Magda opens her mouth, but Cibi lays a hand on her sister’s arm. Magda turns to her. Cibi is smiling. ‘She’s not wrong, Magda, and I was in the Hachshara, remember? They will look after her.’
‘We are not allowed to leave this country!’ Magda repeats. ‘No one is. What will they do to her if they capture her?’ Magda shivers.
‘No one will capture me,’ says Livi. ‘And I won’t be allowed to leave until I’m ready.’
‘Livi is a woman now, Magda. She’s twenty-one years old. Let’s just hear her out.’
Magda rounds on Cibi. ‘Why are you keen suddenly to get rid of our sister? I thought we had a pact. I thought we were supposed to stick together, to look after each other. We promised father, we .?.?.’
‘Magda, listen to me,’ says Cibi. ‘You must go with Livi. Do the training and get to Israel.’ Cibi’s voice is calm, reassuring, as if Livi’s choice is the obvious one to make. ‘And then Mischka, Karol and I will follow you.’
Magda’s mouth falls open.
‘We won’t be joining the Hachshara because of the baby, but we’ll find another way.’
‘See, Magda?’ Livi is on her feet, punching the air. ‘Cibi is going too, it’s decided.’
‘Nothing is decided, little sister.’ Magda is quiet, imagining life in Bratislava on her own. It’s an impossible picture. ‘I need to think.’
‘But you’re open to the idea?’ Livi says, hopefully. Magda doesn’t say yes or no, but gives a single nod instead.
‘God will watch over you,’ Mischka says. He has been silent during this exchange, but now he comes to stand by Cibi’s shoulder. ‘It is the right thing for us, for the whole family.’
Livi grins and says, ‘See?’ to Magda, who ignores her because she is busy, thinking.
CHAPTER 27
Bratislava
October 1948
M
agda and Livi watch Cibi and Mischka, baby Karol in his mother’s arms, walk back to their car and drive away. Minutes before, Magda had reluctantly handed Cibi the pillowcase with the candlesticks and photos, and extracted a promise that she would soon follow them to Israel and ‘give them back to me’。
Now, two sisters wait by the side of the road for the other young Jewish men and women to arrive. Jewish men and women who, like them, have decided to join the Hachshara. They will be part of a cadre willing to risk everything to make a new life for themselves in Israel.
It had been hard to say goodbye to Cibi, of course it had. Magda views her older sister as an extension of her own body; to Livi she is a mother and her saviour. But there was also an air of celebration to the farewell. It is October 1948 and Cibi’s twenty-sixth birthday. Vows had been renewed: they are an invincible unit, and while two of the three sisters might soon be 3,000 kilometres away, this distance will not so much as scratch the exterior of their promise. But it is time for them to move on again, to make new lives for themselves and thankfully, Magda had finally agreed she was ready.
‘Strength and hope,’ she told Cibi the night before their departure. ‘That should be enough to build a new world, shouldn’t it? But we need your help to do it, so don’t waste any time.’
The men and women arrive in their hundreds and begin to board the trucks idling by the side of the road. Livi isn’t sure if she’s excited or terrified as they begin to pull away. What if this is a terrible mistake and she has dragged Magda right back into danger? The canvas flaps are drawn against the prying eyes of the Bratislavans as they move out of the city, and Livi wonders if there will ever come a time when they can freely, openly go wherever they want.
They bounce along the gravelled road, bumping over small rocks, swerving round craters while Magda’s mind drifts back to her time in captivity, when a similar truck had delivered her to a prison. She wonders what happened to Mr Klein. But the excitement in the vehicle is infectious and soon Magda finds herself relaxing into the company of cheerful and hopeful young men and women.
It is cold, with winter just round the corner, but the sisters are snug in thick scarves, hats, warm coats and sturdy footwear. They are strong and healthy again, and now three hours and 150 kilometres later, the truck stops in a plot of mud and forest vegetation. This will be their home for the next three months.
‘Breathe in the air, Magda! How wonderful it feels! It reminds me of the forest back in Vranov,’ Livi squeals.
Magda has to agree: the smell and taste of forest air is like no other. She thinks of home, of Grandfather.