Page 37 - LEIBY

Chapter 5 37

Chapter 5

Rosa, coordinator of the literary event in Minsk, arrived in Lida.
She had come to invite the Jewish refugees who had settled in
the town to the convention and had even obtained train tickets
from the Jewish administrator of the train station. From the
station, she went directly to the Jewish committee in order to
distribute them to the refugees.

Leiby sat behind his desk, writing in the city records ledger the
list of names of survivors who had arrived in the city during
the last week. When he finished, he’d have to duplicate the list
again, in order to send it to other towns where Jewish refugees
had settled. He sensed that someone had entered the room and
raised his eyes from his papers. Standing at the entrance to the
office was a young woman, holding a large page with Yiddish
words written on it.

“I’ve brought an invitation to the literary convention in Minsk,”
she informed Leiby, “and I also have some train tickets to give
to Jewish refugees who would like to attend.”

Leiby’s eyes gleamed. Train tickets to Minsk and an invitation
to the event for him and Yosef were just what he needed most.

Rosa was gratified to see his pleased reaction. For her, the event
was not just another convention – it was the closure of a chapter,