AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?”Antoni frowned.“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Germans pulled out.They stopped the deportations.There haven’t been any more since then.The ZOB fought on rooftops and in cellars, and the Germans weren’t willing to do that.They were afraid of being ambushed.”
Antoni clapped his hands together and Nathan grinned.Nacha laughed.
“Well, how about that.”Antoni stirred his cup of tea with a silver spoon.“I didn’t think I’d live to see it.But I’m glad they’re finally fighting back.Someone had to do it.”
“The ghetto seems safe now.There aren’t any more deportations.Very few Jews are still living there compared to before.So, I was thinking—maybe I should smuggle you back in.You could go to your apartment and live there.”
Nacha’s eyes widened.“Oh, please, Tata.I want to see Babcia and Papa again.Could we please go home?”
“It’s too dangerous,” Antoni replied.
“It’s up to you, but you can’t stay here long term and Mama hasn’t found an apartment for us yet.There are so few available, and even when we find something suitable, it’s snatched up by someone else before we get it leased.If you go back to the ghetto, I will help you get out again just as soon as we locate a place to live.”
Antoni scratched his stubbled chin.“And the deportations have stopped?”
“They haven’t removed anyone in over a month.”
“I suppose we could try it.It would be nice to see family again after all this time.”
Jan swallowed and studied the table.He couldn’t let them continue living in hope.He had to tell them the truth.He’d wanted to let them enjoy happiness for a while, but if they returned with him tonight to the ghetto, they’d learn about what’d happened soon enough.
Nacha jumped up from the table and embraced her father with a squeal of excitement.
Nathan reached for another slice of cake, grinning from ear to ear.“It will be good to go home again.I didn’t much like Otwock.”
“Me neither,” Nacha agreed with a wrinkled nose.“It never felt like home to me.”
“There’s something I have to tell you before we go.”Jan wanted to walk out the door and leave them at Aunt Irka’s, happy, laughing and eating cake.
“What is it?”Antoni asked.
“It’s about your family.”Jan inhaled a deep breath.“They’re gone.”
“What?”Antoni’s brow furrowed.
“I’m guessing they were deported to Treblinka.But I can’t know for certain.I visited them three months ago and discovered the apartment was empty.They’d been there before that—I saw them several times.”
Nacha began to cry.She covered her face with both hands and sobbed quietly.Nathan’s face clouded over, and Antoni slammed a hand down on the table.
“We knew it was likely,” Jan continued.“And one more thing.I found Babcia and Papa there.They were in bed.”
Antoni met his gaze.“Dead?”
Jan nodded.
Nacha wailed and hid her face against Nathan’s shoulder.Nathan’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t speak.Antoni’s eyes glistened with tears.Irka patted her cheeks dry with the bottom corner of her apron and shuffled into the kitchen to boil the kettle for more tea.
