Marta felt the tension leave her body as Ezra stayed close to her. She wanted to slap herself silly for almost doing what she did. She continued to run her hands along his chest and face. Marta tended to do that a lot, almost her way of making sure he was real. She was about to go in for another kiss, when suddenly Ezra was pulled away from her. Marta looked up and her eyes widened and she felt panic spread through her bones. Oscar. Marta watched in terror as Oscar dragged him away. This was her nightmare becoming a reality. Marta, unsure of what to do, did the only thing she could think of. She ran over and grabbed Oscar's arm, in attempts to get him away from Ezra. She wanted the focus on her, maybe give Ezra a chance to run or get help. But help wouldn't come. She knew they were visible and people saw them, but they were too scared to get involved. And Oscar was too determined on Ezra.

So when Marta grabbed his arm, Oscar turned for a moment to focus on Marta. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her close, spitting in her face, before pushing his so hard, Marta went stumbling to the ground. She shook her head to focus, when she saw Oscar punch Ezra in the stomach. Marta gasped and tears streaming down her face. She was helpless. There was nothing she could do. Even despite Ezra's attempt to say they were over wouldn't fool Marta. She just sat there in horror as she watched the man she loved be beaten to death.

"Stop! Please stop!" Marta yelled over and over, but no one heard her. She couldn't even hear herself. Everything began playing in slow motion. The blood dripping from Ezra's mouth, her heart beat in her ears, everything was so unreal. She looked over at Ezra when he tried to warn her to leave, before Oscar gave him one final blow and Ezra blacked out, laying there in a pool of blood. Marta was shaking, silent sobs escaping from her. Everything was her fault. The man she loved was dying right before her eyes. 

She saw Oscar walk over to her, and she looked up, fear in her eyes. He knelt down, grabbing her face roughly in his hands. "You want to be a Jewish rat, then you will join him in the gutters." He dropped her face roughly before walking over to his car and speeding away.

Marta sat there, frozen, before snapping back to reality. She quickly crawled over to Ezra, pulling his head into her lap. "Ezra! Ezra please don't leave me!" Marta had tears falling down her face, dripping onto Ezra's face, as she shook holding him in her arms. She suddenly heard a car driving by, and Marta looked up and waved her arms frantically. Thankfully the person pulled over.

****

Marta stood outside the bakery, her face swollen with crying, a few tears slipping from her eyes. Her dress stained with blood... Ezra's blood. After the kind stranger helped Marta get Ezra to the hospital, she explained what happened as the doctors wheeled him away on a stretcher. They would not let her pass through the doors since she was not family. She didn't want Ezra out of her sight, but she knew what she had to do. She took the bus back into town and went directly to Ezra's family bakery.

Walking in, both of his parents looked up when they heard the bell ring. They knew right away something was wrong. Abe walked out from behind the counter and walked over to her. He placed a hand on his shoulder, "Is he dead?" his father asked, in a straight forward tone. Marta who was still shaking, couldn't form any words, shook her head no. At this point, Ezra's mother was standing by her side.

"What happened?" she asked. Marta then did her best to try and explain what happened. She lost track of the number of times she begged them for forgiveness. She knew it was her fault, she knew they didn't approve of her, but the one thing she didn't apologize for was loving their son. Ezra's parents, as hard as it is to admit it, did not looked shocked, yet more guilty. They felt bad sending him off on his own, but he had been adventuring so much out on his own, they knew to secretly meet Marta, that they had a brief moment of hope that maybe it was going to be ok. But look what optimism got them.

Without a word, the two left the bakery, Marta following behind. There were no words spoken, but it was in agreement they would all be going to the hospital. Once they arrived, Ezra's parents were ushered into Ezra's room right away, but Marta had to sit and wait, not knowing if Ezra was in fact still alive, or how he was. She sat there, shaking as she tried to keep from going mad.