Sample from "Dare to Take the Next Step" - Chapter: Freedom Fighter in the Student Revolution

As former Chairman of the Youth Revolutionary
Council, I found myself facing the possibility of going to jail or
even be shot. The news spread quickly that the police has
started to round up students who were youth leaders in the
revolution. Some of them were shot on the spot, while others
were imprisoned. So, I went into hiding in the village,
sleeping in barns and hay stacks, changing my location
frequently.
On Sunday evening, November 18th my grandfather
brought me food to my hiding place and told me that he
overheard in the smoke shop that a police captain, called
Pallosi, who was originally from the village but now was a
senior police officer in a nearby town, was looking for me. He
was telling people that he was looking for that Hegyi kid the
next day at noon on the steps of the church. He will be shot
like the rest of the teenage terrorists.
For the last time, I sat on the knee of grandfather as I
gave him a big hug, and then asked him what should I do?
Should I come out of hiding or should I try to make it to
Austria? Grandfather looked at me with tearful eyes and
said: “Remember what they did to your uncle István, I don’t
want that to happen to you, I love you grandson”. We then
stood and grandfather looked at me with a far away look in
his eyes and said: “Go to the big world, live our dream”. We
both agreed that we shouldn’t tell my parents about this plan
because they would be too emotional to understand the
danger that I was in. We then talked about how I could send
a message back from Austria (if I make it) to let them know
that I was safe without putting the family in harms way with
the police. We agreed on a coded message through Radio
Free Europe: “Golden lamb has arrived safely”. My
grandfather said that he will be glued to the radio and when
he hears this message, he will then talk to my parents.
Knowing that this was the last time that I would see my
grandfather was a deeply emotional moment for me. The
tears blurred my vision as I watched his tall figure disappear
in the darkness.