ATOP Chapter Forty-Four

"It... it is... not so bad... is it?" Rachel's voice shook and she clung to Ronnie's hand so tightly that her grip almost hurt. She murmured something in German that he couldn't understand... and then something that sounded almost like Yiddish. She had been speaking in jumbled languages for the past few days and never really said why... it seemed almost an unconscious thing. Ronnie didn't ask her about it... he could only imagine what she was going through... and he knew how hard it was for him... but it did frustrate him that half of the time he didn't know what on earth his wife was talking about.

They were standing at the entrance of Zeilsheim Displaced Persons Camp, the name of which was splayed out in German and Hebrew on a sign that stood over the gates. Rachel wasn't looking at the sign, but at the flag flying high above... a pure white flag with a deep blue Star of David stamped proudly in the center. Her eyes filled with tears and again she spoke in Yiddish... and then repeated herself in English...

"My people will rise again, as they did after slavery in Egypt and in Babylon..." she turned to glance up at Ronnie and her lips trembled as she spoke. "The sun... it will shine again... will it not, Ronnie?"

He squeezed her hand in silent answer.

"Are you ready?" His voice was only a whisper.

"Tikvah," she whispered back and reached out to brush her fingers over the signpost. Something was written there in Hebrew characters, and beneath, the word tikvah. "Hope," she added, and managed a tiny smile.

It was a tired-looking place... that was about as much as could be said about Zeilsheim Camp. Tired brick barracks and beyond that, tired houses. But plastered over that weariness was the bright promise of hope. And tired people walked through the streets with the light of hope in their eyes. Children played at the sides of the streets, around the trees and in the grassy areas that stretched between. Early spring flowers in cheerful color adorned window boxes... tulips, snowdrops, and daffodils. Everywhere was written that promise of hope... in the eyes and hearts of the people... and in Hebrew characters on every signpost and every door.

An American soldier met them at the gate. Ronnie showed their papers, explained why they were there... and in a few minutes they were escorted to a small brick building labeled with yet more German and Hebrew...

The little office seemed just as tired as the rest of the camp... but it had been scrubbed spotlessly clean and a vase of brightly-colored tulips sat in the corner of a desk heaped with papers. In the back of the room stood a table overflowing with yet more papers... stacks of letters and telegrams... and a group of women stood around it, sorting through them. They worked slowly, speaking softly to each other in German and Yiddish, sometimes exclaiming happily over a letter, sometimes shaking their heads sadly. They glanced up as Ronnie and Rachel entered with the soldier, as did the man at the desk. He spoke first, in halting, heavily-accented English.

"How can I help you?"

"We, uh..." Ronnie glanced back at the soldier, who was disappearing through the doorway, and stepped forward, Rachel following uncertainly. "We're Ronnie and Rachel Stewart from Ohio... uh... America. We had telegraphed about Rebekah and Rishona Adler... We were told they were here."

"Ah, yes, I heard something about a couple from America... Adler, you say? Hmm..." he shifted stacks of paperwork aside to pull out a giant ledger and thumb through the worn pages, muttering absently to himself. "Adler, Adler, too many Adlers..." he shook his head and sighed. "Here. Adler, Rebekah, Adler, Rebekah, Adler... well, there are almost half a dozen Rebekah Adlers here. Only one Rishona though, it looks like..."

"Rishona!" Rachel murmured faintly, reaching for Ronnie's arm. "Can we...?"

"That's probably the one," Ronnie leaned forward to glance at the ledger. "Does it say which Rebekah is her sister?"

"It does not," the director spoke apologetically. "Let's see... She's in 29-B... I can send someone to get Rishona Adler, and if she has a sister Rebekah, she will bring her along."

An agonizing half hour passed as someone was accordingly sent and Rachel paced nervously back and forth across the length of the tiny office. The man at the desk was silent, having gone back to his papers, seeming to have forgotten the others were there. The group at the table in the back went back to their sorting, but cast alternately sympathetic and curious glances at the strangers from time to time. Ronnie watched Rachel pace for a few minutes and finally reached out to pull her to his side.

"Calm, sweetheart," he whispered. "They'll be here soon. It's okay."

She looked up at him wide-eyed, and her lower lip trembled. She did not speak... couldn't, even if she had wanted to. She was terrified now. Suppose this Rishona was not her sister! Or any of the Rebekah's in the ledger... what if none of them was the right one? Why didn't they hurry up? The minutes dragging by felt like hours. She could scarcely bear it any longer.

A warm beam of sunlight filtered through the window, shining on Rachel. She turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes. Stepping away from Ronnie, she stood alone in the sunlight, her face lifted... and she whispered the words...

"We will meet where the sun shines again."

The door opened and two young girls were ushered in. Dark hair hung to their shoulders. Their dresses were almost threadbare and a bit too short, but they wore thick, warm sweaters over top. The taller girl stepped forward, holding the smaller girl tight against her side, protectively. She held her head high, dark eyes like steel and filled with defiance. The little one... she looked to be no more than six or seven years old although Rachel had said she would be nine... she held her head down, eyes pinned to the floor, and she clung desperately to her sister. Such a frail, tiny little thing...

Bekah, strong as steel. Shonie, delicate as a flower.

Rachel opened her eyes and stepped back, out of the sunlight. She felt herself suddenly, unexplainably afraid. She pressed herself against the corner as if trying to melt through the wall... unable to look at the girls who now stood where she had only moments ago... in the sunlight. Ronnie stepped forward, extending his hand. 

"Rebekah? Rishona?"

The older girl stared steadily back at him, her eyes darting over his face apprehensively. The black eyes narrowed distrustfully. The small girl backed away as he approached, trying to hide behind her sister.

"I am Rebekah Adler," she spoke quietly but firmly, her accent nearly the same as Rachel's... musical and faint as if she had practiced English for years. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ronnie Stewart," Ronnie grinned awkwardly and dropped his hand.

"You look like a Nazi," Rebekah spat the words out and she glared, hatred suddenly radiating from her. It startled him, the venom of her reply. He glanced over his shoulder at Rachel, who was huddled in the corner, head down, arms wrapped around herself. He drew a deep breath and prayed silently for strength.

"Do you have a sister Rachel?" he asked finally and this time, the younger girl's head flew up. She peeked at him around Bekah's side, wide black eyes swimming with tears. But she didn't speak. The older one nodded slowly.

"Jah." she whispered. More than that, she would not say. Ronnie grinned again and turned back to retrieve his wife. She was trembling all over, her face turned to the floor. 

"Hey..." he murmured, reaching out to lift her chin. "Look at them. Tell me... is this..."

He needed to say nothing more. The moment Rachel's eyes fell on the girls, she burst into tears, rushing forward. The little one cried out... a wordless, heart-wrenching sound... and threw herself into Rachel's arms. The older girl stood still, shell-shocked... and Rachel pulled her into her embrace as she wept inconsolably, holding on to them so tightly as if defying the world to tear them apart again.