Postcard
- It's the day of the remembrance service at Oosterbeek cemetery, and Tessel is going to pick Jacob up soon to take him there; they meet up and take the train to Utrecht, and then to Oosterbeek.
- Note: throughout this chapter, we get some diary entries from soldiers at the battle, tossed in with Jacob's own experience of going to the cemetery.
- On the way, Jacob and Tessel talk, and again, Jacob gets the notion that she doesn't like him all that much—or maybe it's just that she's somewhat skeptical of him. Either way, she asks him questions about his time here and his family.
- She tells him that yesterday, soldiers from the original battle parachuted onto the same fields as they did in 1944. They each paired up with a younger soldier to make sure nothing went wrong, but it was all still pretty remarkable.
- Jacob thinks this is amazing too, and Tessel remembers her mom telling the story of watching all the parachutes in the sky on that day; she's surprised Geertrui didn't tell him when he visited her.
- Then the conversation switches to—what else?—Geertrui's death. Tessel apologizes for not taking care of him better, but it's been a really hard time for them, with Geertrui dying soon and all.
- When Tessel asks him if he knows a lot about the battle, Jacob answers that he knows some—he's read up on it a bit, and one of his favorites is an account from one of the soldiers who was there. He wasn't high ranking or anything, just a regular soldier, much like his grandfather would have been.
- That's interesting, Tessel replies. She's never read about it because she heard so much from her mom.
- Jacob brings up the idea of Anne Frank's diary. He thinks it's cool to read about a war, but it's even better to read about what was happening from the people's perspective when it was happening—it makes it seem more realistic.
- He wishes he had that from his grandpa. He wants to know what it was actually like from his eyes, not just what he's heard from his grandma.
- Tessel agrees. She thinks memory is a weird thing because it all comes down to how you want to remember it, instead of how things actually happened. But if you have letters or a diary from when an event was actually taking place, it's more authentic.
- This makes Jacob think of what his dad always says to his grandma about his grandpa: There's no way he was as amazing as you're making him out to be, because no one is that perfect.
- When they arrive at Oosterbeek, they take the steps to the road, turn left, and come upon the large cemetery. Jacob's surprised by how many people are there, and even more surprised by how he feels.
- Jacob's known about his grandfather's death for a long time, and he's even seen pictures of his grave, but he's never really had to confront it like this. There, standing in front of his grandfather's dead body (in the grave, of course), he realizes this is the real deal, not just a photo of it.
- The service begins, and a clergyman speaks in English, and another one in Dutch. People pray and sing hymns, but Jacob can't take his eyes off of the children who place flowers on each of the graves.
- No one speaks at first, but eventually people go back to their every day conversations.
- When the service is over, Jacob decides he wants to get a photo of the child who put flowers on his grandpa's grave. He rushes over there and asks the teenage boy if he can, and the youngster—named Wilfred—gladly agrees. Then his sister Hille comes over and says she put the flowers on there one time too, back when she was her brother's age.
- They chat for a little while about his grandfather, and both of them are interested in learning more about the J. Todd they've left flowers for. Jacob explains that his name is the same, and suddenly thinks about the fact that he shares his grandfather's name—the one on the tombstone right in front of him.
- When Hille offhandedly quotes Anne Frank to him, Jacob stops in his tracks—he loves Anne Frank and now this girl does too? This is too good to be true; Hille and Jacob immediately bond over Anne Frank.
- Hille remembers when Anne Frank talks about childbirth taking a lot of courage and bravery. Wait a minute… Jacob's read that book many times and he doesn't remember that part at all. That's when Hille tells him that there are some sections that were taken out of the book when it was printed in English—if he wants the whole story, he's got to read the Dutch version.
- Right away, Jacob knows he has to get his hands on that book. Could there be more to this woman that he loves that he never knew?
- Hille and Jacob want to grab a coffee to get to know each other better, but he doesn't want to ditch Tessel. It's no worries for Tessel, though, who says she's happy to go home now anyway, or back to Geertrui's, as long as Jacob can find his way back by himself.
- It's all settled then. Hille and Jacob start talking and walking, and Jacob notes that Hille and her bro look a lot alike.
- Hille's always thought it's funny when people say that because he's actually adopted. Somehow, they do look alike though.
- They couple keep talking and laughing, and he feels at ease with his new friend.