We Were Given A Miracle

Chapter 12

We ran as long as our legs could carry us, but we had to stop when Phillipe started to cry. "Shhh," I whispered to him. "Shhh. They'll find us and catch us." I covered his mouth and rocked him back and forth. We walked instead of running until he stopped crying. I peered behind my back, and all I could see was the thick, dark forest.

Phew, I thought. The Nazis hadn't noticed we were gone, not with all the people packed into the train car. What difference would it make to them if five Jews were missing? They killed thousands by the day.

"Should we stop now?" I asked in a whisper.

"Sure," Andre's father said.

"Well, we haven't got proper introductions yet. I'm Gisele. It's nice to meet you, Mr..."

"Just call me Georges," he said smiling. At the same time, Maman and Andre were having their own greetings.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs..." Maman sighed. Was she really still a "Mrs" after Papa had died? He was still in all our hearts, so she was.

"Mrs. Dior," Maman replied. "Et toi?"

"Andre," he said, and they shook hands.

"You remind me so much of my son. He died bravely, fighting for the Allies." Even though she said it proudly, you could still see sadness in her eyes.

Georges said, "Switzerland is south. If we can keep walking, we'll reach there in three or four days. The sun sets in the West, over there." He pointed to the setting sun, which had created a beautiful pind, red, and violet sunsets. "Which means that south is that way." He turned his body and pointed. We started walking in that direction.

After a while, it started to get dark and the night got cold. "Let's stop for the night now," Andre said. "I'll find some berries for us with Gisele."

Georges nodded. "I'll find a spot for us to sleep."

I followed Andre into the forest. Once we were farther away from Maman and Georges he said, "What happened to you Papa?" I looked down. "It's OK, you don't have to tell me. My Maman died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. They separated us into two lines-one for people to be gassed and cremated, the other for the people who could work. My mother was brought to the gas chambers, and we were forced to work all day, with little to nothing food. We slept in wooden barracks. We were being transferred to Buchenwald."

"Papa used to give a boy named David lessons to help him prepare for his Bar Mitzvah. Papa used to stay late to teach him. One day, when we had gone home, the Nazis lit the synagogue on fire. Papa, he-" Andre put a hand on my back. "He didn't come home that night."

We were silent. Then Andre said, "Your Papa, my Maman and your grand frere, they didn't deserve to die."

"They didn't." We started picking elderberries, collecting as many as we could. We brought them to the makeshift camp that Georges had made by clearing twigs and pouring in dried leaves. He didn't start a fire, or else the smoke would attract attention.

"Where have you been?" he asked. But when he saw my red nose and somewhat wet face, he said, "Well, look at those juicy elderberries!" We sat and ate in silence then went to sleep. Maman and I shared our coats with Georges and Phillipe, who didn't have any-the Nazis had took all their clothes. The moment I laid my head down on the soft blanket of leaves, I drifted off to sleep.