Page 42 - Images Literary Magazine 2016 - 2017.pdf

Th e I n n ocen t Fish I n a Sea Fu l l of Sh arks - A W W I I N arrative
By Th om as Goodwin , Grade 8

?K ATKA!? Sister Tatiana screeched through the cold air in
the walls of the Mother of God, The Queen Catholic Church
in Brest, Poland. I groaned as I awakened in a dirty crowded
room full of young little children, most of whom were crying
because of the coldness or their starvation. I?ll admit, I was
starving too, but if I cried like these little ones did, Sister
Tatiana would probably throw me out on the streets, where
there was no food at all. My tired blue eyes barely could
open up in the candlelit church. My blonde hair was in so
many knots, it could have been considered locks of ropes
instead of hair. I stumbled out of the room in a tattered
white nightdress, and thin socks that barely insulated any
heat that my body radiated.

Sister Tatiana met me in the hallway. What a bitter old
nun! With eyes like ice and a face that could turn men to
K a t k a
stone, Sister Tatiana sometimes scared me more than the
Soviet Army! I guess I understand that she is scared and
hungry too, or maybe she is just hormonal, but if I wanted
to stay here, I?d have to work for her. The year was 1941, and Poland had been occupied by both the
German Reich and Soviet Russia for over three years. I was sixteen, the oldest out of four siblings,
and after the Soviets killed my parents, I assumed the role of guardian over my three siblings. Darius,
my first brother was twelve years old and is probably the most hopeful out of all us. ?We will be
home soon! Mama and Papa are working too! Just like us!? Darius constantly told me. I just wish I had
the courage to tell him what really happened. How I could I just lie to him like this? Instead of
confessing the truth, I told my brothers and sister that our parents were working for the Red Army.
K a t k a
The thought of telling them what really happened, the brutal murders that occurred, haunted me to
the point of horrifying nightmares that kept me awake all night. After Darius was my only sister
Valentina, or Vali. She was 10 years and 68 pounds of pure and fiery determination and wit. Vali is
the only reason why I laugh nowadays. In the worst of times, she can make them just the slightest bit
better. She too is unaware of what happened to my parents, but she?s too busy coming up with plans
to kill Stalin to remember.

?All we have to do is just take Sister Tatiana?s homemade porridge and feed it to him! I?ll tell you
Katka, a piece of me dies every time I eat that concoction. Stalin will be gone within minutes!? Vali
exclaimed to me one day in the kitchens.
I laughed so hard, my stomach ached for hours afterward. Thank the Lord Sister Tatiana didn?t
hear us, that woman can?t hear a bomb exploding even if she tried. Finally, there was our precious
little Alexei or Lex for short. He was only four years old, and already his short life is full of fear and
pain. My poor baby brother doesn?t even remember our parents anymore. When he heard my
mother?s voice, his eyes popped out of his head and a smile as wide as Sister Tatiana appeared on
his face.