Once they were seated comfortably in Yehoshua’s car, Eitan could no longer stand the mystery.
“Yehoshua, come on. Tell us, where are we going.”
Excited to fill them in on the secret, Yehoshua finally relented. Now was as good a time as any. Certainly, this would take their minds off their conversation with Avi.
“Ok, listen. I am taking you to see Vera.”
“Vera! Wow that’s great. I would love to see her,” Emma said with joy in her voice.
For the first time that Eitan could remember in a while, Emma’s smile returned.
“Yehoshua, if it is safe to go see her, then let’s go,” she said. Yehoshua nodded.
Even in Tel Aviv’s grinding midday traffic, Yehoshua arrived at Vera’s building in just under twenty minutes. The Beit HaShikun Nursing Home, a luxury assisted living facility, was located in the Ramat Hachayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv, amidst the numerous new buildings housing high tech firms and medical research institutes. It was located at 32 Raoul Wallenberg, and Eitan appreciated the irony that Vera’s final address honored another hero of the Shoah. Raoul Wallenberg had led one of the most extensive efforts to rescue Jews during the Nazi era.
Yehoshua, Eitan, and Emma rode the elevator up two floors to Vera’s apartment. The door was open, and a nurse was waiting to guide them through a small but handsome room. It was nicely equipped with a kitchenette and a sitting area. Vera’s bedroom was airy and bright with a small balcony overlooking a grassy field. Vera lifted her head from her pillow and smiled as she invited her three guests to take a seat beside her.
“Welcome to my new home!” Vera said with all the strength she could muster. “Yehoshua, you are a man of your word. You brought by Rabbi Groh and his lovely wife.”
“It’s so great to see you,” Emma responded. “We are so glad that you are comfortable here in Israel surrounded by your people, finally.”
“It’s been quite a journey, Vera, but you are home,” Eitan said as Vera reached for his hand and held it in hers.
“I think I have smiled more in the few weeks that I have been here than I have in the last seventy years. I may not have much time left, but every time I gaze out of the window, it reminds me that they didn’t win. They didn’t destroy us.”
“No, they didn’t. And they never will,” Eitan added proudly.
They spoke for a few more minutes. Vera was overjoyed to see them. It was all she wanted. Someone who knew her story and could testify that she had made it out of the cursed land. She’d survived. And she had finally come home.
Emma and Eitan chatted with Vera for a while. Mostly about nothing important. How was the food here? Have you made any friends? But Emma and Eitan knew Vera’s homecoming was primarily symbolic. Her vigor had abated. She did not leave her bed. Her time for making friends had elapsed. What was left was to live her last days with a permanent smile, knowing that she would die on holy soil where Jews were known for building and creating, not for being hunted and slaughtered.
Eventually, Vera closed her eyes and nodded off to sleep with a smile.
“Thank you for coming here,” she whispered softly with her eyes already closed. “You will never know what seeing you means to me.”
“No,” Emma said, “it is us who should be thanking you. I am so glad we got to spend this time with you. You are a hero to us.”
Eitan added, “We are so proud of you, Vera. Thank you for all you have done for our people.”
Yehoshua smiled, took a deep breath and said, “Now, let’s get you two back to the kibbutz so you can rest up and relax a little. It’s been a very emotional day.”