I woke this morning to the sound of gunfire. I ran to the window and saw my best friend Lies being led outside with her family and taken by the Germans. I wanted to rush out and help them, but Father held me back. I couldn\'t have done anything anyway. I stood there at the window and cried until the car drove off with them inside it. We all knew it could have been us in that position.

Mother had some sympathy for me at breakfast. She knows how I feel because she was friends with Lies\' mother. It has made her feel even more terrified that we will be taken before the year is out.

Lunch was meagre, a slice of bread and cheese with an apple for afterwards. Elli, my little sister, who is only two and does not realise what danger we are in, ran around the house all afternoon, begging me to take her for a walk. Father and Mother forbade me to go. Even if they hadn\'t, I wouldn\'t have dared to take her. I would have been terrified.

Aunt Miep came by with the cousins this afternoon. She is nice, but the cousins got on my nerves. There are five of them, ranging from eighteen to five, and they all ignore me and fuss over Elli. The only notice they took of me was to ask for more food or drinks and to regale me with stories of their own lives. Cousin Anne, the oldest, has a new job, Margot, the second, has a new hat (this is a big event because they are so hard to come by) and Pieter, the middle one and the only boy, has got a scholarship to the best Jewish school in Amsterdam. Jopie and Edith, the twin babies of the family, have started school. It was a relief when they left!

On the wireless this evening it said that the Allies are about to invade France and Belgium. This is such wonderful news! Mother burst into floods of joyful tears when she realised what it meant and Grandmother, who was visiting for the evening, struggled to keep her composure. She hates to cry in front of anyone else. The only time I ever saw her in tears was at Grandfather\'s funeral. I\'m glad he can\'t see what his beloved Amsterdam has become.

There were more air raids tonight. I was woken at about ten o\'clock to Elli crying - It turned out she had heard gunfire and thought we were going to be taken. I rushed out before Father could stop me to see if it was anyone we knew. I couldn\'t see anything so it must have been several streets away, thank goodness. It was well past midnight before any of us slept again.

Miranda
Age 14

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