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“I need to get over the wall,” he said.
The guard sucked on a mouthful of tobacco, then spit a stream of juice at the dirt.“You and everyone else.”
“What do you need?”
“Jewels, diamonds, anything of value,” replied the guard.
Jan had come prepared.He tugged a single-carat diamond ring from his pocket and handed it discreetly to the guard, who took it with wide eyes.“Where’d you get that?”
“A family friend,” he replied.It was Babcia’s.She’d offered it to Jan before he left the apartment on the first day.
“You might need this,” she’d said.“It’s not likely it will do me any good.”She’d kissed his cheeks then and headed outside to bring in the dry clothes hanging in the courtyard.
The guard nodded.“You’d better hurry before my shift ends.”
Jan beckoned to Walter, who brought the family to the wall.Jan climbed the fence, then helped Nacha, Nathan, Antoni and Walter climb over behind him while the guard studiously ignored them.
“Hurry,” Jan whispered as he ducked into the back of an open stall in the Hala Mirowska Market.
Just as they hid behind a stand of curtain fabric and tore off their armbands, a guard marched past, a gun slung over his shoulder, his black boots thudding in a steady rhythm on the tarmac.He turned back suddenly, then stopped at the stall and fingered a piece of fabric, calling to the owner.The man came running, his balding head gleaming beneath the hot sun.
“Yes, sir, how can I help you?”
“Has anyone crossed the wall here?”
The man ran his fingers over his long, black moustache as he considered the guard’s question.“No, sir, I witnessed no one.But I’ve been very busy serving customers, as you can see.”He gestured in the direction of a line of three customers waiting in front of his stall.
The guard grunted.“Well, make sure to report any Jew you see breaking the law.You know the punishment for assisting a Jew?”
“Of course, sir.I will do what you ask.”
The guard moved on, with one last suspicious glance in the direction of the line of customers.The customers included Jan, Walter and the stall owner’s wife.Jan thought his heart might burst from his chest, it pounded so hard against his rib cage.Adrenaline spiked through his veins.He had no time to waste.
“Thank you for your kindness,” Jan said to the man and his wife.
They waved away his thanks.“It’s a travesty what those pigs are doing to our land and our countryfolk,” the man said.
Jan led the way back to the apartment, although his travelling companions knew it just as well as he did.But they held back in case he had reason for them to halt their journey and could raise a hand in warning.They made it home by sticking to alleyways and small roads and taking refuge in the shadows.By the time they arrived, they were all puffing hard and had streaks of sweat running down the sides of their faces.
Mama threw the door open silently and ushered them all inside.Then she embraced Nacha and Nathan, welcoming them quietly into the Kostanski home.Finally, she cupped Antoni’s cheeks between her hands, tears flowing from her eyes.
“It has been too long,” he said.
She could only nod.As Jan led the others into the kitchen, she stepped into Antoni’s arms.
