It was 09:00: time for Mrs. Gutmensch to go to the cows and check whether they would give her some milk. The cattle had been troublesome lately. Very little milk and irregular behaviour. The occasional bombings and lack of nutritional food most definitely did not help.

“this will all end soon” she thought to herself whilst getting dressed. A thought she kept repeating more frequently nowadays. It was like a mantra, as long as it would be repeated often enough, eventually it would happen. A loud noise disrupted Mrs. Gutmensch’s track of thought. A bang on the door. Mrs. Gutmensch, who was of age, rushed remarkably fast downstairs. It was Ms. Giersbach, the nextdoor neighbour. One look at her face and Mrs. Gutmensch immediately knew what was going on. “They are coming, you have to alarm him” she blurted out. She was the only person who knew of Mrs. Gutmensch’s secret. “Thank you Lena, I will. You go home now and stay inside.” Mrs. Gutmensch answered promptly.

Mrs. Gutmensch carefully closed the door and took action. Instantly, she yelled “Berliner Brötchen!”. Three times. Now he would have to do exactly as she had instructed him. There was a loose tile in the bathroom, which gave way to a small hiding space if removed. The young man could fit just right in if he positioned himself in a specific manner. Not comfortable, but comfort was the least of their concerns at the moment. The crucial point was whether Elijah would be able to slide the tile in the right way. They had practiced it a few times, but it was impossible to know for sure if the tile was on the exact right place again when hiding underneath it.

It was time, she could hear the police banging on the door. One last “Berliner Brötchen!” and she opened the door. One of them mumbled “good day” and then Mrs. Gutmensch was quickly shoved to the side by the arrest team. They immediately started searching each room on the main floor in a structured but rushed way, and this all while being yelled at by the head officer to search more elaborately. Mrs. Gutmensch was taken aback, she had not even gotten the chance to present her pretend-story which would explain why there was a bedroom upstairs that was clearly in use. She started shaking lightly and sweat formed on her forehead. Suddenly, she was in great doubt whether this hiding place was as perfect as she had thought.

The arrest team moved to the upper floor of the house. It all happened in what felt like seconds. Would Elijah have been able to hide himself properly? Here, they took a quick glance in the bedroom, and then turned to the only other room on that floor: the bathroom. Mrs. Gutmensch had followed the men to the second floor and was baffled when she saw it: the room was locked. Something had gone wrong, he must not have heard her. Her heart started pounding.
Loudly, the head officer yelled: “whoever is inside, open the door now!”. Upon this statement, the door was opened quickly. Casually, the young man walked out of the bathroom with only a bathrobe draped around his waist. His face calm, hair wet, and eyebrows raised in a way that had to display light surprise. “Is everything OK?” the young man asked innocently.
A smile appeared on the what seemed to be permanently stern face of the officer. “That is a neatly shaved moustache, sir” he told the man. “I can tell you are an admirer of the Führer”.