The soldiers ignored her and spoke to each other. ‘He was always weak, everyone knows it. They laugh about it behind Herr Fischer’s back,’ Thomas said. He stood back and examined their work. Yes. That looked real. ‘They will believe us,’ he said.

‘Stupid fool,’ Rolf agreed, already believing their own lie. ‘Killing himself over a filthy Jew.’

Finally, Elsa turned away from Max. Brushing the dust from her legs, she got up and looked at the guards, her eyes black with rage. She stood tall and straight, her chin lifted up, her tears already drying on her cheeks.

‘Do it,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I have nothing left. Take the last thing from me. My life. I’m done with it.’

And then she closed her eyes. She would not give them that. She would not let them into her soul while they emptied out their own.

It was over.

As she fell, the photograph fluttered to the ground beside her.

Three children who owned the world, smiling at the sky.

LEO

A strange thing happened today. I was walking with Annie, climbing a hill. We got to the top and stood looking down at the town as the day began to draw to a close.

It felt familiar and I couldn’t work out why. I’d never been up this hill before. I’d never looked down on this town.

And then I remembered. It wasn’t this town in my memory. It was Vienna.

I smiled as I thought of that day. My best friends, Elsa and Max. I still thought about them every day. I wished so much that they could have met Annie.

Maybe they would meet her one day, when this was all over.

I closed my eyes and I was there with them. That day when we thought the world was ours. We thought we could do anything. Childish dreams. Beautiful dreams.

I felt the warmth of the sun on my face and didn’t want to open my eyes.

And then, out of nowhere, a pain flashed across my chest so fiercely it doubled me over.

‘Leo, are you okay?’ Annie was crouching in front of me.

I held my hand on my chest and tried to calm my breathing. I nodded. Breathed. Counted to ten.

It had moved off. I stood up and took her hand.

‘You all right?’ she asked.

‘Yeah. I’m okay now.’

‘Look,’ she said, pointing at two clouds in the sky that had drifted together into one. Light beamed through a tiny break between them, like a hazy white ladder to the sun.

I put my arm around Annie and we stood watching together.

The pain in my chest had gone but it had left a dull ache behind.

It felt a bit like grief.

PAPA