Written by: Nishan Shrestha - 25008, Grade X
Posted on: 13 July, 2022
It was the time after world war 2 had ended. The war had just settled and peace was blooming. The people were happy that the war had ended; however, the death and destruction it left behind was beyond imagination. As soon as war ended Lynda was born in a family of a Nazi officer at 3:24 am 19 September, 1945 Berlin, Germany. Her father was stern. He restricted many things and he firmly believed in traditional gender roles. At the age of 14 she began developing feelings for girls. She knew that she was a lesbian but could do nothing about it as society was against homosexual relationships.
She had a good friend named Louise and they always used to spend time together. She told Louise that she was a lesbian. Louise showed support for her friend. One day while they were talking in Lynda’s room her father eavesdropped on their conversation and he overhears how Lynda felt towards girls. Her father got angry and he only saw red. He pushed the door, grabbed his daughter by her hair and pulled her out of the house and kicked her out. He yelled all sort of vile words at her. She was shocked and in dismay. It happened all of a sudden. Tears streamed from her eyes but she didn’t utter a single word. She was thinking whether she was in a dream or not. After a minute she stood up, fixed herself and left crying still. She didn’t know where she was heading. Just heading straight, wiping the tears that just wouldn’t stop dropping. Louise came running after her. She was comforted and took her to a place near her home. She asked her to stay here for a minute and she later popped up with some food, water and a blanket for her. She wanted Lynda to stay with her but she knew her father would ask Lynda was kicked out and her secret could not be kept. She thanked Louise with eyes filled with tears. One week passed and the food Louise gave was about to finish. Lynda had no money to buy food. She had two options either to give up on her life or do something. After thinking for an hour she thought of doing something. In the moment of desperation she turned towards sex work, for her that was the easiest and the fastest way to earn money for her survival. She was immediately hired at a brothel. She never liked her job but she was hopeless she could never get a job except for this. She had to earn money and with whatever she earned she spent as little as possible as she dreamt leaving this horrid job. After 4 years, she was able to save enough to move to another town; Regensburg. She opened a bar. She was new in town so no one knew she was a lesbian. People started to come to her bar, after all alcohol was consumed heavily. Day by day her customers increased. After a few months her bar became famous. The money she earned from the bar was used to upgrade it to a restaurant which eventually became even more famous. After a couple of years she became one of the richest woman in the city. She opened a camp where she gave shelter to the queer children who were kicked out from their houses and gave them a place to stay and training to sharpen their skills in order to survive in the real world. Lynda became a wealthy and active person. Although she thought about her family a lot, she was hurt but at the same time thankful for her father had kicked her out. If not she would not be who she is today. All because her friend supported her and all because she had the spirit of not giving up.
