Hadassah

the start

The quiet of the house was eerie,each creak of the floorboards sounding louder than it should. We were all waiting, but none of us knew what for. My heart had been racing ever since we’d heard about the new order: random checks. They were sweeping the city now, looking for any sign of disobedience. Looking for people like us.

Pops hadn’t said anything about what he was going to do, but I knew. He’d been pacing, his hand clenched around a letter I’d seen earlier, the one that had been slipped under our door in the middle of the night. “Inspection notices,” it had said. “Violation of citizenship laws will result in immediate deportation.”

The law had changed overnight, and now Pops, Dad, and I were all illegal—criminals for existing the way we did. We were a family nobody wanted, a family that didn’t fit into the world the new president had created.

My mind raced with memories of when things were different. But now, it felt like the floor beneath us was slowly slipping away, and we were just waiting for the inevitable crash.

Pops  and I exchanged a look before he turned back to the kitchen, his face unreadable. He’d been trying to keep things together, but I could tell it wasn’t working. There were flashes of something in his eyes, something I knew he didn’t want me to see.

“pops, what’s going to happen?” I asked softly, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. I didn’t want to sound scared, but I couldn’t help it. The fear was crawling under my skin.

Pops looked at me, his jaw tightening. “We’re gonna be fine, Haddie,” he said, though his voice was strained. “We just have to be careful. Don’t do anything to give them a reason to come after us.”

I nodded, though my stomach twisted. They were already coming after us—after him, after Dad, after me. We couldn’t hide from who we were, no matter how hard we tried.

I glanced over to Dad, who was sitting on the couch, his eyes red. He’d been crying—silent tears streaking down his face.

“Dad,” I whispered, walking over to him. I sat down next to him, feeling the weight of his grief pressing down on me. “What’s wrong?”

Dad wiped his eyes, his hands shaking. “I’m not cut out for this, Haddie,” he muttered, his voice breaking. “I thought we could make it… But they’re taking everything from us. Taking everything I worked for, everything we had…”

I didn’t know what to say to him. What could I say? I didn’t have the answers. All I knew was that everything felt like it was falling apart, and no one could stop it.

“They’re coming soon, Haddie,” pops said, his voice low and serious. “We need to hide everything that might give them any reason to arrest us. We can’t risk them finding out about anything—anything about us being together, or anything about you.”

I felt a lump form in my throat. “But why? Why does it matter?”

Pops met my gaze, his eyes full of pain. “Because they’ll use it against us. They’ll use it to tear us apart. And we can’t let that happen.”

For a moment, all I could do was nod, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. I looked at Dad, who had started scrambling to hide things—documents, photos, anything that could tie him and pops together. The whole room was a whirlwind of panic as dad stuffed items into bags, shoving them under furniture or out of sight, as though that would somehow make it disappear.

“Hadassah,” Dad said through clenched teeth, his voice tight, “help me with this. Please. I can’t—” His voice faltered, and I knew he was struggling. Struggling with the reality that his entire life, everything he thought he knew, was being ripped away in an instant.

I nodded, grabbing the photos of us—him and Pops—together. I stuffed them into a bag, barely able to keep my hands from shaking. My eyes were stinging, but I couldn’t let myself cry. I had to be strong for them.

The sound of footsteps outside made my heart stop.

Pops quickly stood, his eyes locking on the door. “Hide,” he whispered urgently. “Hide everything. They’re here.”

I rushed to the back room, my heart racing. The footsteps grew louder, closer. I tried to control my breathing, but it was impossible. My chest felt tight, as though the air was closing in around me.

I heard voices in the distance. The inspection crew had arrived.

“Get ready,” Pops whispered as he crouched low by the door, waiting for the knock. “Whatever happens, don’t make a sound. We’re gonna get through this, you hear me?”

I nodded, gripping Puff Puff, my plushie, tightly to my chest, trying to calm myself. I couldn’t shake the fear clawing at my insides. How were we supposed to survive this?

The knock on the door sounded, sharp and insistent. The moment we had been waiting for.

Pops took a deep breath. “Just stay quiet,” he whispered. “I’ll handle it.”

The door creaked open, and a tall officer stood there, wearing a uniform I’d seen in every nightmare I had. Behind him were two other officers, scanning the room as they stepped inside.

“We’re here to check for following with the new laws,” the officer said, his voice cold and detached.

Pops  straightened up, stepping in front of me. “Everything’s in order,” he said firmly, though his voice wavered just slightly. “There’s nothing for you to see here.”

The officer didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push. He started inspecting the house, opening drawers, checking under furniture. Dad remained in the background, silent, his face pale, his hands trembling.

For a moment, everything felt frozen. I held my breath, barely daring to move.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the officers nodded, their faces unreadable.

“Everything seems fine,” the lead officer said. “Just remember—compliance is mandatory. We’ll be back for follow-ups.”

With that, they left, leaving nothing but the thudding of their boots behind.

Pops closed the door quietly, and we all exhaled in unison, as if we had been holding our breath for hours. Dad collapsed onto the couch, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

“They didn’t find anything,” Pops muttered, his voice barely a whisper. “We’re still okay… for now.”

Dad wiped his face, trying to collect himself. “I don’t know how much longer we can keep doing this,” he said, his voice sorrow. “What happens if they come back?”

“I’ll protect you,” Pops said softly, his hand resting on Dad’s shoulder. “I’ll protect both of you, no matter what.”

I looked at them, both of them— I did not want it to end like this...