reluctantly agreed. What harm could it do? He couldnât foresee that it would be kept on Hanneâs kitchen wall as a souvenir of this historic night for the next 15 years.
As their brief encounter was about to end, Audrey reached out her tiny hand and tugged at his hat, which fell, with the wig, to the floor. Hanne glimpsed the scars on Felixâs earlobes and felt a wave of sympathy for him, although she was puzzled as to why he disguised his fair hair under a dark wig.
âIâm sorry,â Hanne said, embarrassed for him.
Felix quickly picked up his wig and hat and ran off, back through the hole in the wall to find Ingrid and Klaus.
âThere you are!â said Ingrid. âOnkel Klaus has gone looking for you. You were gone ages and your coffeeâs gone cold.â
âSorry,â muttered Felix, having readjusted his wig and hat just moments before.
Klaus breathed a sigh of relief when he returned and saw Ingrid and Felix together.
âWhere did you go? We were worried about you?â
âI didnât go far. Sorry, Onkel.â
âCan you believe it? Weâre a part of history tonight,â Klaus told them.
âItâs a miracle,â Ingrid proclaimed.
In the crowd, people were shaking hands and hugging one another. The euphoria and party atmosphere would last for days. Klaus felt a little guilty, being in Berlin and not telling his brother, but Felix had to be protected a while longer and hoped Bernd was somewhere in the crowd with his family, enjoying the celebrations.
Felix patted his pocket regularly to check if Dr Wissemannâs identity card was safe inside. It meant he had the means to contact the man who had smuggled him out of Torgau, if necessary. âOh, I forgot. I was given another banana. Here, Iâd like you two to share it.â
Klaus smiled cheekily at Ingrid, peeled back the banana skin and put the fruit in his mouth while Ingrid took the opposite end in her mouth. They nibbled the banana until their mouths met in the middle for a sticky kiss as with a sudden loud bang, fireworks were set off from the Brandenburg Gate and an explosion of colours lit up the night sky.
Chapter Six : The Brothers
F ELIX KNEW THAT THE repercussions from the fall of the Wall would dictate when he could re-emerge back into society, out of the darkness and into the light. Klaus and Ingrid were confident that Torgau would face closure in the new, united Germany and with this in mind, Klaus rang Bernd and asked him to come alone to Motzen, without delay.
Meanwhile, Felix stayed hidden in Das Kino as a precautionary measure. Fear was a crippling companion after years of state security exercising blanket surveillance and the East Germans knew that severe consequences always followed if the regime was compromised or challenged. Consequently, most ordinary citizens were reluctant to step out of line.
When Bernd arrived, he and Klaus wrapped up warm and took a rowing boat out onto the lake to be sure no one could hear their conversation. Ingrid had made them a flask of coffee and sandwiches, which they tucked into. The lake was calm and winter seemed milder here than in the snowbound streets of Berlin. Klaus dropped anchor in the middle of the lake.
âThe partyâs moribund. Iâm not sure what to do next, job-wise that is,â Bernd confessed.
âYou can always work here with me. Thereâs no shame in that,â Klaus told him.
âThanks, I may just do that,â Bernd replied.
âWhatâs all this talk of giving us in the East one Deutschmark for one Ostmark?â asked Klaus.
âItâs true. Itâll be announced on television on 3 rd December, and how about this, brother⦠The Politburo will resign and the central committee will assist Helmut Kohl with the integration of one Germany, moving the capital back to Berlin from Bonn.â
â3 rd December? Thatâs tomorrow! Itâs all happening so fast,â