Rosa and the package Part 5

This is part three of Rosa and the Package for part one click here  part two click here and part three here. and part 4 here

Rosa sat in the stranger’s flat nervously waiting for something to happen, the problem was she didn’t really know what that something was. She jumped at any noise in the building, any slamming car door or voice from outside. She paced, she smoked, she tried not to think or take notice of the butterflies in her stomach and gremlins in her head. Fear and loving; when she closed her eyes she saw the horror of that traitor Igor, mixed with the beauty of the woman who had saved her. She imagined the brutal beating at the hands of the secret police and tender caresses from those shapely hands.
She wondered what the future held for her. Was she destined to spend the rest of her days cooped up in one granny’s flat or another, eternally hiding from the authorities? Or would the secret police catch up with her? In fact it equated to the same thing, if the authorities caught her, then it would be the end of her days anyway. 

She sighed a heavy sigh and the jumped as a key turned in the lock and someone entered the flat, lingering in the hall to take off their boots. That was a good sign, the police aren’t usually courteous enough to wipe their feet, let alone take off their boots. Rosa sat stock still, listening intently to the noises coming from the hallway. She guessed it was Granny but she couldn’t know for sure.
The old lady who came into the room smiled as she saw the nervous girl sitting on her sofa. 

‘Ah you must be Rosa,’ she said in a kind voice and with a smile that Rosa recognised had been passed down through the generations.
Rosa nodded, the old woman examined her carefully.

‘Klara told me you were a fiery one, you more look like a scared cat to me.’
Rosa smiled, the old woman was right, she was acting a bit pathetically. ‘Hi, yes I’m Rosa.’ Rosa stood up and shook the woman’s hand who introduced herself as Christina.

‘That's better,’ said the older woman ‘now let’s get some food inside you shall we? Klara will be here soon I expect.’
The woman busied herself in the kitchen making small talk, while Rosa stood and watched. 

‘You got yourself a boyfriend?’  Christina asked as she chopped an onion. 

‘No,’ Rosa replied honestly but not telling the whole truth. 

‘Pretty young thing like you...’ The penny seemed to drop for the old woman mid-sentence, ‘ah that’s probably why you joined the cause,’ she said with a wink and Rosa nodded.

‘I’ve often wondered if that’s why Klara did too, but then there’s that lovely young man, Daniel.’
Rosa felt a little pang in her heart. But she was pleased to note she didn’t jump when the key clicked in the front door again.

‘Hi Granny!’ Rosa recognised the voice and felt her heart race, the good kind.

But Klara was with a man,  a tall man with dark hair and a dark beard, he looked closer to  Granny’s age than her own.

‘Hi Rosa,’ Klara voice was more matter of fact for Rosa much to Rosa’s disappointment. ‘how are you?’

‘Fine.’ Rosa nodded inspecting the man Klara was with.

‘This is Daniel.’

Rosa and the man shook hands, Rosa noted his soft skin, he was probably a poet or something.

‘He’s a poet.’ said Klara.

Klara chatted to her grandmother for a short time, while Daniel sat at the table lighting a cigarette. Rosa watched him, was this man really Klara’s bloke?

 ‘We need to talk.’ Klara was looking directly at Rosa. She nodded at Granny who nodded back giving the younger women permission to excuse themselves and retire to the bedroom.

‘Rosa, I’ve sorted out a route out of the country for you. Leaving tonight at 2am. Daniel will come to pick you up from here, he’ll have a passport and a visa. He’ll take you to the meeting point where a car will be waiting.’

Rosa went pale, she’d never considered leaving the country, this was her country, she wanted to stay and help the cause defeat the party.

‘But… ‘

‘There’s no buts,’ Klara said, ‘there’s no future for you here, better you get out. You’ll be met by people who help us from outside. You will still work for us. I mean it’s your decision but really you only have one option.’

Rosa closed her eyes, she wanted to slap the woman in front of her but at the same time she wanted to lean forward and kiss her. Leaving felt like running away, it was the coward’s way out. But staying? Staying would mean being close to Klara, but what else? Ducking and diving, hiding and creeping around, that was all she could look forward to.  Leaving was the sensible option; she’d dreamt of travel, dreamt of freedom, dreamt of the chance to be who she really was. She felt tears well in her eyes, she didn’t want to cry, she wanted to be the ‘fiery one’.

‘Dinner’s ready!’ the older woman’s voice came through the walls.

Rosa sensed Klara stand up. ‘I’ll give you a minute’ she said putting a hand tenderly on Rosa’s face. Rosa opened her eyes and forced a smile. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, it told Rosa all she needed to know. Klara silently left the room. Rosa blew her nose and wiped away the moisture from her eyes. She’d made up her mind.

As the car approached the border crossing, Rosa was as calm as you like. She thought she would be a bag of nerves but she was the ‘fiery one’. The car drew to a halt and the guard put his head in the window and took the passports. No one said anything while the guard looked through the documents, they kept their faces in neutral and kept their thought to themselves. The guard handed back the passports and took a walk around the car. He seemed satisfied, he signalled to his colleague to open the barrier, the driver took the car out of neutral and drove across the border to freedom.