Fighting For Freedom
Western Academy of Beijing , Leung , Tessa - 9
T he gentle breeze brushed past my face as I rode my bike home from buying this diary . My little sister , Aviva , was playing with her doll , my mum was making lunch and my dad was in his office . My name is Joseph and I am 11 years old . This is my recollection of what happened in World War 2 when my family was living in Shanghai .
One day , we were sitting around the dining table having lunch , when we noticed some suspicious men ` standing in the street outside our house , whispering to each other . Mum opened the window , pretending to hang out the washing , opening it just enough to listen to the mens ’ conversation . They were mumbling something and we couldn ’ t hear all of it , but we caught our names and the phrase “… tonight …”. It was the Japanese ! They must have found us ! They captured my Jewish friend and his family last week and took them to the ghetto , an old compound where the Jewish were treated like animals . At least it wasn ’ t as bad as death camp .
As I was thinking this , I heard mum clapping . My sister had no idea what was going on and had just completed her maths sheet for the day . She got 100 %. You could call her a genius , but she wasn ’ t at at school because school wasn ’ t safe anymore . Just last week , the spies took a whole family away because a classmate told our teachers she hated the Japanese . Faster than a blink , I heard booms outside . Mum started clapping super loud . When Aviva asked what the sound was , Mum said it was fireworks . From the frown on her face , I ’ m pretty sure it wasn ’ t … She closed the window and announced “ it ’ s getting late . To your rooms ”.
When I got there , I didn ’ t put my PJs on straightaway . I was too caught up with my plan for our escape . There was only one way this would work . Aviva and I would have to split up from mum and dad . The Japanese were less likely to attack children on their own and maybe , just maybe , separately they wouldn ’ t know we are a wanted family . I waited until mum had finished singing Aviva to sleep . When she crept out and I told her the plan , she nodded slowly , trying not to let her tears fall .
I went back to my room quietly and started packing my one spare shirt and pocket knife . Mum brought me Aviva ’ s clothes , yesterday ’ s baozi carefully wrapped in a handkerchief and a crumpled photograph of her and dad . Her hands were shaking . Everyone was scared , but if we didn ’ t leave soon , who knew what would happen .
Mum tucked me up in bed and told me to sleep for a few hours . We would leave at 11 . Suddenly , someone was nudging me . “ Get up darling ,” a voice whispered “ it ’ s time to go ”. As we left , I hugged mum and dad one last time and as Aviva and I ran down the dusty road , tried not to look back over my shoulder .
Shanghai was our city , but after running for so long , the streets all looked the same . There were beggars everywhere , tapping their tin cans . The buildings were crumbling . Mum said to get to grandfather ’ s place in Suzhou on the edge of town and that ’ s where we were headed . Grandfather had one big advantage . He wasn ’ t Jewish .
As we made our way to Suzhou , we found ourselves on a hill covered in trees . Boom . The bombing was getting closer and closer . I could feel the ground shake . An airplane whizzed above our heads , then voices started shouting , moving closer . I grabbed Aviva ’ s hand and pulled her into the forest . She was suddenly on the ground . She ’ d fallen into a hole just big enough for us both ! I squeezed in too and we stayed huddled for I don ’ t know how long . Aviva whispered “ I ’ m still tired , can I sleep ?”. “ Sure , close your eyes Aviva , I ’ ll wake you up ”. Through the distant screams and blasts , somehow we managed to sleep .