This is the story of a boy,
not as young as you might think,
for in his thirties now,
he recalls the harshness,
of life's bitter brink.

It all begins outside Berlin,
with the greatest certainty,
at the end of forty,
in the midst of war's severity.

The ten-year-old child
doesn't quite understand,
no matter how it's explained,
everything feels so strange!

The poor boy can hardly walk
through the ruined streets,
even school is not safe now,
the only place left to retreat
is home with his parents' care.

He, always solitary,
lost in countless books,
without a single friend,
only enemies surround,
they laugh at him—
how hard it is!

He dreams of being a knight,
one from medieval lore,
winning a thousand battles,
fighting for a lady,
whom he truly adores,
her name is Beatrice.

Oh Beatrice!
How much I love you so!
I'm sure I'll never aspire
to speak to you, no, no.

His only distraction
was to idealize that girl,
the only light in the horror
of the world he would unfurl.

The older boys made life tough,
more times than he could bear,
he wished to die sometimes—
until a new boy arrived there.

At the Berlin school,
he would change his view,
twelve years old, so grown,
the world was harsh, but true.

Still living in a war,
he understood the pain,
walking alone in the streets,
observing all in vain,
with care like porcelain,
to not shatter what remains.

His bond with this new boy,
was never distant,
he wanted to talk every moment,
the best teacher, indeed,
the one with keys to knowledge.

When they walked back from school,
those night chats would inspire,
his way to escape the situation,
fueling his inner fire.

One day, speaking of life,
his friend could teach him much,
so much so that today,
he's not forgotten such.

"Oh! I'm so forgetful,"
his friend would reply.

Johann told him: "You know? There are two worlds,
one like a bright day, the other dark as night,
in the first, all is well,
but you must take care,
in the second, you must not fall,
it's a world of shadows everywhere."

The curious boy was amazed,
by such a strange decree,
he stopped and asked,
"Why? It's odd to me."

He believed in nothing,
having learned to distrust,
and what his wise friend taught,
felt shocking, not a must,
for a child turned man,
from the grave situation thrust.

"That's because you don't know,
the bad world, so strange,
where only shadows move around you."

"I know it better than anyone, I say,
I was there for a long while."

"You? Small?"

"Yes, while they tormented me,
I saw no glimpse of joy,
well, at home, with my mom."

"I don't recall, it's true,
you were there the first time
that I came into view."

"You were my savior,
like Christ to Christians,
pulling me from the hole,
in one way or another,
in this situation we now face,
with you, I forget the horror."

"Thanks for that privilege,
I know it's not true,
that I'm the only one with you.
Yet I want it this way,
for if not, you might fall deeper
into the world of shadows, I fear."

"We'll never know,
though I always thought I was good,
but now I'm not so sure,
maybe that dark world,
is within my core."

"I don't know that,
what I will discover,
but it depends on you."
"But you'll be my guide,
on this journey of self,
or will you leave me
in the hands of our worst enemy,
our fate?"

"I promise to help you,
whenever I can,
but remember,
I won't always teach you,
you must walk part of the path,
without a hand to guide you,
if you fall flat,
I won't be there to light your way."

"I agree with that,
though in those moments,
I miss you so,
I must be strong,
I confess, I know."

So, twenty minutes passed,
as always, they reached the old gate
of the elder's block of flats.

The boys said a simple goodbye,
for the protagonist,
of this long tale,
it was time to reflect.
Thinking lively through the streets
of Berlin, a siren rang,
he ran with fear and anguish,
towards any shelter,
his heart was now banged.

That day,
stuck in his head,
after the blast,
when he returned home,
he was seized by tears,
for another bomb had blown.

Instead of running scared,
he gathered his courage,
and moved to the crime scene,
what he saw inside,
was the greatest horror,
his family's bodies,
many present, many died.

A few hours later,
a band of soldiers came for him.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, scared.

"To a better place, stay calm."

"What could be better
than this place where I grew?
Even if I have no parents,
or any sibling too,
this is gold for me."

"Boy, you don't understand,
you're still very young,
but where we take you,
you'll be well cared for."

Fearing the worst, the boy said:
"Not to an orphanage, please, I beg."
He could do nothing against authority,
and loneliness returned to him,
his fate was a heavy leg.

One day, he got quite a surprise,
for his friend kept his vow,
to never leave him alone,
his friend's parents arrived
at that old building,
not knowing they were meant
to adopt the new boy, unwitting.

So the two children became teens,
under the same roof, the same rules,
always leaning on each other,
sharing dreams and schools.

One of them opened up that day,
while the other knew why,
for about the protagonist,
Miguel worked magic, oh my!

Through conversations, they learned much,
about life, both naive and wise,
opening their minds together,
as they faced the skies.

Days later, they returned to class,
that they both knew and waited for,
the two sides of creation,
so interesting to explore.

The newcomer after summer,
started secondary school,
the other the same,
but sent to a boarding school,
fearing he might lead astray.

In the boarding school, he dreamed,
escaping reality like never before.

There he met a boy,
a few years older than he,
this guy tried some drink—
is that so wrong, you see?

In biology class,
they taught about destruction,
then he remembered all that happened,
yet his sorrows drowned in consumption.

Four more years passed,
now of age, on the brink,
about to start university,
still unsure what to think.

He found a man,
around fifty springs had flown,
"Wow, he must know much,"
thought the young lad, alone.

He approached, for the man,
was playing a song,
he tossed him some money,
for it touched his heart strong.

The man, upon finishing,
asked the student this:

"Why did you wait?"

To which the young lad replied:
"A friend told me of two worlds,
I want to learn from a sage,
if that's real, or just a trick of age."

"It's true," said the man.
"How can you doubt?
Once upon a time, long ago,
when I was still small,
my father taught me of those worlds,
of pleasure and delight,
he always said, for the latter,
you must break the law, hide from sight."

"I got it now," said the grad,
"when I did wrong,
drinking in secret from the teacher,
that was pleasure, right?"

"Yes, my son, indeed,
but it's not always that way,
for underage, it's truly wrong,
forbidden by the law,
but at eighteen, it's much easier,
freedom will come to play,
but with new obligations,
like working for your pay."

Happy was the lad,
now he knew what to pursue,
science? Impossible!
Better history, not to repeat the blue.

That little boy who lived through war,
still bears scars,
will never forget,
that they killed his family,
they did it for pleasure,
of that, he's well aware,
better now than before,
for he knows the weight of despair.

This is the story,
of the lone survivor,
of his family,
the one who had luck's favor.