The Silver Music Box (Silver Music Box, #1)

by Mina Baites

In all the years of their marriage, they had never gone to sleep without feeling close to each other. But since Johann’s confession, a gulf had opened up between them. The oppressive silence in the bedroom was broken occasionally by the sound of the wind rustling the fruit trees in the garden.

Johann edged closer. How pointlessly they were wasting their time together! They should be savoring every hour, every minute left to them, instead of allowing themselves to be overcome by their fears, which would probably turn out to be unfounded.

“Our son deserves to grow up knowing that homeland and family mean more than social status or religious affiliation. I’m his father. Who’s going to teach him that if I don’t?”

At that moment it occurred to him that there were more theaters of war than he could ever have imagined. One of them was being waged among the men.

“You never get anything in life without having to give something else up,” she had once told him. She had never imagined it would one day be her from whom he parted.

“Now we know why!” Gertrud cried. “How dare you deceive us like that! To think we entrusted the care of our innocent Aryan children to a Jew like you!”

It’s not a good thing to be alone in a foreign country.”

“And so few are willing to stand by us. Why are we being treated like this? It seems as though we’ll never know peace.”

The brave face Emma had been keeping up all day finally failed her, and she cried as the wind began to howl.

Then she heard a noise that sounded like suppressed sobbing. “Oh, Lord, thank you. You’ve answered my prayers.” The woman’s voice was soft. “Your real name is Gesa. Gesa Blumenthal. I’ve hoped beyond hope to hear your voice one day. Yes, your father’s alive.”

“I will. I can’t believe it. Come home, little one, and we’ll explain everything. You’ve made an old woman very happy. We’ll see you soon.”

Their eyes met and he smiled a little crookedly, just like in the photo. Lilian stood rooted to the spot. Everything seemed to be reaching her through a veil. Then, she began to walk toward him as if in a trance, and saw her own image reflected in his features. The old woman pressed her hand to her heart. Lilian found herself running, seeing only a pair of widespread arms—and sank, sobbing, against his breast. All her fears, her worries, were suddenly gone, vanished into thin air. His embrace enfolded her like a protective cocoon. Here, in this moment, Lilian found what it was she had been missing her whole life long.