Beyond the Shadow of Night(52)

He heaved a sigh. “Then I don’t know what else to do.”

“Please, Mama,” Rina said, stepping over to her. “We haven’t much time. Asher and I want to take our chances here.”

“But if they find you they’ll—”

“We’ll make sure they don’t.”

They embraced. Mama beckoned Asher over and embraced him too.

“Are you two absolutely sure?” Papa said.

Asher and Rina nodded.

“Okay. But we have to be quick.” He walked to the far side of the room and opened the wardrobe doors. “We’ll put you in here and cover you with clothes.”

“Good,” Rina said.

“The best I can think of,” he said with a shrug. “Grab your food and water; you might have to stay there for a few hours, until you hear nothing and nobody outside.” He turned away from them. “Everybody else, it’s time to pack.”

Asher watched as his mama, her face shiny with tears, hurriedly put a few clothes into a suitcase. Keren did the same.

There were hugs and a few more tears, then Papa pointed to the wardrobe. “Get in now, before I change my mind and drag you along with us.”

Rina and Asher started emptying clothes from the bottom of the wardrobe. They each fetched a cup of water and put bread in their pockets.

“I’ll lock the door on my way out,” Papa said. “So if you hear it being broken down, you’ll know to keep still and quiet.”

“Papa,” Rina said, “do you really believe you’re going to a better place?”

The furrow on his brow held back his emotions. “I feel as if I’m being forced to make a choice between being shot or being hanged. But we’ve both made our decisions. Come on, let’s get you hidden.”

They got in, one each side, facing each other with their cups of water under their knees. Their papa gave each of them a lingering kiss on the forehead, then threw the clothes back onto them, rearranging them once or twice.

Asher had no way of knowing in the darkness, but he thought he heard his papa crying. Then he heard a fractured voice whisper, “Rina, be joyful. Asher, be blessed.” He heard the creak of the wardrobe door being closed, followed by the muffled sounds of people leaving the house.

Soon, all Asher could hear were distant shouts and his own nervous breathing.

“I’m sorry, Asher,” he heard Rina whisper. “I didn’t mean to pressure you. It’s just . . .” The sentence trailed off as her voice trembled.

“I know,” Asher said. “You think they’re being taken away to be shot.”

She sniffed a few times. “And I think they know it too, but . . . there’s a chance they’ll survive.”

“And us?”

“A chance also. A greater one or a smaller one. Who knows?”

“We both know,” Asher said. “We’ll see them again.”

Beneath the huddle of clothes, Asher felt a hand grab his ankle and give it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for staying with me.”

“I wasn’t sure,” he whispered. “I’m scared.”

“Me too.”

“But from now on I’ll take care of you,” he said. “We’ll take care of each other. Don’t worry.”

“Of course.”

“And Rina?”

“What?”

“Did you . . . did you smuggle in bullets? Is that why we had extra food?”

“It doesn’t matter now.”

“You should have told Mama and Papa.”

“I will, Asher. I’ll tell them when this is all over.”

“Do you think that will ever happen?”

“Of course it will. You have to be strong. Try not to worry.”

“But I do. I still worry about . . .”

“Izabella?”

“Of course. I don’t know what happened to her. I miss her. I can’t get her out of my mind.”

Asher felt his sister’s hand on his ankle again, now squeezing tightly.

“Listen to me, Asher. I promise you’ll see her again one day. She’s alive. I feel it in my bones. And I know God meant for the two of you to be together.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“But for now, we should be quiet in case guards come in to search the place.”

They both stopped talking.



It might have been the clothes muffling Asher’s ears, but he could hear nothing—not one thing except his own breathing and the faint echo of his own resting heartbeat. And in his safe cocoon he’d lost track of time. Had he been drifting in and out of sleep? It was hard to tell.

“Rina?” he whispered.

He heard nothing. He moved his foot forward and tapped hers.

There was a muffled squeal, then Rina said, “I’m sorry. I was asleep.”

“Me too. It’s so dark and quiet. And my legs are getting stiff.”

“We can’t move,” Rina said. “We should wait a few more hours.”

“How do we know what hours are?”

And that was a fair question: hours or minutes could have already passed.

“Let’s just stay here as long as we can bear it.”