He Was the Same Age as My Sister

He Was the Same Age as My Sister

Mieke C. Malandra

I'm nearly sixty-seven years old , but every October when the weather changes , I'am eleven again.
In the last year of the war. No lighted stoves. No lamps to make the room seem warm, no electricity . The soup from the central kitchen get cold by the time we got it home .
That day in October, just when it began to get dark, army trucks closed off our street,and a group of German soldiers started to search for men .
''Raus! Raus! (get out in German) The loudspeaker drove us outside while soldiers ran through our houses , poking in attics and closets.
Our street filled up with women and children. We could talk freely , since the soldiers didn't understand Dutch, Jokes flew around.
It got colder. The soldiers had nearly come to the end of the street, and no men had been found. We became quiet. And then we heard someone crying. It was the sound of a crying child. On the stoop of one houses sat a soldiers, his face hidden in his coat. He tried to swallow his sobs.
A mother walked over and talked to him in German.''What's wrong?'' she asked. She bent over him as he spoke , and when she finished she stood straight up and told us on a high sound
''He is 16 years old and hasn't had anythingto eat today''.
Two or three mothers slipped away and went into their houses.
A German officer came walking down the street.The mothers managed to get bak in time . A cold cooked potato, a piece of bread, and a wrinkled apple were passed between the people to the boy.
The boy turned into a soldier again .''DANKE''(thank you in German), he said,and then he climbed to his feet and grabbed his rifle.

very good amjad
thanks very much

very interesting
thanks alot