"Father!" "Father!" "Warm, warm, warm, warm." " Father!" "Look, a warm scarf." "They won't be able to stand it." "They have to stand it for their own sakes." "They'll never get used to it." "I know them." "The two of them are one." "Everyone has to live his own life." "Say goodbye to Father." "He leaves tonight." "Boys, write down everything that happens to you in this notebook." "We are at war." "We're a family even if we are apart." "I want to know everything." "Everything." "Don't leave a thing out." "We are at war." "14 August, 1944" "Father and Mother don't know we eavesdrop on them in the evening." "Father thinks twins are too conspicuous in wartime." "He wants to separate us." "Mother is crying." "We don't cry." "We won't let them separate us." "We couldn't stand being apart." "Come on!" "Hurry up!" "Wait for me here." "Mother." "Mother, can you hear me?" "For years you didn't think of me." "You didn't come." "You didn't write." "You know why." "I did love my father very much." "Now you remember your mother and come to ask for my help." "I ask nothing for myself." "I just want my children to survive the war." "Why bring them here?" " They're your grandchildren." "How many are there?" " Two." "What did you do with the rest?" "Bitches bear litters of four or five." "They keep one or two and drown the rest." "Do they at least have a father?" "I wasn't invited to the wedding." "This is your grandmother." "You will stay with her for a while." "Until the end of the war." "Open your mouths." " Sorry?" "Open your mouths!" "Stay strong." "You have to survive until I come back for you." "The war could last a long time." "I'll put them to work." "Food isn't free here." "You have to keep up your studies whatever happens." "You can't stop." "My darlings!" "Be good." "I'll write." "Mother!" "Mother, don't leave us!" "Mother!" "Go!" "No news for twenty years!" "I'll teach you!" "Stay outside, bastards!" "Grandmother is mother's mother." "Before coming to live in her house, we didn't even know mother had a mother." "We call her Grandmother." "She calls us bastards." "Get to work, bastards." "Grandmother lives on the edge of town." "Lord!" "Only the mailman comes to call." "That's all I need!" "She only has one neighbour, a woman who is blind and deaf." "The hell with all this crap!" "No one likes Grandmother." "People call her a witch." "They say she poisoned her husband, our grandfather." "We didn't even know we had a grandfather." "I'm hungry." "I see you've understood." "You have to earn your food." "That's not it." "Working is bad, but watching someone work is worse." "Bastards!" "So you felt sorry for me?" "No, Grandmother." "We felt ashamed." "You've earned your food." "You can sleep there, bastards." "Potato soup." "Eat!" "Go get some fuel, I'll bring the water." "Grandmother forces us to do chores." "Otherwise she beats us and locks us out for the night." "We study, as we promised Mother." "And we write down everything in Father's notebook." "We have Father's encyclopedia and the Bible we found here to study from." "We use the Bible for reading, practising writing and developing our memory." ""Wake and behold the Lord's house and altar."" "We've learned the Ten Commandments by heart." "Bastards!" "Wake up!" "Come on, out!" "Go on, get to work!" "Hurry, hurry!" "Go get some fuel, I'll bring the water." "We have to write down what happens, what we see, what we hear and do." "We have a simple rule to decide if our writing is good or bad." "It has to be true." "A great party." " Yes, I liked it a lot." "Who are you?" " Who are you?" "We live with our grandmother." " They live with their grandmother." "Are you hungry?" " Are you hungry?" "No." " We're not." "Yesterday the German officer moved into Grandmother's other house." "The officer commands the camp over the border." "But he spends the weekends at Grandmother's farm." "Grandmother's house is surrounded by a garden, at the end of which is a spring." "Then comes a forest." "On the other side of the spring is another country." "We are not allowed near the barbed wire because guards might shoot us." "Barrack 2!" "Roll call!" "It's war." "In war, people kill each other." "It's two weeks since Mother left." "She hasn't sent a letter since." "Fresh radishes, ladies!" "Come, take some." "I have lovely apples, buy one for your child." "Preserves!" "Sausages!" "Fragrant sausages and beans." "I have beans, madam." "Well, what?" "Hey, hey. hey!" "Damn it all!" " Stop her!" "Stop!" "Catch the thief!" "Catch her!" "Catch her!" "Catch her!" "Thieves, thieves, thieves!" "They are damned thieves." "Run!" "Thieves, thieves, thieves!" "Let my brother go!" " I didn't steal anything." "I didn't." "What did you steal?" " Nothing." "Talk, damn it!" "I'm no thief." "I didn't steal a thing." "Come here!" "Go on!" "Speak." "What did you steal?" " I'm no thief!" "What was it you stole?" " I am not a thief." "The first lesson is to train the body." "Grandmother beats us every morning." "She beats us with a wet kitchen towel and pulls our ears." "The postman, the landlord and others also slap and kick us." "We don't even know why." "We decide to train our bodies to take pain without crying." "Bastard!" " Thief!" "It doesn't hurt." " Bastard." "It doesn't hurt." " Dirty swine." "Scum." "Filth." "We start by slapping and then punching one another" "Stand up!" "We cry at first, as it hurts so badly." "Dirty pig, louse, swine." "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't..." "It hurts." "It hurts." "It hurts." "It doesn't hurt." "It doesn't hurt." "Dirty pig, swine, filth..." "Mother hasn't written for a month." "It stinks." "Picky, are you, bastards?" "It's shit." " Shut your mouth!" "More." " Give me one, too!" "Here!" "Look..." "We're turning the other cheek, like the Bible says." "What the hell are you playing at?" "What the hell..." "it's just a game." "Shit!" " Stop shouting, hit us instead!" "Shit!" "What the hell are you playing at?" "What?" " Hit us." "Just hit us." "What the hell!" "Hit me!" "It doesn't hurt." "Go on!" "Hit me!" "God damn it!" "We spy on Grandmother every evening from the attic." "She gets very drunk and keeps cursing our grandfather." "You piece of shit." "You got what you deserved." "Grandmother has a hidden treasure in her chest." "Come here, my precious." "Come here." "Those bastards." "I won't let them take it from me." "I have to hide it." "I will hide it." "I won't give it to them." "Not to anyone." "I won't." "I won't give it to them." "They can't prove anything." "Nothing." "The neighbour's daughter steals anything she can." "Thief!" " Don't hurt me!" "We've often chased her from our garden." " Can't catch me!" "When she comes to steal from us, we punish her for it." "What's your name?" "Stop kicking!" "It hurts, doesn't it?" "There you go!" "I'm not afraid of you." "Do you want to play with me?" "We never play." "I do." "And I steal." " Stealing is forbidden." "You steal, too." " Stealing is a sin." "Is it?" " Yes, that's why." "What about my mother?" "She's deaf and blind." "She needs to eat." "You steal for your mother?" " She steals for her mother!" "How about that?" "My poor mother is deaf and blind." "Harelip says the mail is slow because of the war." "That's why we get no letters from Mother." "Harelip is our best friend." "She's teaching us how to steal." "She is very brave, she's not afraid of anything, not even bombs." "We have to learn not to be afraid of anything, too." "Not again!" "Not again!" "Don't leave anything here." "Get out!" "Get to the shelter." " Let me go!" "Everyone will die." "Get out!" " We won't go to the shelter." ""Practising blindness and deafness."" "I'll be blind." "I'll be deaf." "Do you hear it too?" "I can't hear it, but I see the planes." "Are you scared?" "I'm so scared." "I'm so scared." "I hear the planes." "They're flying low." "They're full of bombs." "Run!" "I am your friend." "Friend." "Friend." "Snow has fallen." "The roof of the attic has collapsed." "The trains run less and less frequently in town." "Every week we go to the station," "Mother never comes, even though she promised." "Next week we won't go anymore." "We don't even know when we saw Mother last." "I am hungry." "I am hungry." "Hungry." "Come." "Why are you lying here?" " I haven't eaten in four days." "I don't want to be a soldier." "I'm starving to death." "I'm starving to death." "They mustn't see me." "They would shoot me." "I haven't eaten in four days." "Shall we bring you something to eat?" "Yes." "Anything!" "But you can't tell anybody." "Not even your mother." "You can trust us." "Soldier!" "Soldier!" "It's us." "We've brought blankets." "And a little food." "Run!" "We bury the soldier's weapons under the bench just outside the officer's window." "We don't want to die like the soldier did." "We decide to survive starvation longer than he did." "Are you done with your chores?" "You can check." "All right, you've earned your keep." "We have mushroom soup." "What now?" "We won't eat anything for four days." "We will only drink water." "Fine." "You don't have to eat." "But you'll work as usual." "Where are you, little ginger one?" "That's right!" "Smells good, doesn't it?" "You two want a leg?" "We can do it." "We've learnt that if we huddle together we are less cold." "People in town are starving." "We only have potatoes left." "Hello." " Hello." "Here, give it to me." "Give it here." " Wait, you need to sign for it." "Sign?" " There." "Like that." "A cross will do." "Bye." " All the best." "What do you want, bastards?" ""My dear children," "I haven't seen you for a long time." "My little darlings." "I miss you so much." "I love you very much." "You are all my joy." "I promise, I will never abandon you." "I hope you are fine."" "That isn't nice of you." "We're freezing." "We don't have warm clothes." "And you keep them here?" "Hide them from us?" "Things our mother sent us!" "No!" " Let go!" "No... no!" "Rot in hell!" "Bitch." "She won't come back, anyway." "She's never coming back." "Never." "We must forget the loving words of our mother, because no one says things like that to us now, and because remembering them hurts so." "We don't want it to hurt." "SCUM!" "SWINE!" "BASTARDS!" "PIGS!" "FILTH!" ""Training the soul."" "My sweet sons!" "My treasures!" "My boys." "I love you." "I will never leave you." "I miss you very much." "Don't be frightened." "Stay strong." "Don't be frightened." "I miss you very much." "You must not stop studying." "Under no circumstances." "I love you." "Only you." "You are all my joy." "I always think of you." "I'll never abandon you." "I love you." "Only you." "I love only you." "You are my only joy." "SWINE." "IDIOTS." "BASTARDS." "I love you." "I love only you." "You are my only joy." "I love only you." "Only you." "My beloved darlings." "I'll never leave you." "Dirty... pig... villain... thief... dirty... louse... tramp..." "lazy bones... carrion..." "murderer... lazy bones.." "tramp... miserable... beggar... bastard!" "Grandmother!" "Open the door!" "Grandmother!" "What's happening?" "Roast this!" "Who gave you permission?" "Who do you think you are?" "I'm the boss here, you snotty brats!" "Roast this!" "I won't." "I'd rather die." "All right, I will roast it." "You don't know how to do it." "You dirty scoundrels." "Why has God cursed me with you?" "It was my best chicken." "You love killing, don't you?" "Bring water!" "And you fetch wood." "Bastards!" ""Practising cruelty."" "We don't like to kill, but we have to get used to it." "We begin with killing beetles." "Then we go on to fish." "We grab them by the tail and smash their heads... against the rocks." "Later, we also kill animals that we don't have to kill." "We catch a frog and nail it to a plank." "We cut open its stomach." "We catch butterflies." "Soon we have a large butterfly collection." "It is December." "Christmas is coming." "The officer celebrates with his friend." "Cap!" "I saw you beating each other with a belt." "Was that also an exercise?" "Officer says he saw you beating each other with a belt." "It was an exercise to train our bodies." "It was for bodily fitness." "Why?" "Officer ask why?" "So we get used to pain." "To get used to pain." "Do you like pain?" "You like pain?" "No." "We just want to conquer pain... cold..." "... and hunger." "No, they just want to conquer pain, cold and hunger." "Yes..." "I understand." "You are great boys." "Officer admires you." "These brats are annoying me." "Kick them out." "Are you jealous?" "Of them?" "Ridiculous." "Two little savages!" "They're cute, don't you think?" "I've had it!" "I'm leaving!" "Don't be an idiot!" " Out!" "Slowly, everything freezes." "Our hands and feet are full of sores and lesions." "We itch all over." "We have lice." "The people in the town are weak." "They die easy." "But we are strong, trained." "We won't die easy." "Harelip!" "Harelip, do you hear us?" "Harelip!" "Harelip!" "Let us in." "It's us!" "Harelip!" "Harelip!" "Look at me." "Is your mother here?" "Where is she?" "Is she still alive?" "I don't know." "We need some money." "Ask the Deacon." "He gave me money to show him my hole" "and some more so I wouldn't say anything." "The church is just across from the inn." "Go!" "I didn't do anything to that girl." "Who is this Harelip, anyway?" "No one will believe what a retarded girl says about me." "The girl is lying." " The truth doesn't matter." "Do you even know what you are doing?" "Yes, Reverend." "It's called blackmail." "God is trying me." "Come on Saturday." "But don't think I'm giving in to blackmail." "I do it out of charity." "Can I help you?" "We're looking for waterproof rubber boots." "Boots with a lining cost a lot." "We have money." "That's enough for one pair." "You're the same size." "You can take turns wearing them." "That's impossible." "We go everywhere together." "Go and ask your parents for money." "We have no parents." "We live with the witch." "Poor things." "Try these on!" "Put the money away." "Buy warm socks with it." "Thank you." "Hello." "Good afternoon!" "Good afternoon!" "Good afternoon!" "I came to fetch potatoes for the Deacon." "People say you have potatoes." "How much do you need?" " Ten kilos." "Wait." "Oh my God!" "You look very handsome." "And you look very dirty." "Come on now!" "You're not afraid of me, are you?" "We are not afraid of anyone." "Do you ever wash?" "It's none of your business." "Will you let the boys help me?" "I don't mind if they're willing." "Then come on, boys!" "When will you pay?" " In two days." "Come on!" "You're staying here?" "You aren't embarrassed in front of me, are you?" "I could be your mother." "Then I'll start." "You see." "I'm not embarrassed in front of you." "You are just young boys, little boys." "Come on in." "I'll cut your nails." "Come on!" "What a pity you aren't older." "It is really good to play with you." "Come on, come on!" "A bit quicker!" "Move it, dirty Jew!" "Get back in line, you louse!" " Wait!" "Wait!" "Catch the shoemaker, too!" "You lousy Jew!" "Snotty Jew!" "You'd like that, would you?" "Jew, get in line!" "Are you hungry, Jew?" "Move it, hook-nose!" "Faster, Jew!" "Faster, faster!" "Move it!" "Go on, eat!" "The shoemaker was our best friend." "You are too sensitive." "It's none of your business." "Those people are animals." "Father always said, if someone does something wrong, they need punishing." "It's the only way they'll learn." "Mother always said, don't be afraid, God sees everything." "He will know the righteous ones." "They killed the shoemaker in his workshop with his own hammer." "He was a righteous one." "Here is the money." "Can you read?" "Of course, Reverend." "There you go." "This has beautiful stories about Christ and the lives of the saints." "We know those already." "We have a Bible." "So you know the Ten Commandments." "Do you keep them?" "No." "We don't keep them, Reverend." "Nobody keeps them." "It is written: "Thou shalt not kill!"" "But everybody kills." "Grandmother!" "Grandmother!" "Grandmother, where have you been?" "A wolf has been seen." " Come." "Come home." "Who's looking after the pigs?" "You see?" "Bastards!" "Are you the grandchildren of the witch?" "You are the grandchildren of the witch." "She's not a witch." "Shut up, I wasn't asking you!" "Separate them!" "Sit down!" "Let me go!" "Did you see a dead soldier in the forest?" "We did not." " Liar!" "You are both lying." "There was a dead soldier there, but we didn't find his weapons." "Take the other one out to the corridor." "Come here!" "Wrap a cloth around his ears!" "He isn't to hear anything." "Pig!" "Let me go!" "When's the last time you gathered wood?" "Two days ago, Tuesday morning." " Damn it!" "I told you to plug his ears!" "Let me go!" "I'll go outside." "You're not going anywhere." "You'll listen to this." "You like the maid, don't you?" "Let go!" "Do you like the maid?" " I like her." "Do you know what happened to her?" "When she lit the fire this morning, the stove exploded." "Her whole face is gone." "I'm happy she is alive..." "after such an accident." "You stay!" "You stay." "What did you say?" "What did you say?" "Enough of this nonsense!" "You bring firewood to the rectory!" "You walk around the forest all day!" "You rob corpses!" "You're capable of anything." "Anything..." "Why didn't you tell me?" "How could I know?" "I'll do anything." "I'll do anything." "Just tell me what to do." "What should I do?" "It's not the blows that hurt most." "We can stand them." "We are strong, steeled." "But when they separate us, that is the most painful." "We almost die." "Bastards, you're home!" "I brought milk." "Out!" " Out my ass!" "Fuckers!" "They are my grandchildren." "Our friend, the officer, left without saying goodbye." "And now it's only the three of us." "The Germans from the camp have also left." "They're scared, probably." "They say the war is over." "Grandmother tells us to visit the empty camp to see if there is anything left there." "In the camp... we find nothing." "A new army is arriving." "Foreigners." "They speak another language." "Grandmother says they break into places." "They steal everything they can." "They are liberators." "That's what everyone calls them." "Get out of here!" "You are not deaf, are you?" "Yes." "And I am not blind either." "She's dead, isn't she?" "Did the soldiers do it?" "She invited them in." "There were so many." "She died happy." "It's me they should have killed." "You want to die?" "The neighbour's house has burnt down." "They burnt in there, she and her daughter." "That crazy girl must have left something on the stove." "Right, Grandmother." " They forgot something." "I want to tell you a secret." "What do you want?" " Come closer!" "You must know where Grandfather's treasure is hidden..." "We know already." " What do you know?" "The treasure is hidden in Grandfather's grave." "Sleep now, bastards!" "Come!" "Come quickly!" "Get in!" "Don't bring anything, just come." "Come along!" "Who's that?" "Your sister." "Hurry up!" "Come on!" "Where to?" " Stop asking questions!" "Come!" "We don't want to leave." "We don't want to leave." " What are you doing here?" "What have you got there in your arms?" "We have to leave." "Come on, bring them!" "I came for my sons." "I'll send money." " I don't need it." "I won't let them go." " Come on now." "Lieutenant, help me, please!" "Damn it!" "Let's go!" " Leave us!" "Who are you?" "Let go of us." "Let go!" "Swine!" " Who are you, anyway?" "Who are you?" " Swine!" "Damn!" "Fucking bastards!" "What the hell?" "I told you they don't want to go with you." "I order you to get in the car right now!" " They don't take orders." "They are my children, don't keep them from me." "I'm not holding them back." "Go with your mother!" "Please." "We don't want to go." "Let's go!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Don't look!" "Lord, give them... eternal... eternal... peace." "Rest..." "Rest in peace." "Grandmother!" "Grandmother!" "Grandmother had a stroke, so we have to do all the work alone." "Let go of it now!" "Let go!" " Why are you following me?" "Let go!" "I'll do it." "Bastards." "Listen to me carefully." "If..." "I have another stroke..." "This..." "You pour this into a cup of milk." "You'll do it, won't you?" "You'll do it?" "Right?" "Right?" "If you can't do that for me, you're plain ungrateful." "You will do it?" "You will do it?" "Right?" "We will do it. if you want." "Good boys." "Thank you." "How tall you both are." "Where have you been?" "In captivity." "Where is my wife?" "Well..." "She did have a husband, after all." "Yes." "I'm your daughter's husband." "These are my boys." "These are..." "These are... my sons." "And where have you been?" "You don't give a shit, old witch!" "Where is my wife?" "You could thank me for all I've done for your sons." "Thank you." "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "What's this?" "It's a baby." "Our little sister." "You have to bury people in a cemetery." "It's the law." "By morning Grandmother had had another stroke." "And we helped her die as she'd asked." "She's in the grave next to our mother." "In the garden." "We are alone." "But we continue our studies." "We don't stop." "Show me." " Show you what?" "Your hands." "You don't have any nails." "They ripped my nails out." "They're rounding up all the men." "I have to get across the border." "We know the border." "There's no way to cross it." "There are mines." "I'd rather die than stay here." "Why don't you stay here with us?" "Why?" "At night we dig everything up from Grandfather's grave." "One for you, one for me." "War is over." "There is peace." "But not for us." "We haven't learnt the most important lesson yet." "We know a place, but it's risky." "We'll go to the border with you tomorrow." "Good night!" "We'll wake you in the morning." "Sleep well." "Good night." "First you have to make it to the barbed wire without running into guards or being spotted from the watchtower." "The area between the two barbed wire fences is dangerous." "There are mines." "The mines are arranged in a zigzag." "Every step is dangerous." "But there is a way across." "If you take big steps, you might just make it." "The last lesson... the separation." "Go, Father!" "There's 20 minutes till the next patrol." "If you take big steps, there is a way to get across." "Yes, but you have to send someone ahead." "Take this with you." "I don't need it." "Take care."