Another Me by Eva Wiseman Read Free Book Online Page A

Jews.”
    “I don’t care. I’m coming with you, Hans.” I clapped my hand over my lips. “I mean Natan! I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
    I followed him to the street. When we reached Judenstrasse, I pulled the hood of my cloak low over my face in case I met someone I knew. I didn’t want anybody to see me on the Street of the Jews. They would wonder what I was doing there.

NATAN’S STORY

CHAPTER 9
    I clasped my hands together in my lap and willed my heart to slow as I gazed at Rabbi Weltner on the opposite side of the table. Elena was next to me and I could see by the grayness of her complexion that she shared my fears. The rabbi kept twirling his long white beard around his finger.
    “Yes, yes,” he mumbled, as if talking to himself, “I have read of such a thing.”
    He turned and took a roll of parchment off a shelf on the wall, unrolling it reverently and smoothing it on the table. I tried to make out the Hebrew words, but they were upside down. The rabbi ran his finger down the page until he reached the part he wanted. He began to read to himself with his lips moving.
    Finally, he murmured, “Just as I thought!” He rolled up the parchment and put it back where he’d found it,then leaned toward me, his face full of wonder. “You, Natan, are an
ibbur
.”
    I must have looked bewildered, for the smile of satisfaction slowly left the old man’s face.
    “An
ibbur
,” he prompted. “This occurs when a righteous person’s soul takes up residence in another’s body. Your soul, Natan, has left your body and migrated into the body of Hans the draper.”
    My mind went blank. I had to repeat his words to myself before they made any sense.
    “With due respect, my rabbi, why would I do such a thing? Why would my soul enter Hans’s body?”
    “It happens when someone’s time here on this earth ends before he can fulfill a promise or complete a task important to our people. Before you were killed, you were unable to warn the Ammeister that the Jews of Strasbourg did not poison the communal well to cause the Great Pestilence. It is Hashem’s will that you save our people from the false accusations being made against them. Without doubt, the fate of the Jews in our city rests in your hands. You must convince Ammeister Schwarber and his council of the truth.”
    “And if I’m successful?” I asked. “If I complete my task, what becomes of me then?”
    The rabbi shifted uneasily in his seat. “Don’t ask me such questions, Natan, I beg of you.”
    “Please, Rabbi Weltner, tell me the whole truth. Will I have to live the rest of my life in the body of Hans?”
    The rabbi’s eyes filled with tears. It told me all I needed to know.
    I took a deep breath, but I felt a new resolve to discharge my duty. “All right, I must make the Ammeister understand that my people pose no threat to Strasbourg. But how? Nobody will believe that I am Natan and not Hans. They’ll say that I’ve been possessed by the devil, and that my words are the devil’s words.”
    “You must make them believe you. The situation for Jews in this city is growing worse by the hour. A few days ago, Ammeister Schwarber ordered the torture of several men in our community to prove to the Christian citizens that no righteous person would confess to spreading the Black Death, no matter the agony he suffered. Baruch Hashem, all the men maintained their innocence. But the Ammeister’s actions prove how desperate he’s becoming.”
    He stopped talking for a moment and looked at Elena before continuing.
    “I too only believed you because Elena vouched for your claims. Unfortunately, if it becomes known that you are not Hans but Natan, you could both be in grave danger. As you well know, the friendship between the two of you is against the law. Elena shouldn’t help you again—at least not outside the confines of this room.”
    Elena blushed deeply at the disapproval in his face.
    “I told Natan that we should talk to my papa and tell him