Three Sisters (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #3)(6)

Chaya and Yitzchak join Cibi and Livi in a tight embrace.

‘Mumma, I could smell your cooking at the end of the street. I have been eating my own food for far too long – I’m starving.’

‘And yet here you are, still alive,’ Yitzchak jokes.

Chaya lets Livi tell her sister about Magda’s confinement in hospital, reassuring her that Dr Kisely has informed them she will be fine. When Livi has finished, Chaya nods at Yitzchak.

‘Livi,’ he says, ‘come and help me bring in some wood from the backyard for the fire. It’s going to be a cold night and we want to keep the kitchen warm.’

‘Must I? Cibi has just come home and I want to hear all about her adventures,’ Livi moans.

‘There will be plenty of time for that. Now, come on, give an old man a hand.’

When Yitzchak and Livi have shut the kitchen door behind them, Cibi turns to her mother. ‘OK, what’s going on?’

‘Come with me,’ Chaya says, leading her into their bedroom and shutting the door behind them.

‘You’re scaring me, Mumma. Please.’

Chaya takes a deep breath. ‘Your sister is going to work for the Germans, the Hlinka came for her.’ Chaya can’t look at Cibi, but she forces herself. ‘She has been ordered to the synagogue tomorrow. I don’t know where they will take her, but we’re hoping it’s not for long and that .?.?. that .?.?.’ Chaya sits down heavily on the bed, but Cibi remains standing, staring into the space her mother had just occupied.

‘But they can’t. She’s just a child – what can she do for the Germans?’ Cibi says, more to herself than to her mother. ‘Can’t Uncle Ivan help us?’

Chaya is sobbing into her hands. ‘No one can help us, Cibi. I .?.?. I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t .?.?.’

Cibi sits down beside her mother and takes her hands away from her face. ‘Mother, I made a promise to look after my sisters. Don’t you remember?’

*

Around a candlelit table, the Meller family shares a meal, each one of them wondering when they will do so again. Prayers are said for Magda; for their departed father; and Yitzchak’s deceased wife, their grandmother. They try to enjoy each other as they always have, but what lies ahead looms large over their table.

The plates now empty, Chaya reaches for Livi’s hand. Cibi extends one hand to Yitzchak, beside her, and the other to her mother. Livi takes her grandfather’s hand, all the while looking across the table at Cibi. The family circle holds tight. Cibi holds Livi’s stare. Chaya does not look up as tears fall unashamedly down her face. Only when Chaya can no longer contain her sobs do the girls look at their mother. Yitzchak breaks free from the circle to embrace her.

‘I’ll clean up,’ Livi says quietly, rising from the table.

As she picks up a plate Cibi takes it from her. ‘Leave it, kitten, I’ll do it. Why don’t you go and get ready for bed?’

With no objections from Chaya or Yitzchak, Livi quietly leaves the kitchen.

Cibi places the plate back on the table. ‘I’m going with her,’ she whispers. ‘She’s the baby and she can’t go alone.’

‘What are you saying?’ Yitzchak’s face wrinkles in confusion.

‘Tomorrow I will go with Livi. I will look after her, and then I will bring her back to you. No harm will come to her as long as there is breath in my body.’

‘They only have her name; they may not let you go.’ Chaya sobs.

‘They won’t be able to stop me, Mumma, you know that. What Cibi wants, Cibi gets. You look after Magda until we return.’ Cibi lifts her chin. The decision has been made. The candlelight catches the red in her hair, the gleam in her large green eyes.

‘We can’t ask you to do that,’ Yitzchak says, quietly, glancing towards the bedroom door.

‘You don’t have to, I’m saying I am going. Now, we will need to pack two bags.’

Chaya rises from her chair to embrace her firstborn, whispering into her thick hair, ‘Thank you, thank you.’

‘Did I miss something?’ Livi hovers by the bedroom door, reluctant to come further into the room, the tension in the air palpable. Yitzchak walks over to her and gently urges her back to the table and onto her chair.

‘Kitten, guess what, I’m coming with you tomorrow!’ Cibi winks at her sister. ‘You didn’t think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?’

‘What do you mean? They don’t have your name, only mine.’ Livi looks as confused as Yitzchak did, only moments ago. Livi’s bravery is leaving her: she struggles to say the words, sniffs as she fights to control her tears.

‘Let me worry about that, OK? All you need to know is that we’re in this together from now on. Who else is going to boss you around when you misbehave?’

Livi looks at her mother and grandfather. ‘Did you tell her to come with me?’

‘No, no, kitten, nobody asked me to do this – I want to. I insist on it – remember our promise to Father, that we would always stay together? Magda is ill, and we can’t do anything about that, but you and me, we’ll keep the promise and be back home before we know it.’

‘Mumma?’

Chaya cups Livi’s face in her hands. ‘Your sister is going with you, Livi. Do you understand? You don’t have to do this alone.’