Eliana (holocaust story)

Chapter 2

The next morning, everyone acted as they normally would. I couldn’t tell how much of it was real or if it was a forced act.

After breakfast, Tziporah and I went on a walk as we did every Saturday morning. Dark clouds covered the sky. It was cold and very windy.

Tziporah didn’t have to work on weekends. The bakery was run by an older couple who offered her a job there five days a week instead of a factory worker six or seven days a week. They had even extended their offer to me when I was finished with school.

On Saturdays, only Baba, Tziporah, David, Shira, Levi and I stayed home. On Sundays, everyone was home normally, but a few times my uncle and my father have had to go to work.

We walked around Town Square a few times. We were able to see the city come alive as the day went on.

“Are you going to Felix’s house for dinner tonight?” she asked me.

“Yes, why?”

“You remember how I said you shouldn’t tell him our secret?”

“Yes…?” I trailed off. She had been very firm on never telling him.

“Maybe you should.” She muttered.

“What?” I exclaimed. I grabbed her arm and made her stop to look at me.

She met my questioning gaze. “If everything is going to go downhill any way, he deserves to know the real you.”

“Does this have to do with the radio?”

She didn’t answer me but the silence spoke for her. Her opinion has changed because of the radio report. She figured that we were all screwed now.

Never before have I heard her say anything so… hopeless. She sounded like she was getting ready to give up, as if nothing mattered anymore.

“You can’t just-“

“Lena, listen.” She stopped me. She also reminded me that we were out in public. “This is always your choice. But know that I would understand if you told him and I know he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

I was quiet as I thought. I didn’t want to fight with her. We started walking once again.

Maybe I would tell Felix. But I highly doubted it would be today. I knew he’d be angry with me. I wasn’t ready for that because I’d assume he’d break up with me right then and there.

But like she pointed out, he wouldn’t tell anyone. He wasn’t that kind of guy.

I just wasn’t ready to let go of him.

I looked back at Tziporah.

“Have you lost hope then, Katja?” I asked her, using her false name.

“No, but things surely will get a lot worse before they get better. No one knows how long this will last.” She replied.

After walking a bit further, she stopped. Her eyes became fixated on something ahead of us. Her face visibly paled.

“Katja?” I grabbed her arm, shaking her slightly.

“I hear that’s the smoke from the new camp.” She told me quietly.

I winced, seeing a cloud of dark smoke in the distance.

“We can’t think about that.”

She started walking again. “I know.”

This side of Tziporah was one I rarely saw. She tried not to dwell and look at things negatively but sometimes she’d slip up.

Normally, I would be the one to point out things like the smoke and she’d scold me. But for today, the roles were reversed.