7 Minutes

The darkness was thick and suffocating, like a heavy blanket had been thrown over the world. He had to get over the wall, had to get across the border before they realised he was missing. Once the alarm was raised, they’d search for him and they would find him. That’s what they did. If that happened, no one would ever see him again and he’d be another forgotten statistic.

His only hope, his very survival, rested on a tenuous agreement he’d made 3 weeks ago with a stranger. Someone he’d only ever met once. In exchange for his meager savings, composed mostly of the money his father had left him, he’d been given cryptic instructions. He desperately wanted a different life; a life in freedom, with choices and happiness. A life in the West. He knew Kathens was waiting for him. It had been countless months since they had seen each other and felt each other's presence. He missed her warmth, her touch and yearned to hold her and kiss her again.

All he had to do was get through this night. He’d heard the rumors of others who had managed to vanish through some unknown means, to be able to get to the other side. There was enough intimidation, warnings, guards, barbed wire and guns, that only the most foolish would try anything without support. He prayed his support was on his side, and not that of the Stasi.

He felt like time was running backwards. Waiting at the agreed location, he felt the most exposed he’d ever been. As if a thousand eyes were watching him and just waiting for him to move so their owners could pounce. He feared every noise, every car, every person, were the Secret Police about to haul him off into oblivion. Despite the cold night air and the wind from the Spree, he was overheating. Rivulets of sweat were all over his forehead and were running down the back of his neck. He was tense with a nervous energy, but wasn’t confident he could move when he needed to.

Eventually he noticed an upstairs window across the street. The light was switched on and the curtains were opened half way. This, so he was told, was the signal. Someone would be coming for him shortly. He was about to be ushered to his new life, or to his premature end. He wondered how many people were involved and knew of his intentions, his name. Too many.

From what seemed like thin air, a short old woman suddenly appeared. “Komm jetzt mit mir!” she said only loud enough for him to hear as she interlaced her arm with his. From a distance it would look like he was aiding her across the road, but the grip with which she held his arm, he knew who was leading whom. ‘This is it’, he thought. His pulse quickened and his feet worked fully autonomously as he kept up pace with the surprisingly sprightly woman. His senses heightened as he tried to survey their surroundings and guess where they may be heading. If these were his last moments, he wanted to take in as much as possible.

Once across the street, they turned and walked quickly away from the house with the upstairs light on. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed the light was off again. At least one other person was watching and knew what was happening. “Schau nicht zurück!” the woman snapped, pulling him from his thoughts. Their pace was a quicker speed of walking than he was used to. He knew they’d look like they were hurrying and must look suspicious. Suddenly, her weight pushed against him, guiding him into a small alcove between two houses, and towards a dark doorway.

Without breaking stride, the woman let go of his arm and pushed him toward the door. The door opened just enough, and for only long enough, to let them into the building. The woman squeezed past him in the narrow entry hallway to lead him to the right and rushed down a flight of stairs. He almost struggled to keep up, after the speed of the transition from the cold windy night, into the stillness of the house. The building appeared empty, maybe abandoned. A flashlight swept across the floor at the base of the stairs. He let out an involuntary gasp, assuming the worst. But as the woman and then he reached the bottom of the stairs, he realised the flashlight was friendly.

They were in a small cellar with only the one flashlight giving any illumination. The room was a dim grey but he could make out a number of people, maybe 10. Four of the people were clearly a family; two parents and two children. He couldn’t determine if the presence of children meant this was a safer, or more dangerous, endeavor than he thought. A man opened an old wardrobe in the corner of the room. The man with the flashlight, swept his beam across the floor to the open wardrobe, exposing a dark hole in the back. Although this was likely his salvation, the hole was imposing and was one of the most intimidating things he’d seen. A man with a small leather bag wasted no time in climbing into the wardrobe and disappearing into the hole.

He looked round the room, trying to find the old woman who’d lead him here. She was watching from the corner of the room. This was the first time he’d seen her face. She was older than he’d guessed, likely well into her 80s. Her face was weathered with time, hard work and sadness. But her eyes looked younger than they should have been, with a kind sparkle. “Vielen dank” he whispered to her. She curtly nodded her head in response, but he thought he could detect the subtlest indication of a smile through her eyes.

Looking back to the wardrobe he saw the father ushering his family into the hole before quickly following. He couldn’t begin to imagine how the parents must be feeling and how scared the children must have been. They looked old enough to at least begin to understand the gravity of the situation. The man with the flashlight swept from his feet to the wardrobe, indicating he had to leave. With a burst of speed that surprised himself, he moved towards the wardrobe and into the hole. The hole was just wide enough for him to squeeze through, with one arm in front of him. It wasn’t a very elegant exit from his old life, but he’d begun the last part of the journey.

He heard the wardrobe close behind him as he moved into what turned out to be a tunnel. It wasn’t high enough for him to stand up, especially with beams across the ceiling every so often to support the roof. There were bare bulbs every 20 feet or so. He could just about make out the silhouettes and shuffling of the family ahead of him. No one was saying a word for fear of being heard. There was an uncomfortably steep decline to the tunnel. It would have been easier to walk with steps, but he knew he was asking for too much. As he descended the temperature suddenly dropped and the air became noticeably moist. He realized that he was under the river and quickened his pace. He didn’t want to be in the tunnel any longer than necessary, especially under the river. He felt a drop of water hit his face just as the floor began an equally uncomfortably incline. As he knew he was now on the other side of the river, and in this part of the city, the river made up the border, he felt a little tension lift from his body.

Almost before he noticed, he was stepping out of a doorway sized exit into a well lit cellar. Without doubt, he knew he was on the other side of the wall. No one was in the cellar to greet him, the man and family who had gone before him had already climbed the stairs to, what he assumed, was the house above. As he climbed the stairs, food smells and a healthy warmth washed over his face. He had to squint as all the lights were on in the house. Reaching the top of the stairs he heard music and excited chatter from an open doorway. Turning through the door he immediately saw Kathens standing, waiting for him, nervously clasping her hands in front of her.

Their eyes met and he rushed into her arms. Their embrace was an all consuming shedding of fear, loneliness and time. He hadn’t brought any possessions with him, that would have been too risky. But he was with his love again and nothing else mattered. He knew they could build a life together in the West and be happy, and safe. Nothing needed to be said between them, as he deeply kissed her, allowing their tears to mingle on each other’s faces.

* * *

That was almost 50 years ago, but his memory of that night was as strong and as vivid as yesterday’s activities. Maybe even stronger. He smiled as he inhaled the cool autumn air of the city, slowly walking along the street holding Kathens hand. He watched as their grandchildren happily chased each other in front of him. He smiled to himself as he watched them jumping over a strip of cobble stones that ran down the middle of the square they were walking through. He would never have guessed all those years ago, before the most exciting 7 minutes of his life as he was secretly smuggled under the Wall, that this is where his life would lead. He’d lead a good, happy life. He’d provided well for Kathens and raised two happy, healthy, successful children, with her, both of whom had blessed them with grandchildren. Two of which were blissfully unaware of the significance of the source of their entertainment.