It was spring, but there was no birdsong. They had left to more accepting climes, as we should have. Or they had been killed.
For as long as I could remember it had been me and my mother, alone, but together. She never spoke of my father, though when anxious I often caught her twisting the tarnished wedding band that graced her bent fingers. She worked many hours of many types of jobs. As the war has continued, however, the types of work she was able to secure offered only a pittance.
The presence of soldiers in our small village worried no one. The stars sewn onto our arms made my mother uneasy. We planned to emigrate as quickly as possible, my mother worked more hours than usual, and with me by her side. What began as a snowflake landing …show more content…
The soft green shoots of spring growth lazily stretched their limbs over the landscape. Mother stroked my hair in a calming manner, attempting to hide her trembling fingers.
Fences, barbed wire, and white skulls raced across my eyes and the train shuddered to a stop. My mother was twisting the empty space where ring had been. The doors opened and the crush of people forced us into the camp.
“Men to the left! Women to the right!” Mother turned and spoke to me frantically, “Keren, Keren we mustn't be separated,” Her hands fluttered to my face. “Stay with me.” I think then she knew what would happen to her. Maybe saving me from the life in the camps was the last gift she could have offered. I nodded jerkily.
A man stood at the front of the line of women, stripped of pride we a looked the same, I did not know what he was looking for, only age seemed the most important. My mother was before me, he gestured to the right and she went. He glanced at me and pointed to the left.
“I will stay with my mother.” The strength in my voice surprised me. Inside my thoughts recoiled at the loudness of it. He looked at me again, for longer, I shook with fear. He pointed to the right. A sigh of relieve forced itself out of