Hell parental home E-Book

Jacqueline Padberg

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 291

Beschreibung

In the first part of René's biography, Emilie from 'Crime scene: Parental Home' recounts the terrible experiences of her second half-brother René. Unlike Lars, Emilie's first half-brother, he did not take his own life. Like his older brother Lars, René experiences abuse and torture at the hands of his stepfather in the GDR in the 1970s. For his sadistic stepfather Bert, violence is always a solution. For him, child abuse is part of everyday life. René is scalded with hot water by Bert. He also threatens his grandparents with a knife because he doesn't want to leave and go home. René also often has to watch his older brother Lars being sexually abused in the cellar. At the time, however, he is too young to realize that this is sexual abuse. The biography is based on true events that make you sad, angry and saddened. They reveal the incomprehensible suffering of little René in his parents' home, in the children's home and with his foster family.

Leseprobe

Jacqueline Padberg

Hell parental home

René part 1

Cruel child abuse of a little boy

Biography

In the first part of René's biography, Emilie from 'Crime scene: Parental Home' recounts the terrible experiences of her second half-brother René. Unlike Lars, Emilie's first half-brother, he did not take his own life.

Like his older brother Lars, René experiences abuse and torture at the hands of his stepfather in the GDR in the 1970s. For his sadistic stepfather Bert, violence is always a solution. For him, child abuse is part of everyday life.

René is scalded with hot water by Bert. He also threatens his grandparents with a knife because he doesn't want to leave and go home. René also often has to watch his older brother Lars being sexually abused in the cellar. At the time, however, he is too young to realize that this is sexual abuse. The biography is based on true events that make you sad, angry and saddened. They reveal the incomprehensible suffering of little René in his parents' home, in the children's home and with his foster family.

This biography is not suitable for readers under the age of 18. Some chapters contain violent and sexual descriptions that are not intended for erotic entertainment!

The story contains disturbing content that could trigger a flashback in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jacqueline Padberg

Hell parental home

René Part 1

Cruel child abuse of a little boy

Biography

Imprint

© 2024 Jacqueline Padberg

Editing, translation and typesetting: Dr. Klaus-Bernd Padberg

Cover design: Daniela Brenner, [email protected]

Author photos in all publications: Lichtblick Fotografie Paul Wiesmann, Recklinghausen, [email protected]

Print and distribution on behalf of the author: tredition GmbH, Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Deutschland

ISBN 978-3-384-18206-7

The rights to this edition are held solely by the author.

The work, including all its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use or reproduction of the work without the consent of the author is prohibited and punishable by law. All rights are reserved. The work, including parts thereof, may not be reproduced, transmitted or copied without the express written permission of the author. Infringement will result in compensation for damages. All information contained in the book has been compiled by the author to the best of her knowledge. It is provided without any obligation or guarantee. The author therefore accepts no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracies.

Publication and distribution are on behalf of the author, to be contacted at: tredition GmbH, Department "Imprint Service", Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Germany.There is no intention to damage or negatively portray various places, companies, brand names or public figures in any way.

Table of contents

The toy cowboys

The clothes

Fluff in the head

Locked up in a potato sack

The humiliations

The cellar

Abused

Locked in the trunk

The kitchen knife

Stopover children´s home

Scalded

Gundula and Josef

The sweets

The promise

The dispute over the fire engine

The dark hole

The black pudding

The adoptive parents

Changes of residence

The nightmares

Russia

Enrico

A life like in the army

Mail for René

In search of Lars

New findings

The good news

The toy cowboys

During our conversations, René told me that his grandparents played an important role in his childhood and that of his brother. This is not clear from the letters and documents I have from Lars. René's grandparents will play a role in a few chapters of his biography. I will come back to Grandma and Grandpa in more detail later.

René was five years old when his stepfather Bert, his mother Ulla and Lars moved into a small, old house in need of renovation. Horrible things happened in this little house.

When my half-brother was born, Bert wasn't yet living with them. But sad things were already happening back then. Ulla neglected her second-born René. He often didn't get anything to eat and the little child cried constantly because he was hungry. Lars was overwhelmed when mother locked them both up at home to go partying with Bert, whom she had met. Lars didn't like his brother. He was supposed to supervise René and covered his ears when René screamed and cried. As soon as mother left the house with her boyfriend, Lars jumped onto the sofa and ran to the window, crying. He knocked on the window with his little hands and screamed for his mother to please come back. He didn't know why René was crying so much and he was scared. He couldn't change diapers or feed baby René either. He was too small to take responsibility for a baby. Lars always tried to distract himself when René wouldn't stop crying and was screaming his head off.

Lars had no way of knowing that René's middle ear infections were the cause. The grandparents found out one day during a visit when René was screaming his head off again and Ulla didn't care. They got up from the kitchen chair, checked on the baby and scolded our mother when they found out. They sent our mother and the child to the doctor. René got these ear infections more often as an infant. Ulla didn't like it at all that the boy was constantly ill because she had to take the baby to a polyclinic. She often swore about it. She called her own son a freak who only caused her trouble. She also always waited far too long before taking the little one to the doctor for treatment. The doctor would then cut mom down to size. That didn't bother Ulla. After all, she had better things to do than just look after René, she justified herself. At the crèche, they also noticed several times that the toddler had an ear infection. The nursery management also advised Ulla not to wait too long before visiting the pediatrician. They asked several times to take René to the polyclinic. She always just waved them off, grumbled to herself because she felt offended and promised to do it as soon as possible. It usually stayed that way.

Lars often couldn't bear to hear his brother shouting. He tried to calm René down. It didn't work. When he couldn't stand the crying any longer, he hid in the bathroom and looked around for objects to distract him. René didn't stop crying. His big brother could hear him screaming and crying all the way into the bathroom when the door was locked. René would scream until he was exhausted and it made Lars more and more nervous. He couldn't concentrate on anything else and begged him:

"Please, René, stop crying! I don't know what's wrong with you. Don't cry so much! You have to stop! I can't stand it. ... Mother, please come back! René is screaming. He's sick, you have to come right away!"

It always took an eternity before the baby finally fell asleep and stopped crying. René's brother Lars was three years older. The boys did not know their father. The two children realized early on that they were not planned children. René was never allowed to meet his biological father, although he had wished to. Even later, our mother was not prepared to tell her second-born about his dad.

One day, our mother Ulla and René's and Lars' future stepfather Bert became a couple. From that day on, hell began for the two children. René still remembers some horrible experiences with my father to this day, even though he was still very young at the time. His brother Lars later told him more stories that shocked René. When Bert got together with our mother Ulla, the nightmare began for the two boys.

The children were often bored to death because there were no toys for them. Ulla never bought them toys. When they did get toys from their grandparents, the boys were not allowed to take their presents home with them. As a result, the two children often didn't know what to do with themselves at home. It was terrible for them not to be able to occupy themselves in a child-friendly way. They were constantly locked up by Bert and Ulla when they complained and died of boredom.

The boys didn't have a nursery either. That was clear from the letters Lars left behind. I knew from these letters that the children often had to sleep on the floor in the kitchen or living room. However, I didn't know that they had mattresses in the cellar on which they had to wait for days until Bert came to see them. But I did know that they were often mistreated in this dungeon. I'll come back to this later, but for now I'll tell you about an experience that René remembers well.

One day, his maternal grandparents gave him two plastic cowboy figures. They were small and René was able to hide them in his trouser pockets to smuggle them home with him. He took them home with him, even though he knew that his mother would not tolerate such a thing. One day, he was playing with the two figures on his mattress while his big brother lay next to him, pulverizing clay out of the wall or staring at holes in the ceiling. When Ulla came home from work and checked on the children in the cellar, she caught René playing. Mother completely lost it and shook the boy.

"Where did you get that, René? Answer me! It's from your grandparents, isn't it? These criminals are always stabbing me in the back. ... No? Yes, you're lying! Haven't I already told you a hundred times that this kind of thing has no place at home? Give it to me, now! You're an impossible child. When Bert comes home from work, I'll tell him. Then you can prepare yourself for something, my dear! You're naughty and so demanding. Why do you never listen to me and only disappoint me?"

René didn't understand what he had done wrong. His eyes filled with tears and he was afraid of his mother. Lars knew what Bert could be like. Panic rose up in the boy and he pleaded with his mother.

"But mom, he's not making a mess. René is just playing a bit. He was bored, me too, to be honest. Please don't tell Bert, he'll hit us again. It hurts so much when he beats us up. I'll put René's toys away straight away, too. He'll be good now and won't make any more trouble. I promise. Please don't tell him that, Mummy!"

Ulla snatched the cowboy figurines out of her second-born's hand, took them with her and locked the cellar door again from the outside. René lay on his mattress, crying and trembling. He already suspected what was in store for him. His brother Lars tried to calm him down. It didn't work. He cried and called for his mother.

When René's stepfather came home from work and went downstairs in the cellar, the little boy peed his pants in fear. Bert gave the child a diabolical look and stormed towards him. He immediately slapped the toddler on the back and on the legs. Lars stood up to protect his little brother. That was enough for his stepfather. He beat the living daylights out of both children, got a fiery red head and shouted at the boys.

"Now I've had enough of your damn insolence, you brats. What do you think you're doing wetting the bed? Not even 6 years old and you're already such a criminal? Where did you steal the toy? ... Don't lie to me! You stole it. Playing is forbidden here in this house. You know that very well. Do you understand? ... Good. And now to you, Lars! What do you think you're doing beating your father? I'll get you out of this, friend. I swear to you. Stop crying and bear your punishment like a man! Hold your tongue at last!"

Lars swallowed his tears and didn't make a sound when his stepfather hit him hard. It was a long time before Bert finally calmed down and let go of the boys. That night, René lay on his mattress in his wet underpants, his whole body trembling. He couldn't understand why his father had beaten him up like that. He cried himself to sleep. Lars comforted him after Bert had left.

"Please stop crying, René. If you're sad, so am I. Bert is a pig. Do you understand? But one day I'll be big and strong enough to get back at him for everything he does to us. I promise you that. Try to sleep now, even if you're in pain. Everything hurts, me too, but if you don't stop crying, Bert will come back and then everything will only get worse for us. You don't want that, do you?"

No, René didn't want that. His big brother's reassuring words did him good, but it still took a long time that evening for the little boy to fall asleep. Everything hurt the two children and they couldn't understand why Ulla and Bert were treating them so badly. René often toyed with the idea of asking his mother why they weren't allowed to do anything at home and why they didn't have any toys? But he didn't dare. He knew that he would only get another scolding from her and a beating from Bert. René often thought about his biological father back then. He missed him, even though he didn't know him. His mother had never told him anything about his father. He often lay in bed and wondered why he had to grow up without his dad? When he did ask Ulla, she only told the boy that his father didn't want him because René was too naughty as a baby. That was the reason why his father had left, Ulla lied to her little son. The boys often heard this sentence in their childhood. It hurt them terribly.

René wanted to be a good and well-behaved child, but he had no idea how he could succeed. He didn't even know what was wrong with him. The only thing he was given was beatings instead of love. He was beaten when he supposedly behaved incorrectly. But what was right and what was wrong? No matter what he did. It was never the right thing for Bert and Ulla. René's mother liked it best when the children sat quietly in a corner, didn't make a mess and didn't move.

Bert moved in with his mother one day. The boys were afraid that it would be even worse for them. They didn't want that, as it was already terrible enough for them when he visited their mother Ulla or spent the night with her. But they didn't dare open their mouths and say so. They knew full well that their future stepfather would have snapped. One day, René's brother Lars did it timidly anyway and asked Ulla.

"Mom, does Bert really have to live with us? If he moves in, can we live with grandma and grandpa? He doesn't like us anyway and you won't do anything if he beats us up. You just stand by and watch. Why? Why did you give birth to us? Just to torture us? I don't understand. Why don't you protect us? You want evil Bert to move in here now too? He'll only hurt us. I don't want him to live with us. Please, Mom, don't let him do that or at least let us live with Grandma and Grandpa!"

Ulla grabbed Lars by the arm, shook him and shouted at the little boy.

"You don't want that? But I do want that! And it's necessary! Bert is moving in here, that's it. You never listen to me and something has to change! Bert will teach you manners first. You're such difficult children and always naughty. I can't cope with you brats any more. All the better that Bert is moving in here now and that things will change soon. Now get out of here and out of my sight! I've heard enough. Get lost!"

That was all Ulla had to say to her two sons about Bert moving in. Her sister Bea also warned them against this man. She didn't think it was a good idea to let him live with her mother. Ulla's parents were also against it. Ulla didn't care what they thought. She was of the opinion that her partner would be able to cope with the children and that they would no longer behave so naughtily. She loved the man and was glad that the boys were being given a firm hand. Bea shook her head and spoke to her with the tongues of an angel. Her sister Ulla's resistance to advice made her angry. She was also worried about her nephews. And rightly so!

When Bert moved in with her, things changed for the two boys. From now on, they were to spend every day in the cellar and live there. René couldn't believe that his mother was threatening them with this. The children already behaved like invisibles at home when they weren't locked in the cellar as punishment so as not to provoke any trouble. And now, because Bert had moved in, they were only supposed to live down there? What are the adults trying to achieve with this? The children begged their mother not to let this happen. Ulla wouldn't listen and shouted at the boys when they cried out of fear of what was about to happen to them. It was in vain.

Lars thought about running away at one time or another. He just wanted to run away after school. But he didn't dare. Then he would have had to leave René behind, and he definitely didn't want that. He was protecting his little brother and it scared him that he might be separated from him. He knew how brutal Bert was and didn't want to leave René to his fate. Not much time passed before my father was thinking up the next nasty things to do to the two boys.

The clothes

The children now spent most of their time in the cellar. But on some days they were allowed upstairs. Bert then thought up nasty things to punish René and Lars.

One morning, he promised the boys that they would all go for an ice cream together. René was very excited and thrilled that he was going to get an ice cream. He never got anything like that from his mother. He only visited an ice cream parlor with his grandparents when he was with them. He also got sweets and toys from them. When Bert promised the children this, the little boy was thrilled and beamed at his stepfather. But things turned out differently.

René was told to go to the bathroom immediately after getting up and then get dressed. He still couldn't manage to freshen up in the bathroom without help. Brushing his teeth worked quite well, but getting dressed and combing his hair was another matter. Sometimes he put a top on backwards or didn't comb his hair properly. His brother Lars then helped him. That morning in front of the sink, he couldn't get the toothpaste tube open. The toothpaste was only for adults and was spicy. The little boy therefore detested brushing his teeth with it. He only did it when Bert told him to. René brushed his teeth with his finger. The kids didn't have their own toothbrush. Ulla thought it was a waste of money, as the children were still changing their teeth anyway, so there was no need to buy one. Our mother didn't mind that the boys didn't brush their teeth every day and that it only happened when their stepfather asked them to. Lars wanted to help René that morning when he saw that his little brother couldn't get the tube open. The moment René pressed firmly on the toothpaste tube again, the cap popped off and the toothpaste slipped onto his toe and onto the floor. The boys thought it looked funny and laughed about it. Lars then took a large line and smeared the toothpaste on his little brother's cheeks, forehead and chin. René looked in the mirror and thought the smiley face his big brother had drawn was funny. He copied Lars and the boys had fun together. When Ulla came into the bathroom, she went wild.

"What's so funny here? What are you’re getting up to nonsense again? What are you doing here? ... You bloody brats should be brushing your teeth and not smearing the toothpaste all over the place. That can't be true! Look at the floor and the mirror! Everything is dirty and soiled. I can't leave you unattended for a second, you're just making work for me. Wash yourselves immediately and then get out of my sight! You can forget your ice cream. Bert will see it the same way. He'll tell you something!"

She called her partner, who took a look at the accident and, for once, defended the boys. The children were told to wash up quickly and then get dressed, because the ice cream was waiting for them. They didn't trust their stepfather and were afraid of being punished. They went into the kitchen with their heads bowed to get dressed. Mother had told them to hang their clothes over the back of the chair. But nothing was hanging there. The children were naked and cold. Bert ordered them to search more thoroughly. They searched for their clothes for a long time and couldn't find them. René was already teary-eyed and begged his mother to give him something to wear. She didn't respond and acted as if her son didn't even exist. Depressed and tired, the two boys sat at the kitchen table and whispered that there would probably be no ice cream for them today. Bert overheard the conversation in the afternoon when he entered the kitchen, smoked a cigarette and then bundled up the children.

"You're dreaming of an ice cream even though you've been too stupid to find your clothes for hours? Are we supposed to reward you for your stupidity now? That would be even better. What do you think you're doing? It's outrageous to accept something like that. All you do is demand and do nothing. Where are your pants and sweaters? Your mother just put them out for you. They can't have disappeared into thin air. Do you want to get into trouble again or finally tell me where you've hidden them?"

"Yes, Bert, that's right, they want to annoy me," Ulla said, "Impossible, these criminals!"

That was all mother had to say. She spurred her partner on to get physical with the children. Father was now in a rage because René begged him not to spank them and swore to him that he hadn't hidden the clothes with his brother. Bert insulted the children as depraved liars, pulled his belt out of his pants and slapped the boy on their bare buttocks and legs. René screamed as loud as he could with every blow his father gave him. Lars was as quiet as a mouse and hoped that they would soon be over it.

The pain was indescribable. René still has nightmares about it to this day. Ulla stood idly by as the two boys looked at her helplessly and begged her with a desperate look to please help them. But they didn't dare to say it. It was a long time before Bert finally calmed down and let go of the boys. Their bottoms and legs were fiery red. Their little bodies were covered in welts. When René remembers it today, he gets goose bumps and can still feel the pain from back then.

He cried like crazy when her stepfather had taken them to the cellar and he was lying on the mattress. Lars kept quiet and stuffed foam back into the old mattress that had fallen out. He tried to calm his little brother down when René wouldn't stop crying. Because he knew that crying was a reason for Bert to return and hit them again with the leather strap.

At the time, René couldn't understand why they were often punished so harshly by their stepfather. He was very afraid of him and wanted it to stop at last. The constant beatings hurt him a lot and he saw no other way of coping with his pain than to cry. The little boy couldn't calm down and didn't know how to lie down.

Lars was already used to a lot and preferred to swallow his sorrow. He also knew that he would get into trouble again if he couldn't stop his little brother from crying. But the boy didn't care. Better one more blow for me than for René, Lars always said to himself.

This story about my half-brother René reminds me of the hidden slippers from ‚Crime scene: Parental home'. Back then, when I was supposed to go to a youth hostel, my father hid my slippers. I searched for them like crazy for hours. I cried my eyes out and I can hardly put into words how desperate I was because I couldn't find them. Bert punished me so hard because I didn’t succeed. I also sobbed as much as René in this story because I couldn't find them. On Monday morning, my father put them on the table and asked me to pack them. I was allowed to go on the school trip after all. I knew then that he had been hiding it the whole time. It must have been no different with René. Bert had hidden their clothes because he enjoyed humiliating the boys and then punishing them. My father was a real sadist and a child abuser. It can't be said often enough.

René slept very badly that night and was sad in the morning that he still had nothing to wear. The boy had to spend another day naked in the apartment with his brother, and Bert kept them searching. If the children told their stepfather that they were hungry or tired of searching, he immediately shouted at them and ordered them to continue searching thoroughly. The boys didn't dare disagree. They had taken enough of a beating the day before and could still feel the belt now. Their skin was burning. Bert followed the children around the house and kept hitting or kicking them when they said they hadn't found their things. René cried a lot and begged his stepfather to stop. It didn't help. Bert made the boys search until they were exhausted and had no mercy on them.

The next morning, when the children were awake and Bert let them out of the cellar, their clothes were hanging over the kitchen chairs. Lars immediately grabbed the clothes and his brother. The boys marched straight into the bathroom and got ready. They didn't feel like fooling around that morning. When Lars came into the kitchen with his little brother and a depressed look on his face, his stepfather grinned meanly at the boys.

"Luckily your clothes turned up in time, didn't they, Lars? Otherwise, you would have had to go to class naked today. That would have been fun for your classmates. Where were the clothes? ... You don't know? Oh, look at that. It was hanging over the backrest the whole time, you were just too blind and too stupid to recognize it. You are and always will be good-for-nothings. Unfortunately! Do yourself a favor and at least pay attention at school today! Otherwise, you'll always be such stupid persons. And make sure I don't get any complaints; do you hear me? Don't fight with one of your classmates again, understand? ... Good. Now off with you!"

Dejected and thoughtful, Lars made his way to school. He hadn't brought a sandwich or anything else to eat. As his classmates ate their breakfast with relish during the big break, he just watched. When a teacher approached him and offered him a slice, he lied that he had a stomach ache and wasn't hungry. She didn't believe him and offered him another sandwich. He smiled at his class teacher and ate it in no time. He could have done with another sandwich, but didn't say anything. He had to wait until lunchtime, when he would finally get a hot meal. He spent the whole morning thinking about his little brother René. He often did that when he had a strange feeling in his stomach. Lars worried about him and hoped that Bert would leave him alone when he was at school. His worries were not unfounded, as his stepfather regularly took his anger out on René when Lars was not at home.

René was always relieved when Bert wasn't there. He was constantly afraid of doing something wrong at home and often didn't move. He wasn't locked in the cellar when Lars was at school. But just having to sit in a chair or on the sofa was exhausting for the little boy. He didn't always succeed. Luckily, sometimes his grandparents would pick him up to take him to the playground. René enjoyed the time he was allowed to spend with his grandma and grandpa. He often asked them when his grandparents took him in their arms why he wasn't allowed to live with his big brother, and he regretted it.

"Why can't I and Lars live with you or Aunt Bea forever? I'm scared of Bert, and Mom doesn't like us either. She always just scolds us and watches when Bert hits us. I don't want to live there anymore, and Lars doesn't want too either. They hate us. Please, Grandma, can we stay with you? Can we? They're not nice to us. I'm not lying."

Such words from the little boy gave the grandparents pause for thought. They knew what Bert was like and that Ulla often did nothing when her husband beat the children. They had told the youth welfare office often enough that father Lars and René were abusive, and yet hardly anything changed for my half-brothers. At first, not much happened apart from the occasional home visit.

René's grandparents would have liked to take the boys in. But they were too old, and the youth welfare office had not yet been able to identify any child endangerment when it was on site. So, for the time being, everything remained as it was ...

It wasn't long before the next incident that had consequences for René. Occasionally, thanks to Bert, my half-brother couldn't find his tops or pants when Lars was at school. If he then asked mother if she hadn't put anything new out for him or if his clothes were dirty, she scolded the boy and his stepfather punished him with a beating. Ulla and Bert always found reasons to torment René. The children didn't have much to wear either and what they had; they were supposed to keep clean. It was difficult to ask that of little René, who was always spilling his food or peeing in his pants out of fear of Bert. What kind of parents were they? I still don't understand how you can be so cruel to small children.

Fluff in the head

René was terribly bored again one day when his older brother was at school. His mother was cleaning like a madwoman and had ordered him to sit quietly on the kitchen chair while she mopped the floor. Bert had gone to work on the early shift. René picked up the pencil case that was lying on the table while Ulla was sweeping the living room next door. Lars must have forgotten to put it in his satchel. Little René crawled onto a chair and started drawing, not on a piece of paper but on the kitchen table. When Ulla came into the kitchen, she freaked out. How could the boy think of painting on the table? She grabbed the boy by the sweater and sat him down on the couch in the living room.

"Oh wait, you fucking scumbag! You'll pay for this! When your father comes home, you'll be in for nasty surprise! You can be prepared for that! I can't believe what you've done. How can you be so depraved? It's going to take me ages to clean up this mess. Do you know what a mess you've made and how long it will take me to get the table clean again?"

She insulted her son all morning as Satan, criminal, vermin and much more. René sat sadly on the couch and looked ashamedly at his thighs. He rubbed them all the time with his little hands or covered his ears. He never once dared to look up at his mother while she was humiliating her son.

Bert came home around midday and went berserk when he found out what René had done. He demanded that the little boy sit down at the kitchen table. The child ran into the kitchen and did so immediately. As he sat bolt upright in his chair, Bert ordered his stepson to stretch out his hands. His father took a wooden spoon from the cutlery drawer and hit the boy's hands with it again and again. René cried bitterly and tried to hide his hands. This made Bert angry and he shouted at the child to show his hands. After each blow, the little boy pulled his hands back again. Then he took René to the cellar and locked him in. He sat intimidated on the mattress, blew on his hands and was too shocked to cry. He had great difficulty keeping his hands and legs still. When Bert finally unlocked the door and Lars ran down to the basement, he realized that René was not all right. Upstairs, the door closed. The boys were now locked in again for hours.

"René, why don't you say something? Is everything okay? What's happened? Please say something! Wait, I'm coming to you. Your whole body is shaking. Come here, my little one. I'll comfort you. Tell me what happened!"

There was no electric light in the cellar, but during the day some daylight shone in through the small cellar window. When Lars was with him and had put his satchel down, he noticed his little brother's red hands. He asked René if Bert had done that to him? The boy nodded, started to cry and held out his hands.

"Ouch, ouch, daddy made an ouch."