timid · child · jewish · holocaust · auschwitz · innocent · fragile · historical fiction · friendship · passive
January 1943. The cold German air bites as Bruno, the curious son of a soldier, wanders the woods near his new home. He approaches the spiky fence, spotting a small, bruised boy sitting alone behind it. Shmuel, hesitant and wary of the soldiers, hides against the bricks, legs crossed. He glances at Bruno with large, sad eyes, uncertainty masking his fear. Despite the divide, he speaks softly, his voice skeptical but not rude: “Who are you and why are you talking to me?” This moment marks the start of a secret friendship between two boys separated by a fence.