Lizzy continued telling Karl and his mother her story. According to her story, days went by and Marlene became part of the family in no time. Karli became her friend a lot faster than Lizzy since she was afraid and it took her longer to get used to Marlene living with them. Karli also became more popular at school since everyone now wondered about Marlene, they called him the "elephant boy". I'm sorry if I forgot to tell you before, but Karli was born with one leg shorter than the other one, which is why he used to limp a lot. This is why he was often bullied and bothered at school by his classmates and sadly had no friends because of this too. Everyone in the neighborhood now talked about Marlene with fascination and amazement. But just as there were people who liked Marlene living in the neighborhood, there were others who didn't like it at all since they though it wasn't safe. But this didn't make Mutti regret her decision or feel bad, she was always headstrong and didn't care what others thought. Days went on calmly and as they usually went by. Their father was still at war and Mutti still worked at the zoo. But the winter days started becoming colder and colder and the war started becoming worse too. Lizzy's 16th birthday came one day and since it was war time, big presents and parties couldn't be done, so Mutti made Lizzy's favorite potato soup and they ate it together. They enjoyed the night by remembering memories of Lizzy's chldhood and took Marlene out for a walk. The air was really cold and snow was falling, Marlene was calm as usual until she saw a dog. The dog started growling at her and Marlene started feeling angry. She couldnt hold it anymore and ran away from Mutti's side to chase the dog. But just as this happened, air raid sirens started ringing and Mutti decided they were looking for Marlene later, security was a priority. The bombs started falling in Dresden as they made their way out of the city. They ran and ran till they got to a hill which was supposed to take them to the countryside. There, along with many other people who made their way out, saw the destruction of their beloved city. Marlene was nowhere in sight, but when hope of seeing her was almost lost, Marlene appeared behind Mutti! Somehow she managed to find her family again. With Marlene by their side and the family being complete, they started making their journey to Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred's farmhouse. The last time they went was years ago since the family had a huge fight. But Mutti knew that at times like these, Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred would understand. The journey was long since they had to walk through the forest in order to get there faster than the rest who were making their way through the road. Food was scarce and the cold was unbearable. They walked for two days until they got to the farm. Memories came back to Lizzy's mind as he saw the house, and the lake, and the treehouse.
Just thinking and thinking....
" Marlene, we soon discovered, had made Karli and me famous overnight. I remember how important it made me feel to be surrounded by a crowd of admirers. It wasn't a feeling I had experienced that much before, and I liked it. And I could see, in playtime, that Karli was also enjoying the limelight as much as I was....No one called him "Pegleg" anymore, I noticed. He was " Elephant Boy" now and that was fine by him." ( Morpurgo, 59).
Even though Marlene brought Lizzy and Karli more friends, It made them start having the wrong ideas about friendship. Friendship isn't obtained through objects, or amazing stories. Friends are obtained through experience and by getting to know other people better. For example, Karli must be feeling much better since they don't call him "Pegleg" anymore, but it is just because of Marlene. We should treat everyone with respect no matter what and we should also acknowledge the positive side of everyone, since we all have one. Probably, if those bullies, had gotten to know Karli better, they would've never judged him by his appearance or physical problem. But that is the problem, now, we have started think that materials and physical things, appearance, economic status and more, are what make us who we are. But I have to say that's absolutely not true. The sad part is though, that only a few people think this way.
"We let our eyes do most of the talking, I remembered. We stood there, with the snow coming down around us, each of us knowing, I was sure of it, that we were making a friend for life. I did sense in her eyes the depth of the grief she was still suffering after the loss of her mother. And without my ever saying anything, I knew she understood all my own fears, about Papi, about the bombers that might come any day now, about the war."( Morpurgo,64).
In this quote we can see how even though Lizzy is afraid of Marlene and that a distance exists between them, they have a very special connection. They both have fears and things to be sad about. Marlene in her way, which was the loss of her mother, and Lizzy in hers. Here is where we can also realize what Lizzy's biggest fear is, which is loosing her father at the war and the bombings. Another special trait, that they also share, is that they can sense each other's fears and thoughts. This is the part when we realize that Marlene and Lizzy will always be friends.
Ending...
These last chapters have been really important for us to start guessing what will happen next. Sadly, these chapters don't end in a way in which we would like since one of Lizzy's biggest fears comes true. They loose everything, including friends and people who they knew all their lives. But life goes on and we should adapt to it in the best way we can. My prediction for the next chapters is that in the farmhouse they will find Aunt Lotti and Uncle Manfred and everything will be alright between them. I also think that Lizzy and Marlene's bonds will start growing stronger and more connections will appear between them. In this chapter I learned that we should be strong and remain hopeful in the most darkest and hardest times, because just as I said before, life goes on and we have to move on too. So far I am enjoying this book a lot and I really look forward to keep on reading!
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