It was a dark and stormy day in Michigan when seventeen-year-old Hadley Harris ventured into her stygian attic. As she tiptoed along the squeaky floorboards, she noticed in a corner a little brown wooden box covered in dust. Being the curious person she was, she picked up the box and settled it on the ground bedside her. She then sat down and quietly opened it, examining its insides. Neatly positioned in the bottom of the box was a black journal. Hadley carefully picked it up and crawled towards a lamp in the attic. She turned it on, casting light onto the journal. She sat back against the attic wall, opened the journal, and began to read the first page.

- November 5, 1929 Poland -

Dear Journal,


The air is crisp and clean, quite a grand day. This is the first time I have been able to write. I recently bought this journal, and I haven't had the time to jot a single thing down! I am currently twenty years of age and residing in my parent's home in Poland. I have two brothers, David and Adam. Silly things those two are. My mother, Abigail, is a teacher at our local school, and my father, Ben, a small business owner. I am about to start my first job as a seamstress! Father says it will be a splendid job, no doubt about it. Well, I must go practice my sewing skills.








Lots of Love,








Leah Harris


Hadley inhaled quickly. This was her great great grandmother's journal! Her mother or father never revealed to her much about her great great grandmother. Or the fact that she has a secret journal safely tucked away in the attic! Perhaps her life story is contained in the very binds of this journal. Hadley grabbed a dusty pillow from the other side of the room, positioned her body next to the light, and continued to read.

- January 22, 1930 Poland -

Dear Journal,


I have met my life long soul mate. His name is Markus Bäcker, and he is currently obtaining his education at a university. We met at the town's food market, which is quite the place to fall in love. I couldn't find the price of the meat of the day, and he walked up to me and gave me a grand smile. His blond hair waved in the breeze as he showed me the price tag underneath. I quietly giggled and said I was such a fool for not seeing the darn thing. I could never take my vision off his deep blue eyes. They were like a never ending sea, restless and full of longing. He ended up paying for the meat himself, saying in his German accent it was worth every dime. It was in that moment I knew he was the one.








Lots of Love,








Leah Harris

- April 21, 1934 Poland -

Dear journal,


I understand many years have passed since I have last written to you. I have to share grave news with you. A man named Adolf Hitler was appointed the chancellor of Germany just last year. He wishes to annihilate the entire Jewish race. I'm worried for the sake of my family and I because we are Jewish. I fear we are not safe. There is nowhere to hide. The Nazi soldiers patrol the streets, knocking on doors as they go. I must find Markus before it's too late for the both of us.








Lots of Love,








Leah Harris



Hadley's heart sank. She learned about the Holocaust just last year in one of her history classes. Thousands upon millions of people, including Jews, were executed. It was absolutely terrible. Hadley questioned if she should continue reading. Would this journal have a happy ending? Anxiety filled her mind. Slowly, she turned the page.

- May 5, 1934 Poland -

Dear journal,


The Nazis know we are here. They are advancing towards our house. Markus was taken away to one of the many concentration camps to be a Nazi solider. He wished, so very wished, to stay here with me. We made a plan to run away together. To flee this horrible place. However, the soldiers went recruiting Germans and took him away. I know it was not his fault, and I know this is not the end for us. We will see each other again, either in this life or the next. I pray with all my heart that is true.








Lots of Love,








Leah Harris


Hadley tried to turn the next page, but noticed there were none left. Small paper edges glided under her fingertips. The last page was missing! She grabbed the wooden box, searched for the missing page, but there was nothing but air. She searched through the entire attic, rummaged through old photo albums and other boxes. After about an hour's worth, she glanced at the watch on her right arm. Her mom would be home any minute! Hadley seized the black journal and hurried down the attic stairs. She opened the front door just as her mom took hold of the door knob.


Hadley presented the black journal to her mother and told her it belonged to Leah Harris. She told her the gist of the journal entries and pleaded with her mom to find the missing page. Her mother said she had never laid eyes on the journal before and therefore could not help her. Hadley stared at her mother, rage boiling inside her. How would she ever find out what happens to Leah, her family, and Markus?! Hadley grabbed the telephone and called her father, a flicker of hope rising in her.


Hadley's father answered and said he once found the same journal in the attic one day. Except, the last page was not ripped out. Her father told her of how he decided to rip out the last page to scan in case the journal was ever lost or burned. He said the missing page is safely residing in his bedroom closet, underneath a shoebox. Hadley quickly ended the call, sprinted to her father's closet, threw the shoe box across the room, and grabbed hold of the missing page. She then sat down on her parent's bed and read the last journal entry.

- December 1943 Great Britain -

Dear Journal,


Tears fill my eyes as I begin to write these words from memory to paper. After I wrote my last entry, I went behind my house and buried the journal into the earth's ground. I wanted to make sure my words were safe from evil and devastation, and I did just that. Shortly after I buried the journal, my family and I were taken away by Nazi soldiers to train stations. The soldiers informed us the woman and men would be boarded on separate trains. The light escaped my father's eyes as my mother and I walked away from him and my two brothers. I grieve as I state my entire family has passed away. My mother and I lived in a tiny cabin filled with many other woman. Every so often a group of them disappeared and never came back. One day Nazi soldiers entered the cabin and took us away, filing us into a line. They told us we were going to bathe, but I knew this was a lie. As I was about to enter the room, someone grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me away from the line. I looked up to see Markus, staring at me with his longing blue eyes. He informed the other soldiers that I was needed in the labor area, and they agreed to let Markus take me away. As soon as there was not a soul in sight, Markus took hold of my hand and put it next to his heart. I fully believe it was fate that we would see each other again in that exact moment in time. We escaped the camp that night when the soldiers weren't looking. Great Britain is where we are currently living with a young baby girl on the way. Some years later I traveled back to Poland to retrieve this journal and write my final entry. I hope whoever reads this understands life has its ups and downs. You just have to keep moving forward.








Lots of Love,








Leah Bäcker


Hadley carefully placed the final page down on her father's night stand. She was so glad that Leah lived and spent the rest of her life with Markus. She could not fathom the thought of going through what her great great grandmother went through. Slowly, Hadley closed her eyes, fell asleep, and dreamed of her great great grandmother's life story.