The World That We Knew(12)

CHAPTER FIVE


THE FOLLOWER




BERLIN, SPRING 1941

THE GOLEM MADE CERTAIN TO keep ten paces behind Hanni. She understood both her purpose and her place from the moment she was brought into this world. She was tall, nearly six feet, made even taller by wearing the rabbi’s heavy winter boots. She didn’t feel cold or heat or wind or rain, but as they walked into the sunlight that was breaking through the foggy morning sky, the light fell upon her for the first time, and she was amazed. The marvel of all she saw was staggering. He has made everything beautiful in its time. She understood her time was now. What had been clay had become flesh.

Every now and then, Hanni glanced behind her, fearing that the golem might disappear, rise into the air and float away or disperse into dust. Or perhaps she herself would wake in bed to discover that everything that had transpired in the cellar had been a dream. But no, there was the golem, calmly following, her long dark hair flowing down her back, her eyes raised to the sky as if looking for the Almighty, who had allowed her to breathe and walk and speak.

She may be like a dog, or she may have thoughts and desires.

This one seemed more like a dog, stopping a few steps behind Hanni each time Hanni paused to find her way. At last they came to an address Ruth had given her, an apartment house not far from Grosse Hamburger Strasse, near the oldest Jewish cemetery in the city, in use from 1672. Everyone in the neighborhood had been taken away to Judenh?user, overcrowded housing. A single squatter remained, moving from flat to flat. The forger. He had been an artist and a printmaker, and Ruth had assured Hanni that he created false documents so well made no authority would dare to question them. Hanni had one treasure left. On their wedding day her husband had presented her with a gold necklace. Now, in exchange for the necklace, she acquired visas to France and identity papers under the names Lillie and Ava Perrin. Each visa cost ten thousand Reichsmarks, but the forger was delighted to have gold instead. Currency changed; gold never lost its value.

While the golem waited in the courtyard, she let herself rest, perching on a stone bench. She was good at mimicking human behavior, to ensure that she wouldn’t stand out, and when Hanni emerged from the forger’s apartment, she had to remind herself it was not another woman who was waiting for her. She assumed the smile on Ava’s face was meant for her, but, in fact, Ava was astounded by all she saw. The green leaves of the trees. The brightening of the mottled clouds. A bird wheeling across the gleaming sky. Fly away, it said to her in a beautiful language that she immediately understood. But she couldn’t listen to the bird’s counsel. She had a duty to uphold.

When they passed the river, she found herself drawn to the water. She could hear the fish calling to her in cool, silvery voices as they warned her to keep herself far from mortal life. But she had no choice. She had come to life with a single purpose, to watch over a girl of twelve who was waiting in a small apartment, on the third floor, half a mile away.

Ava was not sure what sort of being she was. She knew she was not a bird or a fish; she hadn’t that sort of freedom to go where she pleased and do as she wished. As they walked along, she spied a black dog in a fenced yard. She gazed into its eyes. Was this what she was? A beast such as this? The dog was chained, and when it barked plaintively Ava felt something inside her chest tighten. They must do as they were told. They were bound to humans, but humans were not bound to them.

“Hurry,” Hanni called when Ava lingered at the fence listening to what the dog had to say, a litany filled with loyalty and despair.

Do what they say, but don’t think they will ever hear you in return.



The sun had already risen when they entered the courtyard. At last they were safely off the street. There was a measured pause while Hanni stopped to draw a deep breath. The enormity of what they had done and what was still to come overwhelmed her. She was overtaken by emotion when she imagined sending her daughter away. Until the incident in the alleyway, she would have said nothing could be worse than being separated from her child, but now she could think of far more terrible possibilities.

When Ava saw that her companion was crying, she couldn’t help but be curious. This was her first encounter with human sorrow.

Hanni wiped her eyes with her hands. She noticed the golem staring. Clearly, her daughter’s guardian was not a monster, and so she confided in Ava as if she were a woman. “I beg you for one thing. Love her as if she were your own.”

What Hanni spoke of was the deepest human mystery, which could not be understood by mortals or angels. All the same Ava nodded. “Whatever you say I will do.” Her German was already perfect. She was a very quick learner, and she knew exactly what Hanni wished her to say.

They were beneath a beautiful, old oak tree whose branches had been cut down for bonfires for those newly homeless Jews who slept on benches and in doorways. Only a few green leaves remained on the ancient tree. Hanni took the golem’s hand, warm in her own.

“I want you to feel what I feel. Do you understand what I mean? Real love. That is what I feel for my daughter, and what I will always feel for her, no matter what happens. Even when I am no longer here.”

“I will see no other,” Ava assured her. Her eyes were strangely hot and wet.

“Yes.” Hanni was relieved that the golem had understood. “We should go in now. They’ll be worrying.”