Keep the film rolling

CHAPTER 1 -

"The things I saw beggar descriptions... The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty, and bestiality were so overpowering... I made the visit deliberately, In order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda". These words are engraved on the Holocaust memorial museum in Washington DC.

The demise WW2 brought on the jew community is unfathomable. Jews were in Europe for the past 2000 years, in every field, from noble prize winners to craftsmen and tradesmen. The "Stab-in-the-back" myth worked as a catalyst in the genocide which followed.

Abraham's family were among the few who survived the Holocaust. He was born in the town of Dobiegniew, Poland where most of his people lived. His Father fought hard and ensured his mother, who was 8 months pregnant, along with his aunt escape the camps safely. Abraham's mother died when he was around 1, leaving him completely at the mercy of his Aunt, Fransiska. Though she was a compassionate woman, motherly instincts came naturally to her. While growing up, Abraham hardly had any friends, most of his time was spent as a part of the motivational storytelling session by his aunt. Fransiska couldn't stop glorifying the valor and sheer strength of his father. The way he fought those Nazis and got them out of those concentration camps, in the process making himself just a mere memory.

Dobiegniew was reduced to rubbles. People were surviving more than living. From where Abraham and his aunt stayed, only a few things used to excite him. The market nearby, The horse carriage and an abandoned theatre. The theatre was initially a church which was later bought by an aged person named Matthew, who was lynched right in the middle of the street on the suspicions of black magic. Conditions were inhabitable. Weekly petrol carts monitored the living among the dead. Abraham endured through all these. Stories of Nazi regiment and holocaust filled him with anger, rage, a feeling to avenge his father's death but he was in no position to act on it.


CHAPTER-2


The ray of hope wasn't faded yet. Things started to better. When Abraham was about to turn 10, Fransiska married a cobblestone named Jack. He was a kind person. They moved in with him which was near to the shed they were living at. With time situations improved but the anguish in Abraham didn't die. Jack and Fransiska wanted a child but couldn't conceive. Slowly they started to let the idea vanish into thin air and decided not to talk about it.

When Abraham turned 15, he developed these nightmares in which he saw everything from a person's eyes. Initially, they were slightly dim, with loads of screaming in the background. This used to wake him up in the middle of the night, panting, gasping for air, rushing towards Fransiska, seeking comfort. With time, the nightmares were no longer a brief occurrence. The blurred lines started making images, still uncrackable. Until it wasn't. In one of his nightmares, a person was kicking a completely feeble guy. The guy was begging for mercy and even failed to do so. With each kick, blood spilled out of him like water from a jammed sprinkler. This person who brought the rain of kicks down on the poor soul wore a Nazi uniform, He said, "Hey Walter, have you seen a Dracula puke before? come have a look at this pathetic piece of backstabbing jew."

Abraham woke up, disturbed like never before, having absolutely no idea what was happening. He was scared to sleep the next night. Luckily for him, the night went without any jump scare but the mind was still restless. He used to keep a sketch of his father and mother with him since he never got to see them. One day after he got extremely tired of the work in the library, he rested his head on a pile of books and within a few seconds, he was in a sound sleep.

The moving images came flashing back at him. He started from the checkpoint he left it the last time. Blood still spilling out of the same poor soul, he wondered from where did all these blood was pouring from, as the lad was only growing thinner and thinner. When the man turned to stop the one final kick, Abraham saw his face. It looked like someone he knew but never met before. After putting his effort to focus further, he was shocked to realize it was his father. His father begging for mercy. His father whose bravery was the only thing he was forced to remember while growing up was at someone's forgiveness. This wasn't the act he associated with that face. It pained him to see these visions. He tried but he couldn't stop the kicking. His father requested the general to cease this pain once and for all. That's when the general dragged his roulette out of its case and pointed it towards the scalp. No resistance came from his father, which the general took it as a green signal and shot the man dead.


CHAPTER-3


After the killing, general glanced at his shoes which were stained with blood, that's when Abraham looked at the name badge, pinned to the uniform. It read, 'Oberndorf'. The name did sound evil to him. Oberndorf is the one who killed his father. He wanted to reach out and do the same but he woke up as the pile of books on which he was resting, slid down from the table. Now he knew what had transpired, he just needed a confirmation. He left early, anxious like never before. When he saw his aunt, she was smiling, which was a rare occurrence so he subdued his questionnaire. "What's the occasion Mother?" he asked. He always mentioned Fransiska as his Mother.  "I'm extremely happy today my child. Your uncle Jack and me visited a gynecologist today and he said that my intuitions were correct, I'm indeed pregnant.",  said Fransiska radiantly. Abraham was happy for them. He thought, a great news like this, should not be overshadowed by the dark clouds of curiosity, and thus he did not proceed with his investigation any further.

"What was it that you wanted to ask?" Inquired Fransiska. "Nothing substantial, it can wait" replied Abraham. As he was about to leave, near the door, he turned "Have you heard the name Oberndorf before?" He asked, eventually tapping out to his desperate urge. Fransiska was stunned. She stood there staring right at Abraham with a dead blank expression. "Where did you hear that name from?" She asked shockingly. "Ah, just a name I came across while reading some stuff at the library." Said Abraham. "It's not just a name my child, it's the name of the devil himself. Oberndorf was a Nazi general who massacred more than a thousand of us. A pure sadist masquerading as a soldier, rejoicing every tear and shed of Jew blood. He was the one who held your father captive and later on..." Fransiska stopped, with a lump in her throat. Abraham knew this all along, all he was looking for was a mere confirmation. He tried to console her simultaneously replaying the blood-soaked event at the back of his mind. He chose not to share those with Fransiska. "But your father... Your father was a brave man. He fought till the very last of his breath. You would've been proud if you had met him." Said Fransiska, not holding back her tears any longer. "I believe you, Mother." Said Abraham, unbelievably.

"Remember Abraham, Yahweh never spares anyone for their sin. We eventually got the retribution we sought.  At the stroke of dawn, on 15th December, we received the news that one of the Jews has put a  metal rod through Oberndorf's chin and pierced out his left eye. Your Mother was relieved. The gratification is her eyes made me cherish someone's death. You were born the same night. The most precious thing to both of us, then and ever." Said Fransiska, caressing Abraham's tired face. The General was no longer a mystery. But why did he made appearances in Abraham's dreams? The more he thought, more complexed it all became. As the days went by, the restlessness started fading out. With his Aunt nearing her delivery date, he decided not to fret her with an added pound of stress.


CHAPTER-4


Months passed by and Abraham hadn't had any surprise visits from Oberndorf. Things were falling into places. The ever mundane routine was disturbed one day when Fransiska told Abraham that her water just broke. In his life span of 16 years, Abraham had endured ample struggle but this was something he didn't want to deal with. He started panicking. Fransiska quickly understood the pressure he was in and asked Abraham to go to Jack and fetch him as soon as possible. Abraham was waiting for this signal all along. He rushed towards Jack in a jiffy. Crossing the market, he entered the place where Jack used to work. Half squatting, panting, he delivered the news. Jack instructed Abraham to rush towards the drugstore down the alley while handing him a prescription. He will get a nurse and attend Fransiska. This distribution of task was perfect, thought Abraham.

He rushed again, sprinting down the lane,  glanced at the abandoned theatre. His mind got clouded by thoughts. He felt a calling. Like an invitation from a place, he didn't want to visit. He was near the pharmacy but his eyes were glued to the theatre admiring its moth walls. He collided with a speeding vehicle which appeared out of nowhere. His body went flying into the air. The impact of his landing, which was head first, made a crackling sound like someone has sledgehammered a watermelon. There was blood all around and the crowd accumulated within a moment. And for Abraham, there was only darkness which didn't linger long.

CHAPTER - 5

He opened his eyes and to his astonishment, he wasn't lying on the pavement but standing on his feet inside someplace he had never seen before. He couldn't move, felt like his feet were cemented to the floor. Gradually he realized, he was inside the theatre. The end credits had just finished rolling, lights turned on. He was startled to notice that he wasn't the only person in there. This was all too much for him to understand. He started walking towards the person, stealthily, squinting, trying to get an impression of this person. Dressed in an army uniform, the person maintained his stationery position not turning a bit to acknowledge Abraham's presence which made Abraham more curious. Eventually, he turned, and the horrendous countenance pushed Abraham few steps back. With an empty eye socket and a name badge attached to the uniform, Abraham knew the person in front of him. He was general Oberndorf.

The man who gave him countless nightmares was standing a few feet away. In a state of ambivalence, he couldn't decide whether to haul his other eye or ask for clarifications. "What's happening?", he asked. Oberndorf smirkily walked towards Abraham, "For 16 years I have been watching you. You resilient Jew fucks just don't know when to give up, don't you?!" said Oberndorf with a firm voice. "But let me be honest, I have cherished each and every bit of your pathetic suffering.", He laughed. "Well, finally you are here and I can't stand a Jew near me no matter how dead I'm." continued Oberndorf. And he walked right out of the exit door.

Abraham stood there with his eyes wide open and lips making an oval. But before he could follow Oberndorf, the exit door closed itself. Lights turned off and the screen was brightened by the projector once again. A film started, He had never seen one before. On screen, eyes opened, and it looked at a ceiling, a familiar one. The sound of a crying newborn echoed through the theatre. This first-person view had some terrible visions associated with it. All these things were making him anxious.  A face appeared in front of him, a smiling face, a face filled with happiness, shedding tears of joy. It was his uncle, Jack.