The last time Monique laughed was September 12, 1940.

Although the Germans arrived a few months ago and occupied Paris, so far nothing has changed in the life of Monique, a fifteen-year-old Jewish girl. But in recent days the Germans have begun to hang orders on billboards, instructing all Jews to mark themselves with a yellow badge on their clothes.

Now, with the yellow badge, everyone is starting to walk away from her and treat her with suspicion. Did things really stay the way they were before the war broke out?

Walking down the street to meet her father, Monique sees a German soldier standing on the street corner for the first time, and must decide whether to continue on her way or retreat.

In this short story, Alex Amit brings to life the world of a fifteen-year-old Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Paris, describing her thoughts with great sensitivity. Step by step, we can feel Monique’s dilemmas, the fear of walking down the street, the conspicuous feeling of wearing the yellow badge, the difficulty of dealing with life changing before Monique’s eyes, and the fear of the future to come.

Chelsea Kanak