CHAPTER 1

 

 

 

 

Poland, 1920

David Kohn shuddered in the cool breeze as he fumbled with the buttons on his coat with one hand. His other hand grasped two large travel bags containing some of their treasured possessions. A tremor took root in his middle, his faith undone as he encouraged his three children to hurry down the center of the road. He looked to his right, to his wife, Devora, who turned worried eyes to him, fear shining from her soul.

“What will become of us?” she asked.

“Don’t worry,” David replied, “God will take care of us.” But he wasn’t so sure.

Devora’s expression heralded her doubt. Their three children, Benesh, Sulia and Itamar clung to Devora, grasping her coat, her hand, anything that kept them close to their cherished mother. The frightened Kohn family moved along with the throng of people now filling the street as they looked at the men herding them away from their home.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” They looked like monsters, dressed all in black, each one wielding a weapon. Some carried guns armed with bayonets, others held ram rods and waved them threateningly, while still others held clubs; the hatred in their eyes sending quivers of alarm rushing through David.

Benesh gazed at his father pathetically. “Why did they make us leave our house?”

“I don’t know, son.”

Sulia spoke softly so as not to attract the black clothed men’s attention. “Will they let us go back home again?”

“I don’t know,” answered her mother.

“This is heavy.” Itamar, the youngest, carried one of the large bags containing some of the household items they were allowed to bring along.

David Kohn walked over to his young son and took the bag from him, adding it to the load he already carried.

A shot rang out ahead and screams of terror followed. They all looked up in shock as a voice carried back to them. “I said move! Move faster!” The people ahead of them began to pick up the pace and soon the unfortunate body of the slow mover came into view, his crumpled form lying on the left side of the road. It was an elderly man, a clear gun shot wound to his temple, his cane lying still and useless beside him. Blood streamed down his forehead, the ground eagerly soaking it up. David shielded his youngest son the best he could by providing a partition with the bags he carried. Once past and away from the horrifying sight he turned to Devora.

“I need to find my parents.”

Devora’s voice shook as she said, “Their house is coming up but maybe they’re already walking with the group.”

“I have to check.” David handed one of his bags to his wife. It would lighten his load during his search.

“Please don’t leave us,” Sulia pleaded.

David leaned down slightly to his young teenage daughter. “I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Sulia started to cry then as David walked ahead. He heard one black clad monster shout, “Stop crying or you’ll suffer, girl!”

Pinpricks of fear raced up his spine as he turned back to see Devora grabbing hold of Sulia roughly. “Stop crying. Be brave for me and your father.”

Sulia stopped crying then but she looked undone by the threat of harm, her head bent and eyes studying the ground before her as she shuffled along.

David turned and moved through the crowd as quickly as he could. The terror he sensed in the throng of people milling around him was tangible as he scanned ahead for any sign of his parents. It didn’t take long before he saw them. They were struggling to keep up to the pace set by the monsters.

Walking up beside them, he said, “Mom, Dad!”

His mother and father turned to him, relief on their faces at his presence.

“Devora and the kids are back in the crowd a ways,” he told them.

His mother said, “We’re losing ground.”

“It’s hard to walk as fast as they want us to,” David’s father admitted.

“I’ll stay with you, help you.” David already knew it was a pointless promise. All he could hope to do was encourage some increased momentum.

His parents were elderly and both struggled with stiff joints. His father had a bad back and his mother suffered with weak knees. Both used canes and the strenuous and steady pace set by the monsters was extremely difficult for them. The slow gate of his parents worried him. People all around them were passing on either side, eager to please the black clad men who waved their weapons threateningly.

It wasn’t long till David began to hear his wife and children’s voices behind him. They were gaining on them quickly. Within minutes Devora and the children appeared beside them. His fear spiked dramatically.

“David, thank God you’re here!” Devora let go of Sulia, took hold of David’s mother and helped her along, while David assisted his father the best he could.

The end of the crowd gained on them quickly and David could feel panic’s long fingers reaching for him. Soon they were hugging the edge of the massive throng and the black clad monsters weren’t happy about their progress.

“Move it!” One of the evil looking men stepped toward them, raised a club above his head and brought it down hard on David’s father’s head. “Move, you old man!” The elder Kohn buckled under the impact and fell to his knees.

Anger replaced David’s fear. He turned to the man and yelled, “Don’t hit him!”

The black apparition of a man sneered. “All right, I won’t.” Retrieving a pistol from his hip holster, he pointed at it at Mr. Kohn’s head and shot. The elderly man was dead instantly.

“No!” David sank to the ground beside his father, while horror gripped him in deep, gut wrenching waves.

Another shot rang out and David jumped to his feet as he saw his mother fall to the ground beside him, a bullet to the back of her neck, cutting off her life in an instant. He spun around to look at the loathing staring back at him.

“Now you can move without any hindrance.” The dark veiled man laughed unmercifully, pointed his revolver in David’s direction while his family sobbed silently beside him. “Now go! All of you move faster! Hurry!”

David looked at his dead parents once more and then hurried his family along as they rushed to catch up with the others. Everything became a blur after that. The scenery grew distorted and heaviness settled down on his chest making it hard to breathe. It felt suffocating.

David awoke with a start, fear a close companion and sweat pouring from his body as he threw off the covers. Breathing in deep gulps of the crisp, night air, his eyes darted around, taking in the familiar objects of the bedroom. The dresser was opposite him, where it always stood. The door beside it was slightly ajar. The walls held paintings, which normally brightened the room with color. Now the darkness of night caused shadows to creep across the room from the window above the bed, the moon shining dimly through the sheer curtains. He glanced at his wife sleeping peacefully beside him. He swung his legs out of bed, slid his feet into slippers and left the room, wiping perspiration from his brow.

Although he felt relief that it was only a dream, his insides shook as he paced the floor and his body temperature slowly cooled. He wandered to the front window, parted the curtains and looked out at the night. The moon was shining brightly in the sky, washing the view in a soft glow. There were a few clouds in the sky with stars sparkling between them. Everything looked normal and peaceful, as it should in the middle of the night. The houses across the street were dark and at rest except for a soft tint of the moon’s glow on each roof. The street lay like a golden ribbon reflecting the moonlight. The road weaved its way past the many houses, the synagogue and the businesses beyond. The trees stood like sentinels, serious and unmoving as they guarded the neighborhood. Not even the sound of a dog’s bark was heard in the sleeping vicinity. Everything appeared in order and at rest but it did nothing to shake off the horror wrapped around David’s heart.

The dream didn’t make any sense. His children were grown, married and some had young children of their own now. That he would dream of his three children being so much younger was confusing. They had seemed so innocent, needy and afraid. They had appeared completely dependent on him and the realization was terrifying. Were they still dependent on him? Was there something he needed to do for them? And why would his parents be shot down in cold blood? He couldn’t comprehend the meaning. It was just too horrific!

David rubbed his long beard, exposing his nervousness, and walked to his study desk. Opening a cabinet next to his desk, he saw his prayer shawl folded neatly on the second shelf. Lifting it from its place, he shook it open, lifted it and placed it around his shoulders. He took to pacing again, the tassels of the shawl swaying with his movement, and began to recite the prayers he thought might help but none of them quieted his agitated spirit. It was useless so he finally wandered to the couch, fell to his knees before it, clasped his hands and cried out his fear.

“God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear my cry for mercy. If there is any reason for this dream then please make it plain to me. I don’t understand. What does it mean? It’s filled me with dread and complete terror! I can’t bear it! Please remove the fear from my heart. My parents, my dear, dear parents! I can’t lose them like that! Please, God, have mercy on them!” David gave his anguish full vent as he began to sob at the horror he had envisioned in his sleep.