hogwarts shady

Normally at this time, Mrs. Marcia would be holding the four-legged crutches and opening the door with a smile.

However, no matter how many times Ryan shouted today, he still did not hear any noise in the house.

Ryan's expression changed, and some bad guesses flashed through his mind.

He quickly opened the door with the unlocking spell. Mrs. Marcia was not sitting on the lounge chair in the living room and warming the fireplace as usual. However, the door to the room on the second floor was open, and Ryan vaguely heard some sounds.

He breathed a sigh of relief and climbed to the second floor with his lunch box.

A thin and tall old lady was sitting on the bedside, holding a picture frame in her hand.She gently stroked the photo, seemingly immersed in memories, completely unaware of Ryan's arrival.

"Mrs. Marcia?" Ryan shouted tentatively.

"Ryan?" Mrs. Marcia came back to her senses. She raised her head, her eyes red.

"I'm here to bring you food." Ryan said, "I called you several times, but I didn't hear any reply. It happened that the door was unlocked, so I came in."

"Look at my memory." She slowly stood up and put the photo frame on the bedside table, "Thank you, little one."

Ryan helped her down the stairs and glanced at the photo frame with his peripheral vision. The photo showed a large family gathered together.

Mrs. Marcia sat down by the fireplace, took the food box from Ryan, and smiled: "Did you cook today's food?"

Ryan nodded and said, "Mom and dad went to China."

"They've already told me," said Madam Marcia, "It's really troublesome for you to let a little guy like you take care of me, an old woman."

"It's nothing, Grandma Marcia." Ryan unfolded the box, handed a piece of rice to the old lady, and took another piece for himself.

Mrs. Marcia took the lunch box and spoon with a smile, and asked, "Is it time for you to go to middle school now?"

"When I entered the first grade of junior high school this year, my father sent me to a school far away." Ryan said vaguely, and he quickly changed the subject, "By the way, Grandma Marcia, what were you watching before, so fascinated?"

Mrs. Marcia paused in her eating movements, her eyes were dazed for a while, and then she smiled: "Oh, these are all old things. When people get old, they like to reminisce about the past."

Ryan looked at Mrs. Marcia longingly. She was silent for a moment, and then said sadly: "You don't mind listening to the nagging of me, an old woman, do you?"

"Of course I don't mind." Ryan shook his head immediately.

Mrs. Marcia smiled fondly before saying, "I was born in a priest family in Romania. I have three sisters and two brothers."

The tip of her nose turned slightly red, and she took a mouthful of food before continuing: "My eldest brother studied teachings with his father and is already a somewhat accomplished monk. My second sister taught violin in a middle school, and my third brother and my mother learned some tailoring. Regarding craftsmanship, the fourth and fifth sisters were just like me and were still in school at the time.”

Ryan used chopsticks to pick up some vegetables for Mrs. Marcia.

"I envy you and Valerie." Mrs. Marcia pointed to the chopsticks in Ryan's hand and said, "At least I can't grasp these two long bars after practicing for several years."

"Don't say that. You know, my dad didn't learn it either." Ryan laughed.

Madam Marcia was immediately amused. She laughed several times before she managed to stop laughing.

Her smile diluted the sad atmosphere that had gathered before. Mrs. Marcia smiled and recalled for a while before sighing: "Our family lived happily in a small town until...[-]."

Ryan lowered his head silently and took two mouthfuls of rice. He didn't want Mrs. Marcia to see the sympathy in his eyes.

"The Germans came in." Mrs. Marcia's voice deepened. "They sent our family to the local concentration camp. My mother did not survive that winter."

"I'm sorry," Ryan whispered, "I shouldn't have asked you to recall these things."

"This is not your fault." Mrs. Marcia smiled kindly, with tears in her eyes. "You can listen to me talk about these past things, which is the greatest comfort to me, an old woman. At least, there are people who are willing to know. What ever happened."

She choked for a moment before continuing to speak in a hurried tone, as if she wanted to quickly skip that unbearable time: "Later, the Germans loaded us into the car and traveled to many concentration camps. My father and brother They died in their gas chambers, the second sister was killed by the beasts of the German military camp, and the fourth sister died on the road due to malnutrition and infection.”

Mrs. Marcia pursed her lips and closed her eyes: "Finally, only my sister Lisa and I arrived at Auschwitz. It was the winter of 16, I was [-] years old, and my sister. "

Ryan put down his bowls and chopsticks. In this heavy atmosphere, he felt that any action was a blasphemy against history and life.

"Those days must have been difficult," Ryan said softly.

Mrs. Marcia wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and shook her head: "No, as long as Lisa is here, I believe that all the suffering will eventually pass. We have endured the abuse of the Germans, the severe cold and the scorching heat, We survived hunger and disease, and finally the Soviets came in."

Ryan let out a breath. He couldn't think about how much cruelty and hardship was hidden in Mrs. Marcia's understatement.

War is always something that people born in peacetime cannot imagine.

He was somewhat glad that Mrs. Marcia had skipped the Auschwitz experience, because he didn't know how he should face the "story" the old lady told him.

Compassion that is incapable of empathy would be hypocritical, and superficial comfort would be even more indifferent.

"The British followed..." Mrs. Marcia's hands trembled. "They brought cars and doctors. They pushed aside the stinking piles of corpses, pulled out the people who were still breathing, and then -"

Ryan suddenly held his breath, and his heart trembled with Mrs. Marcia's hand.

"They put us survivors on the scale one by one." Mrs. Marcia sighed. "The doctor said, those who weigh more than [-] pounds will be taken away, and those who weigh less than [-] pounds will be kept."

"Why?" Ryan almost covered his mouth.

"Because of supplies and vehicles." Mrs. Marcia's tone was very calm. "That's war, Ryan. They can't waste their few resources on people who are difficult to save."

Ryan fell silent.

Mrs. Marcia continued: "My sister and I watched some people being carried into the car, and some people were thrown back into the pile of corpses. I could hear their faint and desperate cries."

Ryan couldn't help but close his eyes. He didn't dare to think about what a terrible scene it was.

"Then, I was put on the scale." Mrs. Marcia said indifferently, as if she was explaining something that had nothing to do with her, "54 pounds."

Ryan's eyes widened. He couldn't imagine how a man weighing only 27 kilograms could survive.

"The doctor said, keep her." Mrs. Marcia smiled. "Then they put my sister on the scale, and they said, take her away."

Ryan did not hide his confusion, he looked at Mrs. Marcia.

The old lady smiled, but couldn't hold back her tears. She choked and said, "Just when they were about to carry my sister away, she rolled over from the stretcher and held my hand tightly."