Chapter 14 Section Fourteen

We made it to the platform just in time for the train to depart.The weather gradually turned cloudy in the morning, and at noon the sky hung down oppressively, like a terrible gray blanket, heralding the approach of another storm.The wind is getting stronger, ruthlessly rolling up the dust in front of my eyes. At this time, I really hope that the ground will be wet again by rain.And this wish is not difficult to achieve. At the station, my mother got a slip of travel documents from the station master's office.She said they would be delivered to our house in the morning, and I tried to confront her about it, but gave up.What happened not long ago taught me a lesson that questions like this only create conflict between us.

When Mom took the papers, I took a peek at them, but they were all in German, and I couldn't understand a word.The station master clearly instructed us to first take the train to Bucharest, our great capital. I put the suitcase upside down on the ground next to the tracks for my mother to sit on, but she preferred to stand, so I sat down with Nikolay, trying to give him something to do.Except for the clothes we are wearing, all our belongings are in this box.This is all that remains of our past, and it is all that will accompany us into an unknown future.This thought brought me into reality, because I remembered that we had three of these suitcases in our luggage when we went on vacation to Constanta, which was only a few days away from home.

When Nicholas' excited cry brought me back to my senses, these melancholy dissipated quickly.My senses were benumbed by the world, but Nikolai's eyes and ears were still sharp, and despite the gathering storm he was able to spot the long trail of steam in the distance and hear the approaching train. "Don't get too excited, Nikolay," I reminded him softly, "maybe this is not the train we're waiting for." "But it is, Anka. I know it is." The younger brother confirmed his thoughts, and said excitedly, "Look! Did you see it! Mom, I see smoke!"

"It's steam, Nikolai, steam," I corrected him without thinking.It's an unimportant subsection, but Papa always said in his lifetime that free language was a sign of slack mind.Like so many things my father told me, those words took on a new meaning after he passed. Now my brother was delighted to see the locomotive approaching us, with the deafening screeching of wheels and the roar of steam as it passed, followed by the long, dusty, snake-like carriages, and finally, the hulking With a screeching noise and a shiver, the procession finally stopped.Little Nicholas was completely fascinated by the sight in front of him, he was dumbfounded, desperately trying to count the cars passing by in front of us.

When the steam dissipated, the carriages suddenly bustled with doors opening and closing, people climbing up and down, departing or arriving.Mom tugged at my arm and urged me to follow her. I grabbed the suitcase, pushed Nicholas, and hurriedly followed my mother's footsteps. She walked all the way to the farthest car and opened the door for us to go up.I carried the suitcase up the stairs, carried Nikolay up, and told him to hurry and find a seat. In the compartment at the end of the train, there is only one Jewish family among the passengers. All Jews are required to sew yellow stars on their clothes, so they are easy to identify.They huddled in a corner far away from us, watching us take our seats and settle down with suspicious eyes.

Mom didn't seem to notice them, or she did and didn't show it, just ushered us to the other side of the car and sat down with her back to the people.Nicola and I sat across from her, just in time to see the huddled family, though I tried to look uninterested out of politeness.