Page 111 - LEIBY

Chapter 14 111

closely observed by all the deceased people lying beneath the
headstones.

“Leiby?” Alexander suddenly reappeared, smiling from ear to
ear. “I’m glad that you managed to get to democratic Poland.
What do you plan to do here?”

“I might open a store here, like the store that my father had,”
Leiby replied. “He had a large textile business before the war.
At the end of each week, he would bring home an envelope
full of piles of notes. The envelope was usually overstuffed,
and I was sure that we were millionaires, until my older sister
Chava explained to me that most of the money went to pay the
suppliers, and the small amount that was left was barely enough
to make ends meet. But life was good – we had a house, our
closets were filled with neatly folded clothing, we ate our meals
normally beside a table covered with a starched tablecloth,
and we sat on comfortable padded chairs. I’ve had enough of
being a refugee – first in the forest, and now here in the Jewish
community building. I’m tired of standing in line in municipal
kitchens for a bowl of soup. I want to open a business, to earn
a few zlotys and to once again live like a regular person.” An
interesting idea struck Leiby. “Alexander, why don’t we open a
store together, in partnership?”

“No, Leiby,” Alexander shook his head. “Poland is no place for
the Jews. You have to get away from here.”

“I have to get away? But what about you?”

Alexander blushed a deep red, as if he had been caught red-
handed in criminal activities. “I have to stay here to assist other
Jews who want to leave,” he whispered. “Every day, we arrange
‘trips’ to the border and help people to get onto a train, and
eventually, after a long journey, they arrive at the DP camps in
Germany. There, at least, they’re safe. And the younger people
can go on from there to the port cities in Italy and France and
perhaps sail away on floating barrels to the Promised Land.”

The setting sun’s final rays painted the numerous leaves covering
the ground a fiery red, as Leiby and Alexander made their way