The Daughters of Marburg

by Terrance Williamson

“Thank you.” Edith smiled at Lilly. “I’ll let you know if I have to run out.”

  With another glance at her father, Edith shook her head and walked out of the room.

  Kneeling beside Mr. Sommer, Lilly took his hand in hers but noticed how cold it was. He also was unable to squeeze back, and he still appeared distant. Putting a hand to his forehead, Lilly’s heart stopped when she noticed his temperature. She remembered the fever that took her mother’s life and feared that the fever would take him as well.

  Running to the stairs, Lilly shouted down. “Edith?!”

  “What?!” she shouted back.

  “Did you find anything?”

  “No, nothing. I’ll keep looking!”

  “Hurry! Please!”

  “Why, what’s happened?” Edith came to the bottom of the stairs.

  “He’s running a fever!” Lilly began to cry.

  Without a word, Edith ran back into the kitchen, and Lilly could hear pots and pans clashing and glass breaking as Edith rummaged through the kitchen for anything that would save their father.

  “Papa!” Lilly returned to kneeling at his side and, grabbing his hand, held it close to her face. “Please stay with me.”

  “Eva?” Mr. Sommer spoke, and she knew that he was calling for her mother.

  “Papa, it’s me, Lilly.” Lilly’s tears streamed down her face.

  “Where’s your mother?” he asked groggily and looked in her direction, but his eyes couldn’t focus on her.

  “You’re running a fever,” Lilly spoke softly. “Edith is trying to find something to help you.”

  “But she’s too little.” Mr. Sommer frowned. “Why is she home from school?”

  “Papa, please.” Lilly wept. “Stay with me.”

  “I found some willow bark!” Edith rushed back into the room. “It won’t heal him, but it will reduce the fever and inflammation, which should give him a fighting chance.”

  “Ah, Eva, there you are.” Mr. Sommer reached out his hand.

  “It’s me, Edith,” she replied and glanced at Lilly as the two understood how serious this was.

  “Here, try to sit up.” Lilly assisted her dad upright. “The tea will help with your pain.”

  With a grunt and a groan, Mr. Sommer eventually sat upright and tried to take the tea, but he was shaking too severely from the onset of chills. Instead, he curled up into a ball and leaned over as he shivered.

  “Papa!” Lilly tried to pull him upright again. “You need to drink!”

  But there was no reply as he continued to shake, and he appeared to be losing consciousness.

  “We need a doctor!” Edith huffed.

  “I’ll grab Wilhelm!” Lilly ran out of the room. “Keep trying to get him to drink!”

  Speeding down the stairs and bursting out of the house, Lilly ran over to the Baumanns and began pounding on the door.

  The door swung open as a disheveled Mrs. Baumann stood before her in a nightgown.

  “Is your father alright?” Mrs. Baumann asked as she examined Lilly in her state.

  “Mr. Sommer has taken a fever!” Lilly blurted. “Please, we need a doctor!”

  “Wilhelm!” Mrs. Baumann shouted back into the house.

  “Yes?” he replied from upstairs.

  “Run and fetch the doctor!”

  “Doctor? For Mr. Sommer?”

  “Just go!” Mrs. Baumann barked.

  “I’m going!” Wilhelm shouted back in his annoyance, and Lilly watched as he ran out the side entrance.

  “I would call, but the secretary at the office never answers. Even when she does, she’s less than useful. Come, take me to your father. Let’s see what I can do to help while we’re waiting.”

  Without question, Lilly grabbed Mrs. Baumann’s hand and led her back towards the house. Yet when they reached the door, Mrs. Baumann let go of Lilly’s hand and stopped in her tracks.

  “What’s wrong?” Lilly turned around.

  “Just a lot of memories here is all.” Mrs. Baumann took a deep breath before plunging inside as Lilly led her to their father’s room.

  “Where’s the doctor?” Edith stood when she noticed them arrive at the top of the stairs.

  “Wilhelm is off to collect him,” Mrs. Baumann replied as she strode commandingly into the room.

  “He took some of the tea but couldn’t keep it down,” Edith spoke as she began to tremble, and Lilly noticed the vomit beside the bed.

  “Go run a lukewarm bath and have plenty of cloths nearby!” Mrs. Baumann pointed at Edith, and at once, she obeyed.

  “Help me take his clothes off,” Mrs. Baumann ordered Lilly.

  “Pardon?” Lilly shook her head.

  “We need to get him in the bath”—she waved for Lilly to assist her— “and if you want to save your father, don’t question me again. I don’t have time to explain.”

  Agreeing, Lilly helped Mrs. Baumann remove her father’s trousers and undergarments, and then they sat him up as they removed his bloodstained jacket and shirt. Lilly nearly jumped back in surprise at the sheer amount of bruising on her father’s chest. The left side was an ugly array of yellow, purple, blue, and black.

  “I’ll take one arm; you grab the other.” Mrs. Baumann threw one of Mr. Sommer’s arms around her shoulder, while Lilly did likewise.

  “Let’s go slowly,” Mrs. Baumann grunted. “I’m an old lady, and your father isn’t light.”

  Gradually, Lilly and Mrs. Baumann walked Mr. Sommer over to the bathroom. Edith gave a shocked expression to see her father naked but understood that it was of necessity.

  “Mr. Sommer,” Mrs. Baumann spoke loudly and clearly, “I’m going to need your help. We need you to get into the bathtub. Do you understand?”

  With a nearly inaudible grunt, Mr. Sommer suggested that he did, in fact, understand, which greatly relieved Lilly.

  With as much effort as he could give, Mr. Sommer stuck his foot into the tub, and Lilly could feel him wince at the temperature.

  “Is it too hot?” Lilly asked.

  “I made sure it was lukewarm!” Edith professed.

  “The water will feel cold to him because he’s got a fever,” Mrs. Baumann explained as she panted under the strain of his weight, “but if we use cold water, it will make his body think that it has to raise his temperature and it will only increase the fever.”

  With another foot in the tub, Mr. Sommer stood while still quivering under Mrs. Baumann and Lilly’s careful guidance.

  “How can I help?” Edith asked.

  “Stand…behind him.” Mrs. Baumann could barely speak, and Lilly figured that she wouldn’t last much longer. “I don’t want…to drop him. Make sure…that he doesn’t…hit his head.”

  “Got it!” Edith took her position behind her father.

  “Slowly now.” Mrs. Baumann began to walk backward as they carefully tipped Mr. Sommer onto his backside.

  Lilly strained with all her might to keep him from falling suddenly and, with Edith’s help, they were able to get him comfortably set.

  “Go get the tea now.” Mrs. Baumann grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her head. “And if the lukewarm water will do its trick, then he should be able to keep the liquids down this time.”

  “Thank you!” Lilly grabbed onto Mrs. Baumann’s hands.

  “Don’t thank me yet.” Mrs. Baumann huffed. “We’re not in the clear by any means.”

  “Here’s the tea!” Edith ran back with the cup, being careful not to spill.

  “Eva, you shouldn’t have.” Mr. Sommer smiled at Edith as she knelt beside him with the cup.

  “Eva?” Mrs. Baumann whispered to Lilly for clarification.

  “Our mother,” Lilly whispered back with a lump in her throat. “Edith is identical to her.”

  “I see.” Mrs. Baumann took Lilly’s hand in hers and squeezed gently.

  “Hello?” Wilhelm shouted from downstairs.

  “Up here!” Lilly shouted back.

  “That was quick,” Mrs. Bauma
nn muttered as she frowned suspiciously. “The doctor is a larger man. There’s no way he walked here already.”

  Terrified that something had happened, Lilly eagerly watched Wilhelm as he came into view at the top of the stairs. Her heart sank when she noticed that he was alone.

  “Where’s the doctor?” Lilly asked, but Wilhelm only shook his head as he tried to catch his breath.

  “There’s no doctor?” Edith asked.

  “He refused.” Wilhelm glanced down at his feet.

  “What do you mean, refused?!” Edith stood in her rage.

  “The major ordered him to stay away.” Wilhelm bit his lip.

  “So, we’re on our own then?” Lilly looked back at her father. He appeared motionless, but she could see that he was still breathing, at least.

  “You’re in better hands with my grandma than the doctor, if you ask me.” Wilhelm tried to put on a brave face.

  Then, the sound of an engine echoed throughout the street outside, and Lilly assumed that it was one of the SS loudspeaker vehicles again. But when the engine came to a stop outside their property, Lilly found it curious. Walking over to her bedroom, she peeked out the window and saw that it was the moving van.

  “The movers!” Lilly ran back to Edith. “I completely forgot about them!”

  “We’ll handle it!” Mrs. Baumann touched Lilly’s arm tenderly.

  “I can’t ask you to do that!” Lilly shook her head. “We need you here, helping my father.”

  “I’ve done all I can.” Mrs. Baumann smiled hopefully and put her hand to Lilly’s cheek. “Your father needs you now more than ever. We’ll be downstairs.”

  “Thank you.” Lilly looked gratefully at Mrs. Baumann and Wilhelm. “I’m not sure where we’d be without you.”

  “Don’t give it a second thought,” Wilhelm replied as he closed the bathroom door, leaving the two sisters alone with their father.

  Kneeling on the opposite end of the bathtub, Lilly sat across from Edith, who was dabbing Mr. Sommer’s head with a wet cloth.

  “Careful with that!” Mrs. Baumann’s voice permeated through the door. Lilly couldn’t be more appreciative to have a woman of her caliber at a moment as strenuous as this.

  “He’s kept the tea down so far,” Edith spoke after a moment.

  “That’s good.” Lilly sighed in her relief. “He’s going to be fine, right?”

  “I believe that he will be.” Edith looked intently at her sister.

  “I think so, too,” Lilly replied as she felt her shoulders releasing some of the tension.

  “Thank you for not hating me.” Edith reached over and grabbed Lilly’s hand. “I know that you have every reason to.”

  “You’re my sister”—Lilly lowered her gaze— “and, truthfully, I was blaming you for something that was out of your control.”

  “Still feels as though I’m to blame,” Edith sighed.

  “The major is at fault, and the culture which not only created him but allowed him to operate.” Lilly gave a reassuring glance. “And thank you, by the way.”

  “For what?” Edith frowned.

  “For covering him up.” Lilly giggled as she pointed at the cloth covering up their father’s unmentionables.

  “Oh, yes.” Edith giggled back. “That was uncomfortable, to say the least.”

  “I told you to be careful!” Mrs. Baumann shouted. “Walter, come tell these young men how to properly unload a truck!”

  Both Lilly and Edith looked at each other before bursting out into a laugh. Even Mr. Sommer, who was still quite oblivious to his surroundings, began to smile.

  “I think that laughter and good spirits will help him.” Lilly nodded firmly.

  “I agree!” Edith affirmed, but then added, “The major will pay for what he’s done.”

  Startled by her statement, Lilly watched her sister carefully for a moment, wondering if she should advise her of the plan for his liquidation.

  “That’s…already in motion,” Lilly spoke carefully.

  “Papa is up to something, isn’t he?” Edith frowned.

  “Why don’t we talk about that later?” Lilly grabbed the tea and gave her father another sip. “We should discuss lighter things for the moment.”

  “Agreed.” Edith washed her father’s forehead. “So, you and Wilhelm?”

  “What?” Lilly shot Edith a wide-eyed stare.

  “Come on!” Edith laughed. “There’s obviously something between you two!”

  “I don’t know.” Lilly grew bashful as she kept her gaze away from Edith.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t pester you about your affections.” Edith still chuckled. “But you can talk to me about him, if you’d like.”

  “Maybe I do feel something.” Lilly shrugged.

  “Really?!” Edith clasped her hand on the edge of the tub. “I knew it!”

  “I don’t have the same reaction to him that I have to other men,” Lilly began sheepishly.

  “In what way?” Edith asked sincerely.

  “I don’t know how to explain it properly.”

  “Just try.”

  “I’m experiencing something I don’t entirely know how to articulate.” Lilly paused as she pondered. “With most men, in the past, I’ve found them attractive, but there’s little else that draws my attention.”

  “And with Wilhelm?” Edith pressed.

  “With Wilhelm, my affections go beyond mere attraction. I trust him, unreservedly, which I believe he would resonate.” Lilly smiled as she thought. “He has this quiet strength, this patient endurance that I’m so desperate to cling to, especially right now. He’s an anchor, as cliché as that may sound.”

  “I think he’s perfect for you.” Edith grinned at Lilly.

  “You’re just saying that.” Lilly looked hopefully at Edith for her to counter.

  “I would never flatter you for the mere sake of it.” Edith winked.

  “That’s true enough.” Lilly smiled back at Edith.

  The two sisters returned to silence as their attention diverted to their father, and they made sure to attempt every avenue available to them to quell his fever.

  “I’m shocked at how blind I was.” Edith looked at Lilly with a fiery passion that terrified her. “I want in. Whatever it is you have planned, include me. The major will pay with incalculable suffering. Not even hell and all its minions could restrain my wrath.”

  Chapter Ten:

  Retribution

  “I will have such revenges on you both

  That all the world shall—I will do such things—

  What they are yet I know not, but they shall be

  The terrors of the earth.”

  William Shakespeare, King Lear

  “Alright, he’s asleep, and his fever is gone, for now at least.” Edith shut the door to her father’s room as she spoke with Lilly in the hallway.

  “I don’t fully understand where the fever is coming from.” Lilly crossed her arms.

  “Tough to say.” Edith shrugged. “If the doctor had come, then maybe he could’ve told us. He had lots of bruising on his face and chest. Maybe there is an open wound that was infected? I’d say a concussion is most likely what he is suffering from, but I’m not sure if that causes fevers. Maybe one of his bones is broken? I don’t know how any of it works, really.”

  “Whatever the case, I think your quick actions helped him.” Lilly rubbed Edith’s shoulder.

  “That was Mrs. Baumann, not me.” Edith shook her head.

  “The tea was your idea.” Lilly tried to console her sister.

  “This was my fault”—Edith pointed to their father’s door— “and I don’t know how to live with that.”

  “We move forward.” Lilly nodded. “I need your help taking revenge. The major is a wicked, vile man, and he needs to pay for what he’s done. Not just to us, but to many families like ours.”

  “I’m still surprised that I believed the propaganda without question,” Edith scoffed. “I’m ashamed that it took experi
encing even a fraction of what Jewish people, or political opponents, are going through for me to open my mind. I imagined that I was the clever one out of the two of us, but you’ve outwitted me, my dear sister.”

  “That’s not too difficult.” Lilly gave a wry smile.

  “You brat!” Edith offered a playful smack on Lilly’s arm.

  “Whatever the case,” Lilly laughed, “I’m glad to have my sister back. Let’s agree to put aside these petty differences of ours, for Papa’s sake.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Edith massaged her forehead. “Anyways, I’m going to run to the market. I’ll collect some more items for Papa, and see about some food as well.”

  “Would you like company?”

  “No.” Edith shook her head. “You should stay here with him.”

  “I suppose it’s suitable that we have the Society meeting tonight so that we can learn about cooking and such.” Lilly rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll see if I can’t find a maid while I’m out as well.”

  “You should speak with—” Lilly paused, wondering if she could truly trust Edith.

  “Speak with who?” Edith frowned.

  “Sergeant Wolf.” Lilly continued as she swallowed.

  “For the maid?” Edith grew confused.

  “Yes.” Lilly nodded. “He and Papa had an, um, arrangement.”

  “Ruth was Jewish after all?” Edith stared at her feet in disbelief.

  “Fortunately, Sergeant Wolf is a friend of ours, and he was able to convince the major that the documents were legitimate.”

  “That is fortunate.” Edith threw her eyebrows up.

  “I don’t know how extensive the plan was but, essentially, Papa was going to hire and fire ‘maids’ in an effort to help them out of the country.”

  “My God!” Edith bent over as she began to hyperventilate.

  “I know.” Lilly put a gentle hand on Edith’s back.

  “This is treason!” Edith stood up straight and rubbed her eyes. “If anyone finds out, we’ll be killed without question or even a trial.”

  Lilly remained silent as she allowed Edith to absorb the information.

  “And now we’re talking about killing the major? He’s SS, for goodness’ sake!” Edith huffed.

  “It may be treason now,” Lilly spoke softly, “but in the end, we are the true patriots.”