For several weeks Ion contemplated what to do about Tobar’s request. He agonized over it, in fact. The responsibility for his sister’s future lay within his hands and he was not sure why, but Tobar did not seem like the right choice. To Ion, his feelings felt absurd. He should have been welcoming Tobar as his future brother-in-law with open arms. But something did not feel quite right. Finally, Ion went to Nadya to discuss Tobar’s offer. She was already awake, tending a fire where steaming, strong coffee brewed.
“Good morning to you my sister.”
“Good morning, Ion.”
“Have you a moment? I have something I must talk with you about.”
“Of course. Sit, please.” She poured him a cup of coffee and he sipped it slowly as he thought about how to approach the subject.
“Nadya…”
“Yes?”
“You are of marriageable age now,” He said. “Tobar has come to me and offered me a bride price for your hand. He is a good man. He is Rom like us, not only Rom but he is also Sinti. How rare to find a husband of the same tribe in these troubled times. Tobar knows our customs and our ways. He promises me that he will care for you and treat you very well. He says you will have your own vurdun and that he will do his best to see to it that you want for nothing. So I have come to bring this very fine offer to your attention. I like him, and I approve. But first I wanted to know how you feel about him before I give my consent.”
“Tobar?” Nadya was shocked. He’d never openly shown her any interest. At least she’d never seen it.
“Yes.”
“Ion… I… I can’t.” She liked Tobar, but not in that way. The thought of him touching her repelled her.
“Why?”
“I don’t know… Please… I can’t… Tell him no…. I beg you… Don’t make me marry him.” She knew the decision was ultimately Ion’s, and he only asked her as a courtesy.
“Nadya… Nadya…” Ion held her face up to his; tears had come into her eyes. “I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do. It is just that I must act as your father, and I want the best for you.”
“Please… No… Please.”
“Nadya… All right, it is no, then. I will tell him you have refused. But I think it’s a mistake. With everything going on all around us, you are fortunate to have found a good husband and a Roma too…it is a blessing. But if you don’t want the marriage, I will tell him that I do not give my consent.”
“Thank you, Ion,” she hugged him and he felt the desperation in her grip. “Thank you,” she said again, and he wondered why she refused Tobar.
Chapter 10
The dinner fires had been started and the women had begun to cook. Ion looked across the campsite where he saw Christian playing with Hanzi. Tobar had planted a seed in his mind, and now it grew. Still, it was good to have the gago man here, with his perfect German face. The Polish Resistance had a job that needed to be done, and Christian was perfect for the task. Ion walked over to him.
“Christian, how are you feeling?” Ion asked.
“Very well, thank you. It seems as if I have healed.”
“That is good,” Ion patted Christian’s back. “I have mission you would be perfect for. That is, if you are sure you are ready. Are you interested?”
Hanzi brought the ball to Christian to throw for Lil. “Hanzi, I have important business to talk to your Uncle Ion about right now. I’m sorry I can’t play. We’ll play again later, all right?” Christian said as he gently patted Hanzi’s shoulder. Hanzi took the ball and brought it to Nadya, who rolled it through the grass while Hanzi and the puppy chased behind.
“I’m sorry to have interrupted you. Please go ahead and tell me more about the job,” Christian said as he turned to give Ion his full attention.
“We have a group of refugees coming this way in a few days. One of us will take them to a meeting place at the edge of the forest where they will be picked up by one of our sympathizers and taken into Germany. There, they will meet up with a guide who will take them to safety through the Alps. If all goes as planned, they will reach their final destination in Switzerland. We think that you are the best suited of all of us to perform the task of delivering these people to the guide just inside of the German border. You would dress in a Nazi uniform and escort them in the truck; then you would be required wait with them until their escort arrives. There is a degree of danger involved, and of course you can refuse if you so desire.”
Although he tried to keep his attention fixed on Ion’s words, Christian realized that he had only been half listening. He could not keep his eyes from Nadya.
Ion saw the look on Christian’s face as he gazed at Nadya and realized that he had been naïve; Tobar was correct. Christian was falling in love with his sister.
“I can’t remember if I told you, but Nadya is my sister. We are all that is left of our kumpania. The rest were taken. We happened to be in the forest gathering berries when the SS came, and so we are alive. But our Romany customs are very important to us, and it is customary for Rom to marry Rom. We do not stray from this. Do you understand? Nadya and I have lost a great deal, and because of this it is even more crucial that we do not lose our way of life. Right now our parents and siblings are prisoners in Auschwitz. There is no possible marriage between you and my sister.”
“That is terrible.” Christian could see that Ion was trying to gently discourage his attraction to Nadya, but it was too late for that. Christian knew that he must find a way to convince Ion that he would be the best husband for Nadya.
“So, am I making myself clear?” Ion asked.
“I understand you,” Christian said, but he would not agree to giving up on Nadya.
“It’s good that you can see what I am trying to tell you about my sister. Anyway, from what I hear, there is a doctor at the camp called Auschwitz who is obsessed with torturing gypsy children. Mengele is his name. We have been planning to raid Auschwitz and rescue the children,” Ion said. “We will need your help. That is, of course, if you are willing.”
“Yes, I am willing. But this man is obsessed with torturing children? Why? How? In what way?”
“Oh, in a very German way… He is a sadist. He operates on children to make them suffer. Takes their bodies apart and puts dyes into their eyes, blinding them. From what I hear, he insists that they call him ‘uncle’ and gives them candy, then straps them down and cuts them up. Most of the time, he doesn’t even use anesthesia.”
Christian winced. He was so stunned that he could find no words to answer Ion. The Nazis never ceased to astonish him. Just when he thought that he knew the extent of their depravity, he made an even more gruesome discovery. “I will help you. Together we will make a plan. We will rescue the children and your family,” Christian said.
Ion could not help but like this man. It was true… Just as the Shera Rom said, Christian had the face of a German, but the heart of a gypsy. Until now, the Resistance fighters had been concerned with how they might enter Auschwitz. They had been able to carry out small attacks, but it was a huge camp, filled with Nazis, guards, officers, doctors. Someone would surely recognize that they were Jews and gypsies. Most members of the resistance had olive skin, and dark hair and eyes. Perhaps, Ion thought, Christian would be convincing enough with his Aryan appearance to bring about the invasion of the concentration camp. Together they would make a plan.
Chapter 11
Sitting around the campfire the following evening, Christian met Samuel, Nickoli and Jacob. He watched as the women scurried around, serving a dinner of hedgehog baked in a pottery-type shell, with the stolen vegetables they had brought back from the farm when they’d raided several nights before.
Ion came over and squatted beside Christian on the ground.
Nadya brought plates filled with piping-hot food to Christian and Ion. Then, after she fed the puppy, she brought a plate to Hanzi and one for herself. She sat beside Ion and motioned to Hanzi that he must be quiet. “Shhh, the men are talking
business here,” Nadya said as she smiled at the little boy.
From across the fire, Tobar glared at Christian with anger.
They ate gypsy-style, with their fingers
“It tastes better when you eat with your fingers, yes?” Ion nudged Christians shoulder.
“I must say that it is different, but I like it,” his smile was engaging. “Tell me a little more about the operation that is to take place, the one you have asked for me to participate in. I’m sure that you understand that if I am to risk my life, I want to know the details,” Christian said.
“Of course, and we know enough about you to trust you. So here it is. We help families to escape Poland. Most have been in hiding and know that there is a good chance they will be discovered and taken to a camp, or murdered. They pay us what they can, and we use that money to bribe whoever we might need to along the way, and then what ever is left over we use to buy guns and ammunition. That’s how we keep going.”
“And when someone cannot pay?” Christian asked.
“We help if we can. It is not always our decision. Many of the safe houses require payment, and if so, we must oblige.”
After they’d finished eating, Nadya collected the plates and brought them to the river with the rest of the women to wash them. Hanzi followed her, with Lil at his heels.
“Ion, is Nadya promised to anyone?” Christian asked.
“Nadya? No, she is well over fifteen, which to us is marriageable age, but she is not promised. But remember what I told you. She must marry a man of the Roma. That is how it must be.”
“And the child? Hanzi? The man she marries will take him also?”
“I cannot guarantee that. Most men would not want a child who is not their own. That little boy wandered into our camp one day. She loves him, but that will not matter. The husband will chose to accept him or not, and if not, then the child must find another suitable home. I am sure my sister will fight this,” he chuckled, “and in the end she will probably get her way. Just by the way that she cares for the child, I know she would make a good mother. I wish things were different. I wish my sister could marry and have children knowing they would grow up safely in our traditional way of life.”
“Why, Ion? Why must she marry Rom?” Christian asked.
“Because it is our way.”
“Yes, but what if a man is so like a Rom that he is almost of your blood?”
“You mean a man like you?”
Christian hung his head. He knew Ion liked him, but he was not sure if Ion would ever like him enough to give him his sister’s hand. “Yes, a man like me.”
“You are brave,” Ion shook his head, “very brave. And as much as I am trying to fight it, I like you. I think you might make a good husband for Nadya. This is not usual, but I won’t say no. Instead I will consider your proposal, even though I have said that I would not. Times are so confusing, and they are changing so rapidly, that I am not sure what is best. I know that I warned you to leave Nadya alone, but even as I said the words, I knew it was too late. I can see the way that you look at each other. After all I am not blind,” Ion said, and he rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. I am not sure what to do. If my father were here, this would be his decision, but now the burden of Nadya’s future happiness falls upon me. I must go to the Shera Rom and ask his opinion. It is there that I will find an answer. However, Christian, you must promise me that if the Shera Rom tells me that he does not approve the marriage, you will stop your pursuit of my sister. If you will agree to this, I will consider your offer,” Ion said.
It was more than Christian could have hoped for. Before he asked, he was sure that Ion would reject the idea without any thought. Christian knew he must accept the offer, and he must accept it graciously. “I thank you. And I will do whatever the Shera Rom decides.”
“Very well, but in the end the Shera Rom can only give me advice. It will ultimately be my choice. If all goes as planned, the refuges will be here tomorrow night. Once you have completed the mission, I will go to him and ask for his opinion. If you are successful in this assignment, it may make him see you as one of us. And if the Shera Rom should decree you are like a Rom, then all the others will follow. I don’t know, Christian; I am so confused. I like you, but I am not sure that I am acting in my sister’s best interest by even entertaining the idea of a gage as a potential husband for her. So, I am going to talk to the Shera Rom, and hopefully gain some insight.”
“Again, Ion, I thank you with my whole heart.”
Chapter 12
Late the following evening Ion waited with Christian for the group that was to arrive momentarily. Christian’s fingers twitched as he held his cigarette. They stood at the edge of camp, both of their eyes darting about in the darkness nervously, keen and aware of every sound. An owl hooted. The stars twinkled. And the leaves of the trees rustled in the breeze.
“What did you do before the Nazi’s came into power?” Ion asked
“Me? I was a student,” Christian replied “My father is a physician. He regards education very highly. In the other life, the life before the war, I would have also found education to be of the utmost importance, but now…”
“Yes, now,” Ion sighed, “Now things are very different.”
Chapter 13
They heard them before they saw them. Although the group of escapees tried to approach in silence, Ion and Christian had trained their ears to every sound. A bush crunched, followed by soft footsteps as the group entered through a small pathway in the forest.
There were five men a woman. They all seemed to be of middle age. The woman held the hand of a ten-year-old girl who whimpered softly. Christian saw that the child’s shoes were worn, and blood from her feet soaked through the holes in the leather. Only one of the men carried a suitcase, a black cardboard valise. He walked up to Ion and gave him the agreed-upon password. Then he handed Ion an envelope filled with money.
“It’s all there. I promise you,” the man said, his hands trembling.
“Very well, then let’s get started,” Ion answered.
The man nodded as the rest of group looked around nervously.
“Come,” Ion smiled, “Follow me to camp. You’ll have some food and coffee before we begin our journey. It is important that you eat. We have no idea when you will see food again.”
They walked silently behind Ion and Christian. And as they did, Christian could not take his mind from the vision of the child’s bleeding feet. He wanted to see if someone in camp had an extra pair of shoes. It would help the little girl make the trek, which would be a difficult hike even with good shoes. If Christian could find some suitable footwear for the child, he would replace them himself as soon as he returned from the mission, even if he must take a risk by going into town to buy them.
Several of the women were awake. A small, smoldering fire had been carefully placed so as not to be seen by outsiders. A pot hung suspended over the fire, heating strong black coffee. The women gave the group slices of cured meat and raw vegetables. Each of the travelers received a thermos of water for the trip.
While Christian leaned against a tree, sipping the potent black brew, Ion left. He returned moments later, carrying a Nazi uniform.
“Put this on. You will certainly look the part with your coloring. That will mean you should have no trouble delivering these people to the Swiss border.”
Christian nodded, taking the uniform from Ion.
“We have a stolen Nazi truck for you to use. You are to say that you are delivering them for a special work assignment in a factory in Germany. If anyone asks, it is top secret. The only time you should encounter any questions is at the border. Avoid the patrols, if you can. If not, take this gun, and if you must, shoot to kill.”
Shmul walked over, carrying the forged papers for each of the refugees. He watched as Christian put the uniform on over his clothes. “It is your choice, Christian. If you are not comfortable, do not feel that you must do this.”
“But I must,”
Christian answered. Then he turned and saw Nadya had awakened. She was sitting cross-legged under a tree. He smiled at her and felt as if his heart would melt like ice on summer day. She returned his smile, but he saw the worry in her glistening eyes.
“You are sure?” Shmul asked again.
“I’ll do it. Someone has to. These people need help.” Christian’s eyes never left Nadya.
As she watched the men, Nadya’s fear turned to irritation, and she got up. Stomping over to Christian, she glared at him. “You are either a fool or the bravest man I know,” she said.
“I’m neither. I am just a man who hopes to do some good.” It was strange, for even though Christian feared what the next twenty-four hours might bring, just seeing Nadya’s lovely face made him feel as if all was right with the world.
Clearly angry, she paced around him like a cat. Watching her, he had to stifle the desire to smile because he found her to be so adorable when she was angry. Her face tightened, and her lips turned the color of a crimson flame as she continued to stalk him.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,” he said, and he was, but still he was glad that she was concerned about him. That meant she cared.
“Here, take this.” She flung a silver amulet at him; it was suspended on a thick silver chain. “Wear it, and don’t take it off until you return safely. Do you understand?”