My Mother's Secret by J. L. Witterick Page A

upper loft, and we move in.
    She asks about the baby, and when I tell her what happened, she lets out the loudest wail.
    We are all touched by her reaction, but at the same time we hope no one heard her cry.
    I have nothing to offer Franciszka for taking us in, and I remember all the times that we took her carrots for the wagon ride.

Chapter 31
    F ranciszka keeps three pigs in the shed, and this is more clever than you might imagine. Pigs make noise and that covers up mistakes that we make, such as coughing, sneezing, and even talking, which can be heard by a visiting neighbor.
    The German soldiers don’t know who is Jewish, and they don’t know who would be hiding them. It would be a neighbor or a friend who would give you away for a small reward.
    Franciszka cooks all the food in one pot and takes it out to the shed, as if she is feeding the pigs.
    To cover our waste, she mixes it with the waste from the pigs and shovels it out.
    I see Franciszka with enlightened eyes now. This is the savviest woman I have ever known.
    One night, she tells us that she is having a dinner party for some Germans and that we need to be especially quiet. Dinner for Germans? She has chutzpah.
    That night we are all terrified to breathe. We hear music coming through the walls of the house, and although it is a refreshing break from the constant noises made by the pigs, we are on pins and needles and have a hard time enjoying it. What seems like an eternity later, the sounds die down and Franciszka comes through the shed with a pot of leftovers. In that pot is the most delicious sauerkraut that I have ever tasted.
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    T O PASS THE TIME, we play cards, and I teach Walter to play chess. It’s not a time for frivolous purchases, but Helena uses some of the money she earns from her job to buy this game for him. It seems so unreal to me that these kind people could be executed for helping us.
    I teach Walter various strategies, and he’s a quick learner. The happiest moment of his deprived childhood is when he beats me at chess one day. We learn not to speak, but I can read his joy by the big smile on his face. It’s both touching and sad to me.
    He deserves so much more than this.
    Anelie carries the memory of Biata with her constantly and is not able to get over the guilt. She has nightmares and we are afraid that she will shout out in her sleep. Bryda never recovers from the loss of Dawid either, but she doesn’t have the emotional breakdown that Anelie suffers.
    We take turns watching over Anelie while she sleeps to make sure there are no outbursts that would give us away. I miss Dawid as well, but feeling sorry for myself won’t help my family, so I refuse to let those feelings in. When I close my eyes I focus on happy memories of him before the war.
    It’s very tight in the loft, and most of the time we spend just sitting. We take turns massaging each other’s legs and shoulders so they won’t become stiff. We don’t speak. Walter tells me things with hand gestures, and we create our own language this way.
    There is a small window in the loft, where we can peek out from behind the heavy curtain. We rotate spots so that someone can sit beside the window each day. It’s important to have something to look forward to, however small.
    From the window, we can see the apple tree that Helena told us her brother planted.
    When the apples begin to ripen, she picks them for us.
    We know it’s very special.
    Walter likes to count the apples on the tree. We compare our numbers and spend hours verifying who is right. Although it’s just something to pass the time, it’s still a game. We make up games to keep Walter as amused as possible.
    One of our favorites started when I did a shadow puppet on the wall. This game is played with animal shadows created from our hands and fingers.
    We don’t know where she got it, but Helena gives Walter a piece of