Tom Staudt
Revelation
Mum and I could spend hours chatting, facing each other on the window-seat, overlooking the garden. The cherry tree was in full blossom, when we somehow ended up talking about WW II, not my favourite topic. I’d heard enough about it in school. I rolled my eyes and tried to look disinterested. Mum clutched my arm and said quietly but earnestly ‘You don’t know what it was like. Your grandma was a hero. I became attentive. ’‘A hero?’
Mum picked petals from the window sill and explained how my grandmother had been an active anti-fascist. I couldn’t believe my ears. My little nana against the third reich.
What fascinated me was how much my mum was still affected by the terrors of the Nazis. She leaned in and lowered her voice, as she told me about gran, looking around as if someone was listening, watching her.
the moon casting shadows on old dolls
About the Author
Tom Staudt lives in Sydney, Australia. He moved to Sydney from Germany in 2002. He writes mainly Japanese poetry and has been published in several online journals. He has also written short stories, two of which have been published in a short story collection called Phoenix Ink.