“Where have you been?” For the first time, Mr. Kos’s voice was sharp. For a moment, no one spoke. The adults stared at the three children, waiting for an explanation. Their faces showed a combination of anger and relief. “Do you have any idea how terrified we have been? Your grandmother is inside, so sick with worry she had to lie down.”
Gabi turned to her mother. “Mama, I’m so sorry. We lost track of time. We —”
“Lost track of time? You should be in the hayloft with me — not outside, keeping track of time.” Mama was furious.
“I know it was dangerous and stupid. But it’s been so hard to stay in the barn day after day, night after night. We just wanted to be outside for a short while.” It was useless. Gabi’s reasoning was weak. She knew that in Mama’s eyes there would be no excuse for taking this kind of risk.
“It was my fault,” Eva suddenly spoke up. “I convinced Gabi and Max to go out at night and take me with them.”
Mr. Kos turned to face his granddaughter. “Evichka, how could you do this?” he asked harshly. “You know how dangerous it is for us to hide Gabi and her family. We’ve trusted you with all the information about what we are doing. Now you’ve put us all at risk. I don’t know how we can trust you again.”
“No,” said Gabi. She couldn’t allow Eva to take the blame for what she and Max had been doing for some time. “It’s not Eva’s fault.” Gabi avoided her mother’s eyes as she began to explain about the night walks that she and Max had been taking. “We thought we would do it only once. I knew it was wrong, but it was a kind of adventure. And it felt so good to be outside. After we discovered the road, we just needed to go again and again,” she added, looking directly at Mr. Kos. “But tonight, Mama, we met the partisans in the forest. They’ve been camping there for some time, destroying parts of the road.”
“There are hundreds of them in the forest, Auntie Judith. They’re on our side. They’re fighting against the Nazis. And they want us to help them.” Max explained how the partisan commander had invited the children to continue their night patrols and report anything unusual about the building of the road. Mama looked horrified.
“This is madness!” she wailed, looking to Mr. Kos for support and then back to the children. “It’s a miracle that you haven’t been caught by the Nazis until now. I forbid you to go out again.”
Mr. Kos thought for a moment. “I know about these partisans. The work they are doing to help overthrow the Nazis is dangerous, but also important. If there is some way the children can help, maybe we should let them do it. Gabi and Max are clever. Look what they’ve managed to do already — even under our watchful eyes. And Evichka has known her way around these forests since she was an infant.”
“Yes, Mama. It feels like we’re doing something to help, instead of just sitting around hiding and waiting. Please say you’ll let us go.” Gabi pleaded with her mother.
It was unusual for Gabi to disagree with Mama. She hardly recognized herself, arguing defiantly like this. But something had overcome her there in the forest — a new sense of strength and freedom. How could she explain to her mother what it felt like to be with the partisans?
Gabi had been eight years old when the war broke out in 1939. For years, other people had told her when she could play outside, with whom she could play, when she could shop, and even where she could walk. She had hated it. Now for the first time, she felt in charge of what she was doing. And that felt good, even if her actions were upsetting to Mama. Gabi was determined that somehow she would get her mother to agree to their plan to return to the forest.
Meanwhile, Mama continued to resist. Mr. Kos took the children’s side. He suggested he could get false identification papers for Gabi and Max, stating that they were Catholic. Mama argued that, while Gabi might be able to pass for a local with her blond hair, the papers would probably do little good for Max who had dark eyes and dark hair. Mama also voiced her concern that not all partisans were friendly to Jews. How could the partisans be trusted not to turn on the children? Mr. Kos insisted that, whatever their prejudice against Jews, the main goal of the partisans was to defeat the Nazis. When Mr. Kos offered that the children could bring extra food to the partisans, Mama reminded him that he had barely enough food for his own family.
Max watched as the discussion continued. Like Gabi, he felt the need to be with the partisans and do something useful. The partisan commander had called him a young soldier and that’s what he wanted to be — a soldier who could fight the enemy that had taken away his family. Surely, Auntie Judith could understand how much that meant to him.
“Last night, there was another report on the radio,” continued Mr. Kos. “Two Jewish inmates managed to escape from a concentration camp called Auschwitz. They brought more information about the treatment of Jews, reports that confirm what your cousin Magda wrote to you. Jews are being murdered by the thousands. This is important information for the partisans. It will increase their determination to do everything in their power to stop the Nazis. The children have an important role to play here, Judith. I know it is frightening to think of them returning into the woods. But they have the opportunity to bring this kind of information to the partisans. Can you see how important this might be?”
Mama closed her eyes and gulped. The world was closing in on all Jews in Europe. But at least here, in this barn with her children close to her, she had felt a sense of safety. With the knowledge that Gabi and Max had left the hayloft to go into the woods, this illusion suddenly disappeared. Yet their obvious determination to help the partisans was admirable. She looked over at Gabi and Max and her heart filled with love. How young they were to have to suffer so much in this war. And how brave they were to want to do something to help. She understood their need to take charge, to feel they were fighting back for all the terrible things that had happened to them. But how could she bear to let them go? She, too, needed courage and strength.
Finally, Mama turned to face Gabi. “You are so young and so brave, my darling Gabilinka. Your Papa would be so proud of you.” Gabi swallowed hard as Mama reached out to stroke her cheek. “And you too, Max. Your parents and your sister would admire your courage. Maybe, by going out at night, you’ll be helping them in some way.”
Gabi threw herself into her mother’s arms, while Max stood still, blinking back his own tears. He was going to be a soldier and that was most important. Eva moved forward and Mama took her hand as well. “But promise me,” she continued, “from now on, you will wake me when you go out at night. If you are going to be out there and take such risks, then at least I have the right to be awake and worry about you!”
Gabi looked up and smiled at her mother. “That’s a deal.”