You Are My Sunshine: A Novel Of The Holocaust (All My Love Detrick Companion Novel) (36 page)

Z
ofia looked around her, assessing the situation.  Where she stood, the trees had grown so thick it would take effort to find a path through them. She had no idea which way to go which way was north or south, not that it mattered to her. All she knew was that she must find water in order to survive. For hours, she walked pushing her way through the brush, but found no pond or stream. Rays of hot sun filtered through the trees and the heat of the day mixed with a lack of sleep caused her to feel exhausted again. She rationed the food and water she’d brought with her from the house, but it would not last very long.

It took almost a week
of wandering in the woods for Zofia to exhaust her food and water supply. She could hear her stomach grumbling and every so often, a pain shot through her belly doubling her over. It became hard to swallow; her mouth was as dry as a sandy beach. And she grew even more tired and listless. A dull ache persisted behind her eyes, and when the sun was high in the sky, she found it difficult to move at all. I am dying, she thought. I’m dying of thirst and lack of food.  But she was too tired to care. Sometimes her legs cramped up until she could not straighten them causing her to fall to the ground. As hard as she could she massaged the tender skin until the Charlie horse subsided. But, still the relentless sun trickled through the trees and found her pulsing over her with life sapping heat. She was drained. Too tired to keep walking, Zofia sat down under the shade of a tree. Her mind drifted again. This time she remembered dancing with Dovid. He’d hummed a waltz and the two of them danced in the small dark room where he lived. Traa Laa, Traa Laa. She could see it in her minds eyes. Gentle Dovid. Traa Laa, Traa Laa. If I die, I will see everyone I’ve lost. Eidel will be all right. She won’t even remember me. Traa Laa, Dovid’s hand at the small of her back his other one holding hers. Her tongue felt thick like a giant snake filling her throat and chocking her. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. She laid her head against the tree and closed her eyes.

She fe
lt a tiny drop, then another. God knew where she was, he was not ready for her to come to him, not just yet.  Then a light rain tickled down from the sky. It filtered through the trees and covered the ground. The sound of the drops hitting the earth was the most exquisite sound she had ever heard. Zofia opened her flask to refill her water supply. The raindrops caressed her skin and she lay down where she saw a large opening in the trees that would allow lots of water to come through. She opened her mouth wide, and scrumptious   tiny bits of water found their way to her tongue. Relief came over her, she laughed aloud. She lay there long after the rain stopped just looking up at the sky. Along the west side of her vision, she caught sight of a rainbow, it shown bright against a sunlit background. The loveliness of it took her by surprise and she was suddenly aware of all of the beauty surrounding her. The green of the forest, the flowers that grew wild spreading their sweet perfume, the crisp ice blue sky with its sugar clouds, and a sense of well being settled over her, as if God was watching. From where she lay, she observed as a spider spun a web in a tree across the path. It worked diligently to build its future. Once she’d feared spiders, today she would learn from that spider. She too would work hard and build a future and soon, very soon, she would reunite with her daughter. If God had meant for her to die, she would have died. This short rain was a sign, a sign that she had much more to do in this life. Zofia closed her eyes; a relaxed smile came over her face. Then Exhaustion overcame her and she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 55

Zofia awoke with a start to find two burly unshaven men standing over her, one shirtless, and the other wearing a Nazi uniform with all of the adornments removed. Deserters, she thought. Her mind still cloudy with sleep raced at the thought of danger. Would they rape and kill her? Quite possibly, why not? There was no one around for miles and even if there were, she was a Jew. They could do as they wished. She scampered to get up, but her legs gave way with fear and she fell back to the ground. Her heart thumped so loudly that she was sure they could hear it. Then, one of them spoke.

“Z
ofia, Is that you?” He said.

She did not recognize him.

“It’s me, Isaac Zuckerman. We went to school together in Warsaw. It’s not surprising that you don’t recognize me. It was many years ago, and I’ve certainly aged.”

Isaac
? She faintly recalled a boy, a chubby little boy, weak, shy bearing no resemblance to the man who stood in front of her now. This was a man bold and unafraid, muscles swelling across his bare chest. He’d grown tall, and the golden curls his mother had kept short in his youth were now long framing his face. Hunger and hard work had chiseled his features leaving him with a strong jaw and high cheekbones. He smiled at her, his luminous brown eyes glowing

“I certainly remember you. Now, how could something like a Nazi take over have made you even prettier than I remember?
You tell me, how did that happen?” He said and he laughed.

She looked away embarrassed by his forward
comment.

“Sorry if I embarrassed you. I’m only trying to help you to relax.”

She nodded.

“You have been
hiding out in the forest?”

“
Yes. Are you?”

“Yes,
there is an entire group of us, a band of Hitler’s escapees.” He smiled. “We have learned how to survive in the wild. Can you believe it? Would you like to come and meet the others?” Again, he smiled at her, a warm welcoming smile.

She nodded.

“By the way, this is my friend, Shlomie he is a Jew too. I guess the Nazi uniform probably threw you off. He took it off a dead officer before he left Treblinka. That officer had been his tormentor for years. Then there was an uprising and Shlomie killed him. As a trophy, he took the uniform. Right, Shlomie?”

“Yes, right
, nice to meet you Zofia.”

“I was at Treblinka too.”

“We never saw each other because you were on the women’s side.”

“Yes, I know. But I was also chosen to work at the home
of the Arbeitsführer.”

“That son
of a bitch! Manfred Blau, right?”

“
Yes, right.”

“Once I saw him kill a man by castrating him.
The pleasure I saw in his face when he cut the man’s penis made me sick. He’s a real deviate. Maybe he is a latent homosexual.”

She turned away feeling bile rise in her throat and wishing he would change the subject.

“Too bad that I didn’t see him during the uprising; I would have returned the favor by doing the same to him,” Shlomie said.

“Enough
of this talk, it’s upsetting. We’ve just found Zofia, why don’t we try to make her feel welcome. And, come on Shlomie; let’s try to take our focus off the Nazi’s at least for a little while, alright. What do you say Zofia, would you like that?”

“Yes, good idea.” Z
ofia said.

“Come, follow me, I’ll bet you’re hungry. W
e have food.” Isaac said as he helped Zofia to her feet.

At
first, she was a little wobbly.

“Steady there.” Isaac said taking her arm. “I’ll help you.”
Isaac slipped his strong muscular arm under hers and guided Zofia forward.

Isaac led her through a thick brush
of trees to a house that had been built out of logs. There was no glass for windows just open space, but it offered some shelter from the elements.

“Did you build this?”

“We all built it together, for now its home. With the help of God, we will be here and be safe until the war ends. I don’t know if you have heard the good news, but Germany is falling. We had a guest the other day, a Jew passing by on his way to find his family in Russia; he told us he’d heard this over the BBC on the radio. He said that soon the Allies will come marching in and the war will be over.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,
” Shlomie said. “It should only happen soon.”

Z
ofia smiled at them. “I’m glad you found me. I was beginning to feel like I was going to go crazy wandering the forest alone with nothing but my thoughts and memories.”

“The memories are the hardest part.”
Shlomie said. “I avoid them whenever possible.”

Isaac knocked on t
he door to the little cabin. “It’s Isaac and Shlomie”

“Iftack, is that you?”

“Yes.” Isaac said, then turning to Zofia “Iftack is my Yiddish name. I thought I would explain.”

“I like it, Iftack.”

He blushed as he opened the door. Inside the cottage was a single unfurnished room. Horse blankets lay strewn about the floor. In the corner, two rifles stood against a wall and beneath them lay a small pile of handguns and ammunition. Three women and four men other than Isaac and Shlomie were scattered around the room.

“So, who is this?” One
of the women asked. She appeared to be around thirty, a pretty woman tall slender with dark hair caught in a braid down her back. Her skin tanned like leather against her bright blue eyes.

“Sarah, this is Z
ofia. I’ve known her since we were children. She went to school with me in Warsaw.”

“Hello, Z
ofia.”

Z
ofia nodded to Sarah.

“
Shlomie and I found her in the forest. I think she might be hungry.”

“Yes, I would think so.” Sarah said watching Isaac
. She seemed uncomfortable with the way he looked at Zofia, and Zofia wondered if the two were lovers.

“Here, sit down.” Sarah motioned to a blanket that was curled up on the dirt floor.

Zofia sat down.

“Let me introduce you to everyone.” Isaac said. “You’ve already met
Shlomie and Sarah. Sarah is like a sister to me. You’re really going to like her.” Isaac smiled, at Sarah. Zofia saw Sarah return the smile only to have it fade from her face quickly. “This is Rivka, and that is her sister Esther.”

Z
ofia nodded.

“Over here is Mosihe, and Ben they are friends who escaped from
Auschwitz. And this is Aaron.”

“Nice to meet all
of you,” Zofia said.

“Iftack, I can understand your kindness and generosity, but we hardly have enough
food for us. I mean, yes, we can offer her a meal. But I think after she has finished, your friend should go on her way.” Sarah said handing Zofia an apple and a piece of matzo, which had been made from stolen flour, mixed with water than cooked on a stone over an open fire.

“We were all in her position once, how can we
even think of turning her away? Seriously, Sarah, sometimes you surprise me. I refuse to even listen to that. Zofia stays” Isaac said.

“I agree with
Isaac,” Shlomie said

“Let’s take a vote?” Ben
offered.

“Fair enough
,” Isaac nodded.

“All in favor that she
stays… Raise your hands.” Ben said. Everyone except Sarah raised their hands.

“It’s decided. If you want to stay, you are welcome here.” Ben said.

Zofia smiled. “Thank you.” She felt the tears tickle her eyes. Bowing her head, “Thank you,” She whispered.

“Think nothing
of it.” Isaac said. “It is as it should be, Jews helping other Jews, isn’t that right Shlomie?”

“
Of course it is.” Shlomie smiled. “I am going out to dig up the bag of vegetables, can you help me Isaac?”

“Yes,
of course.”

“Dig up vegetables?” Z
ofia asked.

“Yes,” Isaac smiled. “We’ve learned to
plant them in the ground in these burlap bags that we found in one of the barns we raided. In fact, it was Shlomie’s idea. He’s a scientist you know. Anyway, we plant them during the winter, so that they stay fresh. When we dig them up again, sometimes during the winter when the ground is not too hard, or the beginning of summer, they are perfect. That way if we can get it during the summer or fall when it is most plentiful, we have a small hoard of food to carry us through.”

“That’s brilliant.” Z
ofia said.

“Thank you.” Shlomie said grinning from ear to ear. “It works anyway.”

Chapter 56

Over the next several days, Zofia learned the stories of her companions. They’d all been in camps except for Isaac. When the German’s began, rounding up Jews for deportation his father had insisted that he go to live with a Gentile family. They’d taken him, for a price and for a while, all was well. But one of the neighbors turned them in and the entire family was arrested along with Isaac.

As they were herded into the back
of a large open truck filled with people, Isaac grabbed the gun from the guard. Then he hit the guard across the face with the pistol and ran. As he raced across the street and through the crowds, he could hear gunshots behind him. He never looked back. He just kept running.

“God was with me.” Isaac said. “And I also believe the ghosts
of my parents were with me as my angels. There were bullets flying all around me. But somehow, I was not hit.”