The Boy

It wasn't long enough until the next time that little Ben met his companion, by the countryside. He was all of 9 years old but had the maturity of a 13 years old teenager. His father had been promoted to the position of a Commandant by the Nazi Administration which caused Ben's family to move to Auschwitz from their humble establishment in Ireland. Ben's mother, did not approve of this step knowing well about the atrocities which were a product of her husband's army. She chose to move back to Ireland with Ben's little sister-a strong move that had a pretty harsh repercussion on Ben as a child, as well his father. Ben was left lonely almost all the time. Therefore, he chose to spend his time by the countryside going on his daily wanderings in search of some entertainment, in the least, a companion.

On one such routine wandering of his, Ben saw a boy about two inches shorter than him in a uniform which suggested that he was imprisoned. That was the day his destiny was re-written by a thick bond of friendship that formed between the two of them, almost instantaneously. The moment Ben saw Shmuel right across the fence, there was this innocent energy that was created much unlike scary silence that prevailed in the rural region. Ben smiled at Shmuel as he knew he would be reciprocated, however, the response he got was that of intimidation and flee. Even before Ben could wonder why Shmuel ran away, he was tapped on his back by a Guard who advised him to go back to the house and avoid coming to this area. The strict and tough guard could have never imagined the strength of the friendship between two of these boys, a christian and a Jew, could never be threatened. Ben and Shmuel started meeting at the times the guards had to take a break for lunch. Their understanding went beyond the restrictions of religion and race. Ben was once caught giving food to Shmuel across the fence and Shmuel was beaten badly. He told Ben he would never meet him again. But Ben, being a loyal friend frequented the spot of their meetings everyday without fail. By now, Shmuel could trust Ben a little more. His swollen and bleeding head did not make him doubt on Ben at all.

Once in their chats Ben decided to visit Shmuel's house. They were smart kids who had plotted the entire scene in such a way that Ben would be disguised as just another of those child prisoners, running around finding food or water. Shmuel gave him a pair of uniform clothes which Ben quickly changed into. What they didn't know was how co-incidentally timed their meeting was with the time that the fatal gas was to be released inside Shmuel's "house", which was indeed a terrible concentration camp meant for killing Jews.

Meanwhile, the Commandant checked the clock walking towards the subordinate chiefs ordering them the exact time that the Jews were supposed to be pushed into the chamber and the release of the gas. " Around 20,000 will be taken in from the gate A and about 30.000 will be pushed in through gate B exactly at 1.45pm and the gas has to be released around 10 minutes later." said the Commandant. The clock said 1.40pm, by then. The timer was set up in the camp as per the Nazi Commandant's accurate order.

As the commandant went back to his house for a quick chat with Ben, he couldn't help notice the absence of Ben. He went up to Ben's room all the while shouting out his name, he checked his own room, alerted the guards immediately. His huge house seemed like a palace made up of 200 rooms, as they searched everywhere for Ben. They alerted the guards that spied the boundaries of the house, but all their efforts went in vain. The Commandant began sweating profusely by now. His guard who had caught Ben meeting Shmuel, rushed them towards the boundary of the house that neighbored the Auschwitz concentration camp and found Ben's clothes just below the fence. The clock now read 1.56pm. the commandant's face grew red and his body palpated at the pulse rate of a horse, as the distressed father now ran like helpless kid into the concentration camp, the insides of which they had never seen in this deadly situation. They tried to stop the floods of people, as they witnessed the fear, the anxiety, the hyperactivity and the helpless cries of poor men, women and children whose only fault lay only in the fact that they were born Jew. The sight was profoundly fogged with the gas and after a point in, you couldn't hear any one. The smells were a mixture of sweat, blood, lethal gas and rotten bodies. They tried their best to stop the gas machine, split up in two's to find little Ben, seldom could they guess how strongly friendship had functioned, enough to even treat a Christian boy as a Jew. Ben's pictures were circulated to all the guards and there was no one who could find him. The Commandant had lost his son to the Auschwitz concentration camp. He had indeed lost his son to a Jew. The atrocities he and his army performed, was now subjected to one of their own. Their hatred couldn't stand a chance in front of Ben and Shmuel's friendship but it did claim both their lives.

Ben's mother came over and tried to find his son in whatever ways she could, she failed. She reached out to concentration camps located in different areas trying to show each person her beautiful son's picture, only to hear that he was never seen. Her heart reverberated the thought that she might never see her son again. She regretted her move to Ireland without Ben. Her soul broke down as she reflected upon the consequences of her actions. The commandant could never see his wife in the eye ever again. His insensitive action made him regret his own birth.

Parents' love for their son failed, the combined strength of all the Nazi guards failed, humanity failed that day. But, the friendship between a Jew and a Christian prevailed. Probably, Hitler's horrendous regime was successful.