The Orphan's Mother: An utterly heartbreaking and unputdownable WW2 historical novel by Marion Kummerow

Author:Marion Kummerow [Kummerow, Marion]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803143897
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-07-28T16:00:00+00:00

24

After tucking Jakub into bed, Irena retreated into the kitchen to clean their breakfast dishes and prepare lunch. She hadn’t thought about this before, but feeding an extra mouth on their ration cards wouldn’t work for long.

Luka was right, she had to return to the hospital and find Jakub’s mother as soon as possible. She pondered going right now, but didn’t dare leave the boy alone in her home. He’d be frightened to death if he woke and nobody was there. He might even crawl out of the crib and run away, to freeze to death before the day was over.

Sighing, she put the clean dishes onto the shelves. It had to wait until he woke up. Then the two of them would go to the hospital together and see if they could find his mother.

It wasn’t until noon that Jakub woke, crying. She rushed upstairs to console him and her soul lit up at the bright smile he cast her, thrusting his arms toward her. This was exactly how she’d imagined life with a child of her own. She picked him up, brushing a damp curl from his forehead.

“Jakub, we’ll get you dressed, because we are going to the hospital to find your mami,” she told him in a cheery voice. As usual, he didn’t understand, although his smile became brighter when she said ‘Mami’ and he nodded fervently.

With little food to spare, she made them both a cup of hot tea. While it brewed, she measured a spoonful of the cough medicine and handed him a glass of water to swallow it down. His disgusted-but-brave face was hilarious.

“Good boy,” she murmured, patting him on the back. “Taking the medicine and staying in the warm bed, you’ll get better in no time at all.” The experienced nurse in her raised a warning finger, whispering, “You know he shouldn’t be outside in his condition.”

From a medical point of view her endeavor was reckless, but what else was she to do if she wanted to find his mother?

She removed Jakub’s shoes from atop the tiled stove and said, “Put them on.”

Her heart swelled with warmth when the intelligent boy immediately understood and went to work. As she bent down to tie his shoelaces, he already was on it, albeit clumsy and slow.

“Well done. Come, Jakub. Let’s go find your mami.”

“Ja,” he answered, his pale face shining brighter than the sun itself.

She almost regretted having to return him to his mother, since he was such a delightful child. Putting on a hat, scarf and gloves, she motioned for him to wait while she rushed upstairs to get him a sweater of Luka’s.

Wrapped in her husband’s oversized sweater, Jakub looked hilarious. At least it would keep him warm. She wrapped a scarf around his head and opened the door for them to leave.

The chill outside was a shock, biting deep into her exposed cheeks. She readjusted first Jakub’s scarf and then her own to cover most of their faces, barely leaving squints for their eyes.

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