The civilian population had turned from indifference to outright hostility. Agricultural production had practically ceased in some areas as the locals... fled for safety or joined the partisans. Those remaining in the villages risked reprisals by German police and SS units. Some three hundred Belarussian villages were wiped off the map and the remaining inhabitants slaughtered.But those Belarussians who co-operated with the occupiers, through fear or preference, risked being executed by SMERSH. After working about a dozen finance problems, we took a brief break.We talked about her other courses and what she was planning to do after her graduation next fall. I soon found out that she did some part-time modeling, and that she had just broken up with her boyfriend less than 3 weeks ago. I asked if she was dating anybody else, and she replied “no”. This kind of surprised me because normally girls with ranjitha’s looks can find another boyfriend within a few days. She mentioned that a lot. I felt his eyes looking at me. I glanced over at him. The Captain studied me, scrutinizing my face. After a few moments, he turned his attention to the picture in my hand. I turned and looked at him. He had a smile on his lips, he pointed at my photograph.“She’s a real looker, sir,” he said. The sir sounded different than before, it possessed somewhat of a sneering tone.“Yes, she is,” I said hardly noticing his tone. I continued with pride in my voice adding, “We just got back from our. Fate is indeed a fickle thing. The spare room with all of Rachel'sthings in was untouched. However, the master bedroom where Jane & I notonly slept but also kept all our clothes was totally devastated. Not astitch was to be salvaged. Frustrated at all the damage, saddened at myruined time off and feeling that everything was against me, myshoulders began to shudder and I fell into a series of sobs. The firechief, misreading why I was so upset, moved towards me and put acomforting arm around my.