Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2016 finalist, Molly Keller! Molly finished 3rd grade this past school year. She submitted a story called “The Yellow Star.” This story is personal to Molly and her family because it is based on a true story about her grandfather, Aron.
The Yellow Star
by Molly Keller
Aron was singing in Temple in Amsterdam when a small army of Nazis burst in. They threw yellow star badges at Aron, his friends and teachers.
“Wear these or… it’s death,” a Nazi soldier said.
Someone screamed. A cold shiver went down Aron’s spine. The teacher sent everyone home immediately. Aron sprinted home, clutching a stack of stars in his hand. He was terrified. All he wanted to do was to go home and tell his mom about his dreadful day.
When Aron arrived home he found his mother in tears.
His heart dropped.
“What’s wrong, mom?” he asked. He wanted to hug her. He was worried and scared at the same time. His dreadful day had just gotten worse.
“My brothers, sisters and their children have been killed in Auschwitz by the Nazis,” said Mrs. Koot. She hugged a photograph of her family.
Aron tossed his school bag to the floor. He felt like a volcano ready to erupt. He knew his cousins and couldn’t believe they were gone.
When she saw the badge on Aron’s shirt, she screamed, “Why are you wearing that? Who gave it to you?”
“The Nazis,” said Aron. His voice quivered. “They stormed the Temple, gave us badges and forced us to wear them.” Aron pulled out three more badges from his pocket.
His mom hesitated, then said, “Aron, please don’t wear the badge.”
“I have to mom and so does the rest of the family,” Aron said. He gave his mom a badge with a frown on his face. Maybe this was a way to save his family.
Aron’s sister, Ance came in. She was crying.
“What’s wrong with you?” Aron asked. He wondered what else could go wrong in one day.
“The Nazis . . . they forced their way into our school. They came to every classroom and forced us to wear these yellow star badges.” Aron put his arm around his sister.
“They did the same to us. We were in music class when they stormed in. We were in the middle of ‘The Dreidel song.’” He started to hum the tune to try to cheer his sister up.
Meanwhile Mrs. Koot was pacing the room, deep in thought.
“I must send you two to hide in the farms outside of Amsterdam,” said Mrs. Koot.
“Where are you and dad going?” asked Aron.
She paused, then said, “We will go there too.”
The Koot family did not take much of their belongings. They were limited to what they could carry so they would not look like they were escaping. Each person packed a small backpack. Aron packed a notebook with pens, a chessboard and pieces, a pair of binoculars, some books and his favorite toy. Ance packed a couple of books, a notepad, a penny whistle and a diary. Mrs. Koot packed all her jewelry, money and some clothes while Mr. Koot packed bread and a rare bottle of whiskey that had come from his great-grandfather.
The next day they walked five miles outside the city to the house of a farmer named Joe.
“Use anything in the barn that you need,” said Joe.
In the barn there were haystacks in the corner. The Koots used the hay to make beds and thanked Joe for his help. Ance was scared of the rats scurrying about the barn but she liked the cats that chased them. She named one cat “Bella” and petted her a lot.
“Stay hidden under the floorboards of the barn and I will bring you food every day,” said Joe.
Early every morning before the sun came out and every evening when it was really dark, Joe brought a big plate of food out to the barn. They had bread, milk and cheese. Once they even had a piece of lamb.
The Koots couldn’t sing “Hava Nagila” or “The Dreidel Song” or play any instruments. In fact, they couldn’t make much noise at all because the Nazis would hear them and send them to Auschwitz as they did with Aron’s mom’s side of the family. But, for now they were safe.
Aron passed the time by playing chess with his sister and they pondered when the war would be over. At night they slept on the itchy hay beds they had made. They listened to the mice skittering about in the dark, as owls swooped down to try to catch them. The barn smelled as if a skunk had sprayed it everywhere. They had a bucket for a bathroom, which Joe emptied when he was cleaning out the pigpens. They all wished they were at home and not living in this barn.
One morning, while Joe was dropping off the food, he spoke quietly to Mr. and Mrs. Koot.
“I have friends that are helping Jews that are still alive to escape to America. I could get my friends to smuggle you to a boat that is leaving for America in two days.”
Mrs. Koot told Aron and Ance, “Pack up everything! Do not leave any trace that we were here or Joe will be in danger.”
They cleaned everything. Two days later, in the middle of the night, the Koots followed Joe through the fields outside Amsterdam until they reached the beach. Then, they followed the beach to the docks.
Joe introduced them to a large man with a funny accent who they followed onto a boat. There were six other families hiding in the bottom of the boat. Aron knew they were Jewish because they all wore the yellow star badges.
Aron asked Joe, “Can you please come with us?”
Joe replied, “I’m sorry Aron, but if I go with you, I won’t be able to help other people escape from the Nazis. When you are in America and Jews come to your house from Holland please help them find a home and make sure they know they are safe.”
Mr. Koot came up behind Aron and shook Joe’s hand. “Thank you so much for all that you did. I owe you our lives. Please take this very old and rare bottle of whiskey that has been in my family for generations. This is all I have to give you.”
Aron turned to his backpack and took out his chessboard and handed it to Joe.
Joe said to Mr. Koot and Aron, “Keep all that you have. You are going to a future you are not sure about and may need them. All I ask is that you help whoever you can, whenever you can. Good luck.”
The journey on the boat was long, bumpy and stinky. There wasn’t much food. Ance was seasick all the time. They hoped that in America they would have food and a proper bathroom.
One day when they were on the boat, everyone took off their yellow stars and tossed them into the ocean. They all cheered because now they were normal people again. It took weeks to find America but when they did arrive, they knew they were safe for now and could start their lives over again.
