Life Is Precious

• Saisanvi Yellamarthy, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

I love grandma’s stories. My favourite day is Friday evenings because that’s when grandma narrates her special story. She came to my bedroom, sat down, smiled warmly, then started.
“I was a very popular girl when I was young. I had many friends. I had pretty clothes. I had everything I wanted. I was a very frivolous girl. When the Germans came to France, I hardly even noticed. I knew some Jewish families were moving away, but my family was so illiterate. My family were atheists. We never even went to synagogue.”
“There was a boy in my school who we called Tourteau. Tourteau’s legs were deformed from the polio. He needed two canes to walk with and his back was all twisted. We called him Tourteau because he walked sideways like a crab. Tourteau was a skinny thing. Nobody talked to him because he made us feel uncomfortable. I was always afraid to look at him or to talk to him! I just pretended he didn’t exist.”
“One morning, a man came running into the school. He was a partisan. He rushed and told the teachers that the Germans were coming to take all the Jewish children away! The teachers hurriedly gathered the Jewish children together and told everybody to hide deep within the woods.”
“When I was told to go into the woods, all I cared about were my new red shoes papa had bought for me. So, I snuck away from the group and hid inside the bell tower of the school. The room was filled with crates and books. It was a little frowsty in the room, but I tried to live with it.”
“There was a narrow window in the tower, and I could see the Germans perfectly. I watched them run into the woods after the children. They shot the partisan with no guilt and the children ran with terror-struck eyes. Some Germans left when they were taking away the Jewish children. Some had stayed behind because they were looking for any other poor children to capture.”
“Then I heard sudden creaking. I heard footsteps up the stairs, coming closer to me. I was petrified! I tried my hardest to camouflage myself like a chameleon behind a crate with a blanket. Then, I heard a child’s voice whisper my name. I peeked out from my blanket. “Tourteau?!” I answered, astonished.”
“They will find you here.” he said. “Follow me.” He led me to the library and into a cave. He then showed me the way to the village. I hugged Tourteau with joy. I thanked him with utmost gratitude, then asked, “Why did you help me? I was never even nice to you!” Tourteau answered, “Everybody treats me this way, but life is the most precious thing. So, I’m not going to put a little grudge over a huge, well-intentioned life you could lead to.” I smiled, hugged Tourteau once more, then waved goodbye.”