Only Us (A Holocaust Love Story), Simon and Garfunkel

Chapter 2

"I'm so sorry!" Art held out the small piece of bread that Paul had given him. He put it on the kitchen counter where his mother was putting the potatoes into the pot. "A man came and took it from me, he threatened to turn us in."

"Then why are you sorry my baby, it wasn't your fault." Art's mother pulled him into a hug.

"But it was if I didn't go that way, he wouldn't have caught me." Art sobbed. "Now the whole family is going to starve."

"No, you know the other families have rations. We all share in this house." She gave Art a big hug. "I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Art would do anything his mother asked him to do.

"I need you to go to the black market and get us some carrots, we ran out yesterday." His mother went into the room that hid all of their belongings with value.

She took the blue shoe box out from the top of the closet. She took a pair of her gold earrings with rubies inside of them out. She wrapped them in newspaper and placed them in Art's hands. "This should get you a few carrots."

Art nodded to confirm he knew exactly what his mother wanted. The black market wasn't too far from his apartment, only a block or two. Moving even that far was dangerous. No one quite knows what lurks in the shadows until it is too late.

Art clutched the newspaper close to his heart. He remembered these Ruby earrings from before the war. Since his mother had no girls, she would always go to Art to explain the gems. She told him about the stories of how she got them. The ruby earrings was a gift from Art's father. It was when Art was born. His father walked through the door with a heavy sigh, he was back from a long day at work.

"Rose, I have a surprise for you!" Art's father walked through the door, a small box entwined in his fingers.

Rose came out of Art's room where he was just laid down for bed. She hugged her husband and gave him a kiss. She asked, "What is in store for us tonight?"

"Here." Art's father enclosed the box into her hands.

She held it with an iron grip. She opened the little box. The rubies gleamed in the reflection the lamp. She gave her husband another long hug. "They're beautiful Jack!" She smiled and put them in right away.

Art came back from his memory of the story his mother always told him. He made it into the hallway, he was zoned out for awhile. As he peered to the right of him, and there was Paul. Paul was studying the paper in his hands trying to comprehend the sentence that his mother wrote down. He had to identify the letters and rewrite what his mother wrote.

"What are you doing?" Art asked.

"Oh, I don't know how to read or write, so my mother is teaching me. We are up so late into the night trying to teach me." Paul yawned. "So, what are you doing?"

"I have to go to the black market to get some carrots." Art held tighter onto the earrings.

"But how, we have no money?" Paul had never seen or heard of the black market.

"We have to give them the valuables that we have stashed away," Art said.

"Like gold?" Paul tilted his head beginning to understand.

"Yes, lots of gold, for little in return." Art bit his lip. "Also, it's dangerous. You can't get caught doing it."

"I'm sure." Paul nodded. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Art smile and ran down the stairs.

Once he made it to the ground floor, he pulled his collar up to his face. He had to step out in the unbearable Polish winter. It was cold, and it was snowing. He had no gloves, so his fingers became numb fairly quickly.

He slipped into a dark corner that was behind his apartment. He traveled, making almost no sound behind. He traveled in the dark, holding out his arms making sure he did not run into anything, or anyone. It was so dark it was like he had gone blind.

He made it to a building that had a small mirror leaned up against it. Art searched around for any soldiers that could have followed his foot prints. The coast was clear. He moved the mirror to the side, and crawled into the small hole. He reached his hand out and moved the mirror back.

Art walked into the building, making sure the gold earrings were still with him. The small abandoned factory had a large hole in the roof. The black market moved every so often, this was the last time they'd be in this old rusty factory that hadn't been in operation since before the war.

He followed the wire that lead him to a back room. He could not completely trust these people, they could pull a gun out on him at any moment. Then again, they can't completely trust him either, he had no gun. These people have to be good hearted people if they are trying to help us survive another day, they wouldn't shoot.

He made it to the place his mother told him. He held his hand out and unwrapped the earrings. He whispered, " I have an offering." His voice bounced off every corner of the factory. He winced, even whispering was a bad idea.

Someone crawled out of the shadows with a bag on their shoulder.

"You came just in time, we were heading out. Now what do you got?" He stepped more out of the shadows.

Art outstretched his hand to show his mother's earrings. He whispered, "They're real gold, and the rubies are real too."

"That should get you a few things." He chuckled putting the earrings in his bag and pulling out a bag of vegetables.

"Are there carrots in there?" Art asked, taking the bag.

"Of course, I threw in a few extra things too since you gave me so much." He started to disappear into the shadows.

Art stood there alone. The wind howled, wiggling it's way into Art's coat. He stood their shivering for a few seconds and made the journey back to his house. He continued to follow his own footprints from an hour prior.

Art made another safe trip from his home to the black market. He'll have to find out where they would be next.

When Art had made it back, Paul was still studying the letters on his page. His brown, almost black eyes studied the paper trying to get every letter. Art wanted to return the favor that Paul did for him. Art pulled a bell pepper out of the bag and put it beside him.

"You didn't have to do that." Paul looked at the wilting pepper.

"Yes I did, you gave me your half loaf of bread when you shouldn't have. It's time for me to pay you back." Art smiled.

"You needed it, I had a whole loaf." Paul resisted eating the pepper. He would have to save it for later and split it with his mother once she came home.

"But a loaf only goes so far, we get very little because we have so many people." Art sighed.

"Well, it's only my mother and I. We had a family before, but they were taken away so quick." Paul remembered the family that used to live in his apartment. He even hung out with their boy. They became quick friends, but within a few weeks they were gone.

"So many people are dying." Art almost busted into tears. "What did we do to deserve this?"

"Nothing, we have done absolutely nothing." Paul comforted Art.