Amid all this, one of our patrols came upon a Ukrainian who immediately raised his hands and asked for asylum with us. He was taken to our command post and under no pressure revealed his secret: “A few days ago the last Jews working in the quarry were brought in chains, ordered to go into the river, and were shot there. Since then, I have not been able to live. The screams are stuck in my head. I don’t eat and I don’t sleep. Take me; do what you want with me. I can no longer live in my village.”
Kamil questioned him about his village and surrounding villages, and about what became of their Jews.
“They killed them all. They were forced to dig pits near the forest, and when they finished digging, they were shot in the back and fell in. Other Jews were brought, and they covered the pits. After that, they dug pits for themselves. This was day after day. Now in the whole area not one Jew is left. The Jews brought from the quarry were the last ones. I cannot live in such a place.” His whole body trembled.
“How many days did you look for us?” Kamil asked quietly.
“Two days.”
“Do they know about us down there?”
“They know.”
Salo took him to the kitchen, and Tsila served him soup. He gulped the soup but continued to tremble.
That same night Kamil interrogated him about the trains and the army bases scattered along the main roads. He calmed down as he confirmed that in recent days train traffic had doubled. Civilian transport had been suspended. Of the trains carrying Jews, he said, “The screams reach to the heavens.”
“What do you want to do?” Kamil asked him in a friendly tone.
“To be with you,” he said, and he burst into tears.
DANZIG REJOICES: Milio has called him Papa.
“How many times?”
“Just once.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Everyone is happy for Danzig, as if forgetting for the moment the dangerous missions ahead.
“Milio is not mute, I knew it,” Danzig murmurs over and over in a monotone, out of character for a huge man and squad commander.
“If he said ‘Papa,’ ” Salo weighs in, “it’s a sign that his speech has awakened and he will soon start talking.”
Milio is our perpetual mystery. His wide-open eyes are with us always. It’s hard to ignore him, even if you want to. His silence is stronger than any talk, but it’s hard to decipher this muteness.
He appears to understand very well everything that goes on around him. But at times his appearance suddenly changes, and he looks as though he feels sad for himself and for Danzig: Today we are together, but who knows where we will be tomorrow. Once I had parents, and they are gone, his eyes seem to say. Now I am afraid that Danzig will go away and not come back.
The word “Papa” emerging from Milio’s sealed lips has completely transformed Danzig. When Danzig is happy, his face changes and he stares into space like a child. Everyone who goes out with him on a mission knows how dedicated he is to each of us. Sometimes it seems as though he’s going to sit his squad down under a tree, and he alone will continue the mission.
Grandma Tsirl has said, “We should learn to be happy from Danzig. He knows how to empty himself of everything unconnected to joy and happiness.” When Danzig goes to visit Grandma Tsirl, she declares, “I’m happy you came; it’s not every day such a giant comes to see me.”