The Orange

Bonn, Germany 1946

The ruins and destruction, remains from the recently ended world war, dominated the landscape. Two differences since the war’s end; the streets were now passable without risk of being picked off by gunfire, even friendly fire, and rubble was sometimes piled into the pertinent lot, but piled rather than left where it had fallen from enemy ordnance. While the terror of nighttime air raids had ended, scarcity continued to rule. Food rations were still in force and would be for several more years, unless you were unlucky enough to be in East Germany where rations would continue for another decade.

Many people, neighbors and friends, had disappeared during the war years, often without telling anyone where they were going. They were lost to the war or fled seeking some unknown sanctuary. In many instances nobody knew, maybe they got out to another country, it was known only that they had not resurfaced since the close of aggression. Visitors from outside the country trickled in to visit family and friends who they hadn’t seen for years.

Little Margot and her family had guests from Canada. Adults only, the guests. Despite the recently attained peace this was not yet a place to bring children. Margot and her little friends, however, were captives by birth. The ruins of war, it was what they knew, what they grew up with, it was home.

The guests brought gifts that were largely unavailable in post-war Germany. They brought new linens and clothes, real chocolates and fresh fruit! Yes, actual fruit, not preservatives or jams. These items were available in post-war Germany, though mostly through the thriving black market, not through regular channels of the ration cards. The ration cards simply authorized the purchase of specific items, citizens still needed money to buy them. The guests had handed a special gift to the kids, an orange, and then were promptly sent outside to play leaving the adults to their boring adult conversation. They talked about the relief with the end of fighting, the difficulties and tragedies endured during the war years, runaway inflation of the old valueless Reichsmark, the forthcoming new currency, something named the Deutsche Mark, and a rebuilding project called the Marshall Plan.

The youngest child didn’t know what such a thing was, the orange orb. An actual orange, not some manufactured facsimile or jellied compote. A rare treat these days and it traveled well because of its protective, hearty skin. The older kids knew and thought it unnecessary to instruct the youngest as to what unique treasure he had been entrusted. The youngest had seen pictures of this type of fruit, but never seen one live and could not place any certainty as to what it was or what to do with it. Is it something to eat or a ball? As the kids ran outside to play, having completed their greeting obligation, the fruit had been handed down from the oldest child to the youngest while the three older kids kicked a ball in the street. While they played, the youngest was tasked to stand aside and hold what he eventually surmised was a ball.

The orange ball was heavier than it seemed necessary, given its size. Watching the older kids playing and having fun made the youngest feel left out. He wanted to join in their game but was deemed too small, the bigger kids thought, leaving him with the orange.Having become frustrated he dropped it to the ground and kicked it as hard as he could. He wanted to show his older cohorts how strong he was and that they were wrong to exclude him from their fun. To the boy’s amazement it broke apart into tiny pieces being scattered into the street. The older ones seeing the decimation jumped to action to avoid wasting the delicious orange. They ran over, practically threw themselves to the ground, picking up pieces of fruit that lay in the street and eating it. They laughed at his error, they all smiled not even caring to wipe off the dirt before popping it into their mouths. They weren’t angry at the youngest, he didn’t know.

[Based on Aunt Margot’s real life events growing up in World War II Germany.]