Beyond the Shadow of Night(51)

“Rina!” Papa said. “Don’t talk to your mama like that.”

“But—”

Rina shrieked as his fist hit the table.

“Stop it!” He took a breath, coughed a little, and struggled to lower his voice. “The guards are rounding up the whole street. We have no choice. Thousands have been moved out in the last few days, and hundreds who argued have been shot dead. Do you want that?”

Rina said nothing.

“And look around you. Think of what we’ve been eating for the past year. We manage better than many, but it’s still mostly scraps hardly fit for animals. We all keep losing weight. Could it be any worse than this?”

“When do they want us to leave?” Keren said.

He sighed. “Now. We have to go now.”

“This minute?” Mama said. “Without warning?”

Papa nodded. “We each have to pack as much as we can into a single suitcase. The guards will accompany us to the meeting point next to the railroad station.”

Nobody spoke for a few moments.

Then Rina said quietly, “I’m not going.”

“Oh, come on,” Mama said. “There might be jobs. Think of us living a better life. You heard your papa; it can’t be any worse than this broken shell of a home.”

Rina shook her head. “But surely we all know the rumors. Papa? Oskar? Keren?” She looked at each of them in turn. “You must know all those people have gone to their deaths? And you, Asher.” She stared at him, her eyes wide and questioning. “You’re happy to simply give yourself up to these people?”

Asher opened his mouth to speak. Yes, he knew the rumors, but also knew not to talk of them for fear of upsetting people.

“I say we should stay and fight,” Rina said. “Asher?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” he replied. “What do we fight with?”

“Leave that to me,” she replied. “I have contacts.”

“You know people who can supply guns?” Papa asked.

Her face blushed. “I . . . I know people who need bullets.”

Papa gave her a sideways look, then shook the thought from his head.

“I say we stay,” she said. “Who’s with me?”

Asher thought for a moment, torn between loyalty to his parents and the courage of his sister. “I am,” he said quietly. He glanced at the other shocked faces, then added, “I want to fight too.”

“Well done,” Rina said. “And what about you, Oskar? Do you want to fight or leave the city?” She glanced at Sala, her belly now full and round. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“Of course,” Oskar said. “There’s no way we could live in hiding places. Besides, I’m a pacifist. I will not point a gun at anybody on principle.” He looked at Sala, who held his hand and nodded agreement.

“I agree with them,” Mama said. “I don’t want to kill people. And I certainly don’t want to stay here.”

“Me neither,” Keren said.

Mama turned to her other children. “Rina, Asher, come with us. Please.”

Asher looked at Rina and felt her stare willing him on.

“No,” Rina said. “I don’t trust them.”

“We don’t know what awaits us at the other end of the train journey,” Mama continued. “But we know what’s here. It’s dangerous—very dangerous. This is the center of a war zone and we’ll be shot if we stay here. Maybe I’m optimistic, thinking of growing vegetables and keeping chickens, but it’s like your papa said, wherever they’re taking us, could it really be any worse than here?”

“Oh, yes,” Rina replied. “It certainly could. So I still say we should stay and fight.”

“Well, I don’t,” Mama said.

“Oh, look,” Papa said. “All this bickering is getting us nowhere. We only have ten minutes.” He took his cap off and gave his head a hurried scratch. “Those who want to stay, stay. Those who want to leave, leave. But I go where my wife goes. And I won’t be sorry to say good riddance to this rat’s nest.”

“No, Hirsch,” his wife said flatly. “We can’t split the family up.”

“Then what do you want me to do?” he replied. “We’re all adults. It’s the only way to decide.” He turned to Rina and Asher. “You definitely want to stay here?”

First Rina nodded, then Asher.

“Very well.” Papa sighed and rubbed his chin. “If that’s the way you feel, we need to find somewhere in here for you to hide.” He peered around the room, then looked at Asher and Rina. “You realize what you’re doing is very dangerous, don’t you?”

“We know,” Rina said.

“And you’ll probably be killed if they find you.”

“No! No! No!” Mama shouted. She burst into tears, and the others looked on in silence. “I’m not leaving . . .” She sniffed and gulped a short breath. “I’m not leaving my children to the dogs.”

Rina went to speak, but Papa held a hand up to silence her. He turned to Mama.

“Golda, please. I know it’s hard, but . . . our children aren’t children anymore.”

“Well, they are to me!”