Tulips in Her Hand

(Currently Editing)

Poland, 1942.

When Celina Rudaski took the evening train to Warsaw, she did not expect to return responsible for the lives of two Jews.

Then again, she did not expect her father to be whisked away in the middle of the night by soldiers, nor did she expect her house to become swallowed by flames of fiery hatred.
Yet it all happened in the matter of twenty-four hours.

A stubborn, introverted fifteen year old girl, Celina refuses to believe the many stories of the horrific genocide against the Jews, often turning a blind eye to anything that reminds her of the war. But when she unwittingly promises to hide two Jews in a home she does not have, Celina must journey across Europe with these strangers in search of lady who might be able to rescue them. They are filthy, they are broken, and Celina cannot seem to control the hatred burning inside her. Together they travel town to town, witnessing each cities own branch of horrors, even hiding in basements of strangers.

In ways painfully unimaginable to Celina, these two Jews affect her life in the deepest of ways. As they dodge bullets, stumble upon an injured enemy pilot, and attempt to escape the hands of the Germans naming them fugitives, Celina must learn to face what she has been too terrified of her entire life.

***Edited by the lovely @jgfairytales