Next week at noon – Nahumik knocked at the photographer apartment’s door. Kaplansky opened it and told the boy: “Please, come in. I’ll just finish my meal, and we’ll both go to the stable.”
Nahumik was seated on the man’s armchair, beside a round table. On its glass cover were scattered some photos. The boy discerned an album near them; according to the flashing paper and good color of the photos, he knew that the pictures were new ones, having been shot not long ago.
He bent to the album to look at it closer. He saw Elkano standing there with a friend from his adolescence. Both were wearing sea shorts. It was in a summer camp, who knows where. And here he is in anothr photo- already a soldier, with some warriors. Maybe he had just brought it home last month. And here he is on the horse… Why had Elkano gathered these pictures and given them to his Pa? He was worried, I think. Solomon Kaplansky needed these pictures to look at his son’s figure, while he would be strongly longing for Elkano…knowing that he had left his home for an unknown length of time. Not forever. ‘Am I sure about that?’- Nahumik asked himeslf, and his heart was beating from fear. He closed the album immediately, and became angry at himself for his negative thoughts about his grown up friend.
The photographer and Nahumik went out to the stable. The horse turned his head to the boy and was looking in suspect at him and at his owner. Then he stamped the earth by his hooves. Soon his nostrills blew out the air and looked in sympathy at the boy. The horse was not connected to his reins, as the stable had been closed till that moment. Now Kaplansky put the harness to its mouth, and gave the reins to Nahumik. He pulled out the saddle, that was put in the corner, in an oranges’ empty box. Kaplansky set the saddle on the horseback and told the boy: ”Let’s take it outside, there you’ll begin riding. I’ll take care… You see two houses nearby, without a fence between them? So, you can ride along, without fear, up to the far away fence. But don’t tread a chicken on your way. Our neighbor Bleiberg is a wrathful person. He may hit you.”
The photographer was looking at Nahumik, while he was mounting the horse. Already seated on its saddle he began riding, and Kaplansky was running for a while after the horse, till the rider Nahumik was next to the far fence – behind which was a street.
Then the boy returned riding on the horseback and Kaplansky was walking again at his side. The boy said he would be riding in that way three more times- and his friend’s father left him to ride alone.
Nahumik imagined that the horse was telling him something in timid voice: ‘If Elkano would have known that you had been afraid to ride’- it said- ‘he would laugh at you… ’ So, I am decisive to be a real horse rider, like the cowboys in the films. I was trained by Elkano to gallop speedily- forty kilometers per hour. O’key, thirty would be also enough…’ Then the boy imagined he had heard the horse talking to his owner: ‘Don’t fear, Elkano, that I’ll drive crazyily. I can be even be a circus horse. But though I can stand on my back feet only, I would not do it with Nahumik, as it’s a dangerous position. Now he can hit with his shoes on my belly and make me drive faster. But he should bend a little, and hold the reins very strongly. Exactly in the manner that you, Elkano, were teaching him. Hop Hop- and we’ll reach the fields’…
‘But we won’t do that today’, Nahumik told himself, ‘I’m still not trained enough. On the coming day we’ll drive out for a confidential mission. I’m the knight in a new Adventures Book.”
Next day the boy went to school with a great feeling of satisfaction from his activity. In his heart he thanked the Photographer for confiding in him. It seemed like Kaplansky had known of his son’s friendship- also with Ramona. ‘He himself told me to look at the photos of Elkano…If I tell my friends that I was riding alone- they’ll believe me, because Mike was on his veranda and saw me.’
Next morning – just after Nahumik and the other pupils entered their classroom, their schoolmaster has arrived in, facing them.
“Your teacher Zelda is pregnant, as you know,” he said, ”She can’t come today. So you’ll have two hours off. You will get balls and a ‘Donkey Case’ to jump on it; manage the sports lesson by yourselves, and please keep quiet. Don’t disturb other classes.”
Mike told Nahumik that he had reported already to his Mom about the pregnant teacher. Mike’s mother was very angry, saying: ”In such an unsecure situation of the country- who dares to become pregnant? Your teacher Zelda is crazy.” The boys laughed, and then – after throwing on the girls some paper airplanes and ‘crumpled bread balls’, Nahumik had suddenly suggested something that impressed his friends:
“Why should not we get near the frontline – now? We have a spare time, and it is a nice morning. Our mothers won’t know about it, and won’t search us or worry about.”
“Bravo!” cried Mike, “ I’ll walk with you.”
“So with us”, two additional pupils joined them, and also the girl Irin.
“Let’s turn straight to the graveyard,” said Mike, “From there we’ll march together into the orchard, that a direct path inside it will lead us to the frontline positions.”
“We will take a look,” jolted Nahumik, “at some diggings, wires and shelters of sacks, filled with sand. Maybe we’ll find some soldiers there”
“My Mom has told me,” said Mike, “that the real front had moved forward to the Arab villages. And really, now everything seems to be quiet, and we’ll have a nice journey.”
At the sideways there was new grass growing. The wintry nettle was stinging the pupils’ bare legs, as they were wearing shorts. Then the noise of a close shrapnell was heard. After it- a nearby machine guns fire was ticking, and the group fell down on the ground, some trembling. Mike was calling to them to draw back. Nahumik shouted against him: ”No, don’t move”- and nobody dared yet to raise his head, as the shooting voices had continued.
Soon they heard a noise of a jeep. It was coming straight from the east. A Captain got out of it and shouted: “Are you crazy or what? Run away back, immediately!”
He pulled out a pistol and told them he’ll fire their legs if they don’t move immediately. So they were rising, and beagn running quickly – until they have arrived back at the school’s gate. But now they could tell their friends how brave they had been, visiting the real front and even getting the enemy’s fire.
CHAPTER 16
To America and Back Page 15