When the Night Falls in Berlin

Posted by Yuka as Hot Cities

She has been outside for hours this evening, under the bleak autumn sky over the Berlin city of doldrums, as serious as if listening to the last words of a dying person, witnessing the Berlin Wall being pulled down one block after another by excited citizens from both sides. Just yesterday, on November 9th, 1989 — a significant day for every Berliner, the end of this unusual wall was announced after 28 years of its existence.
Nearly three decades ago, the wall was incredibly built also during such an autumn night, not to prevent the foreign invaders but people in the same country. Just a command from an East German leader has, since, led numerous lives into another way, including hers.

The chosen day came eventually.
In a fabulous antique mansion in the north East Berlin, the Wieslers were busy preparing for their secret leave tonight under delicate tensity. Actually all had been well prepared days ago, but there was no certainty. It seemed that keep checking everything could at least release them a little bit before the night fell.

The escaping team was simple: a playwright husband Mr. Wiesler, an artist wife Mrs. Wiesler, and their 17-year-old daughter Maria. They could have lived their decent life here with admired elegancy, but for the exposal of certain comments on the government in term, like “The wall must go, but until it goes, the city must live”, which was anonymously published in London but in fact made by her father. Continuously coaxing with whatever at hand, Maria desperately itched to inscribe under her skin every trail of their past. It was most hurting that she had to given up all her dreams weaved with Dreyman, her boyfriend. They had even drawn out their future home: there should be a house, red-brick, three-stair, accompanied with two big vigorous phoenix trees, on which hanging was a swing….She had not told or not dared to tell him anything, but gushing-down tears out of control uttered out cuts and scars in her heart where love had been growing prosperously.

Anyway, life of the whole family was being greatly threatened.
They must leave, under the supervision of thousands of Secret Police.
Fortunately, there was no border completely without any break. The Berlin Wall was mainly made of concrete but in some part only parapets, which were high enough for a mini car to rush across under them. Moreover, at about 10:30 every evening when stand-guarders shifted work, there did be held out certain hope for people with “stealthy” purpose, like the Wieslers.

The clock tickled to 10: 15.
Mr. Wiesler was driving his car slowly with Maria sitting nervously behind, leaning on her mother, and dashing her eyesight out of the window. No star on the lead-black sky. Narrow streets were shrouded by grey mist, from which few street lamp struggled to shoot out their transparent yellow light. Only a few blurring images of passengers appeared along the roads, yet without throwing a glance at the car. The world was deadly silent as if it was hushed to be quiet, waiting in front of the stage for the heroes to “commit” a play of conspiracy.
Gradually the wall revealed its majesty under the horrendous veil. Seeing their car moving forward at an acceptable speed along the wall, especially being kept a certain distance to the wall so that they would not draw any suspension, Maria couldn’t help breathing easily. Dormant as everything was, all seemed going as they’d planned.

It was 10:25 when the concrete wall ended, near a white house— a sentry— with several vague fingers moving in and around. Voices penetrate through the temporary peace, and Maria found the stomach plugging into her throat. She dared not to look outside, neither to look at her mother’s face.

Suddenly a piercing whistle broke the last line of defense in her heart.
Maria could almost hear the thrilling breathing in the limited space in the car as clearly as her own heart pumping. She could imagine her ghastly face with two frightenedly widened hole-like eyes sucked in it.

Meanwhile, the car could not stop for a while, neither turn back.
Thank God! It was just a signal for duty-shift.

They had passed the dangerous sentry now, with clear vision of safe-guards’ shifting beside. And the beginning of the next part of concrete wall had emerged. Chance was coming. There was enough space for them to go through under a rail of at least 6 meters. Without one word, Maria could feel her father was gunning.

“Who is it? Stop! Stop! ”
A voice of a young man came down as thunders, with a bundle of white light sprayed at these three poor lives, which at last stopped at Marie.
“Excuse me, but….Marie!”
“Dreyman….is it Dreyman?”
“I can’t believe it, Marie…and….Mr. and Mrs. Wiesler!”
“Dreyman, I don’t know you are on duty today!”
“I took place of another guy today….what’s wrong with you, Marie? Where are you going at this time?”
“Oh, Marie, why don’t you tell me earlier he is a policeman? A policeman! Oh, my God! ” Mr. Wiesley interrupted with dread.
“Dad, he is different. He knows our things.”
Noise came louder from that white house. Another second of deadly silence passed them in their holding breaths.

Mr. Wiesler couldn’t resist shouting out but under his voice, “Our things? See what he is doing now! Let him go! Gosh!” his face unnaturally twitched at her daughter’s “Satan” boyfriend.

“Listen, Dreyman, we must go….”
“Wait a minute….Marie, what’s wrong with you? And when shall I see you again? Tomorrow night there will be….”
“…Dreyman, I’m sorry, but probably never…I really have to go now…”
“Never….What is ‘Never’?”
They could clearly hear alarming laughs of unearthliness as if some of those shadows have already known them.
“Don’t tell me that you are going to…. ”
“….Yes.”

Dreyman thrilled having got an electroshock.
Death was welcoming them in the endless darkness.
With no more to say, Marie lowed down her head between thrilling hands, probably praying or counting for the last few minutes of her life and her parents’. Simply a bullet could take away their life now. The policy “Shot- to- death” had been implemented to betrayers like them. Of course Dreyman would not do this, at least by himself. To let her go would certainly be nothing but to draw a full stop to all their dream-like memories; nevertheless keeping her here was as terrible as killing her by himself.
With no more courage to presume their future, “Let it be whatever”, mumped Maria.
No one knew what would happen. Time passing by was enough to draw others’ attention to this little grey car….someone was already aware of them and coming from the sentry….Time was up.

“Marie, I can understand you, but please remember…. I love you.”
All three in the car got speechless from shock and stared outside, at the young twisted face with streams of silver tears shining there for sorrow as moonlight in such a night without moon.

“Go…but remember I love you….go!”
With a shrieking of the car, scratching over the dumbness of the Berlin evening, they flashed through the “wall”, leaving behind furious banging of gun raging which was more like declaring the coming of another day for the lucky family.
Days later, the Wiesleys successfully settled down in West Berlin.

Squeezed and pushed in the swelling sea of ecstatic people passing across the city (the whole city of Berlin now), she, as a middle-aged woman now, can’t help revealing her excitement that lightens her grey eyes in the dusty and cool autumn air. She walks slowly and carefully looks at the wall but not just crosses it like others. She is hesitating. Of course, she is also curious about the other world, which has been neighboring but almost unknown to them.

Out of the blue, a familiar scene dashed into her, exactly the same with three decades ago: a white house on the other side of the half- tore wall, which she will never forget— that sentry. As early as she was only 17 years-old, her whole family escaped from the East Germany to the West Germany, with the help of her first love, whom she has never seen or got any news from since that impressive night, thus which has become an eternal hurt in her life.

Yet she never forgets him. They even had weaved a heavenly home for their own: a red-brick house with two phoenix trees in front, on which hangs a swing…..For so many years, hope has always been there, just relying on which she supported herself for so many years, being unmarried.

To be honest, she has to say she still has feeling with him at least with that man in her memory, but now she even doesn’t know whether he is still alive or whether he survived that night…

If he died for any of her reason, she can’t imagine what a miserable life she will live in infinite compunction for the rest of her life; if things are not so bad, or he is stil alive, she’ll also fell sad for all her whole family owes to him.

Actually she doesn’t quite clearly know what she is doing and what she wants to do. To find him, even it’s just his grave? She is not sure of her courage.
The part of the wall directly in front eventually broke down.
A big hollow opens, facing her, as if it is going to swallow her back to her 17-year-old days. With an unexplainably pathos or ecstasy on her white and wrinkled face, she can’t help crying out as loudly to that scaring hollow, to the velvet sky, to the Berlin city, to all her own history on the other side of the wall…. She cried in the way trying to make herself heard wherever he is in the world.

She loves him. That is sure.
Let bygones be gone, but tomorrow is another day.
Whatever ahead she decides to accept.
When the dawn comes out, she bravely crossed the Berlin Wall, and disappeared in the bustling floods of joy.