Greater Than Angels by Carol Matas

Author:Carol Matas [Matas, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781443128513
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

When sorrows come, they come not single spies,

But in battalions.

—Shakespeare, Hamlet

By August we’d been in Le Chambon almost a year. It’s funny the way time flew by—in May I had been admitted to the Cévenole School. And, of course, at night I delivered papers, and read and read and read. It was very demanding, the homework, the reading. And I hated math. I couldn’t understand it. Rudi, of course, was a genius at it. He did help me when we got back from our deliveries—but he’d get irritated with me for not catching on, so I’d dare him to recite the passage from Molière he was studying. Naturally, he couldn’t. We enjoyed tormenting each other.

I had managed to organize a little theatrical night in our house—a kind of talent night where once a month people got to do an act. I did something different each time—one time I’d sing, another I’d do a cabaret comedy act, another I’d get some kids and we’d do a scene from a play. It was a lot of fun, despite Rudi’s constant teasing about it.

I had many letters from Mother and Aunt Mina. They kept saying that they were fine, but in July, Klara got a letter from her mother saying that Mother was, in fact, quite ill and weak, and at the same time I got a letter from Mother saying that Klara’s father was very ill. We fretted and worried about it until I approached Madame Lévy, who still came to Le Chambon occasionally with children, and asked her to get me permission to return to Gurs to visit my mother. Why not? I was legally staying in the Red Cross house, I didn’t need false papers. Why shouldn’t I be able to visit? The others were sure I’d never get permission, but somehow the Swiss Red Cross arranged it all for me. One day, our house leader, Paul, came and told me that I would go the next day by train to Gurs. I think this made everyone else feel terrible that they hadn’t tried, but I assured them that after my visit, one by one, they could try to go, too.

I had to go down to the stream to bathe because the water pump had gone completely dry in the house. Still it was wonderful to dunk myself in that cold, clear spring water, to dress in clothes I’d boiled clean, to get myself all ready. Everyone gave me letters to take and somehow Rudi managed to get six tins of sardines, which I packed in my leather briefcase. Paul wasn’t able to go with me, so I had to travel alone. But I was almost sixteen and I felt I was up to it.

“You’ll watch for your stops now, won’t you?” Klara fussed.

“Of course I will.”

“Well, you know how you daydream. Your mind wanders. And suddenly you’ll be past your stop and your ticket won’t hold.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll watch.”

“Try not to draw too much attention to yourself, legs,” Rudi said.

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