Sarah and Solomon

by Roberta Kagan

  Chapter 35

  Spring 1943

  By the end of April, the Resistance fighters found that their constant movement during the miserable winter months had landed them in a part of the woods known as the crooked forest. Solomon hid the fact that he hated the crooked forest. It seemed to be the perfect setting for every frightening fairy tale he’d heard as a young child. The branches of the pine trees in the crooked forest did not reach for the heavens. Instead, they were bent, twisted, and gnarled, like the arms of old witches.

  Winter was slow at making her long-awaited exit. But each day brought more evidence of spring’s arrival—birds chirped, the sun shone, and wildflowers began to bloom, covering the forest with color. Life began to remerge as the forest animals joined in the dance, relieved to have survived the winter. Fish became more plentiful as the icy ponds had begun to melt. Tiny blades of tender grass began to peek their heads out of the once-frozen ground, to smile at the golden rays of the sun. When Ewa wasn’t busy teaching Solomon and Sarah to read and write, she and Sarah gathered bouquets of purple liverworts.

  Gunther knew Solomon had a crush on Ewa, and he often felt the boy's resentment toward him because of it. But he knew Solomon was a smart boy, so he hoped that Solomon realized Ewa was too old for him. However, Gunther could still remember his own first crush. It had been a secret love for his teacher that had consumed him when he was just a preteen. He could still remember how it hurt him when he saw the teacher with her husband one day at a soccer game. And even though he’d known at the time that his dream of being his teacher's boyfriend was just that—a dream—it still hurt his feelings. So Gunther understood Solomon. The closer he and Ewa grew, the further Solomon pushed away from Gunther. Gunther knew the boy needed a father image, and he wanted to be Solomon’s friend. So one afternoon when Gunther was getting ready to go hunting, he got an idea. Solomon and Sarah were sitting under a tree studying when he approached the boy.

  “I was wondering if you would like to go hunting with me. I would like to teach you how to hunt. You know, my father taught me when I was your age,” Gunther said.

  Solomon, who was falling asleep from sitting still for too long, jumped at the opportunity to do something more physical. “Yes, I would love to learn to hunt,” he said, putting aside his mixed emotions toward Gunther.

  “Good! Then it’s settled. Shall we go?”

  Solomon nodded and stood up.

  “Be careful,” Sarah said.

  “Don’t you worry, little sister. I’ll take care of your big brother,” Gunther said, smiling, then he ruffled Sarah’s hair. She giggled.

  Ewa was watching from a few feet away. She winked and smiled at Gunther. But then she asked, “Are you sure he’s old enough?”

  Solomon heard her question his age and his back grew rigid. He wrapped his arms around his chest. Gunther saw his reaction, and he smiled at Ewa reassuringly. “He’s the perfect age. Why, he’s on the brink of being all grown up. It’s time he learned to hunt and fish.”

  Solomon smiled at Gunther. He liked to be thought of as a grown-up . . . at least sometimes.

  “Come on, let’s go and see what we bring back for dinner,” Gunther said, handing Solomon a gun.

  As they walked through the woods, Gunther spoke to Solomon in a soft voice. “Of course, as you know, we have to be careful not to attract any Nazis in the woods. If we do, we are going to have to shoot to kill.”

  “I know.”

  “Now, let’s discuss hunting and what exactly it means to take an innocent life. Because, as hunters, that’s what we are doing.”

  Solomon walked beside Gunther quietly listening.

  “Animals are innocent. They do not have any malice. But sometimes we must kill them in order to eat. When I was your age, my father explained to me that we must never kill for sport. We only take as much as we need to live. We never waste the meat of an animal. Have you ever read the Bible?”

  “Me? A little. Not really,” Solomon admitted.

  “In the Bible it explains that God gave us power over the animal kingdom so that when we needed to eat, we could eat the meat of other animals in order to sustain our lives. But we must never abuse this power. Do you understand?”

  Solomon nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

  “It’s also very important to have a healthy respect for the game you catch. The larger the animal the more dangerous. So you must be on your guard at all times. You can get hurt.”

  Again, Solomon nodded.

  It was chilly outside but not as cold as it had been. There was only a slight breeze, and in the golden rays of the sun it felt almost hot.

  They saw a rabbit feeding on some grass.

  “Go on. Take aim. Carefully take aim . . .” Gunther said.

  Solomon did as Gunther instructed. Then he fired and missed.

  “It’s all right,” Gunther assured him.

  “But we don’t have the bullets to waste.”

  "That’s true. However, everyone has to learn.” Gunther patted Solomon’s shoulder.

  “Gunther . . .” Solomon said, hesitating for a moment.

  “Yes?”

  “When I saw that little rabbit with his sweet brown eyes, I didn’t want to kill him. I am ashamed to admit it, but the thought of killing him made me sick.”

  “I know. Hunting is like that for some people. And I respect that.”

  “What about you?”

  “Me?” Gunther asked.

  “Yes, you.”

  “Well, the truth is that there have been times when I felt worse killing an innocent animal than I did shooting a man. Men can be evil; they can be bad and hurtful. Animals are always innocent, so I understand. But when you must kill in order to eat; it is good to know how to hunt.”

  They continued walking in silence for several long minutes. Solomon was lost in thought when Gunther pulled hard on the sleeve of Solomon’s jacket. Gunther put his finger to his lips to silence the boy, then he pointed into the distance where a wild boar was drinking from a pond.

  Slowly and quietly, the man and the boy approached the animal trying to get within shooting distance. Gunther saw something that alarmed him. Quickly, he stretched his arm out and stopped Solomon. “Stay back,” Gunther commanded Solomon. Then Gunther moved slowly forward.

  But it was too late. The wild boar heard the voices and began to charge. Instead of going after Gunther, the boar headed straight for Solomon. The massive animal breathed heavily through her large, thick, flared nostrils as she hurtled her massive body toward the boy who cowered in fear. The boar was coming so fast that Solomon could not grab his rifle in time; he was paralyzed by fear. Gunther quickly stepped forward putting himself between the boar and Solomon. He raised his gun. The pig was snorting and coming faster directly toward them. Gunther fired just as the boar came within feet of his face. It was so close that he could smell the animal’s foul breath. It fell with a thud to the ground. Solomon thought his heart was going to explode out of his chest as his eyes met Gunther’s.

  “Are you all right?” Gunther asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it certainly looks as if we are going to have a good dinner tonight,” Gunther said, wiping his brow on the sleeve of his jacket. He was out of breath.

  Then Solomon laughed out of nervousness. Gunther laughed too and patted the boy on the shoulder. “We have all we need for dinner. So I think we’ve done enough hunting for one day, don’t you?” he asked.

  “Yes I do,” Solomon said as he helped Gunther drag the boar back to camp.

  From that day on, Solomon and Gunther were inseparable. And even though Solomon still had a crush on Ewa, he finally accepted that she and Gunther were a couple. What was once jealousy in Solomon’s heart was now emulation.

  Chapter 36

  Even through the cold months of winter, Ludwig followed the partisans. After he finished his shifts at the Lodz ghetto, he went to check on his prey. The hunt became a secret pleasure for him. Every time the group
of partisans moved, he became like a bloodhound sifting through the snow-covered forest for bits and pieces they’d left behind. He knew he should have reported them when he’d first encountered them, but he had developed a fascination with the woman they called Ewa. He had never seen a woman like her. She was an equal to the men but gentle with the children, like a mother.

  The reward would have been better for the arrest of a large group of partisans than it would have been for the return of two Jewish children. However, the thrill of watching them undetected gave Ludwig the power he craved. Knowing their fate was in his hands made him tingle with pleasure, so he kept watch over them, returning to their camp almost every day. He knew everything about them, how many there were and what kind of weapons and ammunition they had. At any time he could bring the Nazis right to them and end their game. It made him feel godlike.

  Ludwig no longer hunted for the children. He knew exactly where they were. When the two children appeared at the camp escorted by the tall man, he was certain these were the ones he had been searching for. It’s all coming together, he thought. They are here now too. I will decide when this farce ends. It will be my choice when to have them arrested.

  However, there was more to it than that. Ludwig’s personal life had taken a bad turn. He and Hedy weren’t getting along very well lately, and he found that he was enjoying her company less and less. She was disenchanted with him. He’d tried to make her happy, but she was never satisfied with the small gifts he brought her. She wanted bigger and better. He brought her two sunflowers for their anniversary, but she told him she’d expected jewelry. If he had been higher in the party he might have been able to ask for some of the spoils that had been confiscated from the Jews. But he wasn’t. So he did what he could, but instead of appreciating his efforts, Hedy made a point of letting him know that he was beneath her. Whenever she was angry at him, she would remind him that he would not have his job had it not been for her father.

  The worse his relationship with Hedy became the more he immersed himself in the secret role of playing God to the group of partisans. He took time off from work to follow the group because he found he derived great pleasure from watching the attractive woman who they called Ewa. He liked to hear her voice, which was deep and throaty, and he enjoyed her unabashed laughter. She was different than any of the women he knew. Her body was muscular and strong like a man’s but curvy like a woman’s. She had ample hips and breasts and a small waist. Her legs were long and hard. Once he’d watched her bathe in a pond. It had excited him so much that he had to touch himself right there in the forest. When he thought about having done such a thing he felt ashamed.

  Somehow the girl called Ewa had gotten her hands on some soap, and she stood in the pond washing her long, auburn hair. It was cold, very cold outside, and he found it hard to believe that she was bathing. The ponds had only recently melted. But she was bathing and she was beautiful. Her nipples were hard from the cold. There was a soft blush to her skin. As she rinsed her tresses, she flung her head back, and the way the hair fell upon her naked back and breasts filled Ludwig with desire. He enjoyed it so much that he didn’t want this to stop. He promised himself he would turn the partisans in soon, but before he did, he was hoping to have his way with this girl. Or at least to see her naked one more time.

  Chapter 37

  Summer 1943

  Gunther sat alone under a tree. He was busy whittling a wooden rabbit out of a thick tree branch, which Solomon had asked him to make for Sarah, when Cereck approached him. Solomon had been trying to learn to whittle but he didn’t have the patience, and he wanted something he could give to his sister on her birthday, which was coming up in a week.

  “How are you?” Cereck asked as he sat down on a tree stump next to Gunther.

  “Alive,” Gunther said, letting go of a loud laugh. “At least I’m alive, right?”

  Cereck laughed too, then he said, “I suppose we have to make a joke or we’ll never survive this.”

  “Yes, I have to agree. If we can laugh, we can survive anything,” Gunther said and continued whittling. “In all honesty, I can’t complain; hunting is good; fishing has been good. We all sleep with full bellies.”

  “Yes, that’s true. And you are in love with the prettiest girl in our camp. And she likes you too,” Cereck said.

  “I would have to agree,” Gunther admitted.

  Then Cereck heaved a heavy sigh. “I wish I had only come here to make small talk, but that is not the case. I have a mission for you, I have to ask you if you’re willing to help the Resistance. You are the only person here who speaks German like a German.”

  “You mean my accent? Of course I speak German like a German. I am one.”

  “Yes, and that’s why we need your help.”

  “Go on, what do you need? I’m listening,” Gunther said.

  “I have some information that must reach the French Resistance by the beginning of next month. It’s very important and the timing is crucial. But the only way to deliver it is in person. And, of course, that means that someone has to travel through Germany to meet with the Resistance in France. It concerns the arrival of the Allies.”

  “Hmmm.” Gunther laid the piece of branch and his knife down on the ground and looked directly at Cereck.

  “I won’t lie to you and tell you that this isn’t extremely dangerous, because it is. You’ll be provided with papers with a new name,” Cereck said.

  “Yes, that would be necessary because as you know I am a deserter.”

  “Yes, I know . . .” Cereck hesitated then continued, “And . . .”

  “And . . .”

  “Well, I think it would be a good disguise for you to travel with the children and Ewa. They would pose as your wife and family. I think it might help you to blend in.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to endanger them in any way.”

  “Neither do I. But this mission is very important. I can’t stress it enough, and we think it is best if you look like a farmer on his way into town with his wife and children when you are traveling through Germany. A man alone looks much more suspicious. And then as part of this mission you will be taking a train from Germany to France. I think traveling with a wife and children would be less conspicuous there too.”

  “I don’t mind doing this job. In fact, I relish doing anything that will help rid Germany of the Nazis. But I still don’t like the idea of putting Ewa or the children in danger.”

  “We are all in danger every day, all of us, even here in the forest. But, of course, you know that.”

  “Yes.” Gunther looked down at the ground; his mind was whirling. He wanted to help. He wanted to do whatever he could to defeat the Nazis and get that bastard Hitler out of control. But the children? Ewa? How could he take them through enemy territory right under the nose of the Nazis? “There would be papers for the children and Ewa as well?”

  “Of course.”

  Gunther nodded. “Of course.” Then he looked into Cereck’s eyes. “I think we should discuss it with Ewa and with Solomon. Sarah is too young. I don’t think I should take her on this mission.”

  “But don’t you see? What makes you so above suspicion is that no one would want to take a six-year-old child on a dangerous Resistance mission.”

  “You’re very convincing,” Gunther said.

  “That’s why I’ve been chosen as leader of this group,” Cereck said in a joking voice.

  “Let’s talk to Ewa and Solomon,” Gunther said.

  “All right, let's.”

  Gunther went to speak to Solomon. He addressed the boy as if he were an adult when he told him about the mission that Cereck had proposed. “After all,” Gunther said sincerely, “you have been in charge of things concerning yourself and Sarah for a long time. And I think it’s only fair that you should decide if you want to join me.”

  Solomon considered the danger. Then he asked, “Have you asked Ewa yet?”

  “I have. She wants to go.”

/>   Solomon nodded, biting his lip. “I hate to take Sarah with us on such a dangerous mission, but I couldn’t leave her behind. I would go crazy with worry about her, so I guess she will have to come with us.”

  “We don’t have much time, but you can take an hour to think it over if you’d like,” Gunther offered.

  “No need. Sarah and I will join you,” Solomon said.

  Gunther observed the boy and was once again taken aback by how mature he was for his age. War and misery makes babies into men, he thought. But shouldn’t babies have a chance to be babies before they become grown-ups and are forced to face life-threatening choices? I pity this boy. He never had the chance to be a child, Gunther thought as he patted Solomon’s shoulder.

  So it was decided. The papers would be produced as quickly as possible. And if all went according to plan, the four of them would be on their way to France the following Monday.

  Chapter 38

  Cereck gave everyone’s new papers to Gunther. Each of the family members, including Sarah, was required to learn their new names and a page of facts concerning their new identity.

  “Do you think Sarah is old enough to remember all of this? She is only a little girl,” Ewa asked Gunther.

  “She will have to,” he said. “I wanted to leave her here at the camp with the others. I feel that Solomon can manage, but I am not sure about her. But Cereck was so insistent.”

  “I am afraid she will get confused and forget her fake name and where she is supposed to be from. I am afraid that she will give us away,” Ewa said.