Between Shades of Gray

As Chapter 29 opens, the Vilkas family is surveying the ten by twelve foot shack that is to be their home when the young blond guard comes to summon Elena to meet with the commander. They want to stay together, so the children go with their mother but must wait outside while she speaks with the commander. When she tells them that she’ll “be right back,” the words cause Lina to flashback to a time when she and her mother were shopping for a new dress for Lina. Her mother stepped out while Lina was changing back to her own clothes, and surprised her with ice cream before they continued shopping for Lina’s art supplies.

Given how unlikely it is that she will return with ice cream cones this time, the children are worried about leaving their mother alone, so Lina sneaks around the building to look in the window. She sees the commander speaking to her mother while flipping through a file. Jonas begs her to not make trouble, so she moves back before their mother comes out of the building, and Jonas leads them back to the shack.