And yet nothing was the same. Every day, the Nazis issued new regulations that curbed their freedom and made the enemy occupation more difficult to endure. Lena and Pieter loved farming their land, but now that most of their efforts went to feed the enemy, they felt enslaved. The only radio newscasts not under Nazi control were the few minutes of nightly Radio Orange broadcasts from England. As Lena waited for tonight’s news, she worried that even those broadcasts would be taken from them soon. One of the Nazis’ new laws had required all radios to be registered. Lena guessed that the next step would be to confiscate them, and she hadn’t wanted to register. “Who’s going to know whether or not we have a radio?” she’d asked Pieter.

“Every person who has visited our home will know. Everyone who comes in and out of our kitchen can’t miss seeing it.”

“But our friends —”

“We must forget the idea that anyone is our friend. We have no idea who we can trust. Besides, what if Maaike or Wim says something at school about listening to the radio at night?”

“You’re right; you’re right.” They had registered their radio.

Lena paused in her knitting and leaned forward to see the picture Maaike was painting —a green field with black-and-white cows, a blue sky. Marring the expanse of blue was a formation of airplanes. Had they become such a common sight that her daughter included them in her tranquil farm scenes instead of a flock of migrating birds? Lena wanted to grab the brush and paint over the airplanes, erasing them. But no one had been able to stop the Nazis, let alone with a simple brushstroke. She turned her attention to her son. “What are you carving, Wim?”

He held up a lump of wood the size of his fist. “It’s going to be a duck.”

She exhaled with relief, fearing he would fashion a tank or a gun. Their St. Nicholas Day celebration had been leaner this year. Rationing made many goods more expensive and harder to find, but she’d managed to buy a few treats for Wim and Maaike. Lena remembered the night two years ago when Pieter had returned home from his military training to surprise them for St. Nicholas Day. They’d had no idea it would be their last holiday as free people.