Marlene adapted to the grueling daily routine of working at the hospital, queuing up for rations, and running errands on top of attending classes and studying at home. In the first weeks, she’d fallen to bed exhausted every night, but slowly her body seemed to overcome the need for sleep and she could do mostly with a few hours a night. To everyone concerned about her health, she jokingly said that she could sleep all she wanted once she was dead.
The main reason why she jumped out of her bed every morning with unmatched energy was the prospect of seeing Werner. She still didn’t admit to anyone – even herself – that she had feelings for him, but simply the hope of catching a fleeting glance of him in the university hallways made her entire body shiver with anticipation.
He seemed equally
