Chapter Sixteen

"Oh! Mein Gott!", Mina exclaimed as she ran straight for the kitchen. She had been engrossed in a comedy programme showing on TV and had forgotten that she had something cooking. The smell of burnt pancakes engulfed the room. It was the slow-wafting smell that had notified her of the burning food. Getting to the kitchen, she discovered that their potential breakfast was beyond salvage. The flat cakes were far too burnt to be edible. With an angry curse in German, she turned off the heat and slammed the frying pan into the sink. Hands on her waist, she angrily regarded the burnt food. Oh, how she hated herself. It was all her fault. She had given in to a moment's weakness and gone to sit down for a 'few seconds rest' and here was the result. What would she do now? She would surely need to eat and even if she could do without it for now and hold on till later, the men wouldn't hear of it. Speaking of the men... "Mina!", her father shouted as he ran into the kitchen.