Page 9 - LEIBY
P. 9
Chapter 2 9
Chapter 2
Leiby sat reading on the couch in his comfortable, well-
furnished living room. The thick carpet, large curtained
windows, luxurious couch, and flowering plants in the corner,
together with the soft pleasant lighting, all helped give the room
an atmosphere of tranquility, despite the chaos on the streets.
The contrast between the room and the dark, dank zemlyankas6
in which the partisans had hidden in the forest, could not have
been more pronounced.
The house had previously been owned by a wealthy German
family who had fled from the oncoming Russian army, but that
family had actually stolen it from the Jewish family who had
lived there before the war. Now Leiby and his family had taken
ownership of it.
Leiby closed his book, got up, and went to the kitchen. He cut
a thick slice of bread, spread it with a generous layer of jam,
and returned to his book. But his feeling of calm and serenity
was short-lived. A loud banging on the door, the unmistakable
knocking of the legal authorities, disturbed the silence. Leiby
6 Zemlyanka ʹ Ă ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƌƟƐĂŶ ĐĂŵƉ͕ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌĚ ͚zama’
ŵĞĂŶŝŶŐ ŐƌŽƵŶĚ͘ WĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ďƵŝůƚ ĚĞĞƉ ƵŶĚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽƵŶĚ͕
ĂŶĚ ƉĂƌƚ ĂďŽǀĞ ŝƚ͘ ^ŽŵĞƟŵĞƐ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĞƌĞ ǁŝŶĚŽǁƐ ŝŶ ŝƚ ƚŽŽ͘
