Chapter 40 Section 40

Keeping that promise was not difficult for the next six long months, as we remained in the care of Isabella and her husband Wojciech during all this time. Of course, we didn't want to stay that long.We really couldn't move for the first week until the bandages over my eyes were removed and my eyesight returned.But after that, from a few weeks to a few months, we did not leave because of the insistence of the owner, and we have lived here until now. My previous guess was right, they are people who live in the forest and struggle to make ends meet.Although they only spoke Polish, we quickly overcame the communication barrier.During the first week we picked up a few odd words that conveyed the meaning better, and after a few months all three of us started to pick up Polish, probably the fastest picker of all, Ilo.

Deep in the forest, spring goes to summer solstice unknowingly, and when autumn is approaching, although our Polish is far from fluent, we can already communicate with the owner in simple daily life without any difficulty. During the last few months of my stay, I became more aware of our situation.At first, I was worried that I would be handed over to the Nazis, especially after Ilo's Jewish identity was exposed.But this worry was quickly lifted. Isabella and Wojciech are the kindest people we can meet, and their care is selfless and meticulous. Although we were not familiar with their quaint way of life, we quickly adapted to the daily life in the forest.

In the first month, we recuperated and recuperated. After suffering all kinds of severe tortures, we were finally able to let our bodies relax and recuperate completely.After the bandages on my eyes were removed, I was able to help Wojciech with the forest, and sometimes went to the neighboring towns with him to exchange firewood and mushrooms for other daily necessities. Yiluo also actively helped Isabella with housework. She was often seen cleaning the house with a long broom, and even took the responsibility of taking care of my brother when I had no time to look after her. Therefore, this capable child is not only Nikolai's little partner, but also a little adult who takes care of him. While laughing and playing silly games with Nicholas, he also takes care of his needs carefully and takes care of him. , It doesn't look like I am only nine years old at all, I am grateful from the bottom of my heart.

As I mastered the language more and more, I began to piece together the background of this Polish family.I soon discovered that they were not what they seemed at first, just a simple and unassuming country life. Not long after we moved in, Nikolai was playing hide-and-seek with Ilo, and accidentally came across a bunch of hidden weapons, which were completely different from the shotguns Wojciech usually brought into the forest for hunting or self-defense. I warned the children not to tell this discovery and told them to play elsewhere, but this made me suspicious, and I was very disturbed for weeks afterwards, afraid that my first impression would be wrong and that the people who took us in would be wrong. The owner was actually a Nazi supporter, waiting for an opportunity to sell us out to the authorities for ill-gotten gains.

But in the second month, all these doubts were answered, and the big stone in my heart finally fell to the ground. That was one morning, when we woke up, we found that there were guests at home again, including a seriously wounded soldier. His military uniform had the bell and sickle logo on it, and we knew it was a Russian soldier at a glance.The rest were clearly Polish partisans, as they were dressed and armed very much like the soldiers who rescued us from the overturned train, and, although I could not communicate in Polish at the time, I could hear Both Isabella and Wojciech were radical patriots who were willing to risk their lives to take in these fighters who were fighting at the forefront of the resistance to Nazi rule and to do what they could to heal the wounded.

The Russian did not speak Romanian, but he was fluent in Polish and was able to communicate the latest battle situation to his master.Later, Isabella told me everything she had heard. I heard that the wars on the western and eastern fronts were developing in a favorable direction. The wounded Russian soldier believed that the war had reached a turning point. After learning about this, I Very encouraging. But despite this, the war will not end immediately, and the fate of the occupied countries, including Poland and my native Romania, remains in the balance. These news made my blood boil, and I wanted to contribute my own strength, but I knew that my first responsibility now was to protect my brother and Yiluo, and to find our relatives.

In the last month of our stay, one autumn night, when Nikolai and Ilo were asleep, I sat around the burning pyre with Isabella and Wojciech, speaking with jerky Polish told them what he thought.