The Urn, part 5
1940
Written and illustrated by Elaine Troisi
The Solomons and the Rabinowicz’s struggled with fear and indecision for days. Finally, Asher and Lieb made a decision that Leila and Reba could live with, though the prospect filled them with terror.
On the seventh night following Jacob’s pronouncement, Lieb called a meeting. “So, we have come to a consensus. We will escape two by two.”
Everyone was listening, but Leila and Reba stared at their feet.
Lieb handed a kerchief to Jacob. “Here is the money to purchase forged papers for only four of us.” He looked at Hannah. “I’m sorry, dear, but your parents have decided to remain here. Leila’s health prohibits her …”
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| Hannah’s heart breaks watercolor by Elaine Troisi |
Hannah cried out, “No, Mama.” She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Mama, I won’t go if you don’t come with us!” she declared, tears breaking through the dam.
Leila, too, was choking back her tears. The effort brought on a coughing spasm which wracked her shoulders. Asher handed her his handkerchief. She held it to her lips. When she removed it, there was a bright red spot of blood. The coughing bout ended.
“Oh, mama! I didn’t know … I should have.” She clung to her mother as realization of the seriousness of her mother’s illness claimed her.
Lieb put his hand on Leila’s shoulder in compassion. “Hannah and Jacob will go first. We will follow soon after, in a month or two.”
Hannah cried out again. I will not go with Jacob. It wouldn’t be … proper!” she exclaimed.
Reba put her fingers to Hannah’s lips. “Shh, dear. There’s no one stronger than Jacob to look after you,” she whispered.
Jacob started to protest, but Lieb put a firm hand on his shoulder. “That is our decision, son. It is final.”
Asher added, “There is one more thing. Perhaps the most important thing, in The Holy One’s eyes.” He stopped to pull Hannah to her feet. With the other, he pulled Jacob close. Then he placed Hannah’s hand in Jacob’s.
Lieb explained, “The Reb will be here tomorrow … for the marriage ceremony. Shhh, children, there is no other way. You must accept the Holy One’s law. There shall be no tears or protestations!”
Shortly after the brief ceremony, Leila pulled Hannah aside. “My heart bleeds that I cannot come with you Hannah, but I can ease your travels a little.” She pulled out a small pouch from her undergarments. “This is all we have left of our jewelry shop.” She opened the pouch and poured out several perfect emeralds. “With your new documents, perhaps you can travel part of the way by rail.”
Hannah protested, “But, Mama, you will need the money for yourselves.”
“It was always for you, Hannah. Take it. Hide it in your undergarments.”
A week passed, and the day of reckoning arrived. Jacob and Hannah would shortly report to the labor crew. As they said their final goodbyes, the weight of uncertainty hung heavy in the air. Hannah clung to her mother, tears streaming down her face, while Jacob exchanged somber nods with Lieb and Asher. The pain of parting was palpable, a wound that might never fully heal.
Jacob had arranged with the aid of the Underground to slip away from the work crew when the Germans were having a lunch break. Some soldiers napped. Still, the risk was heart stopping.
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| Struggling to conceal themselves deeper into the hay watercolor by Elaine Troisi |
Later, as they settled into the hay, the weight of the dry stalks pressed down on them, making every breath a struggle. The air was thick with the scent of dried grass and earth. Jacob's arm wrapped tightly around Hannah's waist, holding her close as they lay still, listening for any sign of discovery.
The wagon with its precious cargo went unnoticed for more than a week until they reached the first checkpoint. There were three Wehrmacht soldiers waiting. One soldier approached the wagon, his eyes scanning the hay-covered bed. He grasped a hay fork, its tines glinting in the sunlight. With each thrust, Hannah's heart skipped a beat. On the tenth jab, the fork grazed her calf, and she bit her tongue to stifle a cry. Warm blood trickled down her leg, but she remained still, praying the soldier wouldn't notice.
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| The final jab watercolor by Elaine Troisi |
“Thank you, Jacob,” she rested her head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand.
It grew dark with a full moon. The moon lit their way, but it made them targets as well … if the Wehrmacht was about.
Jacob put his arm about her waist as she struggled to walk through night. That is how it went day after day … walk through the night and rest during the day, always listening for any sign of discovery. The air was thick with the scent of dried grass and earth. Time seemed to slow as they waited, their hearts pounding in unison.
After weeks of traveling by foot and by wagon, Jacob and Hannah were foot-weary and exhausted. Outside of Graz in Austria, they were advised to change routes.
With the help of the Jewish underground again, they bribed a train conductor to sneak them onto a train. Though riskier than anything they had yet experienced, it was worth one of Hannah’s precious emeralds. Oddly, she felt like she was betraying her parents by trading a stone for a bribe.
That night they bathed in a farmer’s pond. Stepping from the pond, shy in front of one another. Hannah said, “I’m so cold and so scared, Jacob. I’m afraid of the danger ahead, but I’m mostly terrified I’ll lose you on the way!” she cried.
Jacob enfolded her in his arms like a cloak. Her shivering stopped as her body absorbed his warmth. He admitted, “I feel just as you do. The thought of losing you is unbearable.” He paused. His voice became hoarse with emotion. “Hannah, I trust you with my life, I need you by my side. Under this vast star scattered sky, l vow to give my love to you completely and forever.”
Under the canopy of a sprawling oak tree, he wrapped his arms around her, two naked people had become a man and a woman in love. No longer were they children, forced into marriage by circumstances.
They yielded their bodies to one another for the first time. Hannah whispered later, “I am not cold any longer, nor am I afraid any longer. We are strong together.”
In the morning, the farmer gave them street clothes for the journey … to help them look like normal German travelers going to Paris, like their papers said. They were relieved to rid themselves of the bright yellow stars they had worn for so long, like a stain of sin.
They arrived at the bustling rail station, walking with purpose, hoping they looked like average travelers. They presented their papers and tickets and were ushered aboard.
Just as the train roared to life, they looked out of the window. To their shock and horror, they saw a Jewish man kneeling before a Wermacht soldier. He kissed the soldier’s boot though a rifle was aimed at his head. Just then, the trained pulled out of the station in a cloud of steam. But above the roar of the engine, Hannah and Jacob heard the sickening sound of rifle fire.
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| To their shock and horror, inhumanity watercolor by Elaine Troisi |
Fear exploded in her chest. She whispered, “Oh, God, Jacob, is this to be our destiny, too?”
Jacob squeezed her hand with a reassurance he did not feel.
The train chugged on into the bright morning sunshine, as though it was just another day, and all was right in an utterly insane world.
Return for Part 6 in two weeks, May 2, to find out what else happens to the young couple as they make their way to Paris. In the meantime, write to me. I’m listening!