Page 141 - LEIBY

Chapter 17 141

having been in the area that could blow their cover.

The large group marched along in a long line. At the end of
the line were a boy and his younger sister. The small girl had
a hard time keeping up with the group, and from time to time
her brother picked her up and held her in his arms, his face red
with exertion.

“Come here, child,” Leiby offered. “I’ll help you.”

“Leiby, is it really you?” The boy asked. In the darkness, Leiby
could discern the familiar figure of Yosef Lieder. He greeted
him warmly, and Yosef ’s dark eyes glowed. Leiby could barely
recognize Mirushka. Her long blond braids had been cut,
and her hair was as short as a boy’s. She looked miserable and
antagonistic, and it was obvious that she didn’t like Yosef very
much.

“The ladies in the orphanage cut Mirushka’s hair, they said
that it would be easier to keep it tidy when it was short,” Yosef
explained, “Mirushka sorely misses the farmer’s wife who took
her in, and she’s angry at me for having kidnapped her and
bringing her to live among Jews. The farmer’s wife also loved
Mirushka, and she succeeded in tracking her down. She traveled
from Soviet Belorussia to Poland and located the orphanage
where we lived. Yesterday, Mirushka’s group leader called me
and advised me to take her across the border as soon as possible,
before the farmer’s wife, together with the local pastor, could
carry out their plan to take her out of the orphanage and back
to the farm. They demanded that the orphanage heads let her
go, and it was getting harder for them to refuse.” Yosef sighed
deeply.

“The law is firmly on the farmer woman’s side, because I’m
a minor and can’t really take care of Mirushka alone,” Yosef
continued morosely. “In the evening, I went to Mirushka and
told her that we have to leave, but she didn’t want to come with
me. She said that Anna had come to visit her and promised to
take her back to the village. When I insisted that she come with
me, she had a full-size tantrum, lying on the floor, screaming