The Only Survivor

Once free, Peter found a job at the UNNRA as a translator. His khaki uniform made him look like a military man. He did not forget about his savior. Each week he brought her two boiled potatoes as a symbolic gesture, while he made sure that her pantry was always full.

The Red Cross published a list of survivors. He could not find his parents, an uncle, a cousin, not a classmate, nobody he knew. Almost asleep, a name floated in the front of his closed eyes. Mickey! His second cousin! Mickey survived and was in Garmisch Partenkirchen!

He took the train. It was crowded with German civilians. They shied away from his US look-alike uniform. They were unfamiliar with the UNNRA emblem on his sleeve. It was his first time face to face with German civilians since he regained his freedom and he felt uneasy.

The silence around him was as deep as a bottomless well. Unexpectedly he caught a pair of rude water blue eyes topped with light brown hair; a bluish scar disfigured the forehead. It only took him one second to recognize the terror of the camp, SS Obersturmfuehrer Kurz.

"You ran away, but I knew that I catch you one of these days," Kurz shouted, pulled a pistol and shot him dead.