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If once the awesome sight of a steam locomotive heaving into view had brought a rush of intense excitement, now it awakened only bitter memories. Elone held my hand tight, while even Nicolae was subdued as the mechanical behemoth advanced upon us, and I knew we were all thinking the same thoughts. Our laden silence required no explanation.
The engine ground to a shuddering halt and a blast of steam issued forth from between the filthy wheels, barely missing us, but we seemed hardly to notice.
I looked around the station for confirmation that the train was bound for Warsaw, where Wojciech had told us we must change trains to complete our journey. A guard was dutifully chalking the relevant information onto a weathered board. No passengers alighted and I noted with disinterest that we were the only three people to embark.
We selected our seats carefully, opting for an empty centre carriage. A hiss of steam could be heard as the engine generated power and suddenly the wheels screamed against unforgiving rails and we lurched backwards as the carriages groaned into motion.
Painful memories fought for pre-eminence and I took solace from the knowledge that on this occasion we had tickets bearing the right to comfortable seats.
As the journey continued we slowly relaxed, as rekindled memories faded. Elone and Nicolae began to play like children again and I watched them jealously, knowing it was incumbent on me to maintain a distance from such juvenile displays, for they were my personal responsibility now.
It would not do for a guard or other passenger to come by and find three children playing alone. As Izabella had stressed to me, mine was the dutiful role of responsible elder sibling and, if anyone asked, I was to say I was sixteen. When I objected that I barely looked my twelve years, Izabella had shook her head and advised me this was not so, and that I could pass as someone older
I had taken delight in this assurance for, if it is the way of young people to will their years away, my desire for mature years was all the more urgent for that it was driven by need. The need to be able to look after Nicolae and Elone properly, in a way no twelve year old could be expected to manage.
But manage I must, for if previously our only option had been to return to our friends in the forest, even that was now closed as we rumbled cumbersome through the unknown Polish countryside.
We stopped infrequently at stations along the way, few of which I would even venture to pronounce, and I found myself pondering the nature of language. If I had discovered there were words in common betwixt my native Romanian and my newly acquired Polish, still the differences were so many that it was hard to believe we were all but neighbouring countries.
I was deep in contemplation of such imponderables when I felt a tiny hand slip into mine and looked down to see Elone snuggling to my side. A smile played on my lips as I saw Nicolae had fallen asleep on the seat opposite. I crossed over briefly to make him comfortable, wrapping his coat around his shoulders, then returned to where Elone waited patiently.
“I have something for you, Anca,” she said as I retook my seat. She thrust a hand into her pocket and extracted a silk purse.
I could not hide my astonishment as she loosened the cord and tipped the contents into the palm of my hand.
“It is from Wojciech. He gave it to me to look after while you were saying goodbye to Izabella.”
I took the coins cautiously, hardly daring to believe our good fortune.
As if reading my thoughts, Elone explained, “He said he knew you would not accept any money from him, so he told me to look after it for you. He said that you were too stubborn. Like a mule.” She laughed at the simile and I smiled along, knowing he was quite right. Money had been offered, but I had declined most vociferously, intent that we did not draw upon our hosts’ meagre resources more than was necessary.
“Elone, you ought not have accepted this,” I said, grateful indeed that she had.
“Wojciech said that is what you would say,” the child laughed. “That is why he told me not to give it to you until we had been on the train a while. I hope we have travelled far enough, Anca.”
I passed my arm around her neck and hugged her tightly. “You did the right thing, Elone. Bless you.”
“Are you not going to count the money?”
I looked down at the assortment of coins and shrugged. It was a long time since I had handled money on my own, though I knew that the lei of my native Romania had become all but worthless. I looked at the zloty in my palm and decided for now simply to relish the fact that we had money at all. The amount, its nominal value or its true market worth, was for now unimportant.
I slipped the coins back into the purse and secured it in my coat pocket, drawing Elone to me.
“We can count it later, Elone. Let us rest for now, for we will need all our strength when we get to Krakow. I will need your eager eyes to help find Henryk’s home, and I will need your help to look after Nicolae. Will you do that for me?”
She looked up and smiled at me. “Of course, Anca. I will do anything for my friends.”
I bent down and kissed her forehead.
“Then shut your eyes and rest, Elone, as I ask. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
True to her word Elone did as she was bid, snuggling down and closing her eyes. Very soon she was asleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts to watch the Polish countryside go by.
Dusk became dark but I could not sleep, lost in deep and forbidding thoughts, soothed only by the gentle roll of the carriage as the steaming locomotive drew us on through the still night.