Page 67 - LEIBY

Chapter 7 67

The professor continued to enlighten Leiby with his political
beliefs, quoting philosophers and intellectuals, but Leiby had
no more patience to listen. He waited for the train to slow
down slightly, and then, right in the professor’s flabbergasted
face, he jumped out of the window and onto the rails.

“Hey, young man,” the professor sputtered. “What do you think
you’re doing?”

“I’m rushing to take my part in the repatriation agreement,”
Leiby called over his shoulder. “My best wishes to Molotov-
Ribbentrop, and to all the other good-for-nothings who didn’t
have the sense to prepare for the German onslaught.”

The professor looked after Leiby, astonished, as with remarkable
acrobatics,he jumped onto a cargo train traveling in the opposite
direction. For one hair-raising moment, he dangled over the
rails, then fell headfirst into a pile of coals in the carriage.

“Obviously a partisan,” the professor mused. “Like a demon
from hell…” With that, he took a thick book out of his bag and
remained absorbed in it until the end of his journey.

Several hours later, Leiby stood on his own front doorstep.
Mama and Chava looked at the black-faced boy in surprise.
“It’s me,” Leiby laughed, his gleaming eyes giving him away
immediately. “I traveled first class in a coal train. I’ll go and
get washed up, and in the meantime, you get ready to leave
here. There are trains full of Jews making their way from Russia
to Poland, and we just have to catch one and disappear. Every
minute that we are here with Mirushka is dangerous for her,
and for us as well. Poland is free, and we’ll be able to emigrate
from there to Eretz Yisrael. If we remain here in Lida, the Iron
Curtain will close on us, and we’ll never be able to get out.”

Leiby filled an aluminum bowl with cold water and scrubbed his
hands and face until not a trace of black remained. He looked
at himself in the cracked mirror and saw that although his skin
had returned to its natural color, his hair was still streaked all
over with black. He struggled to clean himself thoroughly.
Finally, he was clean, and he changed into fresh clothes too.