jewish boy hiding in the woods. What was he doing for Christmas? Did he have a family to spend it with? Was he still in the cottage in the woods? She wondered if she should go check on him, but Hitler was making it very clear that Jews were not accepted among Germans. Why should she listen to him though? Jews were after all humans, with feelings, and a family. Why should anyone treat them different than that?
"Astrid dear, would you pull the pie out of the oven?" Asked her mother sweetly, startling her.
"Oh, yes of course." Astrid replied moving to the oven. "Mother-" she paused. "Um, I was wondering if I might be able to go out and play for a while?"
"Well I suppose." Replied her mother. "But get your coat, and don't go too far, also be back before dinner." Astrid's face lit up.
"I will mother! Thank you!" She beamed at her mother and quickly removed the pie from the oven. She ran to get her coat and before she left she shoved an apple in her coat pocket. She was going to have a talk with this Jew. She was going to find out if he really was evil, like Hitler said.
••••
While she was walking towards the forest, she scrubbed dried dough off her hands and face. Snow stuck to strands of her curly blonde hair and she stuck out her tongue, in a failed attempt to gather snowflakes on her tongue. She was getting close to the cottage now. She could see the same messy red stone and the ivy climbing up the left side of the boarded up home. She took a deep breath and made her way to the front door. She rapped on the door three times. She could hear movement inside. It sounded panicked and frightened. She face palmed. Of course the Jew would think it was the Nazi Party coming to take him away.
"Hello? I'm not here to hurt you." She yelled out. She pursed her lips nervously before moving on. "Um, my name's Astrid Kai. I kind of ate some of your food." She paused embarrassed. "I-um thought I would bring you an apple, since, you know I took your food." The movement inside came to a halt. She stood there waiting for a reply, when the door suddenly swung open, nearly hitting her.
When she regained her balance, she looked up to see the same dark hair and eyed boy. He looked skinnier than last time though and he was definitely dirtier. "Hi-" She started, but he cut her off.
"Get inside before the see us." He said, his deep voice smooth, but his tone urgent. Astrid stood there for a second before stepping into the cottage. There was no going back now.