“Where'd Vati go?” East asked, her wide, amber-orange eyes searching Germany's. They may have been the exact same age, but East was more optimistic, and often looked up to Germany for support. Despite the two being minutes apart in age.

Germany shrugged, pursing his lips into a thin line. “I don't know, East. He should be home by now.” He glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that it said 18:12. Reich was supposed to be home at 17:30. Vater…

“D-do you think th-that Vati's o-okay?” East sniffled, hugging Germany.

“I hope so.” Germany sighed, before thinking of something he could do to cheer East up. “Let's see if anything fun is on the radio, okay?”

East nodded, seeming quite excited to have something to keep her mind occupied.

Germany walked over to the kitchen table, where the small radio was, and turned the crank on the side a couple of times before turning it on, the sound crackling to life. He didn't tune it though, since it was on a channel giving news. And the news was about Reich.

“...Reich was last seen at 6:45 am when he was on his way from one of the small cafés in the heart of Berlin to the Reichstag. Any additional information listeners may know would be of utmost importance. If you have information about Third Reich’s whereabouts, please contact your local law enforcement office. Now, updates on the Auschwitz-Birkenau case-”

“Was??” Germany gasped, his eyes widening. “Vater didn't make it to work?”

“-The first clue of their whereabouts in six years has been found. A document labeled ‘Kontakte’ was found on the ground outside of a ditch in the outskirts of Berlin. It was dated to 1952.”

“That’s when they found something of Birkenau's, wasn't it?” East whisper-asked Germany, who nodded.

“They found one of her earrings.” Germany nodded.

The lady on the radio continued, now listing the names of the people on the document. None of them Germany recognized.

He turned the radio off, the sound dying away, feeling sick to his stomach.

Germany looked over at East, and said, “I don't think Vater's coming home tonight…”