Chapter 1 ——— From birth to puberty ———————– Page 1
Chapter 2 ——— Teen Intrigue and the sounds of war — Page 5
Chapter 3 ——— A taste of adventure ———————— Page 10
Chapter 4 ——— A shared first love. ————————– Page 16
Chapter 5 ——— The world is again at peace. ————- Page 21
Chapter 6 ——— The spoils of war. —————————- Page 23
Chapter 7 ——— Wanderlust ————————————- Page 31
Chapter 8 ——— Starvation, desolation, and murder. — Page 35
Chapter 9 ——— Love and a purpose in life. —————- Page 38
Chapter 10 ——— A political introduction. ——————- Page 42
Chapter 11 ——— A Political career? ————————– Page 47
Chapter 12 ——— International Diplomats. —————— Page 50
Chapter 13 ——— French/English Politics. —————— Page 57
Chapter 14 ——— Time turns to frustration. —————– Page 67
Chapter 15 ——— A dreamtime emergency.—————– Page 69
Chapter 16 ——— Homeward bound. ————————— Page 72
Chapter 17 ——— Another Nazi. ———————————- Page 74
Chapter 18 ——— The Hypnotist. ——————————– Page 77
Chapter 19 ——— A Nazi Family. ——————————- Page 78
Chapter 20 ——— Wall street crash. ————————— Page 81
Chapter 21 ——— A bad day for Humanity. —————— Page 88
Chapter 22 ——— A political policy targeting Jews. —— Page 92
Chapter 23 ——— A likeminded friend to talk to. ———– Page 95
Chapter 24 ——— Humor in a world of dread. ————– Page 101
Chapter 25 ——— Hell has arrived in Germany. ———— Page 103
Chapter 26 ——— A Career Path. ——————————– Page 107
Chapter 27 ——— The Path to War. —————————– Page 109
Chapter 28 ——— Jewry targeted. ——————————- Page 113
Chapter 29 ——— A sexual deviate —————————— Page 115
Chapter 30 —- Good for the gander, good for the goose – Page 118
Chapter 31 ——— The world is again at war. —————– Page 122
Chapter 32 ——— Poland invaded. —————————— Page 127
Chapter 33 ——— Suspicion ————————————— Page 135
Chapter 34 ——— Too dangerous a plan. ——————— Page 139
Chapter 35 ——— Memory of a past love. ——————— Page 148
Chapter 36 ——— A Russian Catastrophe. ——————- Page 155
Chapter 37 ——— The Death Trains. —————————- Page 157
Chapter 38 ——— A complex plan. —————————— Page 161
Chapter 39 ——— A risk worth taking. ————————- Page 165
Chapter 40 ——— Margarite and an assignation. ———- Page 169
Chapter 41 ——— The aftermath. ——————————– Page 177
Chapter 42 ——— Death camps. ——————————— Page 182
Chapter 43 ——— A kindness repaid. ————————- Page 192
Chapter 44 ——— Another adventure. ———————— Page 211
Chapter 45 ——— The dangers of keeping fit. ————- Page 221
Chapter 46 ——— Hell on earth. ——————————– Page 227
Chapter 47 ——— A time to cry. ——————————– Page 231
Chapter 48 ——— The reckoning. —————————— Page 238
Chapter 49 ——— Orders from heaven. ———————- Page 239
Chapter 50 ——— Resurrected lovers. ———————— Page 248
Chapter 51 ——— What now? ———————————— Page 264
Chapter 52 ——— Playing on fear. —————————– Page 283
Chapter 53 ——— Escaping the nightmare. —————– Page 293
Chapter 54 ——— The interrogation. ————————— Page 295
Chapter 55 ——— Homeward bound. ————————– Page 303
Chapter 1
1913.
From birth to puberty
It is in the Year-of-our Lord 1900, the start of a new century when Zac is born to a Jewish couple in a small village just outside Maastricht in Holland. The first years of his life were like many other children who would constantly learn that they are human beings and try to mimic their parents and learn from their surrounds.
Zac’s parents moved from a dwelling near the City to live on a farm and found that life was now very good to them, while other parents worried about feeding themselves and their family. Sustenance was never a problem for Zac’s family where the land and cows provided much of what is required in life to survive.
Every year the winter snows in Holland meant that the cows, chickens, and other draft animals were housed in barns and fed on hay and grain. During these cold months, that is where Zac mostly resided.
All young boys and sometimes girls, (if the families were without male children), had to look after the animals in the barns during the winter months by feeding them the correct foods in the correct portions. This was always a pleasant task, as the barns were always warm and cosy, especially when the snows covered the countryside. When Zac was six years of age and was in his second year at school, he developed an urge to read and found no better place to read than lying on some straw in the warm barn. Only occasionally did Zac need to raise his eyes above his book to see that all was well.
All children need friends, and Zac had plenty of friends, and the closest friends that he had, was a boy who lived close to him, ‘John’, and a girl that lived in the village, ‘Janette’. The village was not far from Zac’s farm, and John’s farm was very close by to Zac’s farm. Janette often went to see Zac with the blessing of her parents, as farm life gave Janette access to milk and cheese which were a luxury for people that lived in the village with limited income.
During the winter months the three friends often played in the barn, and in the summertime, they played mostly outdoors. Zac usually had to help with the milking, where he would wander over to the cows wherever they were in the fields and placed his stool beside the grazing cow and then would milk her where she stood. Usually this was a three-sided affair with Zac’s Mum and Dad and himself following the cows, each with a bucket. The buckets were sporadically emptied into a larger container and this procedure would be done two time a day and the odd cow needed to be done three times each day.
The farm as all farms in holland are mainly flat and have a main house and some barns. Zac’s home was pleasant, perhaps larger than most but still not considered large. The barns were always well maintained, as farmers usually took better care of their animals than themselves, as the animals were their livelihood. Young Zac thought that the whole world was like his farm but would soon realize that the world was not always as forgiving to all its residents, as it was in his locale.
That was Zac’s life and the years passed pleasantly enough until Zac began having dreams. His dreams, like all dreams, wandered through the passages of sleep. Sometimes his dreams seemed very meaningful and other times not, and yet other times very strange. Zac often asked his Mom and Dad and John and Janette about their dreams and if they dreamed as he did.
The replies that he received were always the same, in that dreams are dreams and all people dream. Even though Zac could usually remember his dreams in detail, he found that most others could not remember them at all, and even if they could, it was usually a scrambled recollection of disjointed parts.
For a young boy, dreams are just dreams, and why should one worry about dreams at all, and so life went on, but when Zac was about twelve years of age, he was about to become enlightened about his dreams. Janette was beginning to fill out as young girls do, and even at this tender age, Janette blouse seemed to push further forward than most other girls of her own age.
Zac was beginning to pay attention to such matters, as boys going through puberty often do, and he began to feel differently about Janette. He enjoyed it when she brushed beside him. He loved it when they played and wrestled and the mounds on her body would push into him. Zac’s friend John of course was of the same age and his feelings were similar to Zac’s. He also lusted after Janette even though both Zac and John did not even know what lust was.
Dreams at night are often caused by a mind that will take a direction which it has found too taxing during the day with all else that is happening, and so it was for Zac. Zac was starting to wonder about his feelings for Janette’s and if she also had feelings to match his own. One stormy night Zac was tending to the animals in the barn and lay on his comfortable bed of straw when he fell into a deep sleep and dreamed about what all young boys do at puberty, and that is; they dream about a girl that they may well fancy, and so it was for Zac.
In his dream, Janette was with him in the barn lying beside him on the straw. Zac told Janette of his feeling for her and told her that he was in love with her. A usual dream would be that she would have told him that she loved him also and then they would have pursued a tender embrace and maybe even shared a tender kiss.
This, however, was not the case, as Janette told Zac that she indeed had such feeling, but they were for his friend John. Janette told Zac that he was her friend and would always be her friend, but she was attracted to John. Zac woke and realized that dreams are only dreams as everyone had told him, and so did not give this much credence.
Zac’s dream seemed like he was having a standard conversation with Janette, just as when they were awake. He could not get it out of his mind, in that the content of his dream seemed very real, and so Zac decided that he would test out his belief that this was perhaps much more than just a meaningless dream.
The following morning, Janette walked from the village and expected Zac to be doing his chores in the barn which he was. As was his custom, Zac lay on the straw with his books and Janette lay beside him also reading. Zac led the conversation to dreams and asked if Janette had any dreams the previous night. Janette replied that indeed she had a dream and thought that it concerned them both but would say no more.
Zac pushed the conversation further, digging deeper and deeper in retrieving every bit of information from Janette until Zac had her entire dream. Janette seemed embarrassed by her admissions and confirmed that her intimate feelings were for John and that Zac was more like a brother to her.
Poor Zac should have been depressed about Janette’s feelings, and was of course, but was also elated in realizing that what he had always expected was indeed true. There was more to his dreams than what people thought. He realized that he had the ability of total recall and he had also suspected that dreams could be shared. This was indeed conformation, and after some further thought, Zac thought that one day he may even be able to control his dreams.
These thoughts held Zac’s attention for only a short time after which he turned to Janette, “If you indeed think of me as your brother, then would you like to kiss your brother just one time?” Cautiously Janette replied, “Okay then, just once, like a brother.”
Janette then closed her eyes and placed her head close to Zac’s, which was what Zac was hoping for. He then put his lips on hers and his hands on her shoulders and pushed her into the straw and kissed her passionately, pushing her head into the soft straw.
When this was concluded, a slightly annoyed Janette replied, “That is not the way one would kiss their sister.” to which Zac replied, “That is the way I kiss all my sisters.”
Janette, still flustered, “You don’t have any sisters.”
Zac with a laugh continued, “And therefore, as I cannot possibly be experienced in the appropriate manner in which to kiss a sister, you will have to forgive me.”
They both smiled, but Zac, even though disappointed, was elated by his findings that had troubled him for quite some time, and thought, “There may well be more to dreams than the aimless delusions of a wandering mind.”
Janette’s blouse kept pushing outward more and more every month, and as time went on, Zac had informed a delighted John of Janette’s feelings for him. They still all played together but often Zac read his books while Janette and John cuddled and kissed not far from where Zac lay reading on the soft straw. Zac should have been jealous, but Zac was very much a realist and surmised that there were many pretty girls around that he would also find tempting and so was happy for his close friends, John and Janette.
Another year passed and then there was trouble brewing in Europe and the world was soon at war. Young children are never too concerned with such things as war, unless it affects them personally, and so it was for Zac. Zac began to realize that his dreams were not restricted to his own locality and during his dreams he would often converse with young adults who he had never even met. This confused Zac greatly but still did not override the main events of a boy passing through puberty, which of course was the female of his species.