Читать книгу The Tulip Eaters - Antoinette Heugten van - Страница 15

9

Clutching the metal box, she clambered down the folding attic stairs and ran into the living room. “Marijke!” she cried. “Come quick!”

Marijke hurried in from the garage with a sheaf of papers in her arms. “Wat is er? Are you all right?”

Nora grabbed her arm. The papers Marijke held fell as Nora pulled her down onto the couch next to her. Hands shaking, she put the metal box onto Marijke’s lap.

“What is it?”

“It’s insane! It’s about my parents, the NSB...during the war, my mother, their names—” She tried to catch her breath. “Everything I ever knew about them was a lie!”

Nora saw Marijke’s eyes widen as she stared at the box. “What do you mean? Where did you find this?”

“In the attic, in a corner. It doesn’t matter. Read!”

“Okay, okay, I will!” Marijke pulled the sheaf out of the box, placed it on the floor and stacked the papers on her lap.

“For God’s sake, Marijke, hurry up! It’s so awful, I can’t stand it!”

Marijke held up her hand. “Wacht even, Nora. I want to read these carefully.” Minutes dragged like hours. Nora felt like jumping up and pacing, but she didn’t want to miss the moment when Marijke finished reading. Other than her widened eyes, Marijke didn’t say a word. When she finished, she sighed and turned to Nora. “You had no idea about this? They never mentioned any of it?”