Tuesday 20 October 2009

Eva's Tale

Eva Goes On Holiday # 2


I am on an island. I have never been on an island before. It is called Norderney, I asked Miss Manfred and she showed me how to spell it. Miss Manfred is in charge of me and I must do as she says. But she smiled a bit and I wasn’t scared. I’ve never been sent away before. Everybody says it’s good for me but I miss Mum. Mum packed a suitcase for me, with my knickers and vests and socks and my skirt and blouses and my dress and shoes and plimsolls and even my nighties. She wouldn’t pack any toys, not even my Pummelchen*, she said, you will only lose them and anyway, toys from home are not allowed.

Sanatorium is a bit like school except I have to stay here all the time and sleep in a room which is called a dormitory and there are six of us, all girls, and we all have to lie on our beds in the afternoon and rest. Miss Manfred says that the doctor says we are all tired after lunch, but I am not tired and I asked Miss Manfred if I could read a book if I had one.

We are allowed to write a letter home but we have to show it to the lady who sits with us in the big room, where we eat and write letters and draw pictures and play games. The lady asks us many questions about how we are and what we like to do and if we like the Sanatorium and the nurses. I didn’t know that there are nurses, but the lady says that this is not just a children's home but also a Sanatorium and that there must be nurses. And doctors. The doctor said I must have a thorough examination, and he needs to check me. There was a nurse but she didn’t look like a nurse. she didn't have a white apron on; I was scared, they made me take off my vest and they didn’t give me a sweetie. I couldn’t manage all my buttons and the nurse helped me.

The doctor said I must go into a very special dormitory, for very special children. We get extra attention and the ward is called isolation. Miss Manfred is very nice to us, she is never cross, even when Susie cried all night because she missed her Mummy and we couldn’t sleep because she made such a racket. I cried a bit but very softly, so nobody heard me.

I wrote a letter to Mum. I think I was very clever to remember my Mum’s name from before she married my Dad. I didn’t think you could write a letter to two people so I wrote it just for Mum and I put her name on it, Miss Josten; I even put her other name on it, Miss Katherine Josten. I asked her to send me my winter coat and my Heidi book. I showed the letter to the lady and she put a stamp on the envelope. She smiled at me but she didn’t say anything.

I don’t know what all the fuss is about, my Mum sent the coat and the Heidi book and a letter saying that I was very naughty and the lady called me in and she smiled again and she said I must put my Mum’s proper name on the next letter.

But the name she said I must put on the envelope is my Dad’s name I said, not my Mum’s. The Lady smiled a bit more and she said, all the same, could I please do as Mum asked and then she said that she enjoys having me and I am not to worry and she will tell my Mum that she likes me and that I am a good girl.

*Pummelchen = rag doll


25 comments:

  1. What a lovely story. Thanks for sharing that with us. A x

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  2. more astonishingly good story-telling writing from you friko!! it's a story that i wish would continue. i could read this and read this. it made me wonder if my mum (who was evacuated from her parent's home during the war) wrote to her parents. have a peaceful day. steven

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  3. Eva was an incredibly brave and feisty little girl. It must have been terrifying and disorienting to be pulled away from her family not fully understanding the reasons why. And look at the feminist sensibilities already be expressed. Amazing.

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  4. I loved this as it seemed so authentic. You do write well.

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  5. Poor confused little girl - but brave and independent too. Thinking of writing her mum's maiden name...holding onto to this private and privilaged knowledge in a place where nothing about a child is either private or privilaged must have been terribly important.
    Once again, you quickly put us in a time and place.

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  6. Drawn in to your world, Friko.

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  7. now l do enjoy a good read. thank you!

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  8. This child's voice is very authentic. I'm enjoying these Eva pieces.

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  9. Friko, This is just wonderful. Makes my heart feel good. Wonderful way of narrating a story.

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  10. Friko

    You have two fascinating, well documented accounts of two very lives running at the moment and they are both a delight to read.

    Thank you.

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  11. The adult world is such a strnage unfathomable one ot children isnt it? Full of rules that are strange! You capture it so well .

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  12. Wipso - thank you Wipso

    Steven - perhaps she did, perhaps the letter still exists?

    Bonnie - Eva was/is a tough cookie

    Tabor - thank you

    Pondside - she did feel rather lonely

    Prospero - that's good, thank you

    muddyboots - thanks for the compliment

    Fran - hope Eva can keep it up for a while longer

    Lucy - it's Eva's story, it' real

    MartinH - thank you kindly, Martin

    her at home - beings from a different planet, children and adults

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  13. Poor little girl. I think she is handling the separation well. She must be ill with something like TB to be in isolation.

    I want to know the ending. The story has captured me and I found it fascinating.

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  14. Sounds like TB I never thought about the children having to be there but of course they did. I knew several people when I was young in the 40's who were sick with that.
    QMM

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  15. What a bold girl, Eva was! It must have been daunting with nurses and doctors roaming around.

    By the way, I felt compelled to reply to your comment the other day. If you would care to read it, I would be most grateful.

    This was a fantastic post. Very vivid.

    'And the ward is called isolation'.

    It is that innocence of the young child mixed with the knowledge of the adult reader that gave me the creeps. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  16. This story speaks from Eva's heart and is very compelling, Friko. Having spent a few weeks in a hospital when I was young helped me remember the lonely emptiness and having to rest when I wasn't tired. That only lasted weeks. I cannot imagine being there for months or perhaps even years. Thank you for sharing this story. It touched my heart.

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  17. Darlene - you are right, hence the isolation ward

    QMM - it was rife at the time, lack of food and general debility and no inoculation

    A Cuban in London - I have left a further comment - absolutely no thought of offence - thanks for understanding the little girl

    Linda - thank you Linda, we are fortunate that medical science has taken care of TB

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  18. You turned me into a child as I read your words - that was clever!

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  19. Many, many thanks, Friko, for your reply. You're so right, written comments can be easily misinterpreted. And nothing beats the tone of one's own voice.

    Have a brilliant weekend.

    Greetings from London.

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  20. Jinksy - those words are meant to be a child's words. thanks for the compliment

    A Cuban - good, so we're all friends again. Same to you.

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  21. As school children my sister and I were so skinny( it was just our nature not under-nurishment I hasten to add) that we always dreaded the day when the school doctor would come . We lived in fear to be sent away to a sanatorium on one of the Frisian Islands. Alone, without mum and dad and without anyone we knew. This story still sent shivers down my spine.

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  22. Ivy - are there still school doctors today? and do they still send children to the Frisian islands? Fuer die Meeresluft?

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  23. I'm really enjoying Eva's story. I love how you have got inside the mind of a little girl who has such spirit and yet is very realistically apprehensive - a real living character. My hat is off to you!

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  24. Argent - thank you Argent, you comment is much appreciated

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  25. Friko: the school doctors are not sending young children away anymore but they still used to when I was in Primary school. Today the "Mutter-Kind-Kur " has taken over but they go to the same destination, only less traumatic than before. Now that TBC is under control, children with Neurodermatitis, Asthma and allergies are the one to benefit from fresh sea air.

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