Excerpt from "New Year's Day "

Excerpt from "New Year's Day" a short story by: D. Hoover

She woke to the smell of hell that cold January morning... She walked out of her smoldering door, slipping on the ice and tearing her dress, with echoes of the explosions still ringing in her ears. She walked, dazed; every breath tasted of ashes. Through her blurry eyes she saw children with phantom faces, gazing sadly at her from the windows of the shops. They were so alive yesterday; playing in the streets. Their laughter was now silenced. There was nothing left but shadows of normalcy; and a surreal broken tricycle protruding from the mounds of burning bodies. She stood in the square... Alone... Freezing... Horrified...What had happened? Confused, she struggled to maintain any sense of dignity or coherence as she pulled at her tattered blouse, brushing her long hair out of her face. She scanned the war-torn area for signs of life. She heard ghost cries from babies deep underneath the rubble. She vaguely remembered the air-raid sirens from right before sun-up. Then it slowly started to dawn on her that her little town was no more. What a grand celebration the night before. She danced and drank, bringing in the bold, new year. She remembered her boyfriend whispering reassurances that the war would soon be over; and we would be victorious. But apparently he was wrong. The Allies did attack us on New Year's Eve. Now she was all alone on this cold, dark day. Through the black smoke, she saw a sign hanging from one of the shattered buildings... It read: "Prosit Neujahr 1945!" Yes, Happy New Year indeed... Then she recalled what the old man said to her several years ago, before he fled to America... "Das mächtige Deutschland wird, mein Liebster fallen... Und Sie werden mit ihr fallen." He was right. Germany had fallen, and she had fallen with her...