The Silence of Trees by Valya Dudycz Lupescu Read Free Book Online

threw at me when they were finished."
    She began to laugh over and over again. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else, but she kept cackling. I covered my ears, and even that did not stop the laughter. Eventually she fell back asleep.
    "I sat bundled in Stephan’s overcoat, my arms wrapped around my stomach trying to still the rumbling of my belly. Why had I refused Jan’s wife’s bread? Reaching into the tiny secret pocket in my skirt, I pulled out my good luck stone. I placed it in my mouth, trying to remember not to bite down and break my teeth.
    The black stone felt cool and smooth on my tongue and tasted of the spring water from where it came. I could taste the sweat from my own hands, having held the stone for hours and hours. It was all I had left from home. The Russian soldiers had ripped the crucifix from my neck after they tore open my blouse.
    When the young mother began to eye me suspiciously, I slipped the stone from my mouth and replaced it in its hiding place. I could not fight her for it.
    I became aware of a quiet shuffling sound. I looked to my right, where another young Ukrainian girl sat. Blond curls lay flat against her face, her cheeks round in contrast with her thin body. She sat with her eyes closed, head leaning against the train wall. Her clothes were dirty and ripped—like those of many women on the train—but she wore a pair of dainty black gloves. The rustling came from her hands, which she kept rubbing together over and over again. A sound that became soothing, and when it stopped, I noticed she had fallen asleep.
    Soon she began to cry out softly, mumbling, "No, Juliek . . . Papa . . . come with us . . . not without you . . . "
    Baba Lena opened her eyes and glared at the sleeping girl, who continued to whimper quietly.
    "Jewess." Baba Lena sputtered. Then louder: "Jewess!" She pointed and stared. Around the girl, people began to pull away until only Baba Lena and I remained sitting near her. The others sat even closer together, smashed to one side of the car to stay away from the sleeping girl. Under her breath Baba Lena began to chant "dirty Jewess, dirty Jewess, dirty Jewess" over and over and over again.
    A Polish woman on the opposite side of the car shouted, "Shut up, old woman! They will take us all away." Baba Lena stopped but continued to glare.
    I looked over at the girl, who was finally awake and staring at the other women. "I am Ukrainian," she whispered. Still the others stayed away from her.
    Then she looked at me, eyes pleading. "I am Ukrainian." She couldn’t have been much older than Halya, maybe thirteen or fourteen years old.
    Not knowing how to respond, I nodded.
    Baba Lena laughed, a loud laugh that shook her old body.
    Suddenly, something in the girl snapped. I recognized the look in her eye, and the hairs on my neck rose, a shiver on my shoulders. Her eyebrows gathered together, thick wrinkles formed on the bridge of her nose. Her lips curled and pulled back to show perfectly straight, white teeth that she gritted tightly together. She stared at the old woman.
    "You are not the only one to face death," she said slowly, each word heavy in her mouth. Then she brought her lips together and spat in Baba Lena’s direction. Baba Lena just smiled.
    The girl straightened her thin shoulders and looked at me. She motioned for me to move closer. I was terrified.
    "Sit here," she said.
    When I didn’t move she said "Please" and motioned for me to face her, my back to the other women. "Please block them from my sight."
    For some reason I did, although I hated to have my back to anyone. Maybe it was because she reminded me of my sister. Maybe because I was drawn to her strength, that flash of warrior spirit in her eyes as she faced Baba Lena. Maybe I did it because I was so lonely.
    After I sat down, something in her face softened. Again she looked so young, so frail.
    "Thank you," she said, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She didn’t move to wipe them