“Mommy, where are we going?” said Aleksander as his mother, Klara Zaleski put him and his brother Michal in her car.
        “We’re going on a little car ride.”
        Klara carefully put her two boys in the back of her Packard 180, and even went the length to use the last of the rope she had to tie them in their seat at the waist. She checked the slack in the rope, and once it met her needs, Klara felt her kids were safe enough to go on the road. She did not want to lose a family member. Not again.
        Klara was tall, so tall in fact, a few of her friends had to see their doctor because of neck pains. Klara’s elegant blonde hair was put up in a victory roll, ever since the Nazis surrendered. She had mesmerizing blue eyes; if you stare at them long enough, they turn into a beautiful kaleidoscope. She knew this because her husband, Antoni, would sometimes drift away in her eyes. Her boys inherited many of her qualities. Aleksander had the same hair and eyes, and Michal was gifted her height. Michal had brown hair and brown eyes, courtesy of Antoni.
        Antoni was an architect. He worked with the Nazis to build munitions factories, and other buildings. The Zaleski’s didn’t care about the reputation they got from collaborating, they just needed to sustain themselves until the end of the war.
        The last time Klara saw Antoni was the nineteenth of March, 1943. He woke her up with the smell of sizzling sausages, french toast, and hash browns. Antoni walked around like Einstein because of a new factory being built out of a castle, because of the already existing fortifications. He gave her a long kiss on her forehead, and left for a meeting with the general. Unbeknownst to the Zaleskis, the general felt a particular distrust with Antoni and commanded his security force to take him down to the courthouse, where the Gestapo had set up their headquarters. Antoni was never seen again.
        “Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom” said Aleksander
        “Okay my child. We will stop.”
        Klara eased over to the side of the road, wiggled out Aleksander from his restraints, and let him do his business. Soon after they got on the road, Klara passed by a sign reading “Warsaw”. Klara chose to take the exit, because the Nazis liked to occupy capitals of conquered countries.
        The last time she visited here, maybe in her teens, she loved seeing the closely knitted apartment buildings, the style of Poland, yet the place she once remembered being those apartments had turned into metal frames mixed with sut, the many churches she had once seen were caved in, this place was nothing like Klara remembered. The Nazis showed no remorse. One of the few buildings left, happened to be a motel, was surrounded by rubble and packed with cars.
        “I’m sorry Mrs. Zaleski, but I’m afraid we do not have any rooms left to offer you. We are one of the only places to stay around here, and many people are driving through.”
        “I’m sure I can find a place to stay. Thanks for your help, sir”
        Klara set up the backseat for Aleksander and Michal to sleep. She wasn’t planning on sleeping in the car, so she didn’t bring any blankets, and had to sleep in the driver’s seat.
        “No! I swear! I love my job! I would never spy against the Reich!”
        “Now how would I know those words you just said were true, Antoni?”
        “I am designing the most bomb-proof buildings any man has ever seen! Surely if I was a spy those factories I designed would be rubble!”
        “I have told you many times before, I don’t like taking risks. Therefore, I shall not take a risk on you, Antoni. Soldiers, take him away!”
        “You can’t do this! I have a family! You need me! Oh God, please don’t do this!”
        Thank goodness it was just a nightmare. That same, cruel nightmare. That was the twenty-seventh time she had that nightmare; every time it just got worse.
        Each night was the same experience; they found a hotel to stay in, but when a hotel was booked, they slept in their car. Every day was a struggle for food. Markets were closed, due to too much city damage. Some nights they were eating off of someone else’s plate. Klara chose to persevere, in the hopes of finding Antoni, and live the life he always dreamed. Antoni dreamed of moving to America, and live what he called “the American Dream”. Klara wanted nothing more than to give Antoni and her boys the best life imaginable. But as for now, she must find Antoni to complete his dream. The journey began outside Warsaw and made its way westward. Many stops later, Klara found herself in Berlin. Berlin was worse than Warsaw. Significantly more buildings were on the ground, the air filled with ashes. The worst thing she had seen on this journey, was the bullet holes scattered across buildings and the ground.
        “Pew pew pew! You’re dead!” yelled Michal.
        “No, you are! I shot you first!” Aleksander exclaimed.
        “What did I say about playing that game?” said Klara
        “That it’s not a nice game and that death is not something to mess around with.” said Aleksander and Michal.
        “Right, now what are we going to do differently?”
        “Not play this game…” said both Aleksander and Michal sadly.
        Klara looked out at the bullet holes, then back to her kids playing that game in secret. The boys didn’t experience life during peacetime. They only knew life during war. She looked out at the bullet holes, then back to her kids. Michal and Aleksander do not fully understand the situation the world is in. Out at the bullet holes, then back to the boys. They do not yet understand the tragedy of death, and how war can speed up this process. Soon, they will understand.
        Klara had found a market selling meats and fruits. She made sure to get extra. They had passed many prisons during their journey; some people they encountered called them “concentration camps”. Klara had heard vulgar and vile stories from prisoners. All of them say they’ve never come across an Antoni Zaleski, which slowly drove Klara insane.
        “Mommy, why is that family on the street?” said Aleksander
        “Well, why don’t we go and ask?”
        This family had smiles from ear to ear. They were shedding tears of joy, ecstatic to see each other. Klara could only assume they haven’t seen each other for a long time. The mother was a little plump, with early signs of time wearing on her skin. Her girl was not like her mother. She had brown hair, in contrast to her mother's blonde hair. Clearly she must have inherited that from her father. The father appeared to have weights around his eyes, and was nothing like his plump wife. He looked beaten. He had visible scars as long as Klara’s feet. He appeared to have had his muscles stripped from him, leaving only his skin and bones.
        “Excuse me? Why are you on the street?” Aleksander asked.
        “Well that is because we have no home to go to. It was burned down during a blitzkrieg.” said the mother.
        “What’s a blitzkrieg?”
        “When you are older, Aleksander, I will tell you” Klara interrupted before the mother could respond.
        However, Klara’s curiosity peaked when the descriptions she heard about prisoners in concentration camps matched the fathers physical state.
        “I’m sorry for asking, but were you in a concentration camp?”
        “No, not a concentration camp...A d-death camp.” the father said hesitantly
        “I am so sorry for what you went through sir, I’ve heard stories of what happened in those places.”
        “B-barely any sleep...Only b-bread...work hard, or d-die. Work will set you free…” said the father, with his stiff bones rattling, eyes scanning for imminent danger, and a broken down mind.
        “Did you by any chance know an Antoni Zaleski?”
        “Yes m-madam. Shared the s-same bunk… H-hardest worker I’ve ever seen… N-Nazi told him to come w-with him to the s-shower… N-never saw him again…”
        First, was the tightening of Klara’s throat and a short intake of breath, then a great tremor overtook her. Followed by a great sob, she covered her face with her shaking hands. She fell to her knees, crying out as tears raced down her face. The sound of wailing and pain echoed throughout the streets. Klara could no longer give Antoni the American Dream he had always dreamed of. She could no longer feel the warmth of his hands after a long day at work. She will miss the long kisses after breakfast every day before he leaves. The way their house smells of the forest every time he walked through the door. The way he consoled her when she was gloomy. She would miss it all.
        The more Klara reflected, the more she noticed Antoni in her two children. Their strive to always be the best, while still having compassion and empathy. Even though they still had so much life to live, they already knew right from wrong. Maybe, the American Dream is in them too.
        However, having a confirmation that Antoni has passed is much better knowledge than having no knowledge of his whereabouts. With that closure, Klara felt the pain alleviate much faster than she had expected. She and her kids proceeded to her dusty, worn out car, and they were getting ready to go on the road again.
        “Now where are we going Mommy?” Michal asked.
Klara’s mind had overflowed with ideas. Yet there was only one that felt right.
        “America” Klara boldly stated with what little hope she had left in her. That little hope is all she needed. For it only takes a spark, to get a fire big enough to light up the night.