“I’m not an orphan!” Mindel refused to believe the woman might have a point.
“Look, there’s a couple at the far end of the camp taking care of unaccompanied children with the approval of the SS. The woman’s name is Mother Brinkmann. You go and ask her if she’ll take you in, and your friend, too.”
“What did that old broad want?” Laszlo asked as he joined her.
“Did you know there’s an orphans’ barracks in here?”
Laszlo only shrugged and Mindel frowned at him. “I want to go see. Please? Can we at least go see it?”
He shook his head, but after Mindel pestered him for another hour, he finally relented. “Just to go check it out.”
A sudden agitation took over and Mindel couldn’t get to the orphans’ barracks fast enough. The gang rarely ventured there, since they preferred to roam near the kitchen hut and the big courtyard.
Laszlo, though, was dragging his feet and Mindel grew tired of having to wait for him all the time. She turned around, putting her hands akimbo the way she’d seen her mother do it and asked in a stern voice, “Why are you dawdling?”
“I don’t need no adult telling me what to do. I’m just fine without them.”
Mindel admired Laszlo for his wits, his independence and his ability to give the SS the runaround, but she often wished for someone older to be there for her. “Don’t you wish we still had mothers to protect us?”
“I protect you.”
“You do, but you’re not as big as an adult. What if things are better over there?”
“I’ve taken care of myself for a long time now. I’ve taken care of you, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but…” She had no idea what to say, except for her secret yearning to have someone similar to a mother or big sister again. Someone watching over her. “Please, Laszlo, can we go meet Mother Brinkmann? Just to say hello?”
“I already said I would go with you, but I don’t make any promises.”
“But…” Mindel looked at him, scared that Laszlo might abandon her. “I don’t want to stay there without you.”
He finally approached her and put an arm around her shoulders. “I won’t ever leave you, promise. Let’s go meet Mother Brinkmann, she might not be half-bad.”
A huge burden fell from Mindel’s shoulders. Everything would turn out just fine.
“Do you know where it is?” Mindel asked as they walked toward the far side of the compound.
“It’s right there. The last hut.”
Mindel reached for Laszlo’s hand, feeling less frightened when he squeezed it back. It took quite a while to cross the huge compound and her heart warmed when she saw a group of children playing next to the hut. The children ignored them, but as they approached, a tall, dark-haired woman stood up.
“Good morning, how can I help you?”
Mindel instantly liked her, because she didn’t shoo them away like the grown-ups usually did. But Mindel wasn’t brave enough to put forward her request, so she nudged Laszlo toward the woman.
He said in a defiant voice, “We only came here to have a look.”
Far from being offended, Mother Brinkmann smiled and waved her hand. “Go have a look around. We don’t have much, but the SS more or less leave us in peace.”
Laszlo strolled around, clearly indicating that he was less than interested in the woman and her children. He could be so stubborn at times. When Mindel saw the cantankerous expression on his face, she feared he’d mess up everything.
She fought off her shyness and stepped forward, “Mother Brinkmann, we came here to ask if we could live with you.” There, she’d said it. With bated breath she observed the woman’s face, bracing herself for a brush-off.
“Who sent you?”
“Some woman.” Mindel furrowed her brows, thinking hard. “She said you take in …children.” As much as she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to pronounce the word orphan. Her parents were alive – just not here.
“I do. What happened to your parents?”
Laszlo had returned and heard her question. With pouting lips, he said, “My mother died months ago, but I don’t need nobody to take care of me.”
Mother Brinkman seemed surprised, but she kept the pleasant expression on her face, as she addressed him. “What about your sister, does she need someone to take care of her?”
He looked confused for a moment, but then pointed toward Mindel. “She’s not my sister, and I’m taking care of her.”
“Do you have family in the camp?” Mother Brinkmann asked Mindel.
“No. My parents…I don’t know where they are. My older sister and I came here together, but…I believe she’s in the Women’s camp. I haven’t been able to find her.”
“So, it’s just the two of you, right? No adults watching over you?”
“We don’t need to be taken care of, we can do very well on our own.” Laszlo glared at the woman, but she wasn’t fazed in the least. Instead she looked at Mindel, who desperately willed Laszlo to keep his big mouth shut. Didn’t he see that it would be so much better to live here with this kind woman in charge?
“What’s your name?” the woman asked.
“Mindel, and he’s Laszlo.”
“Just Mindel?”
Mindel shrugged. It was too embarrassing to admit that she didn’t remember her last name.
Laszlo said, “I’m Laszlo Reisz. My father was Hungarian, and my mother German. And before you ask, I’m already seven. Old enough to take care of myself.”
“I never doubted that.” The woman smiled at him. “What about you, Mindel, how old are you?”
“Four.” Mindel gathered all her courage, made a curtsy and added, “And I would like very much to stay here with you.”
“My husband and I have already taken in twenty children in addition to our own, but we can certainly make room for two more.” Mother Brinkmann’s smile was so warm and friendly, Mindel almost broke out in tears.
She turned to Laszlo and begged him, “Can we stay? Please?”
He nodded with a dour face. Mindel hugged him before he
