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Chapter Text

Jojo was finding some wood for the fireplace with Yorkie. The walk was only 10 minutes to get to the woods and meadows. It's been at least 2 months since WW2 ended. The two young boys missed each others' presence. Yorkie wanted to spend time with his best friend, even if they were just getting some wood. Yorkie asked about Jojo's wellbeing and Elsa's wellbeing and how she was.

"Elsa's okay." Jojo said, taking the flower that Yorkie offered him and placing it in his front pocket. "today, she's going to a bakery for some fresh bread and food. She said she was also going to look for some jobs."

Yorkie paused from picking flowers in the meadow. "Oh, that's good, Jojo! She seems quite nice."

"She's wonderful...." Jojo muttered under his breath and the pair continued walking. The children came across a forest.

Yorkie began to pick up thin sticks. He turned back to his friend. "How much sticks of wood do you need?"

"Much as you can get, I guess." Jojo answered, grabbing small logs of wood in his arms.

His ear pricked up at the sound of rustling in the long grass of the meadow that was right beside the forest. He turned his attention to the sound, numerous squeaking sounds followed. Yorkie came up to him, wondering what he was staring at. A pair of white long rabbit peeked up above the tall grass. The boys observed the animal in awe. A white rabbit jumped out from the grass and hopped towards the boys. The rabbit stopped for a few seconds before crouching down to the ground, it started made a growling noise and thumping its feet. Jojo gasped at a bird swooping the rabbit, almost biting the bunny. Immediately, Jojo dropped the logs of wood in his arms and ran to pick up the rabbit. He hugged the animal into his chest as the bird attempted to swoop the young child.

"Jojo!" Yorkie screamed and collected the woods Jojo left on the ground. The dark-haired boy ran after the other boy as they tried to avoid the swooping bird. The walk back was meant to take at least 10 minutes, but since the boys were running from the bird, they got back to the Betzler house in 5 minutes.

"Thanks for carrying the wood, Yorkie." Jojo acclaimed and pet the rabbit that was nuzzled in his chest.

"All good, Jojo." Yorkie replied, "What are you going to do about the rabbit?"

The boy glanced down at the animal he was holding in his arms. "I'm going to keep the rabbit. As a pet."

"He seems like he likes you." Yorkie commented, and Jojo nodded in agreement. The blonde-haired boy unlocked the door and the two boys made their way inside. Yorkie place the wood in the fireplace as Jojo went upstairs to his room, Yorkie tagged along. Jojo grabbed warm blankets and towels and layered them over each other in his room under his bed.

Yorkie looked at the clock. It was 4:20. He faced Jojo with a sad expression. "Sorry, Jojo. I told my Mother I had to be back by 4:30. Good luck with the rabbit, though!"

Jojo thanked him and escorted the black-haired boy out. He waved as his best friend walked away, waving back at him and promising that they would hang out again soon. After Yorkie was out if the blonde's sight, he hurried to grab a container and filled it up water, he steadily made his way to his room. He set down the container next to the pile of towels and blankets that laid under the fluffy animal. Jojo pat the head of the rabbit, the rabbit responded by cuddling up to the 10-year-old.

The boy has a realization: What if the rabbit got bored? He has nothing to play with. He frowned and stood up. What do rabbits play with? He wasn't sure, but he figured anything could be playful for the mammal. He searched his house for various toys for the animal. He found some sport balls, rings with bells, plastic flower pots and he cut out a wooden box. 5 minutes later, after he finished setting up the toys under his bed for rabbit. The animal was hopping around with joy while playing with the toys.

He had another thought: Where would the rabbit pee? The boy rummaged through his room. He found a thin box, it was previously used for hiding away his dagger and a notebook about the Nazi Party. He grimaced at thought of the items, especially the memory of stabbing Elsa in the shoulder. His breath shuddered and he started chewing on his lower lip and his eyes welled up with tears. No. He won't be thinking of that, not now. He was very glad that he and Elsa had burnt the belongings. He put the thin box under his bed placed up against the wall. He made sure to place paper towels on it. Jojo got a small bowel and chopped up some vegetables and leaves. He positioned next to the drinking container.

"Jojo! I'm back!" Elsa called as she closed the door. Jojo let out a small gasp and crouched down to the Buck that was playing with a ball. The young boy told the animal to be quiet and sprinted down the stairs.

"Hey. How was it? Did you get a job offer?" The 10-year-old asked, taking the grocery bags off the girl's shoulder and carrying it over to the table.

Elsa frowned. "No I didn't. But I heard some places around here are starting to open up again."

Jojo nodded and peaked his head in the bag. He took out fresh loaves of bread and some nice treats. "This food is seems very fresh." Jojo commented. He turned to Elsa, who was sitting on the kitchen bench. "I'll look for a job too. I'll start looking tomorrow."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Elsa jumped off the bench. She made her way to the lounge room and turned on the Bakelite radio and turning the tune to jazz music. Elsa turned up the volume and strolled over to the young boy while her body swayed with the music. Elsa offered a hand to join her dance. Jojo grinned as he joined her dance. It was not uncommon to see the pair dancing happily. They usually dance together every so often. 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schön' was playing by the Andrew Sister's, a popular song with some Yiddish lyrics, which made Elsa enjoy and like the song. The two laughed as they danced with happiness and joy.

'Thud.'   'Thud.'   'Thud.'  'Thud.' 

The noise came from upstairs. It felt nostalgic for him. Like when he heard Elsa in the wall the first time. Jojo's smile faded from his face when he saw the girl's concerned expression.

"What was that?" Elsa asked, "Did you hear that?"

The boy stopped his dancing. "I'll go check it out." He grabbed a glass and handed to her. "You must be thirsty. Have a drink."

Jojo ran upstairs and found the rabbit hopping around the hallway, chewing up a now ripped up Nazi propaganda poster. He hid a bunch of posters away after the war. He was intending to burn the posters but forgot about it. The rabbit playfully destroying the poster, Jojo felt quite guilty interrupting the fun from the rabbit. The boy picked up the bunny and sat it down back in his room, making sure to close the door when he left. Elsa faced him as she came up the stairs.

"Did you figure out what the sound was?" She asked. Jojo shook his head in reply. She stared at him. "You have fur on your shirt." The girl giggled and picked the fur off the fabric. Elsa proceeded to grab a robe from Inge's room and paused at the bathroom door. "I'm going to take a bath."

"Okay." The blonde said. "I'll see what I can make for dinner."

It wasn't until shortly after Jojo heard a scream. Specifically Elsa's scream. He dropped the vegetables he was chopping up, he sprinted up stairs. Elsa, wrapped in her bath robe, was surprised at the sudden appearance.

"How did you get out?" Jojo groaned as he picked up the rabbit. "You little troublemaker." He joked while he scratched behind the rabbit's ear, making the bunny purr.

"I have several questions..." Elsa uttered, still very confused. "Why is there a rabbit in the house?"

Jojo glanced down at the floor. Maybe Elsa wanted the rabbit out of the house? He didn't want to get rid of the rabbit. "Me and Yorkie saved it from a swooping bird. I was looking after it."

Elsa came closer to him. She observed the fluffy animal. "Well...What's it name?"

Jojo faced Elsa. She was quite close to him. The butterflies in his stomach came back. "I-I haven't named it him."

"Hmm," Elsa pondered. "What about Cookie? Or Coco for short?"

"What about...Thumper?" The little boy requested. After a few seconds of contemplating names for the Buck, Jojo glanced down at the rabbit. "Well, what do you say? Cookie or Thumper?"

Jojo set down the rabbit, and the Buck hopped over to Elsa, wanting her to pat him. "Looks like it's deiced then. Cookie it is."

Jojo smiled at the Buck receiving pats from Elsa, he didn't know she liked animals. The butterflies intensified. "So, we can keep him?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't we?" She mused. Cookie was head butting the girl playfully.

Jojo shifted awkwardly, fidgeting with his zipper. "I thought you wouldn't let me keep the rabbit."

"You're a amoretz!" Elsa called Jojo, chuckling and ruffing his hair. The blonde didn't know what she said but could obviously understand that it was some sort of insult. He responded by sticking his tongue out in a childish manner, making the girl laugh. While Elsa was pampering Cookie, Jojo had questioned the situation.

"I closed the door before so Cookie won't get out." Jojo thought out loud. "How did Cookie get out?"

Elsa glanced at him. She scratched her neck sheepishly. It was a rare time Jojo saw the girl not being brave and aloof. "I opened your door. I was going to give you some things you might like, I found them while I was out today."

The teenager walked into Inge's room and came out with a chess board game box with a slinky and a book on top of it. Elsa grinned as she gave the young boy the things. Jojo stared at the objects with a big smile on his face.

"Thank you, Elsa." He said. She picked up Cookie and came closer to him and held out the rabbit a few inches away from his face. Jojo giggled as the rabbit tried to lick his nose.

Chapter Text

Jojo woke up from Cookie nudging him though the little boy didn't mind. He checked his alarm clock, it was just past 10:06 AM. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, Cookie still cuddling into his stomach. He swung his legs over the bed and got up, the boy made sure to wrap up the Buck with the blankets on his bed. A grin came across his face as he watched the rabbit sleep. The blonde decided to have a shower. He regretted opening his bedroom door right away. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils. In fear, he bolted to Inge's room to find Elsa but had no luck. He turned his head. The bathroom door was wide open so she wasn't in there. Jojo sprinted down the stairs, he hurried to the kitchen where the smoke was. A pile of pancakes were burning on the stove.

"Boker tov, Jojo." Elsa murmured in his hear behind him. He jumped at the unexpected voice.

"Elsa!" He fussed, he set back his attention on the burnt pancakes. "There's smoke!"

Elsa turned to the stove with no worry."Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm making pancakes." She looked down, "A little 'thank you' for being my friend."

"Oh, thank you," The boy wanted to stop the burnt meal from causing more smoke but felt guilty as it was a sweet gesture. "Do you think they're ready now?"

The girl casually strolled over to the stove. "Not quite. Almost ready though." She said with a smile.

Jojo paused. Did she not know how to make pancakes?...Or to cook? Though, I suppose being trapped in a wall for 5 years doesn't help with cooking experience...I think Mama use to give her some food. Jojo continued to make his way to the window above the sink and open up to let smoke go out. "I'm going to open up some windows."

After opening up some windows around the house and making sure Elsa was keeping an eye on the food, he slipped away to the lounge room where there was a wooden, old bookcase filled with novels. He grabbed a poetry book and rested in armchair, enjoying discovering poems by W.H. Auden.

After 10 minutes, Elsa popped her head in the doorway with a big smile on her face. "The pancakes a ready."

He placed bookmark in the poetry book and sat on the table beside him. He got up and went to the kitchen, Elsa was placing down two plates of burnt pancakes. He sat down at one of the head of the table as Elsa sat at the opposite end. The smoke has travelled out the window but the smell of the fumes were still there, just the thought of it him cough. Jojo glanced at the girl, she was happily eating her meal, Jojo wondered how Elsa could be so casual as she ate the food. Elsa eyed him.

"Why aren't you eating?" She questioned him.

He stared down at the plate and took a deep breath in, he cut a small piece of the pancake. The smell was strongly intoxicating, it looked like ashes moulded together and he could hear how crunchy it was by Elsa's chewing. Despite this warnings, he quickly the piece in his mouth. Surely, no matter how bad it tasted, Elsa put effort in this with a good and sweet intention. Jojo spat out the piece and retched at the taste. He wanted to suck it up and eat the pancakes but it was too awful, he felt too guilty. He coughed at the aftertaste in his mouth and gulped down a glass of water.

"What? Not good?" Elsa asked, eating her second pancake.

The boy cleared his throat and looked down, fumbling his with thumbs. "No. I don't like it. It's a very nice gesture and I feel bad for not eating it but...It taste terrible."

"It's okay. You don't have to eat it."

The blonde looked up at the brunette. "Thank you for the pancakes anyway."

"You're welcome." She peered at his plate. "If you aren't going to eat it, I can."

He gave his plate to her and left the kitchen, going back to the lounge room and arm chair. He continued to read the book of poetry. Awhile later, his stomach grumbled. He put the book back down and headed to the kitchen, he rummaged through the pantry. He frowned at the result. There was barely any food left, small snacks, not anything that would fill him up.

"Do we need to get more food?" Elsa asked, a few feet behind him. Once again she startled him, making him jump. He nodded.

"Let's go down to the markets." She answered.

They made their way to the front door and put their coats on. Jojo kneeled down and tied Elsa's shoes. He opened the door to let the girl out. He noticed the umbrella stand, he took one just in case. He made sure to lock the door as they were about to head to the markets. Once they found some markets, Jojo ran up to the stands with Elsa following behind him, yelling at him to not run. He observed the food and paid for some ripe fruit and can's of soup. He gave the Jewish girl some money and soon she came back with bottles of orange juice and packets of spaghetti and meatballs. After they shopped for food, the pair agreed to head back home. While they were on their way back home, people ran undercover as rain began to pour from the clouds. Jojo opened up his umbrella and held up high for Elsa as she was quite taller than him but the umbrella kept hitting the bottom of her head. Jojo felt bad for laughing, he handed the umbrella to her.

"What about you?" She questioned. "Your going to be drenched in water."

"I don't mind!" He said, running a few feet ahead, extending his arms and spinning around with big smile on his face. Elsa chuckled at the little boy giggling and whirling around in circles, he was such a funny little boy. Times like this, Elsa could see characteristics of Rosie. While they were returning back to the house, Jojo performed childish antics and silly jokes causing Elsa crack up with laughter.

Jojo unlocked the door and set the bags of food down. Elsa scolded him for walking around the house drenched, dripping water on the floor. The brunette took some towels from the cupboard and tossed the them over to the boy. She started to pack the food away as the boy ran up stairs. He came back down with Cookie hung over his right shoulder and the Chess board game in his hands. "Wanna play Chess with me?"

"Sure." Elsa mused, she came to close him. "Just be prepared to lose when I beat you and win."

The pair competed in Chess (Jojo wanted to keep playing again and again as Elsa kept winning), they channel surfed episodes on TV and then they watched 'Via Mala', the two watched eating snacks while invested in the movie. They spent time playing with Cookie and playing more boardgames (that Elsa kept winning), both then began reading poetry out load. It wasn't until 2 AM that they fell asleep on the couch with food and snacks scattered across the table, Cookie was hopping over books and fiddling with the boardgames. The next day, Elsa beamed at the memory of the night they were like kids at a fun and silly sleepover.

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Thank you for reading! 🥰

Chapter Text

Elsa was shopping alone at the markets. Today Jojo was applying for a job, he was employed at a farm, he helped out with the farm owner. She was searching for extra pairs of scarfs and gloves as it was becoming very cold in Germany. She successfully got herself good pairs of winter clothing. Elsa figured it would be a good idea to get some clothes for Jojo as well. The teenager walked past an old supply shop, she paused and stared in the window. It had displays of wooden and stylish sleds.

She wondered in the shop and looked around. She admired the numerous ski's, various books, world globes, snow globes and several flashy looking sleds. She noticed that one of the snow globes was a replica of a Synagogue set in Israel, home of the Jews. She stared awe at the beautiful object that captivated her.

"Do you like the snow globe? Do you want to buy it?" A man with a thick German accent asked. Elsa turned around to see a man in his 50s, whom she thought to be the shop owner. Surprisingly, the man seemed fairly kind and wasn't bothered by her in the approach that other Germans were. She was stumped at the thought of the snow globe; the snow globe was obviously Jewish-based. Surely they would of gotten rid of it? Elsa didn't question and dismissed the thought of the snow globe that occupied her mind.

The girl smiled. "Um, I would like to look at the sleds, please."

"Of course! Over this way." The man led her to a collection of fancy, colourful and dazzling that was mounted to the wall. Elsa was in awe, they looked just as good as the displays! Her amazement soon ended at the realization of the prices. They costed more than the money she had but was cheaper than she thought they would be.

Her smile faltered and glanced at the man. "I don't think I have enough money."

The shop owner pondered for a few seconds before he told her to follow him. He went in another room at the back of the shop, he soon came out with a plain wooden sled.

"It's not flashy but it's in good shape." He said and held up the price tag. Elsa stepped forward to check the cost of the sled. It was enough! She could pay for it! She doesn't smile often, not since she last saw her parents at the 'train that never comes back', but she beamed at the fun item that she and Jojo could play with.

"I'm assuming you would like to buy it?" The man questioned.

"Yes, please!" She beamed like a little child getting a lollipop.

Part of herself was scolding her acting like a little kid as she bounced up in down at the checkout, 'You meant to be acting like a lady! You're almost a young woman!' the voice pestered. She ignored the voice and paid for the sled.

"Do you want to purchase the snow globe as well?" He brang up.

Elsa shook her head. "I only have enough for the sled."

The man's grin turned to a frown. He walked over to the small object and ripped the price tag off. The shop keeper handed the snow globe to her, she took it and held it in her hands. She looked up at the guy with a stunned expression, she was speechless. Since the war, even before that, people, let alone strangers, were never kind to her. Sometimes they looked at her as if she wan't human. Like Jojo...But he knows better now.

"A small gift from me!" The man chimed. "Have a good day."

Elsa thanked him (multiple times) before leaving the small shop with carrying the sled in her right hand and snow glob in the left. Once she got back to the house, she brang the sled inside and placed it carefully against the wall next to the front door. She strolled up stairs and walked into Inge's room, the girl positioned the 'lucky' snow globe on the bedside table so she could look at it when she woke up. The teenager glanced at the small alarm clock that was settled next to the snow globe. 'Jojo wouldn't be back for another two hours' she frowned as she reflected. Elsa took off her snow boots and coat and flopped onto the big bed. She decided to have a nap.

Once she woke up, she rolled over to the side to admire the snow globed. She sat up and put her snow boots back on as well as her coat. She wandered down stairs and found Jojo reading a book sitting in his armchair in the lounge room. It surprised her to think that she changed him. Before they meant, Rosie told her that the 10-year-old boy found reading and studying boring and only had time to pay attention to Nazi propaganda. Always trying to improve himself to be Hitler's personal guard.

Jojo glanced up at her and big smile spread across his face. "Hey, Elsa!"

The memory of Jojo screaming and running away at the sight of her. He was frightened and angry at her presence in the house, but now, he wished for her to stay with him. The girl waved at the little boy.

"Do you want to play outside? I brought us a sled." Elsa told him and the boy jumped up and ran out the room. She followed and screamed, "Don't forget to put your coat, gloves and boots on!"

After Elsa made sure Jojo was protected from the freezing snow that began fell from the sky, the two carried the sled outside. The pair took turns pulling one another in the sled, Elsa cracked up when Jojo struggled to pull her because of her weight compared to him. When the kids got bored of the continuous activity, Jojo startled Elsa by throwing a snow ball at her, Elsa jumped and screamed at the cold unexpected impact.

Jojo laughed, "That's payback for every time you scare me!"

"You Dumkopf!" She joked and began to make small snow balls in her hand and target at the 10-year-old.

Jojo giggled and screamed as Elsa aimed several balls at him, in attempt to get away, Jojo ran around the corner of the house. Elsa snickered as she played with the ball in her hand, waiting for the little boy to pop his head around the corner so she could target him more. After 5 minutes of no sign of the boy, Elsa became curious and a little worried. The girl sceptically turned around the corner just in case Jojo hurled snow at her, but there was no sight of the young boy. Just a long path of snow beside the house. She was starting to get anxious and walked down the side of the house, calling out his name. Elsa relaxed at the presence of the little boy building a barrier? Fortress? House? Snow dome?

Jojo's head popped up above the wall of snow and went back down once he saw Elsa.

"Password?" He requested.

Elsa smirked and furrowed her eyebrows. "Um...Elsa is beautiful?"

It was silent for a few seconds. "...Incorrect."

"Jojo is handsome."

"...That's good enough. You may come in."

Elsa walked around the snowy wall and found the little boy making a snowman. She joined him. They mad a snowman, Elsa named him 'Noa'. The two were proud of their result, Jojo high-fived Elsa making her smile brightly.

She gazed down at him, "We should go back to the front of the house. I left the door unlocked."

The boy sighed and stood up, he offered her a hand. "I guess so."

The pair raced each other back to the front of the house, Elsa slowed down so Jojo could win, Jojo jumped around and cheered at his accomplishment.

Jojo gasped and stared at the Jew. "Let's make a castle!"

Her smile became wider, "Good idea!"

They began to make their castle, both taking different tasks. After half an hour, their snow-kingdom is looking excellent and impressive. Elsa helped Jojo make a snow-woman that they named 'Maya'. While Elsa was having fun making snow angels while Jojo was on 'look out' for the castle. Elsa heard the boy gasp and hid behind the castle wall, she got up and sat down beside him. He looked so tense.

"What's wrong, Jojo?" She asked the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"T-The boy walking down the street bullied me when I was in the camp." He stuttered, almost crying. "They wanted me to kill a rabbit and I didn't. He shoved me and called me a scared little rabbit. It's how I ended up with these." He pointed to the scars on his face.

Elsa peeked over the wall of snow and saw a man, who looked a little older than her, was walking down the street, soon to pass their house. Elsa's eyebrows lowered and her lips tightened. How dare someone bully an innocent boy! Specially, Jojo!

"Alright, on your command, I'll catapult a bunch of snowballs." Elsa commanded, rolling up snow in her hands.

Jojo stared at her in shock. "Wait, what!?"

She made a 'come on!' gesture with her hand and he obliged, Jojo peered around the corner of the wall and saw him about walk past his house. A second later he turned to Elsa and nodded.

"You Paskudnik!" Elsa shouted as she launch a set of snowballs at the rude man.

The young man stumbled back at the sudden chilling impact and shrieked which made Elsa smirk while Jojo was feeling awful about the whole situation, he still supplied Elsa with more snow balls.

"Hör auf damit!" The man yelled, looking over at Elsa. "Miststück!"

Jojo paused...What did he just say? HOW DARE HE CALL ELSA THAT! The boy hopped up and assisted Elsa with throwing the snow balls. The pair successfully drove him away.

"Yeah, run away, you fotze!" Jojo roared as the older boy sprinted down the street. The two chuckled at the sight.

Elsa ruffled the boy's hair and sighed with a smile on her face. "Let's go inside."

Elsa sat on the lounge, she was now reading a poetry book with a blanket covering her legs. Jojo placed a mug of Hot Chocolate down on the table in front of them. He sat beside Elsa with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he read and drank his Hot Chocolate.

"What an eventful day." Elsa said, sipping on the delicious drink Jojo made for her.

Chapter Text

Jojo was writing in his diary on the floor in his bedroom. He figured it is good to write about the nightmare he experienced last night. It scared him so much, he woke up screaming, Elsa came in terrified but she comforted him. It was night currently, honestly, he didn't want to go to bed again. Once he finished journaling about the nightmare, he hid it in his bedside drawer. The boy got up from the floor and opened his door, he came downstairs where Cookie was playing on the steps of the stairs, and Jojo ruffled the rabbit's head. The bunny hopped in the air in response to the happiness of the pats. Jojo made his way to the lounge room. Elsa was comfortably resting on the couch reading a book, she looked up and smiled at his presence.

"Hey, Jojo." Elsa greeted the young boy. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," Jojo answered. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to learn French."

"I'm going to get my book. I think I left it in my room."

Jojo ran upstairs to grab the book from his room, it was the book he used for 'scientific' reasons when he met Elsa, answering how to spot a Jew, he named it "Yoo-hoo Jew". He called the ideology he grew up bullshit but kept the book, he enjoyed writing down his and Elsa's experiences from the war and with Elsa's consent, questioned her personal life before the war. A few months ago, Jojo was planning to burn the book but the memory of Captain. K said that his book was good and creative, plus, apologising for laughing at it, but, he thought that he should keep it. One day he will tell Captain. K's story too and he won't be lost and forgotten in history.

"Your a hurensogn, Jojo."

The boy stopped in his tracks as he turned around to find his imaginary 'friend' looming over him. He ignored him and grabbed the book from the bedside drawer. Jojo grumbled at the man, "Go away."

"That's no way how to treat your friend. Especially, your Führer."

"You are not my friend and I don't see you as my Führer." Jojo scowled as he paused at the doorframe. "Now go away."

"How dare you!" The hallucination shouted, stomping his feet on the ground. "You are a nasty little boy! You live with that- that thing!"

"Just shut up!" Jojo snapped back, kneeling to pat Cookie. "That thing is Elsa...And she's amazing."

The older man let out a dramatic groan at his answer. "You know, the dirty Jew probably thinks you are ugly."

"Elsa isn't dirty, she's beautiful." Jojo said while he walked down the stairs, the apparition followed the child.

"But you're not."

"Whatever."

"She must hate seeing your scars on your face, they probably remind her of the Nazis."

Jojo stopped at the last step and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. 'Did she?... It makes sense if she did...But it still hurts...'. The blonde looked back at the top of the stairs, the appearance of the Illusion glared down at him with a foul expression on his face. The wicked man disappeared.

"Jojo?" Elsa called out from the lounge room. The boy dismissed the irritating occurrence and strolled to the lounge room where he sat beside Elsa. She stared at him, worried, "Are you okay? I heard you shouting upstairs."

Jojo nodded, "Something came into my mind, that's all."

Elsa looked sceptical but continued reading her book. Jojo kept quiet and opened his book, he didn't ask Elsa questions because she was busy with her book, so he wrote about his own experience before World War 2. He sighed, the thought of Mama and Papa and Inge crept into his mind. He missed them so much.

12 minutes into writing his book, a strange sound erupted in his ears, a voice - not his imaginary 'friend' though. He detached his attention from the book and concentrated on listening to it. He realised that the voice was a man talking on a radio station about Germany and the Nazis. He recognised the man's voice, it was Eugen Hadamovsky, a man who supported Hitler, he did this by broadcasting a radio station that he used to promote Nazi propaganda. It worked for Jojo when he was younger, he spent all his time listening to the broadcast when he was a little child. Mama always changed the station to music that she would dance to. Jojo got up from the couch and placed the book down on the cushion.

"Jojo? Is everything okay?" Elsa asked, confused that the boy stood up all of a sudden.

The blonde told her that he was just checking on something and everything was okay. He noticed that the TV was off, so it wouldn't be that. He went to the radio, his Mama's favourite thing, but the radio was off. Nothing was playing. He raised an eyebrow. Maybe he was hearing things? He plopped back down on the couch and carried on with writing. The radio voice boasted about the accomplishments of Germany and how successful invasions have been. Jojo winced at the sound getting louder.

"Party comrade Dr Goebbels ordered me on July 13th to purge German radio of influence opposed to our cause. I can now report that the work has been thoroughly done. We Nazis must show power and enthusiasm to impress Germany and the whole world."

Elsa glanced at Jojo, he looked uncomfortable. She didn't know what was wrong nor what to do. So she left it. She decide to ask him a question, perhaps she could help him. "Would you like a glass of water?"

"Ja, bitte."

The girl nodded and made her way to the kitchen where she took a glass and filled it up with water. When she returned, the boy was gone. She placed the glass down and looked around, she heard footsteps on the stairs. She peeked her head around the wall and saw that Jojo was struggling to get up the stairs, he was gasping for air, clenching onto the rails and looking terrified as he eyed the room. She ran towards him, surely, there was something wrong.

"Jojo! What's wrong?" She questioned him as she held him making him stop.

"Everything is weird. All I see is everything going backwards, it's weird!" The boy cried.

Elsa released him and sat down on the steps with him. "What do you mean, Jojo?"

Jojo shut his eyes tight and clenched his ears. Elsa could tell he was about to cry. He sighed and opened his eyes, he explained the situation about his imaginary 'friend', and how it affected him before and after he met Elsa. Jojo admitted to her about hearing voices, seeing people and experiencing odd hallucinations that alter the deception of people and objects.

Jojo scanned the girl's expression. Elsa was pondering, lost in thought. Jojo sighed and hold his breath, should he confront her about what his imaginary 'friend' said.

"Umm, Elsa," Jojo spoke, interrupting Elsa's thoughts. "Do you think I'm ugly?"

"No." Elsa made a face as if he asked a dumb question with an obvious answer.

The reply made set a small smile on the boy's lips. He took a deep breath in. "Do you hate my scars?... Does it remind you of the Nazis?"

Jojo was taken back when Elsa erupted into laughter. That was the last reaction he thought she would have. The girl moved closer to the boy's face.

"No, you, dummkopf." Elsa teased, Jojo understood the response from her: The scars didn't remind her of the Nazis.

"Okay, do you hate my scars?" He repeated the question.

"I think they look beautiful." She planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush bright red. "Makes you look tough."

They went back to the couch, continuing with their books. Elsa could see that Jojo was calm now but still asked if he was okay, he nodded with a smile. Jojo was happy...Maybe everything will be okay.

Elsa looked at him and the boy stared at her with a smile. Elsa grinned, "Ha'khyukh shel'kha ya'fe."

Chapter Text

The 9-year-old Johannes ran up the stairs with a bowl of soup in his hands that Mama had just given to him to bring to his sickly sister, Inge. He could his Mama shouting out from the kitchen, telling him to be careful with food in his hands. Johannes couldn't wait to tell Inge about what he learnt at school, about their Führer. The blonde little knocked on the door like he always does. He heard Inge ask him to wait and heard rustling then something close, she allowed him to enter the room.

He greeted her and set the bowl of soup on the bedside table as he grabbed a wooden chair beside her. Inge thanked him as she held the bowl and sipped on the condiments. Jojo frowned at the sight of his dear sister, she was sickly pale - almost dead - and her body fragile with her croaky voice. She let out a row of painful coughs, Jojo noticed her eyes were becoming lifeless.

He gulped at the thought of her dead. "Inge, I learned much about the Nazis and our Führer today."

"That's great, Joey." She replied, continuing sipping the soup. Jojo winced at the nickname she gave him, it made him sound like a little kid. "Anything interesting or worth telling me about?"

"They're SS and SA are arresting any men with same-sex relationships. A teacher in my school got taken away by them today." The little boy said looking away while he dangled his feet. He didn't dare to say anything to her about the SS and SA taking disabled and mentally ill people to labour camps, she wasn't a 'cripple' but she was becoming one as her weak body could barely stand or walk.

"I don't understand that. It's weird."

Jojo wasn't sure if she was talking about the men or the arrest but he nodded anyway. He dropped his schoolbag that hung over his shoulders as it started aching his shoulder.

"What do men liking men have to do with Germany winning the war?... Poor people."

He hummed, not listening. Jojo gasped just as he remembered the drawing he made today, he pulled out two pages of sketches, and Inge took them from his hand and examined the two. There was a drawing of their Führer and little Jojo, she tossed the paper away making it fall off the bed. The teenager smiled at the coloured sketch of her, Jojo, Mama and Papa all happy and dancing.

"I like this one." The girl smiled, "I wish I could dance."

Jojo pondered for a second, "I can put the radio in here and you can dance while sitting down."

Inge shook her head. "No, I won't enjoy that. I prefer if I could stand up and dance."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm going to put this drawing under my pillow." She announced the role of folding the paper and putting it under the pillow. "I really like it. You're a good drawer."

He looked down and took in a deep breath in and gripped the wooden chair, he was going to do something bold...And bad. "Inge, do you like our Führer? We're in private so it's okay to tell me."

Inge gave her brother a side-eye and glanced at the ceiling. "No. I don't like the Nazis either."

The blonde nodded and was quiet for a second before responding. "Well, that must suck for you because I'm going to be Hitler's personal guard."

"Suck for me? Nah, I feel bad for you! He'll probably kill out of paranoia, y'know." Inge teased, that sometimes, Jojo felt like he was talking to a younger version of his Mama. She turned her head to him. "At least I will die peacefully."

"Don't say that!" He grumbled as he slumped in the chair, "You're not going to die."

Inge sipped on the soup once more, "You don't know that. I might, and if I do, at least I won't be killed by Hitler."

"Now you are just confusing me!"

"If you do become a Nazi, be a good one. Be a good person and help people. All people."

"....I will." He gazed back at her, noticing her messy black hair. "Do you want me to fix your hair?"

"Sure," She cleared her throat, "Yes, please."

Inge moved her quilt and stumbled as she stood up, Jojo quickly came to her side to help her balance, almost falling over every few seconds. She made her way to her desk and sat down on her comfy chair. She stared at the mirror in front of her while her little brother searched in the drawers for hair instruments. Once Jojo found the hair items, he started braiding her hair, splitting them into two. The boy put the two little green bows in the bottom of her hair. When he was done, Inge turned her head from left to right, examining her little brother's work.

"It looks great, Joey!" She praised.

"Danke."

The girl shuffled in her seat, making some space for her little brother. "Sit here, Joey. I'll do your hair."

The little boy didn't protest and sat down, he pulled a face when he felt his hair being pulled and tugged. After she was finished, he looked in the mirror. Jojo grinned at the reflection, silly Inge, she did remind him of their Mama. His hair was formed into small space buns with red little ribbons tied around them, he giggled as it looked like rabbit ears. The happy moment was gone when Inge suddenly burst into a fit of painful coughs. Jojo asked if she was alright, and she shouted to him to get their Mama. The little boy bolted downstairs and ran around the house, trying to find Mama, he could still Inge's loud coughs, he found her in the lounge room while she listened to the music, she laughed when she saw his hair but her expression became serious as her son informed her about Inge. His Mama hurried upstairs as he went to his room and closed the door. He slumped down against the door, he brings his knees up to his chest as he buried his head.

Jojo jumped at the sound of his Mama wailing and screaming Inge's name, he could hear her sobbing. This couldn't be it, could it?... Did Inge die? Jojo's hands gripped onto his pants, digging into his skin, his Mama was always joyful, cheerful and joking. Now she was weeping for her dead daughter. Tears raced down his cheeks as he collapsed on the floor and cried out his heart. He won't ever see his sister again, at least, not alive. He won't ever be able to talk to his sister again, nor, do her hair once more, spend some more time, never hear her laugh or her silly jokes. Inge was such a strong, joyous, intelligent person and so much more, how can she be gone just like that? He swear he could hear someone else weeping for the grief of his sister beyond him and his Mama.

***

The ghost walked upstairs, not being careful of how loud she was, she knew her little brother and good friend were asleep so she wouldn't disturb anyone. Inge went through her bedroom door, now Elsa's, and she made her way to the mirror. Her hair was parted into nice, lovely braids which made her smile, she opened up the drawer quietly as her friend was sleeping peacefully and got out two brown ribbons. She hovered through the wall to her little brother's room. She tiptoed as the young boy was sleeping, he was squirming to Inge's dismay, he was having a nightmare. She sighed and set the ribbons on his bedside table.

She was about to go but turned to him and whispered in his ear. "Du bist okay. You're safe, Joey."

She disappeared.

Chapter Text

"You're ten, Jojo. Start acting like it," the man snarled at the boy.

Like that, the apparition of Hitler was gone and Jojo was left stuck between two sides; support Hitler and be the best Nazi he was could be, or defend Elsa and make sure she stays alive. The blonde slumped in the kitchen chair and sighed. Elsa was almost caught by the Gestapo today, luckily Captain K. was helping them out, although Elsa disagrees with him on that. He was grateful and she was lucky, Jojo feared the worst when the scary men came in, thankfully, Captain. K saved Elsa. The question dwelled on his mind since the incident: Why? Why did he help? Why didn't he get them into trouble and send Elsa away to the camps? Nevertheless, he was impressed with Elsa acting as Inge - not in a disrespectful way, of course! He knew she was quite an intelligent Jew but her ability to fool the Gestapo amazed him. She did a good job pretending to be her, she behaved as if she was never a Jew in the first place. Just a normal, ordinary person... Maybe she was a normal person, maybe all Jews were normal... Maybe, the Nazis were the ones who weren't normal... But monsters.

A knock on the front door interrupted his thoughts, he gulped at the thought it could be the Gestapo, SA or the SS taking away Elsa and all hope would be gone. He stood up and made his way to the door as a second knock followed, he saw Elsa at the top of the stairs hiding away in Inge's room again. He let out a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hey, kid." Captain. K greeted untroubled and calm with Finkel beside him, "Mind if we come in? We bought doughnuts."

Jojo stared at the couple in puzzlement but let the men enter the house, after all they did just save Elsa's life. The little boy led them to the dining table where they took a seat and he stared at the ground as he was a little scared of their presence. The awkward silence was deafening as no one said anything, the men observed the room as Jojo just fumbled with the zipper of the jumper. After a painful minute of complete silence, the little boy asked what they wanted.

Klenzendorf shuffled in his seat, he cleared his thoughts. He was going to get straight to the point. "Where's your friend? The Jew?"

The blonde gripped his hand onto the bottom of his jacket and stared at the pair wide-eyed, soon replaced with narrowed eyes in a defensive state. He might send Elsa away to a camp. "T-That's Inge! And, she's not a Jew!"

Finkel leaned over to the bench, now in Jojo's eyesight, he gazed at the boy calmly. "It's okay. We are not here to hurt you or her, we are here to help."

With a defeated groan, the boy stomped upstairs, still not fully trusting the two. He knocked on Elsa's sliding door and told her about the men downstairs, he gave her some hope, saying that they were friendly.

"I don't trust them." She replied coldly, almost crying. "They'll send me away to a camp..."

Jojo took her hand and held it tightly. He would NOT see her get taken away to a camp. "I won't let that happen."

Elsa nodded and they headed downstairs. Finkel rested his head on Captain. K's shoulder until the two came downstairs and he straightened his back, sitting up straight. The two children glanced down at the ground as they stood in front of the men.

"She's a bit old for you, kid." Klenzendorf teased making Finkel slap him on the back of the head, scolding him for making the joke. Jojo raised an eyebrow at the joke but soon realised what he said and drew away from his hand from Elsa.

Finkel pushed the doughnuts forward to the children. "We brought some doughnuts, feel free to eat them."

The two didn't move. Elsa cleared her throat and glared the two men in the eyes. "What? What do you want with me? Are you here to send me away!?"

Klenzendorf slumped his shoulders and shook his head. "I'm not sending you to a concentration camp if that's what're asking. I couldn't give two shits if you are Jewish."

Jojo titled his head to the side, he was still uncertain about them. "But, why? Why are you helping us?"

The two men shared a glance at each other and held hands, while Jojo was still confused, Elsa understood the look. Elsa gasped and slapped her hand against her forehead, "I'm such a klutz!"

"I'm still very confused." The blonde admitted as he took a doughnut from the box and took a bite. Finkel chuckled at the little boy's antics.

Elsa turned to the boy, "They like each other, Jojo."

The little boy munched on the sweet and blinked. "Hm?"

"Never mind."

Klenzendorf straighten his posture and held a breath. "Kid, Rosie and I are- were good friends."

"I'm sure Mama would be happy to speak to you when she gets home," Jojo replied, still chewing on his doughnut (Elsa scolded him for not chewing first and then speaking). "She hid Elsa in the house, but, she doesn't know that I and her are friends."

Captain. K frowned and glanced away, Finkel placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The man's eyebrows were furrowed and pulled up in worry. "Kid, Rosie was part of the resistance. They found out that she was and she..."

He couldn't finish the last two words, so Finkel did it for him. "Was hung. I'm very sorry, Jojo."

Elsa and Jojo were wide-eyed at the information, and tears fell from their eyes. Elsa covered her mouth in shock, stumbling back. As for Jojo, he broke down crying and fell to his knees, collapsed to the floor, drowning in heartbreak and sorrow. Captain. K kneeled to comfort the little boy while Finkel hugged Elsa for her condolence.

"Elsa! You Jew!" Jojo shouted at the girl, he knew that the girl was innocent but she was Jew and that was the cause of his Mama's death. "How dare you make my Mama die!"

"Jojo!" Klenzendorf yelled back, "She didn't do anything, she didn't do anything. It wasn't her fault, it was the Nazis' fault."

The ten-year-old cried into the man's arm, apologising to Elsa in the process. Elsa sat next to him and patted his back in any comfort she could give him. One hour later, the group had calmed down from the death of Rosie Betzler. Jojo apologised to Elsa once more, truthfully. Elsa accepted his apology and forgave him, although, he could tell Elsa felt unfairly ashamed because of the accusation of the amazing woman's death.

"Sorry, we told you like this," Finkel commented.

Klenzendorf ruffled Elsa's and Jojo's hair, "We will protect you, no matter what. And, keep you guys safe."

The little boy sniffled, "Danke. Keep Elsa away from harm. She needs to live."

Elsa squeezed Jojo's hand and gave him a small smile. "You need to live too and stay safe."

The group of four conversed and answered each other's questions, Jojo was awed every time Klenzendorf talked about Rosie. He told them how she was a good person, an actual good person and that she was very strong.

Jojo beamed at that compliment of his Mama and pointed to Elsa. "Like Elsa! She's a good person and very strong."

Elsa blushed at the praise, "Thank you, Jojo. You're a good person too."

Jojo continued to listen and focus on Klenzendorf as he chatted about memories of Rosie. Elsa was fixated on Jojo's eagerness to listen he would cherish stories of his Mother because of her death but another thought came to her: Jojo clung to 'Captain. K' as if he was an angel. She chuckled at the thought, that maybe, he saw the man as a gift from God to protect them both. Jojo made the men and Elsa Hot Chocolate as they chatted, they were interrupted by Jojo's loud gasp of realisation.

"Oh! You guys are a couple!" He grinned in realization.

His obvious realization made the group laugh, Elsa lazily hit him on the side of the arm.

"You just realised that! You're slow, Yosef!" She taunted. The group laughed at the response.

Elsa trusted the men, like Rosie told her, you trust someone to trust them. She knew Jojo trusted them too. The two men reassured hope to the children by protecting them both by any means.

Chapter Text

The rain poured down on the sturdy brick roof as hail crashed and projected off it, causing the thunderstorm to seem scarier than it was. Jojo considered himself tough, although, there were a few moments like this where he remembers that he was just a small, defensive, little child; He wasn't scared of storms, rather it was the terrifying sound they made and loud booms of thunder - sometimes it reminded him of the war. Thankfully, Cookie curled up to him while he slept, making him feel more comfortable as the storm raged over Germany. He could feel the rabbit's ears prick up at the sound of a shrill, scream. The cry made Jojo bolt up from his sleep in a terrific panic, slowing his breathing down and keeping it steady, he got out of bed and surrounded the bunny with warm blankets so he wouldn't be startled or scared. After he soothed the rabbit from its worry by patting its head and reassuring it would be okay, he left his room. The blonde wandered down the hallway slowly, he hate to admit that in his own home, the darkness and fishes of lightning frightened him, he jumped every time a 'boom' happened caused by the thunder. He shook his head. Now, isn't the time to think about that, he needed to find out the source of the shriek. As on cue, a long, frightful, murderous scream was heard once again.

He knew where it came from. Jojo rushed to Inge's room and slammed the door open. He quickly shuffled to the bed, stumbling in the darkness of the night, the boy tried his best to calm the girl screaming continuously in the bed. With no luck in calming her or waking her up, he shook her awake as he didn't what other way to wake her from the terrible slumber. He circled his hand in a pattern on her back as she hyperventilated, whispering sweet words as she took control of her breathe. After 5 minutes, her breathing slowed and went back to normal, even though, her tears made Jojo worry. Elsa sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, she thanked Jojo for getting tissues for her and blew her nose and wiped her tears away. She gave him a gentle smile when he handed her the Jewish (That's what she likes to call it) snow globe that rested on her bedside table, she fumbled her hands around the object then brought it to her chest and took a deep breath in. Jojo reckoned it was her type of way of praying.

He positioned himself next to her on the bed cross-legged. He observed the snow globe, taking in all of the beautiful detail that was put into the object. "Are you okay now?"

"Somewhat, yes."

"Would you like to talk about it? You don't have to if you don't want to. Your choice."

Elsa was quiet for a second, thinking of what to say to him. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Jojo repeated, clearly confused by the apology. "What for?"

"I woke you up."

"It's fine, Elsa. It's no trouble, I'll just have a sleep later on in the day." He soothed her worry.

She grinned at the little boy and ruffled his hair, she sighed once more and leaned back. "Ugh, just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Must have been scary." Jojo glanced at the warm quilt underneath them. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I guess."

Jojo sat still, his feet twitching every time a loud 'boom' was heard. It reminded him of the bombs that were dropped over Germany during the war. Elsa sighed and stared at the snow globe.

"The nightmare was about when my family and I were at the station. My parents tried their best to protect me but the Nazis put my Ima and Abba on a train where people were all clammed up together. I never saw my parents again."

Jojo felt a sting of melancholy in his heart. Whenever the thought of Jewish victims of the Holocaust came into his mind he would always push it away, the act of it before he met Elsa was intentionally cruel but was now replaced with guilt. He never thought about how many Jewish children were never being able to see their parents again, it depressed him at thought of it, he missed his Mama dearly.

"Everyone was wearing a Jewish yellow star badge that the Nazis told us to wear. Jews told me the train that people were going on was transferring them to camps where if they did labour work, they would be free to go. But, I overheard people talking about the camps practically being there to violently kill Jews. I miss my parents."

Jojo glanced over at Elsa who was still clutching onto the snow globe. "What were they like?"

Elsa grinned, "They were amazing, a mensch. My Father was very adventurous, we would go camping on school holidays when I was a kid. He was also very sweet, when we were at the station, if me or Mother were hungry, Dad would always get us food and make sure we were fed. My Ima was carefree, she would always just roll with things and not be bothered by them. She was very smart."

Jojo smirked at her. "I can see where you get it from."

"Flatter." Elsa chuckled and slapped his shoulder. The happy atmosphere dispersed as Elsa continued. "When my parents were put on the train, I got scared and ran away back to the city. Friends of friends hid me until your Mother took me in. She was very nice, she treated me as a person."

"I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm sorry I was part of the problem."

Elsa sighed, "It's not like you put me and my family in that position. You were 5 years old at the time, Jojo, you couldn't do much to help me then."

Jojo huffed and got up from the bed, Elsa's eyes darted around the dark room as she heard the boy leave the room. After a minute, Jojo came back into the room, carefully making his way to the bed with Cookie in his arms. The rabbit plopped down on the bed and hopped over to the girl where the bunny cuddled up to her, Elsa giggled as she patted the sleepy rabbit.

Elsa glanced up at Jojo's face now visible from the lit candle he carried in his hand. "I'll make us some Hot Chocolate and get some poetry books."

A small smile spread across the girl's face as the little boy walked out of the room. Soon, Jojo came back into the room with two full mugs of sweat beverage and a few books. Jojo sat back on the bed and handed one of the mugs over to her, the two chatted (and bickered) about famous poets until Elsa brought a funny moment of her and Inge. Jojo began telling her silly stories or him and Yorkie, the two took turns telling jokes and humorous stories. Eventually, the pair fell asleep. Elsa comfortably slept with her special Jewish snow globe in her hands and Cookie curled up to her, at last, her slumber was peaceful as she dreamt of everyone she loves around her.

despite her deep sleep, the thought of Jojo crept into her mind. Elsa smiled, "Hakarat ha'tov."

Chapter Text

"is it dangerous out there?"

"Very," Jojo replied, kneeling to tie up Elsa's shoes and picking up Cookie who bounced into his arms.

He let the girl out of the house before he locked the door. The pair headed down the side of the street in comfortable silence, occasionally, Elsa hummed a song. The two headed into the woods where they soon came to rest in a beautiful meadow filled with colourful flowers and bright fresh grass. The girl walked around, trying to find the best place to have their picnic while Jojo tried to catch the rabbit who jumped out of his gasp. Elsa called over the little boy and he rushed over with the mischievous buck in his hands. Elsa set down the picnic blanket and placed the bag of food in the middle, she gestured for the boy to sit beside her. The blonde let the bunny go as it wiggled in his hands, it bounced around freely and happy causing the boy to giggle.

Elsa opened the picnic bag and pulled out a container of brownies that Jojo made, she took a bite out of the sweet. "Hmm! These brownies are delicious!"

"Danke." He replied and grabbed a sandwich that Elsa made, after the bad pancake incident, Jojo taught Elsa some good cooking tips and tricks. But, he didn't want to overwhelm her with it so they started small and going to build their way up from there... Jojo understood it, Elsa was stuck in the walls for years, and of course, she struggled to cook. He pondered as he chewed on the sandwich, it tasted like a normal sandwich, but, considering Elsa's quality of cooking, it was good. "You're getting better with your cooking."

"That's good to hear." She said as she took a slice of chocolate cake and picked at it with her fork. "I'm impressed you can make a full, good cake at the age of 10. You could become a chef."

The blonde chuckled while he ate the rest of the sandwich. His smile faded as he stood up and let out a sigh. "I don't think I'll be good enough to become a chef."

"Why not?"

Jojo hesitated for a minute. "I'm terrible at everything. Everything I try to accomplish turns to shit."

Before Elsa could object to the statement, the little boy ran off running after Cookie in amusement and picking up flowers. The girl frowned, did he think he was not good enough? He was very dedicated and enthusiastic about his passions, he could achieve anything he put his mind to. Did someone make him think like that? Elsa sneered: Who made him feel not good enough? She sure will give that paskudnik a good black eye if she ever met them.

Her anger subsided and ginned at the sight of Jojo checking out the colourful and different flowers, picking them up and carrying them in his left hand. Soon, he came back to her and tied the stems of the flowers into a knot on her shoe laces. Elsa said nothing and chewed on the chocolate cake. When he was done, he sat down at her feet and glanced up at her.

"I thought Mama invented chocolate cake..." He looked away from her and fumbled his thumbs in embarrassment.

Elsa laughed making a small smile appear on his face. Elsa remembered Rosie telling her something about that. She observed her shoes and twitched them in amusement. "It's very sheyn."

Jojo shifted next to her and the two ate in silence while they happily watched Cookie. They stayed preoccupied for at least 20 minutes as they relaxed. while Jojo listened to the birds singing their song, Elsa nudged him which distracted him, she gestured towards Cookie. Jojo looked over at where she gestured. The rabbit's ears pricked up in alarm, and his body became tense and stood still. The children stared in unease. Cookie's head turned immediately at the rustling in the grass, and Jojo's eyes darted towards the sound. Suddenly, a brown fox jumped out and eyed the rabbit, instinctually, Cookie positioned himself to run away at any second.

Jojo was about to get up but Elsa stopped him so he stayed crouching, he looked at her with an expression that said 'What're you doing? Are you crazy?'.

Elsa whispered to him, "Wait."

Jojo winced at the thought of the fox pouncing on Cookie but he obliged and watched. The fox examined the rabbit by circling him slowly, Cookie mimicked the predator's actions. Any time the fox came close to the buck, Cookie protected himself by keeping the fox away with his back feet. Surprisingly, the fox leaned forward and gave a little lick on the bunny's head before the fox scurried off into the forest. Cookie was confused as much as Jojo and Elsa. The rabbit hopped over to the pair, resting in Jojo's lap.

"Huh." That is all Elsa could say at the moment. "Cookie has chutzpah."

"What does that mean?"

"It means confidence."

"You have chutzpah."

The girl chuckled at the compliment and thanked him, she patted Cookie on the head. The sound of Jojo grimacing in pain was noticed by Elsa.

"What's wrong?" She asked and took a sandwich from the bag.

"Just my scars. They hurt sometimes."

Elsa nodded and pointed to a little scar next to his ear on the left side of his face. "How did you get that scar?"

"Oh, not an interesting story. The leaders of the Hitlerjugend wanted me to snap a rabbit's neck and I refused to, so one of them pushed me. When I got pushed, there must have been a sharp rock near my ear. I didn't even notice it."

"Why did they push you because you didn't want to kill a rabbit?"

"They said I wouldn't be able to kill... I'm weak."

"You're not weak," Elsa stated, "It's human decency."

"Everyone in the Hitler Youth Group teased me by calling me 'Jojo Rabbit'," Jojo said, dismissing what she said and gazing down.

"'Jojo Rabbit'" Elsa uttered, she gave the little boy a gentle smile. "I like it, I want to be a rabbit too."

The blonde turned to her with a surprised expression on his face, he then raised his eyebrow. "Really?... You're not a rabbit, you are more like a...Fox! Like the fox, we saw before!"

"A fox?" A playful smirk hung on Elsa's face.

"Yeah. That's you! Intelligent, independent, strong, cunning... A trickster and kind of mean." He teased with a joking grin making Elsa slap his shoulder as she chuckled. He stared into her beautiful hazel eyes. "And has chutzpah."

The sweet moment came to an end as Elsa gasped at the sight of Cookie munching on the food inside the basket, she struggled to take the bunny away as the buck began to wiggle in annoyance at being grabbed while the 10-year-old laughed. The kids decided it was a good time to head back to the house. Jojo picked up the bunny with ease as Cookie did not resist, Elsa gasped and rolled her eyes with a smirk on her face, and Jojo responded by sticking his tongue out. Elsa faked an angry expression and snatched the picnic bag and blanket and sprinted off making Jojo call out for her as he followed her. The pair giggled at their little race.

Elsa's and Jojo's pace slowed as they strolled down the street, the children smiled as they played 'I Spy With My Little Eye'. Unfortunately, Jojo noticed a guy walking down the same pathway as them on the opposite side. Jojo gulped in fear at the glimpse of the Hitler Youth Group leader, the one who called him a 'scared little rabbit' and pushed him down. Elsa recognised his concerned and distressed expression and squeeze his hand in comfort. Dreadfully, the man gawked at Jojo and an ugly smirk appeared on his face.

"Aww, isn't the scared little rabbit?" The prick sneered as he passed them

Jojo could feel Elsa's hand squeeze with anger and she turned around to him "Go away!"

"Who's this? You need your girlfriend to stand up for you, Jojo?" He leaned toward the boy's face and scoffed. "How pathetic!"

Unexpectedly, Cookie's upset stomach from the various food he ate rose and the buck ended up vomiting over the man. The guy took a few steps back and hollered in rage. "Ugh! You dumb boy! You are worthless!"

At the insult, Elsa snapped and acted without thinking. She didn't care if he was a Nazi, older than her, a man or whatever other reason. No one insults Jojo! She clenched her jaw and swung her leg right into his balls causing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground.

"Lekh tezdayen!" She shouted at him as she took Jojo's hand and fled, not looking back. They laughed as they ran back to the house.

Jojo was lucky to have someone like Elsa. he wouldn't admit it but, at that moment, if he ever believed in a deity or God, he knew that Elsa was a gift and miracle brought to him. How did he ever deserve this miracle?

Chapter Text

Elsa stirred as she woke from her peaceful slumber, she yawned and stretched while the warm sun hugged her. She rested her head back on the pillows, a minute later, she heard Jojo shuffling around outside the room. Elsa grabbed the Jewish snow globe and held it close to her, she smiled in amazement at how far she has come. She did it, she survived. Her thoughts shifted to the day, what should she do today? She beamed and gasped at the sudden reminder of her birthday, it was today! How could she forget?

Promptly, Jojo knocked on the door and entered the room with a breakfast meal in his left hand and a fruit drink in the left. She sat up at the boy's presence.

The little boy had a big grin on his face. "Happy birthday, Elsa!"

The girl chuckled and thanked him. She raised an eyebrow, "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"It wasn't easy. I did a lot of digging," He said, making his way over to the teenager and placing the plate on her lap and the drink on the bedside table. He pulled out Elsa's documents and threw them on the bed. "Found your documents if you want them."

She frowned at the documents, the last time she saw her documents were at the station with her parents. She drew her attention to the breakfast Jojo made. She grinned at the dish, delicious Hoppelpoppel filled with potatoes, eggs, bell peppers and onions, pork, and ham.

Elsa looked at the glass of orange juice and glanced at the blonde. "Thank you, Jojo! It looks amazing."

The blonde child grinned at the compliment and left her alone for some privacy as she ate her breakfast. It impressed her that the boy can make such an appetising dish at his young age, he certainly knew how to cook. Once she finished eating and drinking her orange juice, she stood up and left the room with the plate and glass in her hands. Elsa opened the door and coloured balloons filled her vision, her shock was soon replaced with amusement. She chuckled as she manoeuvred through the balloons, there were at least a thousand balloons, did Jojo do all of this for her?

"I'll take these," Jojo stated, taking the used dishes from her, "I was thinking we could go to the beach or the park today, what would you like to do? It doesn't have to be now."

Elsa pondered, it was quite windy and she couldn't imagine how windy and cold it would be at the beach. Her thoughts shifted once again, she let out a small gasp at a thought of donating: Tzedakah.

The teenager followed the blonde downstairs. "Maybe to the park later. Right now, I feel like giving to charity."

"Giving to charity?... Well, it's your birthday, so okay."

"It's an old Jewish tradition."

"Oh." Jojo stared blankly at her. "We can do it now if you like."

"Sure, I'll just get changed first," Elsa announced as she raced upstairs, Jojo occupied himself with sparing money to give to the Untermensch- the less fortunate, he corrected himself.

The girl came downstairs dressed in long black jeans in a simple black and white checkerboard shirt, the two put on their shoes and coat and Jojo ties of shoelaces. He rose and gazed at the girl checking herself out in the mirror.

After a minute of waiting for the girl who frowned at her reflection. Jojo decided to speak up. "You look pretty, don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Ja. Jedenfalls"

The woman nodded and the pair went outside, Elsa locked the door and they began to walk down the street. Elsa put her hoody of the coat over her head and tugged the coat closer to herself, cringing at the open space, she wasn't used to not being confined into a small space in a wall.

"You okay?" The little boy beside her asked. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

The duo travelled for a while, turning at streets and down the blocks, a nudge from Jojo got Elsa distracted from her thoughts. When she glanced up she saw the sight of the family, A young woman with a tacky filthy blanket wrapped around her wearing a low-quality lousy dress covering her face into her knees in despair. Beside her sat a man, clearly in concentration camp prisoner uniform and uncomfortable shoes, he side-eyed the woman and then the ground repeatedly with gloom sowed on his face, he held a menorah in his hand. Jojo gestured for Elsa to stroll over to the Jewish pair but all could Elsa do was step forward slowly while her lip quivered. Jojo took her shaking hand and led her over to them, the young lady kept her head, although, the man looked up at them with a curious look, wondering what the children want. Jojo waited for Elsa to speak but she stayed silent, the boy cleared his throat.

"Elsa here," The boy motioned to the girl, "would like to give you money. You look like you're stuck terrible situation."

Jojo turned to Elsa as she carried the wallet. After a few seconds, she snapped out of her trance and fumbled to get the money from the wallet, the blonde gave the man an awkward smile when Elsa handed the cash over to the man.

The young woman sprung her head up at the kids, her face making a scowl. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice?"

Before Jojo was about to reply, Elsa talked. "It's my birthday and I wanted to Tzedakah."

The woman raised her eyebrows as the man cheered. "Yom huledet sameach!"

The girl giggled and thanked him, they engaged in conversation for at least half an hour, and the young woman kept gawping at Jojo, asking him questions about his role in the war and his relationship with Elsa. At the end of the chat, Elsa left with a respectful goodbye, and the boy followed her. Jojo waved at the pair, looking back. The man waved with a big grin, and the lady waved goodbye with a small smile forming on her lips, the only time he saw her smile.

The kids stopped at the park and rested on a bench. Jojo laid his head back and side-eyed Elsa. "You okay?"

She nodded and kept her eyes on the stream in front of them. She stood up and turned to him, "I'll be back."

A moment or two later, Elsa came back with a loaf of bread in her arms, she purposed that they feed the bread to the ducks and sea life. Elsa halved the bread and gave the boy a piece. A couple of minutes later of successfully feeding ducks, fish and turtles, a duck aggressively came up to the blonde, demanding more food. Jojo started freaking out, wailing his arms around which made Elsa chuckle. The girl's amusing grin faltered as something caught her eye in the river, she looked closer at the object, kneeling to observe it.

"hey, Jojo. Come and look at this, there's a pretty necklace floating in the water."

The boy rushed beside her as the duck was following him (Elsa shooed it away), Jojo studied the jewellery and glanced at the teenager. "Do you want it?"

"It does look pretty," Elsa said in a sad tone. "I'll have to find a job to make money so I can buy one like it."

Jojo looked away and skimmed the water, he let out a sigh and jumped into the creek, disregarding the animals and the consequences and results of the situation. Today was Elsa's birthday, anything she wants, she gets. Jojo grimaced at every step he took, shivers went up his spine daring him not to go further but he was too determined. As much as he hated the constant reminder of the chilling water, it distracted it from Elsa's worries, yells and calls to Jojo as he continued. The 10-year-old grasped the necklace and studied it in detail. A small gasp escaped his lips, the familiarity of the object wavered in his mind, a memory of young, little Jojo learning about the renaissance and the German Empire and scanned the clothing the monarchy was wearing. The pictures in the textbooks showing royal jewellery looked almost identical to the necklace.

Jojo jumped at a sudden splash near him, he turned around to find a floating stick in the water, and he let out an exhale of relief. He looked forward at Elsa's face and groaned, her eyes darted on him as he walked back to her. He was ready for her to yell at her. The boy pulled himself up onto the grass and held out the item to the birthday girl.

"Jojo, why did you do that? Now you're all wet!" Elsa scolded while the blonde apologised repeatedly and dismissed it.

"Happy birthday, Elsa!" He beamed and the girl took the necklace from him.

They headed back to the house in comfortable silence, Elsa ordered for the boy to take off his shoes when they arrived and got him a towel to dry and warm himself. Jojo got dressed in new clothing and came downstairs and noticed Elsa cleaning and drying the necklace.

She peered over at the boy and a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Jojo."

The boy matched her expression before his eyes widened and scurried off before he came back with a present in his hands and one of his arms behind his back. Elsa placed the necklace on the small table beside her and opened the present with anticipation. She gasped at the sight of the poetry book: The Penguin New Writing: An Anthology.

"Sorry, it was one of the few poetry books I could have bought, international books are still taking a while to get back into Germany."

The girl beamed with pure joy, she rarely felt the enjoyment and bliss of life since the war, only special moments. "Thank you, Jojo! I love it!"

"... And," He added, presenting the bouquet of beautiful roses, "For you."

She sniffed and blinked, quickly pulling him into a hug, she whispered in his ear. "Thank you, Jojo. A sheynem dank."

She pulled away and grabbed the flowers, admiring their beauty and life. It was a good birthday. She smiled and turned on the music on the radio, the two danced together sillily as they giggled.

Chapter Text

Jojo knocked on the door for the 6th time, and Elsa still hasn't responded. He sighed and twisted the doorknob, Cookie followed behind. The room was dimmed and low-lit and the girl were slumped in the bed snoring. Jojo walked over to her and placed the rabbit on the bed, the boy giggled as the Buck hopped around and nuzzled into Elsa, wishing for a pat. The Jew groaned as she stirred, her heavy tired eyes opened and she patted the bunny.

"Guten Morgen, Elsa." He greeted her.

"Boker Tov," Elsa replied drowsily trying to get the sheets off her. "Jojo, can you please turn on the fan? I'm very hot."

The blonde raised an eyebrow and set Cookie back down on the ground, he could tell she wasn't okay from her weak stature in the bed, it was odd to see the strong girl frail. He gulped and pushed the thought of sickly Inge dying lying in the bed. Elsa's gaze made him oblige to her order and turn on the ceiling fan, even when she didn't have much strength, she still intimidated him.

Jojo touched the Jewish girl's forehead and frowned at the bodily heat. "Ja, you have a fever."

He scurried out of the room and hurried to the cupboard in the laundry and took out a small towel. He wet the cloth and rushed back upstairs to her bedroom, Jojo laid the cloth on her forehead. She thanked him and tugged the bed sheet over herself, hugging her frame and pleased with the thin warm blanket and ceiling fan cooling her down. She closed her eyes and wished to sleep, but the child left her alone, knowing that sleep would help her recover. He left the room and pondered, how did Mama help him when he was sick? His stomach grumbled, breaking his concentration, he strolled to the kitchen and cooked up some eggs and toast to eat. He planned out a to-do list for Elsa as she was bound to her bed, in the meantime, he read one of Rilke's books while the girl slept her fever away.

When Jojo heard Elsa shuffling, he got up and made her oatmeal and herbal tea, like what his Mama used to do when he was sick. He waited in her room with the meal in hand as Elsa went to the bathroom. The pair played multiple board games, and read books. Jojo wrote in his journal at the same time Elsa ate her food and drank her tea. The two enjoyed each other's company, especially when Jojo taught Elsa how to play the trumpet. Elsa smiled and read a poetry book as she hummed to Jojo playing beautiful melodies on the trumpet, she never knew the boy had such a way with music. The tones and melodies of the trumpet reminded her of jazz music; most specifically, Rosie.

During the afternoon, Elsa's nausea started again and she rested on the bed ordering the boy to leave her for a while. Jojo grimaced at the sound of Elsa belching, he was playing with Cookie but the noise distracted him from it. The thought came to him of making her more food but quickly dismissed it, someone vomiting will think about eating last. Perhaps later on in the day when Elsa's upset stomach settles down. His eyes drifted down to the Buck that was hopping away and scurrying to its bed to sleep. Jojo got up, dusted himself off and went downstairs. He made sure to tell Elsa he was going out before he left, Elsa said okay and told him that she was going to have a nap.

Although not easy to find, the little boy found medicine to cure the Jewish girl. The antibiotics were located on the other side of town, a bit far away from where Jojo normally rides his bike, but he mustered up the courage and reassured himself that it was for Elsa. So it was worth it. A big smile appeared on his face as he rode through a park, almost back home and ready to give Elsa the medicine. His eyes darted away from the path in front of him and to the beautiful rows of colourful flowers next to him, he stopped his breaks and hopped off the bike. The 10-year-old ran to the stream of colourful flowers and began picking the ones he liked best. After grabbing a handful, he placed them in his basket that was tied to the front of his bike and made his way back to the house.

Jojo made sure to lock the door before seeing Elsa, he raced upstairs at the excitement of his accomplishments. Jojo loudly knocked on Elsa's door, eager to talk to her. Elsa let out a muffled 'come in' and Jojo entered the room with items in hand. Elsa sat up in bed while observing the boy and his stuff.

"What's all this?" Elsa asked quietly, leaning over to search the things.

The blonde grabbed the medicine and held it up to her face. "I got you some medicine!... Which wasn't easy because it was a long way away."

Elsa stayed silent as she took the medicine from him. Jojo continued, he bunched up all of the flowers he found earlier. "And, I got these for you! Aren't they pretty?"

"זייער (Very)"

He lowered them to the pillow next to her and his brows furrowed. "Are you feeling any better? Do you feel like eating now?"

Elsa nodded."Yeah, I'm feeling better after I had that nap. I feel like eating but not much."

"I'm going to get us some pizza. What's your favourite flavour?"

Before Elsa could protest, Jojo was already about exit her room. "Pepperoni."

Elsa glanced out the window, watching the boy ride away on his bike with a carefree attitude. Oh, how he reminded her of Rosie. The girl flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling thinking. Would her Mother and Father be proud of her? Her fingers grasped the sheets and gulped at a scary thought. Would she end up like Inge? Her concern soon eased as she took some of the medicine Jojo managed to find her, thank god for antibiotics! Mother always said that sleep was the best medicine for sickness; she curled up in multiple layers of blankets. She stirred when she felt someone poking her, she raised her head and immediately regretted it as immense pain entered her head but the delicious smell of pizza made her smile. The two children raced down the stairs and seated themselves on the couch, Elsa dug into the pepperoni pizza while Jojo put on a movie. 'Ja, I'll be okay.', Elsa thought.

Chapter Text

'What am I?' 

Was the question that rang in Jojo's head as he rested in his armchair, the sunrise yet to make its presence, he took a sip from his coffee. He didn't enjoy the drink as much as hot chocolate but he has it occasionally, this time to distract him from the horrific nightmare he woke up from. The labels swirling around his brain: Victim, perpetrator, bystander, innocent... Monster. These words described Jojo... Or, what he was trying to figure out. These names plagued his mind ever since the war, 'What am I?'. Am I a victim?

 No, definitely not. He shook his head at the question, it was obvious who were the victims of the war. The Jews. He couldn't stand to see himself as a victim, let alone admit he was one. Perhaps he was a perpetrator? Possibly... Jojo scoffed at the acknowledgment of his involvement in the war. He was more than 'possibly' a perpetrator, more like certainly was! He was or attempted to be a Nazi. A bystander? He was. He saw thousands of innocent people, Jews, be taken away and sent to their death and he did nothing about it. He wasn't innocent, he was a monster.

He hated the voice that popped to his mind with 'but' every time he made his conclusion. The voice was logical though and Jojo continued to listen to it... 'The most terrible of acts you could commit would be murder. Have you murdered anyone, Johannes?' No, he has not and the fact that it made him feel a little bit better to admit it made guilt rise in his stomach. Not murdering someone doesn't make you innocent, though. The voice in his head agreed with him. He let out a cry at the realisation, 'I did not murder someone but I have attempted to or could of.' He did stab Elsa after he saw his Mama dead with the intention to kill or hurt her. Although at the time, he was having an emotional breakdown but he knew that didn't matter. Having mental problems and experiencing suffering is not an excuse to intentionally hurt someone or even kill them.

He was bad as the worst Nazis that have lived on this Earth but the voice interrupted him, going on... 'Realistically, your position in the war was from a child's imagination. Germany raised you to be a Nazi, you did not be born for the sole purpose of being one.'. It was right, the voice. His Mama didn't welcome him into the world to be a Nazi, to kill Jews or to please Hitler, he was brought into the world to live. As a human should. Not to be a puppet on a string blindly following beliefs and ideas.

He was a bystander just like all of the other Germans in the war, always turning a blind eye, trusting in politics and choosing not to notice the Jews screaming for help as they get dragged away by SS soldiers. His young mind wandered again. Thousands of people witnessed the start of extreme anti-Semitism and they did nothing about it, they did not speak out against the actions committed by the Nazis nor did they help the victims in any way. The bystanders did nothing, yet, there were humans like him and Elsa. They did not physically harm or ridicule Jews so they aren't really seen as the perpetrators but Jojo knew the truth. Could see through their lies. The bystanders are just as bad as the Nzis because they didn't do anything to prevent the situation.

Jojo's gloomy mood was soon disrupted by a small smile on his lips and some hope in his eyes. His Mama did something, she wasn't a bystander, she was a hero. A silent hero but a hero nonetheless. She helped in any way she could, of course, being sceptical while doing it, not wanting to get caught and die or for Elsa to be taken away and killed or for leaving her son. 'I wonder how many Germans actually wanted to help the Jews.', that sentence of hope was lost to a dark realisation, many Germans prided themselves on wanting to kill Jews, didn't care about them and believed the web of lies made from a man. His Mama was something, one in a million. A good person.

"Rosie was a good person, an actual good person".

A tear cascaded down the child's face, sniffing at the memory of the voice. Captain K. was also a hero and a good person. Pain gripped his chest at the realistic depressing thought: Unfortunately, no one would believe that because, years later when the world looks back on history, all they'll see are monsters. Jojo couldn't blame them. They were humans fuelled by hatred and passion for killing. Not everyone, though. The little boy wished he could of spoke to Captain K. more and learnt his story, his life. What love meant, what it means to be someone, someone who isn't controlled by what others say and believe. Despite homosexuals, specifically gay men, being part of the Untermensch, he didn't see the man as anything less than a human like him. He wasn't inferior to Jojo at all.

 The blonde took a few gulps from his coffee that was cooling down, 'it must have been hard, living life as a lie, pretending to be someone you're not.', Jojo thought. 'Knowing that people just like you, for liking the same gender, were being killed and tortured'. In the last days of his life, Captain. K, dressed in pink (a symbol for homosexuals used by the Nazis), stood up high and proud with Finkel. Their faces were full of pride and happiness even though their death awaited them any second. Jojo could remember that moment, it still amazed him: Captain .K stood before small Jojo in a mist of a battle, standing with pride, hope and honour that no Nazi showed before. Yet again, Captain K. wasn't a Nazi but a hero. A hero in disguise.

Jojo sighed at the millions of thoughts running through his head, he finished his coffee and rested it back on the table. He put his head back and gazed up at the ceiling, thinking and thinking and thinking. His ears twitched slightly as footsteps echoed down the stairs, Jojo held his breath, either Elsa was mad at him and stomping down the halls or she was just trying to tease him with false threats. The Jew sat down beside him, staring forward with silence.

"What am I?" Jojo questioned out loud, trying to process everything that has happened since his early childhood and now. "I think... I think I'm a monster."

No reply, though, he didn't expect one. A few minutes later, the girl got up and took the mug from the table, she paused in the doorway and looked at Johannes.

"You're human, Jojo."

With that, she left and the boy felt a terrible weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Chapter Text

The blonde child's ears pricked up at the front door opening followed by confident steps. The Jew dropped the bag on the chair before she stretched herself out on the couch. The boy raised an eyebrow and disconnected his attention from the book in his hands.

"Hard day?" He was referring to her new job.

The Jewish brunette sighed, "Just tiring."

Despite her fatigue, she was thankful for the money her job received. She found it extremely difficult to find a job considering that she's Jewish, but the generous shop owner who gave her the snowglobe hired her. Although the boy wouldn't say it out loud, he was somewhat jealous that Elsa had a job and he didn't, he was still searching for one and he felt guilty that Elsa had to carry the burden of financial stress. She suffered too much - Jojo wants to help.

He placed the book down on the table and went to the kitchen to grab some cookies. He knew Elsa would like to eat after her shift, plus, it must've been a long time since she enjoyed eating dessert food. Pre-war Jews were banned from buying goodies, treats and desserts.

The 10-year-old came back into the lounge room with a plate stacked with cookies for the two to share. Elsa sat up and took a cookie and devoured it. Jojo sat beside her.

Elsa's attention shifted towards the child who poked her to ask something. Elsa's eyes stayed sceptical as she waited for the boy to speak, "hmm?"

Jojo looked hesitant as he didn't maintain eye contact. "Can you tell me a Jewish story?"

That was unexpected. "Hmm, okay. I'll tell you about Moses, in the Torah. It's a long story."

"Oh, Moses!" Jojo bounced in his seat, he knew the story from school when they studied about the Jewish 'race' and demonised it. "Is that when the Moses guy gets his God to murder the Egyptians brutally? And, then the Jews happily marched out of Jerusalem and they were followed, Moses parted the sea for the Jews and then drowned the Egyptians. Right?"

Elsa shakes her head. Sometimes Jojo gets lost in the ideology he had before and the views mix up his current beliefs. "You're doing it again."

"Oh," The boy realized what he was doing. "Entschuldigung."

"So, The Book of Exodus." Elsa started, "The Pharaoh, King Ramses II, came into power. He saw the Israelites overpopulate the land and thought they would overpower him, so, he oppressed them with forced labour."

"Oppressed with forced labour? Well, isn't that a surprise?" Jojo commented sarcastically, referring to the concentration camps where Jews endlessly worked until they dropped in hopes one day they will be free from the brutality. 

Elsa continued, "The Israelites built cities and pyramids. They worked endlessly and received more cruelty. The Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives to kill the sons of Hebrew woman but the daughters can be spared. The midwives let the sons live as God wanted life to preserve life, and the King of Egypt found out. The midwives told the Pharaoh 'The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them. God was pleased with the midwives and gave them strong great families. Pharaoh ordered to the citizens that they 'Must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live."

"Wow, this story's interesting. The anti-semitism stories that they tell us is quite boring and vile compared to this." The blonde took a cookie from the plate and glanced at Elsa with a questioning look. "Why didn't the Pharaoh kill the baby girls too?"

Elsa pondered for a second before she grabbed another biscuit. "Not sure. Keep in mind, it's religion. People interpret it as a religious metaphor - that's how I see it."

"Anyway, continuing with the story. A Levite woman gave birth to a boy and tried her best to hide him for 3 months, when she couldn't do it anymore, she put him in a basket and let him float down the Nile River. The Pharaoh's daughter went to the Nile to bathe and saw the baby and she named him Moshe and raised him as her own son. When Moshe was an adult, he saw an Egyptian assault a Hebrew and Moshe struck the Egyptian dead. When the Pharaoh found out, he tried to kill Moshe but Moshe fled to the Land of Midian."

"When Moshe arrived at the Land of Midian, the daughters of the Priest of Midian struggled with the flock and shepherds, and Moshe helped them. He married one of the Priest daughters. One day, he went to the mountain of God where an angel and a bush on fire appeared in front of him. He wanted to touch the bush because the fire alighting it was not burning the bush but God stops him and calls out, he orders Moshe to take off his sandals because he was on Holy ground. God said to him, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov'.  Adonai, the angel, said, 'I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters because I know their pain. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”

"How do you remember all of that!? Is that the exact words from the scripture?" Jojo asked in disbelief, he could barely remember what he wrote for his Literature presentation, how did Elsa do it?

The Jew shrugged, "Ehh, practice. It's my favourite story. And, no, the scripture is something similar."

"What happened next?" The little boy questioned with anticipation. "Did Moses, or Moshe, want to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, did he have a choice, did he follow what your God commanded?"

Elsa nodded, taking a bite of her cookie. "Moshe had full faith in God and, yes, he did want to help the Israelites out of slavery but he had his doubts on his influence... God told Moshe to 'Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh (Adonai), the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you'. God continued saying that Moshe must tell the King of Egypt, God knew that the Pharaoh will not listen and if he doesn't oblige consequences are sure to happen. God made Moshe's staf holy so he was able to change into a snake at will"

"For a warning for the Pharaoh, God says, 'Tell Pharaoh that Isra’el is my firstborn son. I have told you to let my son go in order to worship me, but you have refused to let him go. Well, then, I will kill your firstborn son!'. God was right about the King of Egypt's stubbornness and Moshe duelled him with the staf transforming into a snake, the Pharaoh, to boast his power he had over the Israelites, hardened the labour.'

"Next, God formed The 10 Plagues over a period of days. First was turning the water to blood, the second was plaguing the country with frogs, third came lice, fourth was flies, fifth came pestilence, sixth came boils, seventh came hail, eight came locusts, ninth came darkness and, most importantly, the killings of sons. Moshe told the Israelites to cover their doors in lamb blood so God knows not to take their sons away. The Pharaoh lost his son and allowed the Israelites to go."

"The Israelites followed Moshe to the sea where he parted it and they walked through, however, the Pharaoh ordered his army to attack in vengeance. Once, the Israelites got to safety on the land, God joined the sea once again and drowned the Egyptians. The Israelites were free, safe and happy with the power of God, Moshe stood at the top of a mountain holding God's commandments."

“Wow," Jojo said as Elsa finished the story, she reached out for a biscuit but the plate was empty. She frowned at Jojo but he disregarded it. "That was a long story. Mind if I put it in my book?"

"Sure, go ahead, I don't mind."

Chapter Text

"Do you celebrate Christmas?" Jojo asked as he struggled to reach the calendar in front on him with the table in the way. He marked today off: the 15th of December.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's not a Jewish holiday." Elsa puts on her winter coat and Jojo hurries to tie her shoes before she could. A small smile crept across her face. "It's a Christian holiday."

"Well, can I still give you presents? And can we still have a big dinner?"

"Sure." She grabs her (used to be Inge's) handbag and heads off to work. "Shalom, Jojo."

"Tschüß!"

Jojo, who didn't want to see Elsa handle all of the financial burden, has successfully landed a job at a mechanic place a block away from his knowledge in metals and machinery.
When riding there on his bike he makes sure to work hard for Elsa and the gifts he'll buy for her.

'What does she like?' He thought but the memories flooded through his mind. That time he questioned what Jews were like — "and we're also attracted to shiny things. Silver, glass and gold."

Jojo has made a mental list:
- gold and silver earrings
- colouring pencils and a sketchbook
- poetry books by Jewish authors (if he could find any) or by Rilke.

He rode back to his house at 5 pm, Elsa greeted him and gave him a glass of water. Elsa offered to cook dinner but Jojo quickly offered, he still remembers those burnt pancakes. He made a big bowl of some consisting of different vegetables. He sat at the head of the table, Elsa at the other end. Jojo loved these evenings, Elsa happily talking about how day and work as his Mama's favourite tunes play in the background.

"How was work?" The teen asked the boy.

"Tiring."

"Yeah, looks it." She didn't intend for it to sound mean. The blonde didn't seem to take it to heart, he just looked exhausted. Elsa, silently regreting what she said, continues to talk to hopefully lighten the mood.

After long hours of working, Elsa and Jojo had three days off, the weekend and Monday for Christmas. On Saturday, Elsa while walking from the bathroom to (Inge's former) her bedroom when she heard Jojo humming to himself wrapping up presents. She was going to intrude and have a peek but the boy caught her looking and closed the door, claiming she wasn't allowed to look.
Elsa chuckled to herself and went to her room.

On Sunday, Christmas Eve, Elsa (who was busy reading a book) witness Jojo tumbling over from trying to set up the tree, falling on top him. She tried not to laugh and she help him up. She, being quite tall, was able to set the tree up right. They decorated the tree in shades of yellow to a light pink, with Jojo handing the ornaments and tensile to her so she could reach up high to place them.

Elsa suggested some red but Jojo refused, "No. No more red!"
She understood what he meant. Red was associated with war to him.

As Elsa made the finishing touches on the tree, Jojo packed and cleaned up the unused decorations.

"Where's the star? Don't you guys put it on?" Elsa noticed.

The boy shakes his head, "I don't like stars. No stars."

Elsa nodded, 'Everytime he thinks of stars, he thinks of the prisoners forced to wear The Star Of David as a means of discrimination.'

"I can't wait 'til Santa comes! We... you're going to have so many presents!" Jojo bounces his feet like how Cookie does when he's excited or getting a treat. Jojo, like the 10 year old he is, skips back to his room.

Elsa pinches the bridge of his nose, 'of course he believes Santa's real  he's ten! How did I not think of that!?'

She rushes for her coat and wallet, hoping to God a shop is open.

When she arrived back home, she bustled past Jojo who was busy in the kitchen and hid the items under her bed. She sighed as she walked down  stairs cooly, the smell of cookies and the sight of Jojo led her to the kitchen, she brushed a strand of her behind her ear.
She was about to take a still-hot cookie from the pile on the plate but the boy smacked her hand away.

"No, you can't have any. There for Weihnachtsmann!"

She rolled her eyes but grinned. "Not even one? That's not very nice, he'll put you on the naughty list."

He pointed to anoth pile of cookies on a different plate. "That's for us. No taking Santa's cookies." His eyes shift to the floor, "I think I'm already on the naughty list."

"That's for him to decide."

After dinner, Elsa watched the boy race up stairs to bed. She stealthily wrapped up presents from her and Weihnnachtsmann. The brunette took a piece paper with Rilke's poetry in mind, practiced differentiating her handwriting so Jojo wouldn't recognize it, she it as Santa:

Elsa took the note down with her as she delivered Jojo's presents as Santa, making sure to tiptoe so he won't be anticipated to catch her. She had to come back again to place her presents for Jojo under the tree. Just as she was about to head back to bed, the glass of milk and cookies caught her eye, she relaxed on the couch as she ate it.

Elsa faintly woke up from hearing Jojo excitedly shout it's Christmas. He ran into her room and shook her fully awake. She lightly pushed him away as he beckoned her to come down stairs.

"Elsa, wake up! Santa's was here and there's presents!"

"Alright, alright. Make me a coffee and I'll come down."

"Okay!" He rushed out of the room and Elsa rested her head back on the pillow but got up a minute later.

When she entered the living room, Jojo sat patiently with a cup of hot chocolate and coffee, Elsa told him he can open up his presents first. She's never seen a child run so fast.

As Jojo was b using unwrapping presents, Cookie was chewing up the paper. Jojo showed Elsa what Weihnnachtsmann for him, she nodded. He read the note and tucked in to his pocket. After Santa's presents, he glanced around then at Elsa.

"Santa didn't give you any presents? But you were good."

"I don't believe in Santa. Maybe that's why you get presents and I don't. It doesn't bother me."

"Oh, okay."

He seemed a bit sad but he then piled up Elsa's presents in his arms and walked over to her. She never really received much in her life, except for her birthday and most of her life was escaping the Nazis.

Elsa carefully unwrapped Jojo's presents, two lovely silver and gold earrings, a full poetry book of Rilke, coloured pencils and a sketchbook, and lastly, a book of Jewish prayers.

"Oh, Jojo. Where did you find this?"

"It wasn't easy." He chuckled. "Do you like your presents?"

"I love them." She stood up and placed a kiss on his cheek. She laughed as he blushed.

For Dinner they had lovely food, Jojo offered her cookies but she declined, she had too much last night. Christmas songs came on the record player and Jojo held out his hand for Elsa, they danced until 9.

Elsa liked being Santa but, unfortunately, that only lasted two more years.