Have Faith

Chapter 25: Crossing the Lake

When we reached the lake, we found the shack deserted.  It seemed like the Nazis had gone in search of us elsewhere, so we were able to get our rowboat into the water.  Once we did, I started  to think about the amount of rowing we would have to do, and started to feel dizzy.

"Sophia, how are we going to have the strength to row that far?" I asked.  "We don't have any food."

"That's where you're wrong," she told me.  "I went to look for food while you were ... mourning," her voice dropped off, and she was silent for a moment.  "Anyway, look at what I got."  She opened a sizable sack that looked from the outside like it was full of rocks.  However, when I looked inside, I saw apples.

"I found an apple tree, and I picked as many as the sack would hold."

"Well, at least there's some good news," I said gloomily.  "We should probably conserve this, though.  It has to last us the entire journey."

"You're right," she said.  "Let's see how long it takes us before we feel like passing out from the strain."

And so, we rowed.  I knew that I would not last as long as Sophia because I was pregnant, but I was proud that I didn't have to stop until the shore faded from view.  We rowed for what seemed like hours, and night had fallen before we ran into trouble.

"Sophia, what's that?" I asked, pointing and something in the distance.

She looked over.  "I don't know," she said.  "Whatever it is, it's full of light."

"Is it...getting bigger?"

She looked.  "Yeah, it is.  It's moving pretty fast, and it looks like it's coming this way.  We have to move!"

We both started rowing as fast as we could.  My arms were aching from the strain, but I pushed the oars furiously along with Sophia until we were out of the path of the light.  We watched as a ferry glided through the water where we had been just a few minutes before.

"That was close," I said.  "I guess we'll have to be on the lookout for those."

"Yeah, we will."

The sudden panic left us both shaken.  My hands were trembling on the oars as we continued on.

***

Over the next month, we continued the journey.  It took us a long time because we had to be constantly on the lookout for other ships.  If we saw one in the daylight, it was very hard to avoid being spotted.  We had to row as fast as we could in the opposite direction of them to keep out of their field of vision, and sometimes that meant going back the way we came.  This was incredibly frustrating, because it meant we had to make up the distance when the ship was out of sight.

Another thing that was worrying was that my belly was getting bigger by the day.  I guessed that I was about four months along by now, and I was incredibly anxious about having a baby.  So many things could go wrong.  What if we were hiding, and the baby started crying?  How was I going to get food for it?  All of these worries were never far from my mind.

Then, one day, we glimpsed shore.

"There it is, Sophia!" I exclaimed.  "Switzerland.  We made it."

We stopped rowing and gazed at the shore for a minute.  Here it was, the land all Jews were trying to reach.  It was almost like a modern promised land.  As I looked at the shore, I felt safe for the first time since I left home.