Read Online Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rosanne Parry
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don’t have a grandpa. “Giselle—please!” I said.
She searched Arvo’s face, and I couldn’t guess what she was thinking. Between the split and swollen lip and the two black eyes, he was not the most reliable-looking person. But then Giselle looked at me.
“I promise,” she said, and I hugged her.
Arvo breathed in deeply and put his hand over his heart. “Thank you. Thank you. I will hide. I will hide like the Forest Brothers from the old days.”
“Forest Brothers? What are you talking about?” Vivi said.
“The Forest Brothers are the Estonian Robin Hood.They hid in the woods, and they fought for our freedom. My foot will get better, and I will find a path to get home even if I have to walk the whole way.”
“How?” Giselle said. “You don’t have money; you don’t have a passport, a map, a clue. You’ve got nothing.”
Arvo sat up a little straighter even though I could tell it hurt him to do it. He looked Giselle in the eye in a way people don’t when she’s sounding bossy and said, “I have myself. That is not nothing.”
Something about the way he said that simple thing tugged at me.
“You’ve got us,” I said. “We’ll help.”
walked back toward the Brandenburg Gate. My violin case felt odd with no weight in it, and we were unusually quiet. The golden afternoon light on the buildings along Unter den Linden made them seem a little less grimy than yesterday. You could see from the fancy brickwork that it had once been the upscale part of town. That made it even more depressing to see all the empty storefronts and shabby upstairs apartments. It was the middle of rush hour, and the thought of spending almost an hour crammed into a commuter train with a bunch of crabby people in suits wasn’t very appealing.
“Let’s walk through the Tiergarten and catch the S-Bahn home on the far side,” I said.
Vivi nodded, and Giselle led the way under the Brandenburg Gate, across the traffic-packed Ebertstrasse, and into the long shady blocks of the park. We walked through the south side of the Tiergarten, past the playground and the goldfish pond. We could still hear the rush-hour traffic, butthere was shade and grass and, best of all, no one to overhear us.
“What are we going to do about Arvo?” Vivian said quietly. “Do you think he’ll be okay on his own?”
“We have to help him,” I said. I swung my empty backpack off my shoulder and took out the box of Tic Tacs. “It doesn’t matter if his broken foot gets better—without money and a passport, he’s stuck.” I handed the candy to Vivi. She waved it away, but Giselle took some.
“I don’t know,” Giselle said, popping the Tic Tacs into her mouth. “He said he’d be fine. What if that story he told us isn’t true? What if he’s a criminal or something? And what if it’s against the law for us to help him? My dad would freak if I broke the law.”
“I wish there was someplace safe we could take him,” Vivian said. “But I think he’s right about whoever helps him needing to give him back to the Soviet army. If we don’t help him escape secretly, I don’t think anyone else will.”
I thought about Arvo sitting under that bridge with nothing but the little bit of food and clothes we gave him. My mind jumped to Tyler because Arvo was a lot like him, all serious. What if Tyler was hurt and alone in some other country far from home where no one knew how smart and kind he was or that he was afraid of the dark? I hadn’t even thought to bring Arvo a flashlight.
“We can’t just leave him there,” I said. “Not when he doesn’t have anyone else.” I paused while a group of momswith strollers passed us on their way to the playground. “Maybe we can’t get him all the way to Estonia, but there has to be a way to get him out of East Berlin.”
Vivian swerved right, onto a path that led to the busy street with the Siegessäule in the middle and the big golden lady on the top of the pillar. Lots of tourists
She searched Arvo’s face, and I couldn’t guess what she was thinking. Between the split and swollen lip and the two black eyes, he was not the most reliable-looking person. But then Giselle looked at me.
“I promise,” she said, and I hugged her.
Arvo breathed in deeply and put his hand over his heart. “Thank you. Thank you. I will hide. I will hide like the Forest Brothers from the old days.”
“Forest Brothers? What are you talking about?” Vivi said.
“The Forest Brothers are the Estonian Robin Hood.They hid in the woods, and they fought for our freedom. My foot will get better, and I will find a path to get home even if I have to walk the whole way.”
“How?” Giselle said. “You don’t have money; you don’t have a passport, a map, a clue. You’ve got nothing.”
Arvo sat up a little straighter even though I could tell it hurt him to do it. He looked Giselle in the eye in a way people don’t when she’s sounding bossy and said, “I have myself. That is not nothing.”
Something about the way he said that simple thing tugged at me.
“You’ve got us,” I said. “We’ll help.”
walked back toward the Brandenburg Gate. My violin case felt odd with no weight in it, and we were unusually quiet. The golden afternoon light on the buildings along Unter den Linden made them seem a little less grimy than yesterday. You could see from the fancy brickwork that it had once been the upscale part of town. That made it even more depressing to see all the empty storefronts and shabby upstairs apartments. It was the middle of rush hour, and the thought of spending almost an hour crammed into a commuter train with a bunch of crabby people in suits wasn’t very appealing.
“Let’s walk through the Tiergarten and catch the S-Bahn home on the far side,” I said.
Vivi nodded, and Giselle led the way under the Brandenburg Gate, across the traffic-packed Ebertstrasse, and into the long shady blocks of the park. We walked through the south side of the Tiergarten, past the playground and the goldfish pond. We could still hear the rush-hour traffic, butthere was shade and grass and, best of all, no one to overhear us.
“What are we going to do about Arvo?” Vivian said quietly. “Do you think he’ll be okay on his own?”
“We have to help him,” I said. I swung my empty backpack off my shoulder and took out the box of Tic Tacs. “It doesn’t matter if his broken foot gets better—without money and a passport, he’s stuck.” I handed the candy to Vivi. She waved it away, but Giselle took some.
“I don’t know,” Giselle said, popping the Tic Tacs into her mouth. “He said he’d be fine. What if that story he told us isn’t true? What if he’s a criminal or something? And what if it’s against the law for us to help him? My dad would freak if I broke the law.”
“I wish there was someplace safe we could take him,” Vivian said. “But I think he’s right about whoever helps him needing to give him back to the Soviet army. If we don’t help him escape secretly, I don’t think anyone else will.”
I thought about Arvo sitting under that bridge with nothing but the little bit of food and clothes we gave him. My mind jumped to Tyler because Arvo was a lot like him, all serious. What if Tyler was hurt and alone in some other country far from home where no one knew how smart and kind he was or that he was afraid of the dark? I hadn’t even thought to bring Arvo a flashlight.
“We can’t just leave him there,” I said. “Not when he doesn’t have anyone else.” I paused while a group of momswith strollers passed us on their way to the playground. “Maybe we can’t get him all the way to Estonia, but there has to be a way to get him out of East Berlin.”
Vivian swerved right, onto a path that led to the busy street with the Siegessäule in the middle and the big golden lady on the top of the pillar. Lots of tourists
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