When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary

by Alice Hoffman

The only birds that appeared to have stayed on were the magpies, since their kind never migrated far from home. Margot pointed upward to the branches above them. “Isn’t that the bird who follows you?” Anne thought Margot was humoring her, but when she looked up, she saw that her sister was right. It was the same bird in the tree above them, the one who recognized her and followed her home from school. Anne stood up and waved him away. She wanted him to flee to Spain or Morocco and forget all about Amsterdam. She wanted him to be somewhere safe where the bombs didn’t shake the stars in the sky. “Go on,” she called out. “Fly away now!” When the magpie soared off above the elm trees, both sisters applauded, even though they knew they should be quiet so as not to call attention to themselves. They were so very different, but they were sisters all the same. You can love someone who doesn’t understand you. That’s what Anne had decided. You can trust them more than anyone else.