Diana looked down, probably embarrassed at having let her emotions get the better of her. “This is what the German people eat now. Refuse it, and there’s nothing else to eat. If a horse collapses from starvation as it passes by, everyone rushes out of their houses with knives to carve it up. These days, that’s a feast.” She gestured to the soup in front of Jörg. “Don’t worry if you can’t eat it. I’m sure this sort of a meal is unimaginable in Prague.”
“No, of course I’ll eat it. I’m part German myself.”
Jörg bit into the sausage without complaint. He ate the bland turnip and soaked the K-Brot in the soup before drinking every last drop of liquid.
Lila shook her head, reluctant to touch the food in front of her. Her simulacrum didn’t need to eat. But even so, Jörg set his spoon down and said, “Food’s precious these days. Please try to eat it.”
“But—”
“You’ll regret it later. Not trying to understand the people who lived in the same time as you.”
Lila bit her lip for a while, then seemed to make up her mind, picking up her spoon and shoveling the food into her mouth. She had only ever eaten delicious meals at Xandra’s inn, so even if this was the norm for Germany these days, Jörg was sure Lila hadn’t wanted to try it purely out of sympathy. After practically inhaling her food, Lila’s eyes went as blank as a corpse’s, probably swearing to herself that she’d never come to this place again.
Diana explained to Jörg that on the days the rations were handed out, people had to line up the night before to get food.
“And at some point, I’m sure we won’t get anything, even with the ration tickets. People higher up in the supply chain buy up all the food and commodities. I heard the same thing happens on the battlefield—that soldiers on the front lines starve while the generals safe at the back have luxurious meals. That’s what the soldiers who’ve returned say.”
The longer the war dragged on, the more this kind of story spread on the home front. Protests were sure to turn violent once a city reached a breaking point, and if that happened in Berlin, Diana thought it might lead to revolution.
After leaving the dining hall, Diana led Jörg and Lila to a nearby park. They went down a boulevard dyed yellow by rows of vibrant linden trees. It must have been a popular place for people to stroll during more peaceful times, but now it lay silent. Plants grew strong and lush in stark contrast to the people devoid of energy. They saw the occasional figure of a person bent over in the grass, back hunched, grabbing at something in the ground. Searching for edible plants, most likely.
“My neighbors might hear if we talk at my house,” Diana said. “It’s a little chilly today, but let’s talk outside.”
“Fine by me,” Jörg responded cheerfully. “It’s a nice time of year to admire the fall foliage.”
As the three of them wandered around a park as large as a forest, the fallen leaves beneath their feet released a refreshing fragrance. Jörg worried that too much walking would weaken the famished Diana, but she just kept going with a determined look on her face.
Diana mumbled that there was a bench up ahead, and sure enough, when they reached the end of the winding path, they came to a fenced-in rest area. Diana sat at the end of the left side of the bench, so Jörg and Lila settled themselves on the opposite side.
“Bernadette from Paris—you know who I’m talking about, right?” Jörg asked.
“Yes.”
“She helped us figure out a way to buy food from a village called Kleinerbrunn. Bringing it directly into Berlin would draw too much attention, and we’re also worried about robbers, so we’re going to rent the storehouse of a monastery brewery and take the food there. No one would suspect people going into a monastery. That’s where you come in, Diana. I’d like you to oversee that storehouse. If word gets out that there’s a stockpile of food at the monastery, people will try to sneak in and steal it. So you’ll need to be careful that doesn’t happen.”
“I appreciate the thought, but like I said at the Eiffel Tower, I don’t have any money. Food must be incredibly expensive on the black market, right?”
“Depending on what you’re buying,” Jörg said, “prices can be ten to twenty times those in the city.”
Diana looked dumbstruck. “I could never pay that.”
“There’s no point haggling, either. Too many people want it, and the rich can easily pay that amount.”
“Then what do you suggest I do?”
“I’m going to sell you food at ordinary prices. If even that’s too much, then you can pay me later.”
“When would I do that?”
“After the war ends.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pay it, though.”
“Honestly, I plan on starting a business once the war’s over. If you want, I can offer you a job there. I can take the remaining balance out of your paycheck in installments without making things difficult for you. What do you think?”
Diana looked at him in utter disbelief. “I don’t know what to say. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“The men will return to work once the war is over. Women working now will be forced to give up their jobs and go back to being housewives. But now that they’ve experienced the joy of joining the workforce, they’re not going to take that lying down, are they? I’m going to find women who want to keep working and give them jobs after the war. Society may criticize me and say it’s underhanded, but I don’t care. This is the natural progression of the world. Every industry is going to have to hire women again at some point, because the country’s going to need all the hands they can get to rebuild after the war.”
“I’ll do it. Please, let me help. Should we post people at the storehouse around the clock?”
“As long as they’re trustworthy. But too many people makes a secret hard to keep, so be careful.”
“I will.”
“I’d also like periodic updates on the situation in Berlin. I’ll keep sending Lila to the Eiffel Tower.”
“Okay.”
“This is bound to be safer than working in a brothel.”
“Definitely,” agreed Diana.
Jörg explained how brothels operated and how the madames exploited the prostitutes, having been told all about it by Bernadette. Diana listened intently. She wasn’t the type of person who could handle that line of work, and hearing everything the job entailed, she breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn’t come to that.
“I can only get enough food for your family and friends, but it should help make up for when you can’t get anything from the distribution center. You won’t be full, but you’ll be able to eat bread made from wheat, and I can arrange to have smoked meat and root vegetables delivered, too.”
Diana’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll get to eat real bread and vegetables that aren’t rotten?”
“You will.”
“I’m in. I’ve had enough of life under the food shortages. I’ll do whatever you want to go back to eating regular bread every day.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It would be risky to have one person guard the storehouse, so you should post at least two guards there at all times. Is your father off fighting in the war?”
“He is. They finally drafted him just the other day.”
“So the only people left around you are women?”
“The only males are boys, old men, and soldiers who were sent back from the front lines with serious injuries. Almost all the jobs are being done by women. We make the bullets and sew the uniforms in the factories as well.”
“Would you leave here for the countryside? It would be easier to get you food if you were helping out on a farm.”
“…I’m sorry. I have my reasons for staying in Berlin.”
“I understand. In that case, let’s keep talking about what you’ll need to do to manage the storehouse.”