Chapter Thirty-Four Amira
Chapter Thirty-Four
Amira
When Fred returned from playing the piano that night, Amira was still awake. Now that she was further along in her pregnancy it was almost impossible to hide it, but it was also impossible to lie comfortably. She’d resisted asking to see the doctor, still too scared of what might happen – she was determined to believe in her little miracle and her ability to carry her baby and deliver her safely into the world on her own.
Fred’s urgent whisper made her forget all about her aches and pains though, as he hobbled into the room. His feet had been giving him terrible trouble due to ill-fitting shoes, although he never complained – his sole reason for living now seemed to be her and their unborn child. There were no longer days when he spent hours staring into oblivion or lying in a half-asleep state; it was as if he finally had something to live for.
‘Hans slipped me a piece of paper,’ he whispered. ‘He came to the piano to ask me to play a specific song, and I’ve been hiding it all night.’
‘Is it another letter from Gisele?’ she asked, excitedly reaching for it as Fred extracted the small piece of paper from his sleeve. She knew Gisele would be beside herself, learning that she was not only incarcerated but pregnant, too.
But she knew immediately when she saw the small size of it that it wasn’t from Gisele; she would have insisted on writing on a full sheet of her favourite cream paper. And the writing didn’t belong to her either; it was a rough scrawl, as if whoever had written it had been in a hurry to do so.
‘Can you see it?’ she asked Fred, as he held it almost to his nose in the dim light.
When he didn’t say anything she took it from him and read it herself, only just able to make out the words.
Be prepared at all times. Trying to find a way to get you out.
Amira looked at Fred, who took the paper back from her and appeared to re-read it, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
‘We have to destroy it. If anyone were to find it...’
Fred nodded and rolled the paper into a small ball, putting it into his mouth and chewing it before eventually swallowing.
‘How do you think he will get us out of here?’ she murmured, as they sat side by side on the bed.
Fred’s eyes were watering, she could see the glint of them and imagined it was from having to swallow down the paper with nothing to soften it other than saliva.
‘I don’t know, but we must do as he says and be ready to go at any time, day or night. Who knows what he might be planning?’
Amira leaned into Fred’s shoulder and shut her eyes, sending up thanks to Gisele. It was hard to believe in many things anymore, and certainly it was impossible to hope there would be any divine intervention given the daily horrors of war, but Gisele’s determination to help her had never known any boundaries. And Amira knew, without a shadow of doubt, that Gisele was the sole reason that Hans was endangering his own life to save theirs.
‘Amira, I brought food for you, too,’ Fred said, pressing some cheese into her hands. ‘Even if you don’t feel like it, the baby—’
‘Thank you,’ she whispered, taking it gratefully and putting a small piece in her mouth.
She might not have an appetite, but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her unborn child.