Father!

One morning I was carrying home a heavy can of water (those small towns did not have running water), surrounded by the usual feeling of darkness. As I entered the house my aunt came from her adjoining store followed by someone. I was too depressed to even look to see who it was, until Irene told me to look who is here. The moment I looked up and saw my father's kind face smiling at me I turned into a different person. We embraced warmly as the "sunshine" melted away my misery. There is no word to describe the happiness I felt being close to my father.

A new animation surged into me, even though it was just a short visit. My father also used this occasion to inform me about the shocking deportation of some Jewish families from our town. He did not have to say what for, we both knew very well. A feeling of deep sadness seeped into our soul. The blood froze in our veins as a sense of mourning descended on us.

My father soon had to leave, my happiness to see him being short-lived. I escorted him far out to the green meadows on the outskirts of town. My father found a childhood friend along the way, Mrs. Klein, who was the mother of one of my new friends. They knew each other since their late teens, so we stopped a while and they had some time to refresh their memories. I told my father how homesick I was before he left, but he offered me no hope of escaping my present misery.

© David Muskal, 2001