‘Where are the others?’ The second guard takes another step.
‘Magda is in hospital. She is very ill and I don’t know when she will be coming home, and Cibi .?.?. well, Visik, you know what Cibi is doing and why she is not here.’
‘Please, Mrs Meller, please stop saying my name, you do not know me,’ Visik pleads, embarrassed by her overtures in front of his colleague.
‘Livi, then, is to report to the synagogue at five o’clock on Friday.’ The second guard is peering past Chaya into the house as he speaks. ‘She can bring one bag with her. From there she will be taken to work for the Germans. She must come alone, no one is to accompany her. Do you understand the order I have given you?’
‘I just told you!’ Chaya is suddenly terrified, her eyes burning. ‘You can’t take Livi – she’s only fifteen.’ Chaya reaches out to Visik, imploring him. ‘She is just a child.’
Both men step back, unsure of what Chaya is capable of. The second guard puts his hand on his gun in its holster.
Yitzchak steps forward and pulls Chaya away.
‘You have our orders – your daughter’s name will be on the list of girls to be transported.’
Visik leans in and hisses, ‘It will be worse for her if she doesn’t turn up.’ He puffs up his chest, needing to regain his authority, and tips his chin, laughing triumphantly as he struts back down the path.
Chaya looks at Livi, now folded into her grandfather’s arms. Yitzchak’s pained face fails to hide the anger and guilt he feels for not being able to protect his youngest granddaughter.
‘It’s all right, Grandfather. Mumma, I can go and work for the Germans. I’m sure it won’t be for long. It’s only work – how hard can it be?’
The room suddenly grows darker. The sunlight that had streamed through the window earlier is now blanketed by dark clouds, just to be seen peeking through the drawn curtains, a clap of thunder shakes the house, and in a moment heavy rain begins to thud onto the roof.
Chaya looks at Livi, her little warrior, her blue eyes and bouncing curls belying her determination. Livi holds her mother’s gaze, but it is Chaya who turns away, clutching the front of her dress in her hands, a sign, her sign, that she is crumbling inside, the physical pain in her chest an acknowledgement of her powerlessness.
There are no words. As Chaya walks to her room, she reaches out and touches Livi’s arm, her eyes downcast. Livi and Yitzchak hear the bedroom door close.
‘Should I .?.?. ?’
‘No, Livi, let her be. She will come out when she’s ready.’
CHAPTER 4
Vranov nad Topl’ou
March 1942
‘W
hat are you doing, Livi? Please take those candles away from the window.’
Wiping her floury hands on her apron, Chaya advances on Livi. Why does she insist on hovering in the window? It has been two days since the Hlinka Guard told her she must relinquish her youngest daughter. They have just tonight together under the same roof. Closing her eyes, Chaya chastises herself. Why did she have to scold her? Why has she spent the last couple of days in virtual silence, self-absorbed and brooding, when she should have spent these precious hours talking to Livi, loving Livi.
‘No, Mumma, I must leave them in the window. I’m lighting the way home for Cibi.’
‘But you know we’re not allowed .?.?.’
‘I don’t care! What can they do, take me away? They are already doing that tomorrow! If this is to be my last night in my own home for a while, I want candles in the window.’
During this exchange, Cibi has approached the house, unseen by mother and sister. She bursts in through the front door now, calling: ‘Kitten, where are you?’
Livi squeals with delight and flies into Cibi’s arms. Chaya is fighting and failing to hold back her tears.
‘Did I hear the gentle tread of my eldest granddaughter entering the house?’ Yitzchak says, with his characteristic warmth and humour.
Chaya and Yitzchak join Cibi and Livi in a tight embrace.
‘Mumma, I could smell your cooking at the end of the street. I have been eating my own food for far too long – I’m starving.’
‘And yet here you are, still alive,’ Yitzchak jokes.
Chaya lets Livi tell her sister about Magda’s confinement in hospital, reassuring her that Dr Kisely has informed them she will be fine. When Livi has finished, Chaya nods at Yitzchak.
‘Livi,’ he says, ‘come and help me bring in some wood from the backyard for the fire. It’s going to be a cold night and we want to keep the kitchen warm.’