The rainbow never sets

Meanwhile, the farmers in Westerhausen had been catching stray horses, which had been abandoned by the retreating German army. Towards the end of the war, most horses had been requisitioned by the army, and consequently there had been a great shortage of horses amongst the farmers. When my parents came to Westerhausen with six horses, the farmers welcomed them with open arms, not because they liked refugees, but they liked our horses. It was through our horses, in a way, that we were given the accommodation at Frau Koggel's.

When one by one the farmers were restocking with horses, they returned our horses to Vater. He had to go further and further afield to find places for them. On one such errand he came to an estate in Wegeleben, where he talked with the administrator. After hearing Vater's story, he seemed to have compassion with him and said that he would take the horses under the same conditions as the small farmers had, without even seeing them. He also told Vater about a vacancy for an administrator on the estate next to Wegeleben. It belonged to the Rimpau family who lived in Langenstein, on the other side of Halberstadt. Vater then found out that Tante Dorothee, the wife of Mutter's brother, Onkel Willusch, was related to that family and that her family had fled from Silesia after the Russian break-through just like we had. They had found refuge in the large family mansion.

When he went to Langenstein, Vater heard that Emersleben had become vacant because the former administrator had been taken by the Americans and summarily executed.

"Why would they do such a thing as that," he asked Mr. Berninger, who was running the Langenstein estate in Mr. Rimpau's absence.

"It is said that he had been responsible for shooting an American pilot, who had bailed out of his burning plane by parachute over Emersleben."

"Without a trial?" "Yes, that was done in the first week of the American occupation." "So, this position is vacant now?"

"You can have it, if you like." "I would be delighted. I don't like sitting around doing nothing. I am truly fed up with this."

"The job comes with a large four-bedroom flat. It is right next to the yard, above the horses' stables. On the other side of the building is the park."

"That sounds too good to be true. I'm sure my family won't have anything against this. So, when can I start?"

"There is one problem, though." "Yes?"

"The flat is not vacant yet. We have to find other accommodation for the widow. The family would have to wait, but there is a room for you. If you like, you can start as soon as possible."

Vater came home almost whistling. I hadn't seen him as happy as that since long before we had to leave home.

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