The Last Chip of Hope

A sudden moment of tension prevailed inside the wooden cabin. The leaves were afraid of the chilling howl of the wind. The shiny edges of a woman’s long, silver earring reflected the face of a smooth, finely carved ivory pair of eyes moisten by the salty breeze of the sea. A shattered piece of glass stayed motionless in the floor. A mystical human hand approached a bottle of wine, poured the burgundy liquid, and took a sip from a peculiar Bohemia wine glass that was missing the very chip that remained in the floor. The ochre leaves were still moving, but inside the room…Joy and celebration were instantaneous.

Pliashka was next in the near future. The caravan of Romani people began a quick journey to elude some Panzers near the area. The caravan stopped near a recently destroyed village, but they kept going until they found a safe place near the Bakony Mounts. Inside the village they had found a full bottle of brandy that they would use for the Pliashka, besides they would wrap it with a bright, orange handkerchief that shined due to the enormous quantity of beads.

The groom was very nervous even though this was not the marriage. He was completely sure about marrying her. That day friends, relatives and the other caravan members including the very disrupting bear tamers gathered to drink a bit of the brandy bottle that hung a gold coin necklace for the bride. The young man’s father had the bottle in his hand, and he passed it to his son, not yet married, but purely in love with the bride. A sudden thud hit the bear cage, Hungarian officers started to come out from the forests. A pack of fifty officers, every single one was powerfully armed, marched towards the Romani. Bears broke the cages, and raced towards the officers knocking about twenty of them. The Pliashka had not gone as expected. The Romani people set off with the caravans, but now a pair of tanks surrounded the convoy. It was all lost…

Matheo, the groom stood inside a chariot paralyzed with terror. The hungry officers had come to extinguish the nomad Romani. Matheo grabbed the bottle until it shattered into pieces in his hand. Pieces of smashed reddish crystals pierced Matheo’s hand. The Romani community was cornered, and offered to cooperate with the wildebeests. No cooperation was the trade.

They were led to Mauthausen located to the west of where they were caught. Matheo stood at the gates of the labor camp. The crystals in his hand were still piercing his flesh deeply. Mauthausen had the hideous reputation of being one of the worst concentration camps by the end of the War. The roads to Mauthausen had been destroyed, and food was far more rationed than before. The Romani male survivors were dispersed in the many blocks. The physical conditions of them were far better than of other fellows. Mauthausen was imbued in a dark atmosphere of melancholy and sadness. Inside the camp hours were days, days were weeks, weeks were months, months were years, and years were eternity.

Matheo remained in the camp for 2 years. The lacerations from his hand worsened as he lived. His plump face of rejoice when he was to get married with Kreili, the best dancer of all Hungary, had faded away. The color of his face had turned bluish, and his acrobat muscles were no longer strong to survive the beatings of Mauthausen. Somehow he managed to keep going as he saw how his fellows plummeted, even the forceful bear tamer had become tamed.

He had no hopes in encountering Kreili again. He had been so close to happiness, but the extermination of their kind was due that day. Mauthausen became weaker every day. Troops were sent to the battlefields because they were losing battle by battle. One night the ally army broke into the camp, and stared shocked at the horrid conditions in the camp. They soon freed everyone. Matheo stood besides the few Romani survivors in the heart of a new land, where they knew nothing except their own existence.

The female blocks were freed as well, might there be a possibility that Kreili was still alive… Matheo closed his hand forcefully. The salty breeze covered a pair of grey ivory pieces. An orange handkerchief swiftly fell from the sky. A chip of crystal stayed motionless on the earth.