“Our mothers are doing what they can. They’re probably busy hiding our grandparents,” said Adam.
“True. I have to get over my egotism,” said Thomas.
“Forgive my ignorance. What’s ‘egotism’?” Adam said.
“Loving yourself too much.”
“Thomas, you know a lot. You won’t only be the best in our class, but the best in the school.”
“My father’s the best, not me,” said Thomas, sidestepping the praise Adam showered on him.
“Let’s do something useful. Let’s gather branches and fix up the nest.”
They gathered branches of various sizes. Adam climbed up into the tree, and Thomas handed him what they had collected. Adam spread out the branches and leaves and finally spread a blanket over them.
“Thomas. You won’t recognize our nest. Tonight we’ll sleep like kings,” said Adam from above.
Thomas climbed up carefully and right away he saw: wider, more stable, and pleasant to lie on. They both lay down and stretched out their legs, pleased at the thickness of the nest.
“We’ve hardly been here for a day and a half, and it seems as if we’ve been here for a long time. Do you have the same feeling?” Thomas asked.
“I don’t think about my feelings.”
“You’re lucky,” said Thomas.
“Why?”
“Sometimes feelings are oppressive,” Thomas told him.
While they were talking, they saw a white dog in the distance, borne lightly on long legs. “Hey, beautiful dog,” Adam called out, but the dog didn’t stop; it disappeared.
When he was younger, Thomas wanted to adopt a dog, but his mother refused absolutely. That refusal made his childhood miserable, and every time he went outdoors and saw a puppy, his heart would go out to it. Once he found a puppy in the yard, and after he played with it, he brought it home. When his mother saw the puppy held against his chest, she screamed. Thomas dropped the puppy, but his mother kept screaming, and the puppy ran for its life.
That night, before he went to sleep, after she had read a fairy tale to him, his mother looked at him and said, “I want to apologize.”
“For what, Mom?”
“For not letting you adopt a dog. It’s my fault. When I was a little girl, about your age, there was a sweet puppy in the neighborhood where I grew up, and everybody played with it. One morning the rumor spread that the sweet puppy was infected with rabies, and we were all taken to the hospital for injections. I swore to myself that I’d never touch a dog again. When I saw the puppy up against your chest, I got very frightened. I shouldn’t have screamed so loudly and frightened you. Forgive me, Thomas. I don’t know if you can forgive me now, but I hope that one day you will,” she said and burst into tears.
“Mom, I forgive you now.”
“Thank you. It’s been bothering me all day long.”
Now Thomas saw his mother very clearly, sitting next to him. It seemed as if she were still tormenting herself because she had screamed, and Thomas wanted to repeat, “I forgive you with all my heart.”
“Thomas, don’t forgive me so easily. I don’t deserve it,” she said and disappeared from his sight.
For a long time he expected to see her face again, but it didn’t return.
Chapter 8
“What are you thinking about, Thomas?” Adam asked cautiously.
“About my mom.”
“Did she speak to you?”
“Yes, but it’s complicated. It’s hard to talk about now. I’ll tell you some other time.”
“There’s time,” said Adam calmly.
“Will we stay here for many days?” Thomas was afraid.
“I don’t know. My grandpa says, ‘It’s in the hands of heaven.’”
“I never heard that expression. My dad says: ‘Everything is in man’s hands,’” said Thomas.
“Every house has its own expressions,” said Adam. “Hasn’t the time come to trade sandwiches? I’ll give you mine, and you can give me yours.” Thomas spoke in a lively way.
“Good idea,” said Adam.
“The school year is nearly over. It’s two o’clock, and everybody is going home. Just we two are out in nature. Do you understand what’s happening to us?” Thomas spoke with concern.
“It’s very simple. We’re in hiding.”
“You call the place where we are ‘hiding’?” asked Thomas, emphasizing every word.
“I can’t think of a better name. Our hiding place is big. You can walk around in it, climb trees, and drink water from the stream, but it’s still a hiding place.”
“I have the feeling that since the ghetto, nothing makes sense. They send away the old people. Why are they sending away the old people? Why are they sending away children? What harm did the children do? What harm did the old people do?” Thomas spoke emotionally.
“They’re Jews,” Adam answered quietly.
“Because they’re Jews, they have to be sent away?” “You know, Thomas. People don’t like Jews.”
“I can’t figure that out. Apparently I have to experience and learn more,” said Thomas, and then he stopped talking. He took a bite of Adam’s sandwich and said, “Your sandwich is very tasty. It has black olives.”
Then they climbed down and drank from the stream, picked berries, and remembered the tall, white dog that had run quickly through the forest and disappeared.
“Will it come back?” Thomas wondered.
“I assume so.” Adam used an expression that Thomas used often.
Then, without advance notice, Thomas closed his eyes, curled up, and fell asleep.
Adam watched him in his sleep and was surprised by the speed with which Thomas had passed from the world of wakefulness to the world of slumber. Adam wasn’t idle. He went out to see what else grew in the forest. He didn’t have to go far. Right next to them a cherry tree grew, and it was full of dark fruit. At first he wanted to wake up Thomas and show him the tree, but when he went back and saw how deep his sleep was, he let him be. He went back to the cherry tree, picked a handful, and returned to Thomas, amazed how well he was sleeping.
Chapter 9
Thomas awoke in alarm.
“What’s the matter, Thomas?” Adam came to him. “I was late for school.”
“You had a bad dream. We don’t go to school anymore. We live in the forest.”
Adam showed him the cherries, and Thomas was enthusiastic. “What great cherries.” They sat and ate, enjoying the sweet taste of the black fruit.
“Where did you find the cherry tree?”
“Right nearby.”
“Adam, you have an unusual ability to discover things.”
“I love to find new things.”
“New things don’t come to me, because I’m nearsighted.”
You know how to sleep and dream, Adam wanted to say, but he didn’t, to avoid hurting his feelings.
Adam noticed that Thomas had stopped asking why his mother was late, but when evening fell, Thomas said softly, “Now the pupils in our class are at home doing homework. Only we two are abandoned in the forest.”
Adam sensed that the word “abandoned” was dripping with sorrow and yearning, so he asked, “Why did you say ‘abandoned’?”
“What should I have said? Do you have a better word?”
“We have been sent to learn directly from nature and to grow up.”
“Did our mothers bring us to the forest so we’d grow up?” asked Thomas in a tone that embarrassed Adam slightly.
“That idea just occurred to me now,” said Adam, laughing.
“As far as I know, you don’t start growing up at the age of nine,” said Thomas.