The Ghost in Apartment 2R

by Denis Markell

  But instead of Gus in the mirror, there is a young woman in a long black dress. I see the braid falling down her back. She turns sideways, and now I see her pale skin is deathly blue white. I recognize her from Katia’s photo. The same sad eyes and down-turned mouth.

  Sari repeats her question, grabbing me with ice-cold hands. “Where is my little boy?”

  Where the heck is Nat? Why hasn’t she come in?

  “I don’t know!” I say as loudly as I dare. I hear a bump on the other side of the door, as if someone is getting up.

  “Where are you hiding him?” she demands.

  As the door opens, I feel her icy hands move to my throat.

  Nat calls out, “Sari Rosenbaum!”

  I am clawing at the hands as they tighten. “I thought if we called her name, it would control her!” I manage to gasp.

  Nat rushes over to pull Sari off, but the dybbuk pushes her away.

  “Sari! Sari Rosenbaum!” Nat tries again, with no result.

  Those cold fingers. Pushing down on my throat. The room is beginning to swim.

  Then Nat sings, in English:

  “To my little one’s cradle in the night

  Comes a little goat snowy and white.

  The goat will trot to the market

  While mother her watch does keep,

  Bringing back raisins and almonds.

  Sleep, my little one, sleep.”

  The fingers relax, and the dybbuk steps back, transfixed, as she stares at Nat through Gus’s eyes. She turns to Nat and listens. In the mirror I see her sad eyes and pale skin and lace collar.

  As Nat finishes singing, she does not take her eyes off the dybbuk, who begins to sing softly.

  “Unter Yankele’s vigele

  Shteyt a klor-vays tsigele.

  Dos tsigele iz geforn handlen

  Dos vet zayn dayn baruf,

  Rozhinkes mit mandlen.

  Slof-zhe, Yankele, shlof.”

  I watch as Sari reaches out and strokes Nat’s cheek. Then she speaks.

  “Rochele?”

  “Yes, I am your sister, Rachel,” Nat says.

  The dybbuk looks confused. “But why do you sing in English, my sister?”

  “We are in America now, Sari. We practice our English.”

  Sari nods. “Yes, I understand.”

  Nat turns to me. “When your grandmother sang the song into my phone, she didn’t say Yankele, she said yingele. Do you think?”

  Of course.

  I stand next to Nat and face Sari. “Is Yankele your little boy?”

  Her eyes move to mine. It’s Gus’s face, but the eyes are young, and sad, and old. All at the same time.

  Yankele…the name whispered by the walls…

  “Yes, Yankel. That is his name. Where is he? Please tell me.”

  “But you knew how he—” I begin, and then Nat tugs my sleeve.

  “Her son…I remember from the paper. His name wasn’t Yankel. It was Isaac.”

  If her son was Isaac, then who is Yankel?

  My mind is racing as I try to think of why I know the name Yankel.

  Bubbe Ruth would sometimes say it. Was it the name of an uncle?

  Yes, that’s right.

  It was her uncle.

  Yankel.

  The Yiddish version of Jacob.

  Who gave his name to his great-niece’s son.

  Jacob, called Jake.

  I sit on the bed next to Gus, who turns to face me. I take his hand in mine, pressing my warmth into his cold flesh.

  Sari’s eyes look back at me, searchingly. She knows I have the answer.

  “Your….little boy…,” I begin. “He’s not your son, is he?”

  Sari’s yellow eyes glisten. She is lost in memory. “He was…my second son.”

  Nat starts to correct her, but I stop her.

  “Yes,” I say, “but he came later, right?”

  Sari nods. “Much later. I waited so long for him. Years, maybe longer. So many people living in my room…sailors, rough men who worked on the docks, even a few women.”

  “Women?” Nat asks.

  “They would come for a few years. The room was never warm, never a place of love. Always a place of loneliness.”

  I picture this room, as the boarders come and go, working hard during the day, alone at night. The lucky ones would meet someone and move out. The others would just move on to another room, another life. All the Richies and Katias coming to the city to make their mark, or just landing here and never leaving. All being watched by an unhappy spirit unable to move on, needing to love and protect another boy. To get another chance, to make it right this time.

  A small smile appears on Sari’s lips as she moves forward in her mind. “And then they came. The couple. I hear the sound of a child.”

  “And that was Jake—er, Yankel?” Nat asks.

  Sari shakes her head. “He comes later. This is not my little boy.”

  That would be my grandparents. I remember seeing pictures. This was their bedroom, when the apartment only had one bathroom. My dad’s room was what is now his and my mom’s room.

  Only after my grandparents moved out and my parents took over the apartment did they renovate and put in the second bathroom, giving this room to Jake.

  “The couple leaves, and a crib is brought into your room for the first time,” I say gently.

  I feel Sari’s hand growing warmer in mine. “Yes! Finally! My little Yankel. He is here with me every night.”

  My brother. All those years. Watched over by his second mother. Who protected him like she couldn’t protect her own son.

  Tears appear in the corners of Sari’s eyes. I want to make clear that this whole thing is amazing, sitting with Gus and talking to someone long dead. After all the terror I’ve felt these weeks, now all I feel is wonder.

  “They called him Jacob, right?” Nat asks.

  “Yes, and he is beautiful. And so smart, this one. So much joy for me, watching him grow through the years into a strong handsome boy. I help him sometimes.”

  “Help him how?” I ask.

  Sari is lost in her thoughts. “When he is afraid, I comfort him. When he needs to study, I give him strength and whisper words of support. Like a good mother.”

  She turns to me. “I was a good mother, wasn’t I?”

  “He couldn’t have asked for a better one,” I say.

  Nat has to go there. “So…there was another little boy who came later, wasn’t there?”

  Sari’s face changes. She wrinkles her nose. “Yes. A noisy and clumsy thing. Not like my little boy. This one talked too loud and tried to get Yankel to play with him.”

  Nat is doing everything she can to not burst out laughing. I poke her.

  “Thanks a lot,” I mutter.

  “Shhh!” Nat giggles.

  Darkness clouds Sari’s face. “But then Yankel goes. And they take away his bed, his things. They cut out my heart!”

  Gus begins to sob. I awkwardly rub his back to comfort Sari.

  “I need to know!” Sari says between sobs. “Where is my little boy?”

  Nat hugs Gus, which normally would be major news, but I realize she’s hugging Sari, which is okay.

  “There, there,” Nat coos. “Your little boy is just fine. He is so smart he has gone on to a great school to continue his studies.”

  Sari’s eyes light up. “A yeshiva! He has gone to a yeshiva? Perhaps one day he will be a great rabbi?”

  I want to tell Sari that it’s more likely Jake will be turned into a great rabbit, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings. “Something like that,” I lie. “He is certainly becoming a great scholar.”

  “So he is healthy? He is happy?” Sari implores me.

 
I take out my phone. “Here, I’ll show you.” I pull up photos Jake has sent us from Cornell. I pass the phone to Gus.

  Sari looks down and caresses the phone with her hand.

  “Such a handsome boy,” she murmurs. Then she kisses the screen.

  She turns and shows the photos to Nat. “Is he not handsome?”

  Nat turns red. “Yes, he is very handsome.”

  Sari makes a tsking noise. “Not like the little one. Yech. That one is no prize, am I right?”

  Nat is doing everything not to explode at this point. “Oh, yes. Totally.”

  At this point I really want to think that Gus is just putting on an act, but I know he’s not.

  Sari wears an expression of concern. “If only I could be sure. If I knew, then I could finally rest.”

  Nat looks lost. “But…we told you…”

  Sari’s eyes go cold. “Like you told me Isaac’s death was not my fault, Rachel? You, of all people? You lied to me, Rachel.”

  Nat bites her lip. “I did it to spare your feelings.”

  “No, my sister!” Sari snarls. “If I had not stepped out to talk to Nathan from next door, who said such pretty things, my Isaac would have not drowned. It was my selfishness and vanity.”

  “But you have suffered enough!” Nat insists.

  “I am so tired,” Sari says. She looks at me, pleading. “I need to see that Yankel is still big and strong and alive. Then perhaps I can rest.”

  I take my phone back. It’s late, but college students stay up late, right?

  I pull up the FaceTime app and press the photo of Jake.

  There is the sound of the connection, and then the screen shows a darkened room, with a fuzzy voice saying, “Danny? What’s up? There a problem?”

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I say quickly.

  Jake’s bleary-eyed face shows up on-screen. “No worries. I was just…you know…”

  “Sleeping?” I ask.

  “Mom and Dad aren’t there, are they?” Jake demands.

  I answer quickly, “No! I’m here with Nat in your old room.”

  Jake’s face changes to a look of astonishment. “What? I mean, that’s awesome. Wow, Mom and Dad are getting really broad-minded!”

  Nat grabs the phone. “Shut up, Jake! It’s not like that.”

  Jake grins. “Hey, whatever you say. My lips are sealed.”

  I take the phone back. “Listen, Gus is here too, and—”

  Now Jake looks really confused. “Wait, what?”

  “Look, it’s not easy to explain. I just need you to answer a question for me.”

  Jake stifles a laugh. “Okay. I mean, I thought this stuff was covered in health—”

  Nat is about to throw the phone across the room. “Stop being so disgusting, Jake. And listen to Danny.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  I try to figure out how to say this without sounding totally insane. “So…I know this is going to sound crazy…but did you ever have the feeling that there was someone watching over you in your room?”

  I don’t know what I expected Jake to say, but I wasn’t prepared for this.

  “Of course,” he says. “I’ve always felt it.”

  Nat stares at the phone. “Really?”

  “I mean, I didn’t ever talk about it, because Mom and Dad would have put me in therapy or something, but yeah. Ever since I was little, if I had trouble sleeping, I’d hear this voice singing this lullaby, and it would always calm me.”

  Jake stops himself. “But wait a minute. How did you find out about it? I never told you.”

  I sigh. “It’s a long story….”

  Sari, who has been sitting with her eyes closed, begins to hum.

  Jake’s face lights up. “That’s it! That’s the song! Bubbe Ruth used to sing it too! But it wasn’t just the song. I don’t know how to explain it. It was like a guardian angel was looking over me. I always felt protected in that room. If I was sad, she comforted me; if I was scared, I felt less alone. I kind of thought of her as my second mother.”

  My voice is barely a whisper. “She’s still here, Jake. And she misses you.”

  Jake pulls the phone close to his face. Something about his expression makes him look like a little boy. “May I speak to her?”

  Nat takes the phone. “Listen, Jake, you should know she’s speaking through Gus. Which is weird, but that’s how it worked out.”

  Amazingly, Jake just says, “I understand.”

  Nat hands the phone to Gus, who opens his eyes and gazes down at Jake’s face.

  “Yankel,” Sari murmurs.

  “Hello, Mamele,” Jake says gently.

  “You look tired. Are you working hard?” Sari asks.

  “I am doing everything I can to make you proud,” Jake answers.

  Sari sighs. “So you are good, my darling?”

  Jake nods. “Yes, Mamele. I am good. All is well. You have done your job.”

  Sari smiles. I never thought I’d say this in a thousand years, but right now, Gus looks like Bubbe Ruth. I glance in the mirror and see Sari, tears streaming down her face.

  She seems overwhelmed. “That is all I wanted to hear, my dearest one.”

  “I’ll miss you,” Jake says, “but I think it’s time for you to go.”

  Sari takes a deep breath. “Yes, I think you are right. I am very tired, and now I can rest.”

  “Good night, Mamele. Remember what you used to whisper in my ear?”

  “Yes, of course, my darling little one.” Sari says.

  “ ‘The white goat is coming,’ ” Jake says, “ ‘to bring you raisins and almonds….’ ”

  As he says this, he waves. I press the disconnect button and the phone goes silent.

  Gus slowly turns and lies back on the bed.

  “I am so sleepy…so sleepy…,” says Sari as the bed begins to tremble beneath us.

  Nat and I jump up and move away from the bed, which is now vibrating.

  Sari is sinking into the bed, deeper and deeper.

  And then the bed begins to rise…a foot or more off the ground.

  “If it starts to spin and he pukes, I am not cleaning it up,” I announce to Nat.

  She doesn’t answer, transfixed by the scene in front of us.

  There is a shaft of light coming through the window. It grows and gets brighter, enveloping Gus’s body.

  For a second, I could swear I see something jump out of Gus’s body and become one with the light, joining whoever or whatever is up there.

  Just as the light disappears, the bed slams back to the floor and comes apart. Pieces of it scatter everywhere.

  As I hear my parents coming down the hallway, Gus looks up at us. Then he looks down at the mess around him.

  “Jeez, I knew Ikea furniture was cheap, but this is ridiculous!”

  Try explaining that one to your parents.

  I hope you have better luck than we did.

  I was grounded for a week, and Nat had to promise to work in the store every day after school for a month.

  Gus was just smacked in the head by the old man after Emil shrugged and said, “What can you do? He’s a crazy kid.”

  I don’t want to leave the impression the old man hit him that hard. It was like what you do to a dog when it makes a mess on the carpet.

  But there was a lot of good that came out of it. First off, my dad wrote down everything that happened and showed it to Jack Tempkin, who was convinced it was a perfect movie idea. Jack took it to a friend he knows who produces programs for Netflix, and they loved it. So my dad is actually going to make a film about it! And if they like it, they want him to finish his other one!

  To no one’s surprise, all the weirdness stopped. My mom wouldn’t believe that our sleepover had anything
to do with it, and made me and Nat promise we wouldn’t do that again. We both immediately agreed.

  I actually said, “Yeah, like I’m ever going to spend the night with her again.”

  Nat then called me a name I’d rather not write here. She looked really mad. Which makes no sense because I just wanted to make it clear to my mom, but she seemed to take it really personally.

  For the record, I am not completely clueless or stupid. I just can’t imagine that someone that smart and pretty would like me. Something else must be going on. Maybe when I’m Jake’s age it will start to make sense.

  But here’s the thing: the absolute best part was when Mom and Dad were asked to come down to Haddad’s on Sunday.

  Now this is already strange because Haddad’s is closed on Sunday, so I know something is going on. I ask Nat, but she just smiles and says, “You’ll see.”

  When we get there, we see a whole crowd of people in front of the store. Most of them are other store owners, including Emil, who make up the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill Merchants Association. Bubbe Ruth is there too. I go over to give her a kiss.

  “Mom! What are you doing here?” my mother asks.

  Bubbe Ruth shrugs (what else?). “You couldn’t come visit me this Sunday, I thought I’d come to you.”

  Sammy joins us. I’ve never seen him in a suit and tie before. I guess he came from church. He waves us over and greets my mom and dad with hugs. There are three chairs behind him, and he indicates that we’re supposed to sit.

  He clears his throat. He’s such a big loud guy that just clearing his throat quiets everybody down.

  Sammy glances at his notes. “Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for coming for this first presentation of the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hills Merchants Association Grant for Further Education.”

  My dad and mom look at each other.

  Sammy peers down at them and gives them one of his smiles. Right then and there, I realize it makes sense that he can make the ultimate malted milk ball, because he also makes the ultimate smile.

  “In consultation with the other members of our committee, we have decided to put aside a certain sum of money every year from here forward, in order to help deserving families with the burden of paying for college education for promising students from the neighborhood.”