A black American pilot crash lands in Italy at the tail end of WWII. Training and instinct push him toward a friendly base, but on the way, he runs into a group of children facing the turmoil of the war alone. He must make a moral decision that could compromise his survival.
Excerpt
Raffaela’s eyes widened when the dark-skinned man appeared from the trees. She felt her whole body shake. He didn’t look like the German soldiers who were chasing behind them when they ran from the city. The ones who shot Signora Romano. Now that she was dead, who would protect them?
The man raised his palms in front of him and smiled with wide eyes. She recognized his pilot’s jumpsuit from similar magazine pictures. Black men were rare where she lived, and she had never seen one in person. Was he British…or American?
He spoke to them in a calm voice. Raffaela couldn’t understand him, but his language was flat and blocky, without rhythm…American. At times, when someone spoke American English on the radio, her father always called it choppy and boring.
Men’s voices shot out from a distance.
“Come out now! We won’t hurt you! We just want to take you home!” They spoke Italian, not in the dialect of those from Naples, and she recognized their German accent.
Looking at Signora Romano’s body, Raffaela judged every word a lie.
The neighbor girl, Maria, and her brother Stefano huddled in close to Raffaela. Marco, Raffaela’s brother, remained asleep in her arms. Their fear merged with hers, her breathing became sharp, and she felt her heartbeat in her throat.
She was uncertain of the stranger. He carried a gun, but the weapon he held was much smaller than the large machine guns of the Germans who were after them. She was much more afraid of those voices than she was of the lone airman.
The airman lowered himself to their level and waved his hand for the children to follow them. Raffaela hesitated, but little Maria walked towards him. The man pulled out a small rag doll and gave it to Maria. There were no other adults to help them. Perhaps the strange man would.
They trekked through the trees, and the airman slowed taking care not to leave them behind. He advanced, making little noise, but she and the other children repeatedly stepped on dead leaves that seemed to echo over the entire forest. She heard no more German voices, but they still felt close behind. If she turned around, she half-expected for one of them to grab her. The forest ended at the main road.
The airman stopped and looked up and down the road. He turned to Raffaela. She saw the worried look in the man’s eyes and sensed he didn’t know where to go, but she had no idea which way was the safest.
They had just run from the city.
The Germans had been there for more than a year, but something must have happened. Raffaela’s parents, and most everyone she knew, wanted the Germans to leave the city. She overheard her mom tell her dad to be careful throwing bottles and picking fights with them. Her mother said, one day, the Germans would shoot them. Father always responded that the Germans would leave rather than risk losing Mussolini as an ally. But no one she knew liked Mussolini either. She saw the way everyone frowned at the mention of his name. It all confused her.
The airman saw her hesitation and led them across the road to the edge of the woods. He had them duck low behind the trees. A few military vehicles drove down the road.
Raffaela hyperventilated. Her arms ached as Marco weighed heavy on her petite frame.
The airman dropped to his knees and stretched his arms out to Raffaela. Raffaela shook her head and held Marco closer.
She wouldn’t just give her brother to a stranger.
The airman nodded and continued to hold his hands out to her.
Raffaela knew she wouldn’t be able to carry Marco if they kept running.
“Nun o’ fa mal!” Don’t hurt him. Tears welled up in her eyes again. Was she doing the right thing? Her parents would scream at her if she let something happen to Marco.
The airman laid Marco over his shoulder and patted Raffaela on the head. Maria and Stefano watched in silence. He stood up and gestured his head for us to follow. He continued through the trees, following the road, towards the city.
A fluttery feeling stirred in Raffaela’s belly. Even though they had just run from the city, it was where she last saw her parents. Hopefully, the airman would take them back. Back into the arms of those she trusted.
