The Girl From San-Daniele: A WW2 Historical Novel Inspired by the True Story of a Holocaust Survivor by Ilan Bahar

Author:Ilan Bahar [Bahar, Ilan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

A New State for the Jews

The soldiers and the mother superior saw how torn Liliana was, and agreed that she should think over what she wants to do: “Whatever you decide, you decide. We will help you however we can. We are your brethren…,” one of the soldiers told her, and they bid her a warm farewell.

“We are your brethren…,” the words played in her mind.

“We have things to do but we’ll come back in a few days and you can let us know what you’ve decided. If you decided to come with us, then you must be packed and ready to go. There’s no point staying here if you don’t really want to,” one of the soldiers said.

“Nor is there any point going with you if she doesn’t really want to,” the mother superior countered. The soldiers nodded in agreement.

“They look so handsome and healthy and strong,” the mother superior whispered to Liliana, surprising her. She had never spoken to her in such a personal manner before. “You will have time to decide.” Liliana nodded in understanding.

The soldiers said goodbye to the mother superior, who gazed at them fondly, perhaps even admiringly. “You are blessed by the Lord. May you succeed in all you do. When you return, Liliana will know exactly what she wants to do.”

Then she turned to Liliana, and in the soldiers’ presence, said to her: “You see, dear Liliana. Everyone wants you… You are loved, my girl… my daughter. The days of horror are over. Give thanks to the One who saved you,” she said in a voice filled with emotion as she gazed upward toward the heavens.

Liliana and the soldiers were carried away by emotion too, and looked up to the heavens along with her.

The days crept by. With the consent of the nun in charge, Liliana stopped attending morning mass. Though she felt certain of what she wanted, all the uncertainty and worry about her future made her restless. Where would she begin her new life? Would she ever find Max and Papà? How? Would the helping hand from the Jewish Brigade soldiers always be there for her? Would they abandon her once she left the monastery?

The mother superior’s troubling description of the hard life in Palestine also gave her pause for thought. She wondered if she was really up for such an adventure right now. In her condition. With nothing at all to her name. No family. All she really wanted was to return to the comfortable and “boring” life she’d had before the war with Mamma and Papà and her siblings. She wasn’t that keen to help build a new state for the Jews and move to another land where she would be surrounded by strangers. Jews, but strangers.

A week later, Liliana was summoned to the mother superior’s office. On her way there, she realized that she would have to inform the mother superior what she planned to do. She felt very uncomfortable. Feeling as if she was about to betray the mother superior and the nuns who had been so kind to her and saved her life.

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