Chances and Changes: My Journey with Molly

I speak up and say that Gem always says that a dog is a good judge of character. Maxie seems to think Johann is a good guy, so we should think that, too. Perhaps we should let Johann sneak back into camp on his own. Johann studies our faces, and he looks tense as he wipes sweat off his forehead with the heel of his hand. Finally, Linda says it’s okay. We have convinced her not to tell on him. Linda never liked being a snitch anyway. We all turn to say goodbye. Molly says, “Auf Wiedersehen,” and she shakes hands with Johann, who says, “So long, pardner.”

Johann scoops up Maxie and we watch him sprint to the fence. He lifts a section, shoos Maxie under it, and crawls back in himself. Johann turns to give us one last wave before disappearing.

As we turn to go, Linda comments that Johann is pretty nice for a German. Molly says he was nice, period. Isn’t it weird how war makes us hate people we don’t even know? Ever since the war began, newsreels and movies and newspapers and posters have told us all that German and Japanese people are terrible. But when we actually meet the enemy, he’s just a regular teenage boy who loves his dog. Linda said she won’t be able to hate all German people anymore now that we’ve met Johann.

All this talk about enemies has made me thoughtful as we walk back along the trail to go back to Camp Gowonagin. I realize that I’ve been treating Mischa like an enemy without really knowing him. I don’t like the fact he’s taking over some of the things I do to help Gem. I guess if there’s something I really want to keep doing, I should tell him. We all speak the same language after all.

Molly asks me why I’m so quiet. I confess that it’s Mischa. I tell them that I haven’t even tried to get to know him. If I stop treating him like a stranger, it may change how I feel about him. Molly and Linda agree. Getting to know Mischa is worth a try. And now I know how to do it. Molly and Linda showed me how. They welcomed me so warmly that instead of feeling awkward or homesick, I felt like a friend. I am ready to go home to get to know Mischa. Oh, but that means that when we get back to Camp Gowonagin, I’ll have to tell Molly and Linda that I’m leaving. That will be hard. No matter what language I say goodbye in, I will miss my wonderful friends forever.