Marlene and Lotte returned home after classes and found Zara sitting on their doorstep, waiting for them. Her hair was tousled and her cheeks were flushed with agitation.
“What’s the matter?” Marlene asked her.
“Nothing,” Zara said, but taking a single look into her fright-filled eyes, Marlene knew there was a whole lot of nothing going on.
“Come in, and I’ll make us tea,” Lotte offered.
Once the three of them were sitting around the kitchen table with a cup of tea in their hands, Marlene finally coaxed Zara into telling them the reason for her distress. She’d been harassed by Russian soldiers when leaving the restaurant where she worked in the French sector.
“Thankfully, a couple of French soldiers heard my screams and intervened,” Zara said miserably. “If I’m not safe in the Western
