Survival by M. Ben Yanay

Author:M. Ben Yanay
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Mystery, World War II, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Jewish, War & Military, Holocaust, Thriller & Suspense, Literary Fiction, Family Life, European, Historical, World, Military, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, War, Thriller, History
Published: 2016-12-25T06:00:00+00:00

15. The Test

Terry passed the first test at the home of Ernst Buhler Freiherr [the second rank of nobility in the German-speaking world] and his wife, Zelma Buhler Freifrau. They ordered a velvet dress from Terry for their young and rebellious child, Yulia, whose German title was Freiin.

Yulia loved the light blue dress Terry had sewn for her. She also loved to sit in Terry’s company in the course of the three days that took to get it ready. She asked Terry all sorts of questions about her youth. Terry told her about her Christian family, about her days in the youth camp one summer, about the many hours she spent with her girlfriends by the river. Terry told her about the old seamstress in whose house she learned how to sew. Her name was Rosa Greenfeld, a well-to-do widow. This was the first time Terry had come to know any Jewish customs and ways.

Freiin Yulia was grateful for her stories. At the end of each day, she would go over to the kitchen and prepare some package for Terry. Once, the parcel comprised a fresh apple along with a plum jam sandwich. Another time, she gave Terry a bag with potatoes and a carrot. On the third and last day, she gave her a few thick slices of bread. Those were three wonderful days, during which Terry got to wash her hands in fragrant soap and bring her kids some wholesome, hygienic food.

The second house Terry had worked in required her presence for as long as an entire week. It was at the home of Oberst [Colonel] Helmut August Heine, an elderly, burly widower with aching legs. Nevertheless, his pain did not stop him from attempting to grab at Terry’s chest and behind at any chance he got. This made Terry sick, but what could she do? Whom could she possibly complain about this to? Who would hear her out and believe her? By then, Jews were beyond the point of being allowed to complain.

One day during that god-awful week with him, she toyed with the idea of slapping him across the face. Nevertheless, an involuntarily shake at the very thought made Terry come right back to her senses. She did fear his revenge, but as the days passed, she grew calmer. No one approached her on his behalf, and she heard no news of him.

Her other private clients were mostly occasional jobs—some men, but mostly women—who had become regular clients. Between one appointment at this house and then another, she kept coming to the factory in exchange for a measly scrap of food.

*

Terry reached the red ditch and leaned over the edge. She took out a tin cup and filled it up with blood. She heard horses neighing. The makeup of the animals reaching the slaughter had changed of late. She saw mostly mules and horses. Nevertheless, it’s the same blood, she thought and paced faster. She would soon return to camp, cut the bread into thin slices and hand it out to the hungry children at the shed.

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