Three Sisters (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #3)(56)

‘Two days ago, I saw a calendar on one of the Nazi’s desks, so I asked him what the date was, and then I worked out that today is your birthday.’

‘Thanks, Livi.’ Cibi gives her a tired smile. ‘I guess we can celebrate the fact that I’ve survived to see another birthday.’

‘Do you want to make a wish?’

‘Not really.’ Cibi grins at her sister. ‘Every single wish I’ve made over the last couple of years has bitten me.’ She waves a hand around the room. ‘We still wake up every morning in this place.’

Livi nods her head slowly. ‘Well, maybe you can tell Volkenrath it’s your birthday and she’ll let you have some food from one of the parcels.’

‘I don’t think she’ll care too much that it’s my birthday.’

‘OK, then. All you’re going to get is a “happy birthday” from me. Happy birthday, Cibi.’

Cibi hugs her little sister for a long time. ‘Am I really twenty-one?’ she whispers into Livi’s ear.

‘My big sister is twenty-one.’

‘Wow.’

*

As Cibi heads towards the post office, Leah hurries up to her. Leah is from a different block, but Cibi knows her from Vranov. She was transported to Auschwitz a few months after Cibi and Livi arrived. Cibi knows Leah works in the crematoria, although they have never discussed exactly what she does there.

‘Cibi, wait. I’ve been looking for you. I’ve got something to tell you.’ Leah is breathless, excited, bursting with her news.

‘Tell me.’ Cibi’s heart constricts.

‘It’s Magda! I saw Magda!’ she says, grinning.

Cibi freezes.

‘I’m telling you, it was Magda. I’m sure of it.’

Cibi swallows hard, heat fills her face and for a moment, her vision swims. She grabs Leah by the arms and shakes her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’ Cibi yells at her. ‘Tell me where you saw her!’

‘Let go of me, Cibi.’ Leah shakes herself free and rubs her arms. ‘I told you, I’ve been looking for you. I saw her three days ago.’

‘Do you know it’s my birthday today, Leah?’ Cibi is now suspicious. How could Magda be here and she didn’t know it, didn’t feel her sister’s presence? ‘You wouldn’t be so cruel to say such a thing just because it’s my birthday?’

‘No! That’s a horrible idea. I’m not a Nazi, Cibi.’

‘I’m sorry, Leah.’ Cibi is ashamed, and then alarmed when she remembers where Leah works. ‘You didn’t see her at the crematoria, did you?’

‘Yes. No! Not exactly, I was at the crematoria but I could see the selection taking place at the station. That’s where I saw her.’

‘And Mumma, my grandfather?’

‘I didn’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there, I just didn’t see them.’

‘Do you know where she is now?’ Cibi feels a sudden urgency. She looks around the camp, as if Magda might be standing in the shadows waiting to leap out and announce her presence.

‘All I know is that she’s with the survivors, and they were heading towards the family camp, but I don’t know if that’s where they ended up. She is in here somewhere, Cibi. I promise you.’

Cibi pulls the girl to her chest and hugs her tight. ‘This is the best birthday present I have ever had, Leah,’ she tells her friend.

*

As desperate as Cibi is to tell Livi about Magda, she decides not to say anything until she knows for sure Magda is here and that their sister is alive.

Once again, she struggles to concentrate on her work, her mind racing, but this time it isn’t due to despondency, but to a growing desperation to find out where Magda is. And then she seizes her opportunity. Unwrapping a large parcel containing not only food but women’s clothing, Cibi checks to see whether the addressee is alive or dead. She knows everyone from the Theresienstadt family camp is dead, but she checks anyway. A red line has been drawn through the name. Cibi also knows that, according to Leah, the new selection has probably just been taken to the family camp. If Magda is anywhere, she is there.

Cibi takes the parcel to Volkenrath’s office. ‘I have a parcel that needs to be delivered to the family camp. Is it OK if I take it over?’

‘Just do your job,’ comes the short reply. Cibi breathes a silent sigh of relief.

To walk or to run? Cibi does both. The longer she takes to get there, the longer she can cling to the possibility that she is about to be reunited with her sister. As she approaches the camp she slows to a dawdle, preparing herself for whatever she might find. She decides to tell Livi nothing if Magda is not there. Right now, her biggest fear is running into her little sister, as the family camp is only metres away from where Livi stands each day at the front gates.

At the gates of the camp, the block leader insists she hands over the parcel. She reads the name and tells Cibi that the person this parcel is addressed to could not possibly be here, that there is no one there from Greece. Cibi tells her that Elisabeth Volkenrath asked her to deliver the parcel personally. The kapo holds her gaze for a moment, but then reluctantly waves her through.

Cibi steps inside every block in every row, calling out Magda’s name, before moving on to the next. The girls and women are dressed in civilian clothes and they still have their hair. Not for long, though, thinks Cibi grimly. Most of them wear head scarves, making it difficult for Cibi to identify Magda’s thick brown hair. Twice, Cibi thinks she sees her, only to be bitterly disappointed.