Camp Majdanek

Chapter 11: Getting Out

"Ok, what do we do now? " I asked.

"The only way we can go. Forward," declared Mother.

So we continued into the woods ahead of us.

We eventually came to a clearing. The sun was low in the sky.

"I suggest we rest here for the night, " Mother said.

"John and I will try to find food. Can you and Thomas stay here and try to find some wood for a fire? " Mother asked.

They left us and we began our quiet walk.

We continued to pick up wood and other sticks. Nothing was very dry because of the snow.

After a while we decided we had enough wood, so we headed back. It was about eight in the evening and I wondered when John and Mother were coming back.

"Good thing I grabbed my kit before I left, "

Inside he had a box of matches.

"Oh, thank goodness, I wondered how we were going to start a fire with our bare hands."

We set up the wood in a stack, he struck a match and we had a small flame but then it went out. He tried it again; it didn't work. The third time we hoped it would stay, and it did. The flame started small but then gradually got bigger. It was refreshing to feel the fire's warmth after the cold day.

"So what are we going to do now, " Thomas asked.

"I don't know, but I really want to find my father. Then I'm going to America to get out of this mess. "

"Well I want to run back to America with you, " He said. "You can live with us and have a carefree life and not have to worry about anything," He grinned.

"I would love that, " I finally said after a slight pause. I don't know if he knows how much I want this. How much I want to run away with him, have a family together. I just don't know how he feels about me.

"Not as much as I love you, " He said in return.

And just like that he brought me in close almost face to face. I leaned into him. I was a little awkward at first but I found the rhythm. As I kissed him I placed my hand behind his head. We stopped and looked at each other for a minute then sat by the fire until we fell asleep on each other's shoulders.

 Mother woke the two of us. She looked very tired like she hadn't slept for days. This was almost true because we got very little sleep at the camp.

"I'm fixing breakfast now. We managed to catch a rabbit in the woods last night, " Mother said.

Rabbit meat sounded wonderful. It was better than bread. Finally some meat and it smelled good. I stood up. The morning was crisp and it was still very cold. It was near the end of February. It wouldn't start to get warm until May which seemed so far away.

"Thomas, wake up, " I coaxed.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

"What is that, " he said pointing to the rabbit on the fire.

"Mother and John found a rabbit last night. It's breakfast! " I replied.

While we waited for the food to cook I talked to John about good times. When we were fooling around like kids. Listening to our favorite radio shows. And oh did we miss our friends.

Just thinking of this made it feel like we were there, it made me happy. It felt like home again.

We ate breakfast and talked some more. Thomas told us about his life in America before he moved here.

After breakfast, we gathered up our things and put out the fire. Mother had the idea of us each getting one piece of wood that was still warm to keep. This would keep our hands warm.

We continued on through the snow. It was almost March. That meant the snow would start melting in two months. I longed for sunlight. So did everyone else. When the winter comes it's like a cold gray blanket is stretched across the sky and brings no sunshine to anything underneath it. Frankly, I would rejoice over seeing a single flower bloom. The winter just seemed never-ending, I thought spring would never come. We walked a long way, the snow getting my feet wet even through my boots. They had been so worn out.

We found a clearing, the sun peeked through the clouds a little and brought some warmth. We stayed in the field for a little while trying to get some warmth but stayed aware of possible planes flying overhead.

Thomas had a compass to get us to Auschwitz. He says it will take a few weeks to get there and that direction wasn't certain because we were only walking.