Flash Fictions College Ernest Chalamel Classes de 3ème. 2018

N°1 VALENTINL

If I were …
a refugee (In 1940)

-    I would hide to save my life
-      I would ask good people to give me shelter
-      I would be afraid, I would be nervous
-      I would not have a house
-      I would not see my brothers or sisters
-      I would not see my family
-      I would not play football anymore
-      I would not do what I want anymore
-      My future would be unknown
-      I would have a bundle of food and clothing

-      I would be like a mouse before a cat
-      I would be happy for being a jew in my heart
-      I would not be free
-      I would be lost
-      I would not speak the language of the country
-      I would look for a person like me, a refugee
-      I would not go to school
-      I would be stressed when I am on the bus, on the train …
-      I would try not to see the police when I am in a public place

FelixM
What would I do If we were in 1940?

I would hide a refugee.

I would try to save Jews.

I would be a resistance member and I would hide in the “maquis”.

I would have to change my name.

I would not be happy.

I would have to fight for freedom

I would enlist in the free french forces

I would look for refugees to help them

I would try to makeFalse paper I would help the refugees

I would go to England….

THE BARBED WIRE…
BY SOPHIED

When Esther comes back from school, she can see the signs. Panic-stricken, she feels her face heat. She quickly walks back home but her parents aren’t here. She starts crying although she must not. She calls her aunt to tell her that she should come without delay. After that, Esther remembers the last three days, her parents came to search her to school and crossed the Drancy park to avoid the signs. Now it’s sure, her parents have been deported. She can’t refrain her tears.
She tries to gather all the things which reminds her of her parents. When she enters in her bedroom, she sees a small note on her pillow. She takes it, opens and reads :
« Hello Esther. Don’t worry, please. We have been deported to the Drancy camp. To see us, pass in front of the barbed wire fence when you go to school
We love you !
Your parents »

The door slams. Esther jumps and runs to hide. She stops breathing. And she can hear her aunt screaming « Esther! ». She is relieved. Her old aunt has arrived. She embraces Esther and starts cooking. She doesn’t speak.
During the night Esther can’t sleep, she thinks.

When the sun comes up, she hurries to be ready and she runs to the barbed wires to see her parents. She stays there a long time but her parents aren’t here. She goes to school but she can’t focus. She doesn’t know what to do. She decides to give them a week.

Three days have passed but her parents aren’t still here. After six days, she begins to despair, she doesn’t run to go in front of the barbed wires, she’s afraid of what’s out there. When she arrives, she sees her parents waiting for her. She kisses them and for the first time in a long time, she smiles. Her parents don’t know how long they’re going to be there for. Her father gives her his necklace and he says :

« - It’s an heirloom, don’t lose it please !
-We can’t stay here long with you otherwise they’ll find out who you are ! And you have to go to school, it’s important for your future ! her mother says. »
« My future… but who knows if I’ll still be alive in two weeks ? But if I stay here I will be like them. »she thinks. Esther hugs them the best she can and she leaves. It breaks her heart to see her parents locked up behind the barbed wire.

Two weeks later, living in freedom becomes more difficult. When she arrives in front of the barbed wire, her parents aren’t here. She knows it’s not for the same reason as the first time and she knows she has to leave without delay. She quickly walks back home. She takes a small bag and she puts the stuff she needs in there. She takes some stuff that reminds her of her parents and money. She leaves Drancy alone. Her head is disconnected from her body. All she does is acting. She is not a little girl anymore, she is a person trying to survive. She knows that to cross France on foot is not imaginable but in the present circumstances she has no choice.

The first step is to go to Orléans. As the crow flies, there are 120km so it’s a thirty- hour walk. « If I walk ten hours a day, I’m there in three days »she thinks. She takes her compass and she goes to the south. She has to stop often because her head is spinning, she doesn’t drink enough. At the end of the first day of walking, she can sleep in a youth hostel. She eats a small piece of bread. She steals sugar and a bottle of water for the rest of her journey. Then, she falls asleep tired in her bed. She knows she will not have a bed every day. The next morning, she's going away well rested.
The next two nights, she sleeps outside, sheltered by trees and away from the people who want to hurt her.

The second step is to go to Bourges as the crow flies, there are 100km so it’s a twenty five hour walk. « If I walk ten hours a day, I’m there in two and half days but if I try to walk twelve and half hours a day, I’m only two days away! » she thinks. Esther avoids the cities because security is surely more reinforced. After two days, she arrives in Bourges, exhausted.

The third step is to cross the border into the free zone and go to Madranges. As the crow flies, there are 191km but when she will be in the free zone, it will be quieter.
When she arrives at the border, she sees soldiers who are checking the identity papers. Her heart’s beating like hell. She doesn’t have any papers with her. Luckily, a mother of a family calls her in. She explains to her that her daughter of the same age as her died, so she’s willing to pretend that

she is her daughter.

In exchange, she will give the family all the things she has as food. She hurries to leave because she is afraid that the family gives her over to the nazis.
She arrives in Madranges in a week. In Madranges, an old lady sees her and tells her to enter the church. Esther follows the old lady because she is so tired but her heart is beating faster and faster. The old lady tells her :
« You’re Jewish, aren’t you? »
« Yes », Esther says, she is tired of lying.
« I can help you get to Oradour-sur-Glane ! »
« Why would I go over there ? » Esther asked.
« Because there are a lot of Jews there, you will be safe. »
« Okay, help me please. » Esther finally says.
She decides to trust her. The old lady gives her to a smuggler who will take her there.
With the smuggler, there are 3 other people. They must be Jewish. The other people present are a mother and her two young daughters. They’re probably twins. On their faces, I read the certainty of reaching the end of the journey. As if they never doubted their mother’s abilities and her methods. To avoid worrying , Esther plays with the two little girls but in truth it helps her not to make her fear appear on her face.
The journey is going very well. They aren’t arrested by the soldiers. The smuggler made them go through the forest. They arrive in Oradour-sur-Glane at about 6pm.

3 YEARS LATER….
June 10,1944 Esther dies with 641 other victims. The biggest civillian massacre comitted in France by the Germany army. She was at the wrong place at the wrong moment.

A long journey awaits us by SoveigE

Paul Lucas street is a lively street near le Havre’s beach. So when Abel and his father go out from their little apartment and begin to walk quickly with a big suitcase, nobody notices something unusual.

“We must hurry, Abel !” his father whispers

They try to speed up, but it is very difficult because the wind in their faces is slowing down their pace. When they arrive at the crossroads of the street of Etretat and the street Président Wilson, David, the father, calls a taxi. When it arrives, David pushes Abel into the car.

“To the terminal Grande-Bretagne, please !” he says to the driver

“The wind is harsh today” the driver says. “I hope you can take the ferry.”

“The boat must leave, it has to definitely !” David answers quickly, and he suddenly keeps quiet because he feels he had said too much.

The taxi arrives at the terminal Grande-Bretagne at 4 :10 p.m. The boat leaves the coast, David and Abel are on board. The sea pitches, the rain smacks their faces. The boat slowly moves to England. Around the middle of the journey, the night begins to fall. David gives his son a small sandwich with ham and cheese. After this light dinner, Abel yawns and, shortly after, falls asleep.

When he wakes up, his father is sleeping near him. The sun is rising and they can see Portsmouth in the distance. Abel smiles and the sun heats his face. The coast is now just far from 1 or 2 kms away and Abel and his father, now wake up, can see that people are busy in Portsmouth International Port. The boat arrives in Portsmouth at around 8 o’clock. They cross the port and David calculates that he has enough to pay for a taxi. The taxi takes them to Portsmouth train station.

“A family of bakers is waiting for us in London” David says to his son with a wink.

“Great, dad !” Abel exclaims. “Bakers are very nice ! At le Havre, when I went to buy some bread, they would always gave me a little brioche !”

David smiles and they get on the train.

2 hours later, the train approaches the platform. The ticket inspector goes in their carriage. David feels his face burning. He hasn’t bought tickets because his last savings have paid for the taxi. The imposing woman gets close to them and makes his heart clatter in his chest.

“Your tickets please.”she says.

David pretends to search their tickets into his suitcase, but he knows he can’t conceal for a long time they are clandestine passengers. Suddenly, a woman screams :

“Help ! My husband has just fainted !”

Immediately, the inspector comes to the woman.

“I’ll go and find a doctor !” she says.

She crosses the carriage and disappears in an other one. The woman who screamed comes near David and Abel.

“Go and hide in the toilets, the inspector will forget you when she comes back with a doctor for my husband !”

David understands the plan, and he thanks the young woman with a large smile :

“I am David and here is my son, Abel. Thank you for your help ! Good luck for the rest of the journey !”

“My name is Esther. I wish you good luck too.” the woman whispers, and she returns near her husband.