Three Sisters (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #3)(17)

‘Don’t just stand there, help them!’

Nudging Livi into action, Cibi starts heaving the bricks into the cart, just as the kapo walks up to them.

Livi throws in a brick, where it strikes another, chipping off a corner.

‘Break one more and there will be consequences,’ the kapo snaps.

Cibi thinks of Magda and feels a wave of relief riding the length of her spine. She has been spared this torture. She wishes Livi weren’t here – she looks and seems so much younger than all the other girls. She is brave, but she is still so little. How will she even handle this work?





CHAPTER 8

Vranov nad Topl’ou

April 1942

C

haya is seated by the window, in the very same position Livi occupied only days earlier.

‘We will hear her when she gets home, Chaya. Please, come away from the window.’ Yitzchak lays a gentle hand on his daughter’s shoulder and feels the rigid muscles tense beneath her skin.

Chaya doesn’t drop the curtain; she will not miss Magda’s arrival. ‘Father,’ she says, her eyes trained on the street. ‘I don’t know how we’ll tell her about the girls.’

Yitzchak sighs. He has been worrying about the very same thing. ‘I will make some linden tea,’ he says in response, and Chaya nods.

Chaya presses her face to the window, and her tears slide down the glass as she mumbles prayers, clinging to her faith, needing to believe these powerful words will reach Cibi and Livi, no matter how far away they are; that, somehow, they will hear them and know she is yearning for their safe return.

Turning to receive the steaming china cup from Yitzchak, Chaya misses the moment Dr Kisely pulls up outside the house. Magda is out of the car before he even comes to a full stop, racing up the path.

When Magda bursts through the door, Yitzchak quickly takes Chaya’s mug before she drops it. He steps aside to allow mother and daughter to collide in an embrace.

Dr Kisely appears in the doorway, placing the small bag containing Magda’s belongings on the floor. Yitzchak and the doctor grasp hands. There is nothing to say as Dr Kisely glances around the room, sensing that Cibi and Livi are no longer there.

‘And Magda?’ Yitzchak finally says. ‘She is recovered?’

‘She is healthy and well.’ The doctor’s mouth twitches in a half-smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

‘Chaya,’ says Yitzchak, turning towards his daughter and granddaughter, still locked together. ‘It’s time to tell Magda.’

Magda pulls out of her mother’s embrace. ‘Tell me what? And where are Cibi and Livi?’

‘Come and sit down, my darling,’ Chaya says, her voice full of tears.

‘I don’t want to sit down.’ Magda looks at her grandfather. ‘Do you know where they are?’

When Yitzchak doesn’t reply, Dr Kisely clears his throat. ‘I must leave now, but if you feel unwell or your fever returns, I’ll come back immediately.’

Yitzchak takes Dr Kisely’s hand once more and thanks him. He watches the doctor walk to his car before shutting the front door and turning to meet the fearful eyes of both Chaya and Magda.

‘Please sit down, Magda. It will be easier.’

The women take the sofa and Yitzchak positions himself on the only other comfortable chair in the room. Magda squeezes Chaya’s hand tight, and Chaya welcomes the pain.

‘Your sisters have gone to work for the Germans, Magda. We don’t know where they are, but they weren’t alone; many of our girls were taken that day.’

‘Taken to work for the Germans?’ Magda is aghast. Didn’t Dr Kisely tell her that her sisters were safe? Didn’t he promise her that Livi was too young and that Cibi was away? ‘It can’t be,’ she says.

‘I wish it wasn’t true,’ says her grandfather.

‘But when?’

‘Two days ago. They all left two days ago.’

‘On Shabbat?’ Magda is slowly processing the fact that her sisters are not in the house, that Cibi is not at the Hachshara and that Livi isn’t in the garden.

Yitzchak nods.

‘Why would they do that? Why would they go off to work for the Germans?’

‘They had no choice, my precious child. The Hlinka guards had Livi’s name on a list, and Cibi went with her to look after her.’

‘For how long?’

‘We don’t know,’ says Yitzchak, sighing. ‘Hopefully not for too long. There is talk they are going to work on German farms. They may be there all summer.’

Magda turns to her mother. ‘Mumma, why did you let them go?’

Chaya begins weeping then, burying her face in her hands. Magda puts an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer.

‘Your mother couldn’t stop them taking the girls, Magda. No one could stop them.’ Yitzchak’s voice breaks and he retrieves his large handkerchief from a pocket to swipe away his tears.

Suddenly, Magda releases her mother and gets to her feet. ‘We need to find out where they are so I can join them,’ Magda pronounces.

Chaya gasps. ‘We promised your sisters we would keep you safe. Here, at home.’

Magda looks at her mother, defiance lighting up her eyes, a snarl on her lips. ‘We made our promise too, don’t you remember, Mumma?’ She turns to Yitzchak. ‘Have you both forgotten our pact to stay together?’