1943

96 avenue Victor Hugo,Paris

France

Matteo

I didn't dare talk to Coralie for a few weeks.

Whenever I tried, I'd hide behind Renada's back, looking absolutely flustered and red in the face.

For the first time in years, I bothered to pick up the torah that lay hidden inside my bag and read a few lines from psalm 119, desperate to erase the memory of what I saw that morning .

It was close to noon, we were strolling down rue st. Jaques as Renada wanted to stop by a friend's house.

We were met by a gruesome sight of a mangled, bloodied body that lay spread eagle across the road, a pool of blood surrounding its head.There was a woman who was on her knees, pleading to a french gendarme for help.

I caught a glimpse of a yellow star on her coat.

The gendarme said something like "Vas t'en avant qu'ils vous tuent!"

"Get out of here before they kill you!"

The woman stood up, but before she could thank the man, a group of SS soldiers streamed in, pushing the gendarme out of the way.

An  officer looked down at the body and then at the gendarme.

"You killed one of our men."He said in blunt French.

"He was assaulting a citizen!"exclaimed the gendarme in return, throwing his hands up in disgust.

"A  Jew, you mean," Frowned the officer.He turned to the soldier who held the trembling young lady at gunpoint and said in a sotto voice,

"Kill her."

The woman screamed in terror.

The gendarme swung his fist at the soldier, who jerked back in surprise , throwing the woman out of harm's way. She scrambled across the pavement for cover, frantic as the crowd of bystanders scattered.

The officer glared at the gendarme.

Before I kn