Past
They arrive in front of the children’s home where they picked up Sigrid so long ago. She is not sure exactly how long ago but to her, it seemed like it was ages ago. Sigrid then had an experience that we would call a DĂ©jĂ vu. Frau Stuhrmann led her toward the old house which looked even worse than the last time she had seen it. She reminded Sigrid of the woman who brought her to the house the day she lost her parents.
“Go inside and do not ask any questions. I know you are very curious but do it for your own good. Please,” Frau Stuhrmann said and Sigrid decided that it was better to just do what she said. Even though it hurt, and she did not want to go back she understood that this must be the best solution they came up with. Sigrid was sure that they would not have brought her back if there was another way. They did not even say goodbye. Frau Stuhrmann got back into the vehicle and left Sigrid standing there.
At the beginning of the street, she saw the soldiers approaching. She thought that that must have been why they left so abruptly. Quickly, she turned around and went to the house. Unease spread through her at the sight of the soldiers. Before the war, she thought that soldiers were there to protect people, but now she knew that it depended on which soldiers they were and as far as she knew the soldiers with a flag on their uniforms which she did not recognise, were not the ones that were going to protect her.
She opened the heavy door with a loud creak and escaped inside. It was as if she was thrown back all those months ago. Everything was the same. The screaming children and the ones that ran around thinking that everything was just a funny game. The older caretakers instantly recognised Sigrid and were happy that she was back. They kept repeating that they needed a helping hand and that she was just the one. Suddenly, she was surrounded by her own language again. She had not heard Latvian in so long. When the Familie Stuhrmann realised that she could speak German fluently, they stopped trying to speak Latvian.
Sigrid was shown to her bed which was in a large room again with all the other girls. Everything happened so quickly that she barely realised that she was not seen as a poor young orphan anymore. She was only seen as a help in the children’s home. Sigrid did not exactly want to accept this, but it seemed like she did not have another choice.
© Adelina Edelhoff 2023-06-29