The Lost Button

Chapter 4

She walked carefully so Matthew wouldn’t notice her. Whenever he turned around, she would hide behind another student. She saw that Matthew wasn’t heading home. He entered a building. Tara stopped in front of it. She decided to wait for him. She didn’t know which floor he had gone to. Just as she was about to give up on waiting, Matthew appeared at the exit. “What are you doing here?” he asked her angrily. Tara hurried after him, trying to catch up. “I had to see what you’re hiding.” “And what did you find out?” he asked. “You’ll tell me that,” Tara replied.

She stood in front of him, waiting for an answer. Matthew said, “It’s none of your business. These aren’t things for girls.” Tara felt offended by his words. “You don’t really think that. You’re just trying to push me away by saying that.” “Think what you want,” Matthew replied, starting to walk away.

Suddenly, sirens blared through the city. It wasn’t curfew time. Something had happened. Matthew turned back to Tara and said, “Come on, let’s go home.” “What do you think happened?” Tara asked him. “We’ll find out. We’d better hurry.” He grabbed her hand, and they pushed through the crowd of people. Everyone was frantically running to find shelter. When they reached Tara’s street, Matthew let go of her hand. “Go now, it’s not safe to be out here.” “And you? Are you going home?” “Yeah, I’m going too. Come on, get inside.” Tara entered her yard and noticed Matthew waited until she was inside. He waved goodbye and then headed toward his own house. Nera was already in the yard. “Did you hear the sirens?” Tara asked her. “Yes,” Nera replied. “And I heard what happened before that.” “What?” Tara asked. “All the railway tracks around the city were blown up. The Germans were expecting big shipments today. Come on, let’s go inside,” Nera answered.

Their mother was waiting for them inside. She frantically packed groceries from the shelves. When Tara asked what she was doing, her mother said that the Germans would now be arresting people and raiding houses. They had to hide everything they had. “Help me lift these boards,” she said, pointing to the pantry floor. Nera and Tara crouched down and began pulling at a board sticking up from the floor. Their mother stuffed some of the groceries inside. “Now step on that board as hard as you can.” Nera grabbed a piece of firewood and told Tara to move aside. She nailed the board down as best she could. They hid the rest of the groceries in the garden. They hurried back into the house. Tara tried to find a connection between what had happened and Matthew. His hand was injured. Was he involved in it? All sorts of questions raced through her mind. She only knew she was afraid he’d be found out if he was. She considered going to him. But the sirens blared again. What if the Germans stopped her on the street? She decided to wait. Maybe tomorrow they’d be able to go to school, and she could ask him. As she was lost in thought, a loud banging on the door interrupted her.

All three women exchanged frightened glances. Nera took a deep breath and approached the door. “Who’s there?” she asked. No one answered. A moment later, the banging grew even louder. Nera opened the door. A German officer stood in front of her, with two soldiers behind him. He gestured for Nera to step aside. They entered the house and began inspecting everything.

Nera and Tara’s mother asked the officer, “What do you need? We don’t know anything.” The officer gave her a sharp look and continued inspecting. Tara felt her heart pounding. They had never had Germans raid their house before. They weren’t hiding anything. But many people were taken away without reason. Tara feared they might do something to her mother or sister. The officer paced around the small living room. A few moments later, he shook his head at the soldiers. They headed outside. Nera ran to the window and saw they were already at the neighbor’s door. Her mother closed the door and pulled Nera away from the window. “Don’t look at them, they’ll see you.” Tara thought of Matthew. What if they went to his place? Or had they already been there? She didn’t know what to do. She still wasn’t sure if he was connected to the events. But his injured hand could raise suspicion. She decided to sneak out through the back door.

While Nera and her mother talked and stole glances toward the window, Tara slipped out through the back door. It led to the garden. Once she managed to leave unnoticed, she ran through the garden and exited on the other side. The street was empty. The Germans were still on the opposite side, searching houses. She took a detour to Matthew’s place. Wherever possible, she cut through yards without fences, sticking to those paths. She hoped she wouldn’t run into a German patrol. As she approached Matthew’s house, she checked both sides of the street for anyone. Seeing no one, she dashed to his door. Out of breath, she knocked. No one answered. She knocked again.

The door swung open abruptly. Matthew stood there. Tara felt a wave of relief. He really had gone home. “What are you doing here? Get inside, quick,” Matthew said. “A patrol came to our house. I heard what happened. I thought of you…” “Of me?” Matthew asked angrily. “What do I have to do with it? You risked getting arrested for something stupid!” “It’s not stupid. Your hand…” Matthew cut her off. “I have nothing to do with it. But no matter how many times I tell you, you won’t believe me, will you?” Tara wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth. “Then how did you hurt your hand?” “Won’t you leave me alone?” Matthew asked, his tone softening slightly. “No, not until you tell me the truth. Are you home alone?”

“I’m alone. My parents went to the capital yesterday. Mom didn’t want to leave Dad by himself. He has a trial today,” Matthew said, catching his breath. “Wait, you said they came to your place. What did they say? Did they hurt you?” “No, the officer looked around, like he was searching for something. But the only thing he could’ve found were the eggs we hid in the garden.” Matthew gave a slight laugh at her words. “They left quickly,” Tara continued, sitting on the couch. “They moved on to raid other houses. I think they’re doing it on purpose, to scare us. As if we had anything to do with blowing up the railway.” “What will you say if they come here and see your hand?” “I’ll tell them the truth. I got hurt playing football.” Tara shook her head in disbelief. Matthew went on, “Please, don’t push it. We’ll wait until dark, and I’ll walk you home.” “I can go now. I’ll take the same route I came by,” Tara said, standing up.

Matthew stepped closer and grabbed her hand. “You were lucky they didn’t catch you. Wait a bit longer. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.” “Are you sure? I wouldn’t keep pestering you about everything,” Tara replied. Matthew let go of her hand and moved closer, speaking softly, “Don’t say that, even as a joke. What would I do without my best friend?” Tara flinched at those words. After all, what were they if not friends? She stepped back and started looking around the living room, searching for a way to pass the time faster. Matthew noticed her expression change and asked, “Hey, are you mad about something?” Tara responded, “Do I have a reason to be? You said you told me the truth.” “And I did tell you the truth. Well, half the truth.” Tara turned to face him, her eyes narrowing. “See? You are hiding something.” “Looks like I can’t hide anything from you,” Matthew said. “Come on, sit down, and I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

Tara nodded and sat on the couch. Matthew sat beside her. He pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing a bandage that stretched all the way to his shoulder. Tara gasped and said, “You’ve injured your entire arm.” Matthew replied, “More accurately, I burned my entire arm.” “How?” Tara asked. Matthew began to explain, “Those guys you saw at school today… They and I… We were trying to make explosive devices, like Molotov cocktails. We were working on it last week. And it didn’t exactly go as planned,” he said, gesturing to his arm. “Making bombs? Are you out of your mind?” Tara asked, raising her voice. “What’s happening around us isn’t normal,” Matthew replied. “And I think my actions are normal. Can I just act like nothing’s going on? You dream about your creations, about Paris, but the question is whether we’ll even live to see tomorrow.” Tara didn’t respond at first. After a long pause, she said, “I’m angry about what’s happening too. I see these people who came to our country, acting like they have rights over all of us. Like they didn’t invade a foreign land. Like they didn’t disrupt all our lives. At the same time, I’m scared. They can do whatever they want with us…” “I’m scared too,” Matthew said to her.

Tara looked at him. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. But alongside the fear, I feel like I have to do something. We tried to join the resistance. One of those guys’ brothers is a member, but they rejected us. They said we’re too young.” Tara felt Matthew was right. Who would stand up if not them? “So you decided to make something on your own.” “Yeah,” Matthew replied. “But it looks like we didn’t exactly succeed. I really have nothing to do with the railway. I have no reason to lie to you after telling you all this.” Tara responded, “I believe you. I’d want to join in too, if you try again…” “No,” Matthew interrupted. “Absolutely not. I won’t let you take that risk.” He continued in a calmer tone, “And I don’t think we’ll try again anyway. I only have two hands,” he said, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Does it hurt?” Tara asked.ទ “Do you need help with the bandage?” Matthew adjusted his shirt sleeve over the bandage and replied, “No, thanks. That’s why I went to that building after school. To get a new bandage. It’s all fine.” Darkness began to fall. Matthew suggested they head out. Tara explained the route she had taken, and they set off together along that path.

The silence was broken only by the barking of dogs. Each time, they paused to check if anyone had spotted them. As they neared Tara’s house, Matthew told her to stop. “I want to thank you.” “For what?” Tara asked. “For everything. For worrying about me. Even when I was harsh to you,” Matthew replied. He took a few steps closer, took Tara’s hand, and kissed it. A wave of warmth flooded her entire body. She felt so much but didn’t know what to say. Matthew smiled when he saw her trembling. “Are you cold?” “A little,” Tara replied. “I’m going now. We’ll see each other at school. Hopefully tomorrow.” Matthew nodded in approval. He waited until Tara walked away before heading back.

As Tara walked, she thought about Matthew’s behavior. Sometimes he’d come so close to her, yet other times he called her his friend. She was confused, but she knew what she felt for him wasn’t just friendship. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight at her house’s window. Nera was looking out, waiting for her return. In that moment, Tara remembered she’d left without saying anything, and they must be worried. She entered the house slowly, stepping cautiously.

Nera looked at her with concern and shook her head in disapproval. Their mother was sitting at the table. Tara approached her carefully. Suddenly, her mother stood up from the table and hugged Tara as tightly as she could. “Do you think I could bear it if something happened to you?” “I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry, please,” Tara said, continuing, “I wasn’t thinking. I had to check on something.” “What?” Nera asked. “Matthew hurt his hand, and his parents are out of town…” Tara began, but Nera cut her off. “How did he hurt his hand?” “He says it happened during football. I wanted to see how he was.” Tara wasn’t sure if her mother and sister believed her, but she knew she couldn’t say anything more.