“I am Lieutenant Margaret, here to assist you,” the officer said arrogantly. “My soldiers will bring the supplies in. You could just drop them off and leave, but you insisted on distributing them yourselves.” She pointed her steel whip at a long wooden table. “Right here, I will have the prisoners brought out.”
“Thank you,” Nhanyi replied coldly. Although she was not interested in politics, she felt no goodwill towards these Nazis, who were fanatical and extreme, building concentration camps to imprison war captives and political dissidents. She lowered her head, silently organizing the supplies, unpacking boxes, and neatly placing the compressed biscuits and canned goods on the table, preparing the sign-in record.
The officer’s eyes remained fixed on Nhanyi, making her feel uncomfortable under that gaze. She tried to ignore it, diligently completing her duties and distributing food to the incoming prisoners. The female prisoners formed long lines, entering one by one with their heads down, like wandering souls, taking the compressed biscuits and cans from the table before exiting again. The atmosphere was stifling, and Nhanyi fought back tears as she distributed and recorded each item. Suddenly, she noticed a blonde girl in the crowd, strikingly beautiful but with a pale face, clutching her chest and trembling.
“Wait, miss,” Nhanyi’s German was not very fluent, so she spoke in English, hoping the girl would understand. “Are you hurt?”
The girl looked indifferent, seemingly unable to comprehend her words. Nhanyi switched to German, “Are you hurt?”
“Mind your own business! You filthy pig, get lost!” Margaret shouted, striking the girl’s arm with her whip. The girl recoiled in fear, not taking her share of food.
“Stop!” Nhanyi rushed out from behind the table, blocking the girl who was trying to escape, pulling her in front of Lieutenant Margaret. “She is clearly bleeding!”
“Is she?” Lieutenant Margaret glanced at her dismissively.
Nhanyi insisted, “This is inhumane! I need to bandage her immediately!”
“Do as you wish!” the female officer scoffed, walking out of the room.
The girl stood trembling in place as Nhanyi gently unbuttoned her clothing. The sight before her shocked her; the girl’s body was bruised and swollen, with marks from being whipped. “God, what caused these horrific injuries?” Nhanyi opened the first aid kit, carefully treating the wounds.
After bandaging, the girl clutched her food and quickly ran out. Nhanyi gradually realized that many women were in similar situations; as long as they were young and beautiful, their chests bore varying degrees of whip marks. She treated each one, cleaning, applying medicine, and bandaging their wounds. Time passed unnoticed, and the evening sun slanted through the window, illuminating her black hair and golden face. At that moment, she felt like a true angel of mercy, despite the many injured and horrific wounds around her. She overcame her inner anger and fear, knowing she was doing what needed to be done—not performing a ballet on stage or playing a piano piece purely for enjoyment, but something profoundly meaningful. Her medical kit did not contain enough supplies, and soon one roll of bandage was used up.
Nhanyi opened the door, and the guard soldier raised his gun warily at her. She steadied herself and said with righteous conviction, “I need to see Lieutenant Margaret; please ensure she provides some medical supplies for me to bandage them.”
“Supplies? There are no extra supplies here,” the female officer’s voice came, cold and dismissive.
All afternoon, Nhanyi had been busy working without a sip of water. Her throat felt dry, and her voice was hoarse, but she continued to argue, “I have reason to believe that the prisoners here have been subjected to inhumane treatment!”
“Are you threatening me?” Lieutenant Margaret’s eyes held disbelief, followed by a cold laugh.
That laughter sent chills down Nhanyi’s spine. “It’s hard to imagine that you are also a nurse! Haven’t you taken an oath? The duty of a nurse is to save lives!”
“Alright, miss, what supplies do you need?” Lieutenant Margaret said, her beautiful brown eyes fixed on Nhanyi’s fair face.
Nhanyi was taken aback by the sudden change in her attitude. “I need gauze, alcohol, and iodine!”
“Alright, wait here.”
