Rena's Promise by Heather Dune Macadam, Rena Kornreich Gelissen Read Free Book Online

not know what to expect, but I know that the work camp will be hard. Pray that I will not have to be there for very long. Thank you for loving me through all my trials and troubles. Give my best to Aunt Regina, Uncle Jacob, Cili, and Gizzy.
Bless you.
Love, Rena
Folding my wedding nightgown and placing it in a chest with no hope, I wonder how my fiance will take this news. The new shoes the cobbler made for my wedding, the robe that the tailor has sewed, everything I own has been packed and, with my dreams, put away.
Leaving the letters on the table, I turn toward the wardrobe already knowing what I will wear. My green-and-white checkered suit is both warm and attractive. I want to look my best even if I am going to a work camp, and this is my nicest outfit. Danka has a suit just like it which a kind tailor bought for us when we arrived last year in Slovakia. I smile fondly, remembering how he took us to a real department store, purchasing each of us a brand new suit and gorgeous white felt boots with red trim. With a warm pair of

     

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socks on, I slip the boots onto my feet. They are snug and comfortable; I know they will travel well.
I wonder about Mama and Papa. Where are they now? What are they doing? They don't even know that Schani and I are getting married. Why couldn't I reach them on Rosh Hashanah?
Danka and I sent them raisins, matzos, and some money for Passover, but the border to Poland is now completely closed. The tailor who bought the suit I'm wearing knew how worried I was, so he asked one of his customers, a German officer, to make the call to Poland for me in exchange for a leather coat.
At the post office, the officer placed my call and handed me the receiver.
"I am calling for Sara and Chaim Kornreich." I told the postmaster in Florynka.
"There's no one in this town by that name."
"Are you sure?" I pleaded. "Is this Florynka?"
"I'm sure. There's no one in this town by the name of Kornreich." I hung up the phone, stunned.
"Maybe they've been moved," the officer suggested.
"Where?"
He shrugged.
Where are Mama and Papa? How I long to tell them everything that's happened.
Checking my appearance casually in the mirror, I give myself an approving nod before picking up the letters and the coat Schani has given me as an engagement gift.
Mrs. Silber has gone to the market, so my departure will go unnoticed. I do not want her to know I'm going to the army barracks, even though she and her husband have said they will hide me despite the consequences. I cannot risk their lives, nor the life of their young daughter, who has been my charge. I do what I have to do. There is no question in my mind that this is the right thing; my only desire is to protect these kind people who have taken me

     

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into their home and treated me like a member of their family. A work camp is not going to be so bad, especially if it means saving their lives. I'm not afraid of work. I know what the Germans expect: cleanliness, promptness, order, everything must be spotless. It will be just like working in the barracks in Tylicz.
I leave the Silbers' house, looking back one last time to seal it in my memory. I'll return, I tell myself; this won't last forever.
"Good morning," I greet our good Christian neighbor.
"Good morning, Rena. Are you all right, dear?"
"I must go away and have a favor to ask of you."
Her eyes narrow quickly. "What is it?" Everyone seems to be on their guard. I slip the diamond ring Mama gave me off my finger and place it into her palm, folding her hand around it. "I would like you to take care of this ring. It was my mother's . . . Would you take this coat for me, too, please?"
Her eyes shift between disbelief and desire for these beautiful things. "These are valuable. Won't you need them?"
Suddenly it occurs to me that I will never see these things again. I cannot speak. Placing the coat in her arms quickly, before I can change my mind, I try to turn away before she can see me