The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos

Author:Roxanne Veletzos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

There was nothing out of the ordinary at first. As she and her father made their way home through the clatter of streetcars and billboards of factory workers swaying joyfully arm in arm, she saw nothing unusual, save perhaps a looming shadow, a blur that hung loosely in the corner of her eye. For several blocks, she paid no attention, until the shadow gained forward momentum and came into full view, and she noticed it was a black town car, an unmarked automobile with tinted windows and no license plate. The car swerved out of traffic, coming to an abrupt stop, and a man—stocky and rather sinister-looking despite the expensive overcoat—emerged through the back door. He might have been any man, a stranger with whom they were merely crossing paths, but the way he stood before them—arms folded at his chest, feet splayed apart—made it clear that he was not.

Above his raised collar, his eyes were hard and fixed, and Natalia saw nothing in them, not even a trace of interest, as he mouthed, “Sir, are you Anton Goza?”

“Yes, yes, I am,” her father replied, paling, though his head remained high. “How is it that I can help you?”

“Sir, you are under arrest. You will need to come with us.” Placing a gloved hand on top of the car’s back door, he opened it all the way, almost courteously, as if he was inviting him to step in.

Natalia’s gaze darted alarmingly between the man and her father. This was not a police car. And this man was certainly not wearing a police uniform. How could he arrest her father? She nearly smiled, thinking it had to be some kind of a mistake. A joke, perhaps. She did actually let out a sound, something like a stunned chuckle.

“Papa?”

And then it came to her. The realization hit her with such force that her knees nearly buckled. This was no ordinary police; this had to be the Secret Police. But what did they want with her father? The Securitate only dealt with crimes against the state. Her father was not an agitator, an activist. On the contrary, he kept to himself and spoke to virtually no one these days. Why would they want him? Then she remembered the stories she had heard on street corners, rumors of unexpected arrests and kidnappings, of people disappearing in the night, never to be seen again, and for no reason at all.

“No!” she yelled, her voice raspy and choked. “Papa, run!”

She tugged on his sleeve frantically, but he just stood there, not moving, not running. As if he wasn’t at all surprised. “Go home, Talia,” he said sternly, gripping her shoulder. “Go directly home, and do not stop for any reason.”

With that, he took off his hat and climbed into the backseat.

“Why?” she screamed. “Why? He has done nothing!”

But the man in the dark coat was already sliding in next to him, and the door was slamming shut, and all she could glimpse of her father as the car sped away was the back of his head dropping backward, as if he was taking a long breath.

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