Free Daisies Are Forever by Liz Tolsma

on catching a train west.”
    Kurt was glad she voiced her opinion about splitting up the group. He didn’t want to be separated from her. With these crowds, he might never see her again. “I agree. And you will be safer with a soldier with you.”
    Josep pointed to his chest. “She will have a soldier.”
    Kurt watched his sleeve flop in the breeze.
    Empty. Like his soul without the music.

    Gisela trailed Mitch into the city, the blister on her heel burning with each step. It had started even before the truck picked them up. When they had been able to get a ride, she hoped she wouldn’t have to walk much anymore. With each step, the pain increased. Her stocking was sticky with blood.
    Renate had fallen asleep on Mitch’s shoulder and Annelies’s feet dragged more the farther they walked. Bettina clung to Audraand Katya grasped Kurt. Gisela didn’t think she had ever been so tired in her life.
    She had failed Herr Holtzmann, like so many others. He should have rested more. She pushed him too hard.
    They passed a shop with a few boxes of powdered milk in the window. A sign hung on the glass.
    Soldaten meldet euch bei der nächsten heeresdienststelle. Wer mit ziviltrecks zieht oder sich in privatquartieren herumdrückt, gilt als fahnenflüchtig.
    Mitch stood beside her. “What does it say?”
    “Soldiers, get in contact with the nearest army base. Anyone who attaches themselves to civilian convoys or hangs around in private homes is considered a deserter.” She shivered. Mitch grasped her hand and squeezed it.
    The others caught up to them. Mitch turned down a side street in a residential area. Where it was dangerous for him. Though it was dangerous for him everywhere. Kurt would not have to report to the army base. Not as a wounded hero.
    She turned her attention to the neighborhood. Neat houses lined the road. They slumbered, all quiet, unaware of who waited on the doorstep to their city.
    Mitch went no farther than the second or third home before he climbed the steps and knocked on the door.
    A stooped, elderly woman answered. Her hands and head and even lips shook. Mitch waved Gisela forward. “We are looking for a place to stay. Do you have room or know of someone who might take us in?”
    The woman shook her head, her long gray braid bouncing. “Nein. We aren’t well enough to have boarders, especially ones with little children.”
    “Bitte, I’m begging you. The old women and small girls are exhausted. We need a warm place to rest for the night.”
    “There is no way I can take you.” She began to close the door.
    Gisela stuck her foot on the threshold and prevented the woman from shutting them out. “We will be quiet, I promise. We are so tired, we will sleep. No fuss.”
    The home owner grasped the brass knob. “Nein. They are taking people at the school. That is where you can stay.”
    “Bitte, how do we get there?” While Gisela desperately wanted a little peace and quiet, time away from the crowds, the school had to be better than the outdoors.
    Gisela bobbed her head when the old woman finished giving them directions. “Danke, danke.”
    They stepped back into the deserted street. Mitch adjusted the sleeping child on his shoulder. “Were you paying attention to those directions?”
    “I was.”
    “Good. I had trouble following her German.”
    Gisela led them up and down a few blocks before they came to the unassuming red brick building.
    The gymnasium was packed with people. Wall to wall. Where would they even go? She looked at her crew. The old women had ceased their chatter some kilometers before Danzig. They had hardly been able to put one foot in front of the other between the house and the school.
    She turned her attention to Mitch. He shrugged.
    Then Kurt stepped forward. She had felt his gaze on her back the entire way from the truck to this spot. She wanted to squirm under his scrutiny. “They will make room for a hero of the Reich.”
    He proceeded to pick his way through the