Page 40 of The Watchmaker of Dachau

‘I do.’ Anna placed it in her mouth and allowed Nina to light it for her. The first drag made her cough and splutter, which made the others laugh. But after a few drags, she felt lightheaded and decided she liked the feeling. ‘Won’t you get in trouble?’ Anna asked.

‘Maybe. I say it’s worth the risk. Besides, I doubt a guard is going to let everyone know what she is doing.’

Anna played three eights, then Nina two fours.

‘You know, the typhus is gone,’ Joanna said, as she took the last drag of her smoke where it fizzled and crackled against the filter. ‘It’s pure starvation that’s killing people now.’

Anna shook her head – she had seen how weak these women were, how they coughed and sweated.

‘I’m telling you. There’s no food. They know it. Easier to control us if they keep us locked up – no food, let all the weakest go.’

At the mention of food, Anna’s stomach rumbled in response. She placed a hand on her abdomen, feeling how it had shrunk even more, flat, full of air and nothing else.

‘Lange!’ someone shouted, running into the bunkhouse.

Joanna quickly grabbed the cards and shoved them down her dress; Anna, Nina and Ami extinguished their cigarettes.

‘You!’ Lange boomed as she entered, pointing at Anna. ‘Come with me.’

Frightened, Anna turned to Joanna and Nina – what had she done? Had Lange seen the cards, the cigarettes? Did she think Anna was behind it?

Anna walked towards Lange, then out into the open.

‘You’re needed at the house,’ Lange sneered. ‘Seems they can’t do without you.’

‘But I thought we were in quarantine?’ As soon as the question had left Anna’s mouth, she wished she could shove it back inside.

‘Are you questioning me?’ Lange narrowed her eyes at her, her hand already on her baton.

‘No. No. I just don’t want to make them sick.’

Lange slapped the side of Anna’s face, then looked at her hand and grinned. ‘You feel fine to me,’ she laughed, leaving Anna with a red handprint on her cheek.

As they walked towards the gate, she thought of what Joanna had said – there was no typhus anymore. They were keeping them locked away, starving them until there would be no one left.

‘It is so good to see you.’ Greta enveloped her in an embrace as soon as she entered, her body warm and comforting.

‘And you,’ Anna said as she pulled away.

‘You’d better change. Your dress is in the drawer over there.’

Anna dressed quickly, almost happy to be wearing the brown dress once more, feeling as though she were something more than just an inmate in a camp – she was almost human again.

‘Take this to Isaac, will you?’ Greta handed her a mug of coffee. ‘And tell him that Herr Becher wants the typewriters fixed by tomorrow at the latest.’

Anna nodded and walked towards the shed, the glow of the lamp welcoming her.

‘You’re back.’ Isaac looked up at her as she entered, his hands already reaching for the warm drink.

‘I am.’ She smiled at him. ‘I’m glad you are well.’

‘I was not quarantined; it seems to have missed the men’s camp somehow.’

‘Well, I am glad to see you are all right,’ she said, and she turned to leave him to his work.

‘You are?’

She looked back at him, his face thinner than the last time she had seen him, his hands trembling as they held the weight of the mug. ‘Of course.’