Together

Chapter Two

*****

It had been four months since my father had left.

None of us missed him. I know that sounds a little harsh, but my mother and I didn't miss the person who abused us daily. Little Samuel didn't even know who his father was, really. When he got old enough to understand, my mother and I would tell him that his father had died when he was one.

Anyways, it was a normal night. My mother was sitting in a rocking chair knitting a big, green blanket for us. I was crocheting socks for my little brother by candlelight. The house was deathly quiet. My brother was sleeping in our bedroom(Samuel and I shared rooms while my mother had her own.)

It was a peaceful night, with the wind blowing at our door, causing it to shake a little. My mother stopped her knitting and was rubbing her eyes.

"I can't take this silence," She stopped rubbing and smiled at me. "I need some inspiration."

She turned on the old radio and sounds started pouring into the room. I had always been intrigued by the magical machine with noises floating out of it. My eyes widened in excitement, aa my hands put down the needle and thread.

I listened to the local news in Sompolno, Poland. We lived in the rural area of Sompolno. But we got our food and sewing supplies from the small village, Belny, which was right next to Sompolno. I loved venturing into the little town.

But the man's voice in the radio sounded worried. "In eastern Poland, the Nazis have invaded and are taking thousands of Jews. They are, um...taking them to concentration camps where they kill the Jews and torture them. Please, lock your doors and windows and be safe."

My mother was paralyzed with fear. She started breathing heavily and looked at me worriedly.

"Delilah, go get Samuel. I was afraid that you wouldn't find out this way,"

I was scared. More scared than when my father beat us. My whole family was in danger, my whole town. I couldn't go get Samuel, I couldn't move. I just sat there, frozen.

"Mom.....I-"

"GO GET SAMUEL, NOW!!!" Her voice was filled with fear and pain. I knew she was scared because we were Jewish.

I snapped out of my paralyzation and ran to Samuel's/my room. I reached down in the baby crib and pulled my sleeping brother out.

I carried him downstairs and handed him to my mother. "We have to be careful, Delilah. No more going outside or making fires. We can't let them know we are here, okay?"

Her face was serious. I nodded, silently praying to God in my head.

We heard a blood-curdling scream that sounded a few meters away. My mother and I locked gazes. We were very scared. She quickly blew out the candle and motioned for me to follow her.

I followed my mother to her room. She lifted up the torn-up red rug that lay at the foot of her bed. There was a secret trap door.

As we climbed in the secret room, she closed the doors and lit a nearby candle. My eyes widened.

Before me was a very large, empty room. I looked like it could hold dozens of people.

"My father dug it when I was a child," she explained. "Just in case we had to escape for some reason...."

Even though the room was dim, I could still see the memories in my mother's eyes. I could see that she had been through a lot in her lifetime.

We heard a banging on our door above the room we were in. I drew in my breath and held it.

"Open up!" A harsh voice yelled.

BOOM! It sounded like the door had been kicked open. My mother, Samuel and I went into the darkest corner of the room. I remembered the candle and blew it out.

I buried my face in my mother's shoulders. I could hear Samuel's soft breathing. For a moment, I smiled, forgetting all the evil in the world and enjoyed having a baby brother.

I was snapped out of my fantasy. We were shaking with fear as the soldiers marched into our house and searched it. They entered my mother's room.

There was a long period of silence. The longest silence of my life.

"There is no one here, LEAVE!" The voice sounded like the head of the soldiers.

We heard marching and then silence. I let out the breath I was holding. My mother hugged me and said, "It is not safe here anymore. We must g-"

I cut her off. "Mother, we have to stay and fight. We can't just give up and hide,"

"Honey, I know you like it here, but it's just not safe. We are no match for the soldiers. What would God want us to do?"

I thought long and hard on that question. Even when we crawled up out of the cellar and even when I was in my bed. What would God want us to do? I was positive that He wanted us to stay and fight. And that's what I was determined to do.

*****