Karolina's Twins (Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart #3)

by Ronald H. Balson

What did any of us look like? Heads shaven, skin and bones, no makeup, pasty white complexions, sores from biting bugs. Some of us had lost teeth; the rest were yellowed. We saw beauty in a different way. A deeper way. Chaya Aronovich was a beautiful person. She took the time to befriend me and teach me the ropes.

The heart regenerates. It always manufactures another piece to give away.

“He looked at me and I could see water in his eyes and he said, ‘All these months, all these years, I dreamed we’d meet again and we would talk about our future.’ With that, David put his arm around me, raised his glass and his voice and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, may I invite you to another wedding. In one month, in this synagogue, God willing, Lena Scheinman and I will be married.’

“The few of us that returned after the war faced a town that had been subjected to and even tolerated Nazi propaganda for over ten years. Many blamed the Jews for the war. After all, they saw the war as Hitler’s campaign to rid Europe of the Jewish scourge. Goebbels ran a very effective propaganda machine. I’m not saying everybody harbored these feelings, and there are always exceptions, but generally Polish towns were unfriendly to returning survivors. It was obvious to David and me that we were unwelcome and unable to integrate into the non-Jewish fabric of Chrzanów.