Redemption

黃園

At 1：20pm， June 9th， 1972

“Why a little girl？” Jonas turned his back to the girl， so she couldnt see his expressions， but his voice trembled mildly with terror.

“Not a little girl sir. I have already been 16.”the girl answered his question happily. The old man turned back， staring at the girl with a poker face .Then he asked， “How did you find me？”

The girl walked around the house and replied， “Interest， fortune， reasoning power， perseverance and a little bravery. I am interested in the things about Germanys past， especially about Nazism. So I looked though all the data I can find about that time including your pictures .Three months ago， on the subway， a man who wore a black overcoat and with a black umbrella caught my eye. His tall and slim figure made him especially outstanding.Who is him？ Why I have such a familiar sense for him？ I asked myself .And then after three months s effort， I found the answer.”She stopped walking， looking at Jonas with a smile on her face and continued， “Its you！ Jonas —the criminal of Word War II.”

His face turned pale quickly. After a while， he approached the little girl slowly and asked， “Did you tell anyone about it ？”

“No one deserves my trust. But if I cant come back home tonight， everyone including Israelis will know that you are here. They will come here to catch you while you are too old to escape. What will happen next？ You know more than me， dont you？”Fear appeared on his face and disappeared from it in a flash.

Finally， he said frustratedly， “What do you want to get from me？ Money？ I am afraid that I have no money.”

“I know you have no money.How can I expect to earn money from an old criminal who makes his living by benefits ？ It is funny. I am not concerned about money. I just want to hear some interesting stories.”She said with a bright smile.

“Stories？”Jonas stared the little girl in confused.

“Yes， I heard you forced the Jewish to enter poisonous gas chambers and put dead men into gas ovens. You also used women to do the experiments about infertility， didnt you？ I just cant imagine how you could have done such things to Jews. So， lets bring history alive！ Tell me all the specifics！”She could not help raising her volume .Because she was dying to know these kinds of horrible things. While Jonas begun to tremble from top to toe instead.

“No， please！ Dont let me look back to the past！ It is too frightening！ I am very sorry and regretful for what I had done to Jews in the past and always try to make up for my mistakes ！ I am an old man now， not a general of Nazis！Dont punish a poor old man in this way， please！ I can do anything else for you！ ”His eyes were full of terror and imploring.endprint

“Haha！ You do make me laugh and you are really a good actor！”The little girl said .

“You said that you are regretful for what you had done to Jews， then why are you still preserve your army chapter？”The girl pointed to the army chapter which was placed in the corner of the bookshelf.

“You said that you want to compensate your mistakes， but， unfortunately， you are a fugitive.It is really ironic！ ”Jonas looked at the girl fiercely， but in vain， she did not budge.

“Ok， Jonas， your performance time is over. Dont make me angry. Maybe you want to see Israelis.”The girl kept smiling like an innocent angel.

At 5：45pm， June 9th， 1972

“Pretty good！ The stories are excellent！”After hearing the things she wanted， indeed， she got a feeling of happiness and a sense of satisfaction. They really pushed the boundaries of human morals. This incredible behavior made her excited.

“It is a pity that I could not heard new stories until next week.Sometimes， I do hate boarding school， but boarding school can let me away from my stupid parents. Id like to continue， but it is late and I have to leave now. Sir， see you next week.Wish you everything is fine. ”She left with a bright smile while Jonas sat there without a move， like a dead man.

If not already know what kind of person she is， Jonas might think that she is a kind girl.

At 1：14pm， June 16th， 1972

“Good afternoon， sir. Oh， you look not good .Are you all right ？”the girl asked with concern. Jonas face was gaunt and his eyes were bloodshot.Apparently， he did not sleep well for a long time.The old man glanced at her without a word and let her entered the house.

“Well， now that you do not look well， we can pause for a while.I do fear your sudden death.”the little girl jeered.

“Why dont you tell something about yourself？ Your stories.”Jonas asked after a few seconds of silence.

“My stories？A girl whose father is a businessman and mother is a lawyer？My story is not so wonderful as yours.It is as dry as a chip.”the girl struggled her shoulders.

“It seems that you have a good family background.”Jonas felt a little surprised and puzzled.Since he once thought her father was a drunkard while her mother was a gambler.But both of her parents were successful people.

“So what， they never care about me .”the girls voice was close to nothing.Because she lowered her head， Jonas could not see her expressions.

They kept silent for a while.“Ok， Jonas， It is your turn.”The girl raised her head with a smile face.endprint

At 3：19am， June 20th， 1972

Jonas woke up with fear. He breathed heavily while his back was full of sweat. Again， he suffered from the bad dream that took him back to the past. Bodies， blood， screams and cries were everywhere. Everything was in a mess and despair. Things have become worse since that girls second visit.

“No one can help me， a person who planted the seeds of crime. Its certain that I am controlled by that girl. There are only two ways left. One is to continue suffering from spirit. The other is to commit suicide.Compared with the former， I prefer the latter. But the girl who has broken my peaceful life will pay for the price as well .”Jonas thought.

At12：35am， June 24th， 1972

“Guess what I brought to you？ “Cherry pie！ ” As soon as Jonas opened the door， he saw a basket and then a young smiling face.

Looking at the cherry pie which was put on the table， Jonas asked， “Why？”

“Because today is a special day！”the little girl rotated happily.“Today is my birthday！And it is also the day of...”the girl stopped spinning and looked at Jonas， with a smile， “my death.”

The old mans pupils contracted violently.“How...”

“The day before yesterday， I saw you buy some ropes.”the girl interrupted and answered his question slowly.

“You are really a smart girl.I do feel powerless in front of you.”Jonas sneered.“So why are you still come here with the risk of losing your life？”Jonas stared at the girls eyes.

“Why not？ I have been tired of living.Come on， Jonas， lets enjoy the cherry pie at the end of our lives.”she said unconcernedly.

“Are you serious？”Jonas took out the tasty cherry pie out of the basket.

“Of course.I am serious.”the girl replied.

“Because your parents never care about you？”Jonas cut the cherry pie.

“No， they are very concerned about me now， but they used to ignore me when I was a child.”she took the pie from Jonas.

“Oh？You turned into a monster just because of your lack of parental love when you were a child？That is interesting.”Jonas tasted a piece of pie and continued， “Do you love your parents？”

“Not at all， I have no feeling for them， or I am not interested in anything.”the girl answered with pies in mouth.

“You are really an awful monster.”Jonas sighed.

“The same to you.”the girl said with a smile on her face.

“No， I am different from you.I was a soldier whose belief is to obey orders.”Jonas retorted.endprint

“Haha.Dont make excuses for your previous actions， Jonas.It is not what a man should do.”After eating the pie， the girl stood up and said， “All right.It is time to over.Go ahead， Jonas， kill me.”

Jonas approached the little girl and said， ”The last question， ‘What is your name？”

The girl looked up at Jonas， smiled， and replied， “Alice.”

At 5：34pm， June 24th， 1972

Alice woke up and looked around.She was still at Jonas home， but Jonas disappeared.An envelope laid on the table caught her eye.It is a letter left by Jonas.It read，

Dear Alice，

When you read this letter， I have already on my way to Israel.You are right.As a man， I should face up to previous faults， no matter how much they will pay.I used to suffer a lot from guilt and inner unease.But now I know what I am going to do to solve these problems.That is all thanks to you.You are the most clever person I have ever seen.“Alice ”is a nice name.Your parents must love you very much.Give them a chance to compensate their mistakes made in your childhood.You have no passion for life because you are locked in the past.Open your heart and attempt to learn to love others.You will find that the world around you is colorful.

The last， Happy birthday.

Your first friend

Jonas

“You are not my friend！What a terrible friend you are！How can you leave and then leave me alone！”Alice started shouting and crying in a trembling voice.

After a long time， she said， “Thank you， Jonas.Thank you.”endprint