Rena's Promise Read Online Free PDF Page A

difficult for me, but I must ask. It is no longer safe in Tylicz for Rena. Her mother and I are worried for her safety every day."
"I heard what happened last night, Mr. Kornreich. I understand your concern."
"I have no money to pay you for this favor."
"Sir, I would not take any money from you. She is my friend since childhood. I will do whatever you ask to help your daughter."
"Thank you." Papa paused, stroking his chin where his beard should have been. "You seem like a man of your word. If you

     

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would bring Rena across the border to Slovakia, her mother and I might find sleep at night."
"I will see to it," Andrzej answered gallantly. "And I swear that with my life I'm going to guard her and not one hair is going to fall from her head. I give you my word of honor that I will bring her safely to Slovakia according to your wishes. I will hold only her hand because it is rough terrain, but I will not touch her, sir. You may trust me."
My father concluded their business with a handshake, but there was a look in his eyes I had never seen before, the appearance of complete humiliation and defeat.
That evening my mother kissed my brow, weeping. "Rena, be brave, be careful, be well."
I promised to write and send them food. "I'll come home as soon as things get better."
"Safe journey," Papa said solemnly. "Bless you." I kissed him good-bye and hugged Danka. Then I walked into the dark winter night, unchaperoned, to join Andrzej.
"We will have to walk all night. We cannot as much as whispernot a wordbecause the dogs can pick up sounds for a long diStance and once they begin to bark there is no stopping them," Andrzej instructed me. "The search teams will be out looking for us and the chance of slipping through their net is very slim. If I motion down, lie flat on the ground. Do not raise your head or move in the slightest until I motion you to get up." He took my hand. "I am going to hold your hand the whole way so you won't fall. It will be just like when we were children and I brought you and Danka down the hill."
It was rainy, cold, and just beginning to sleet. Whenever searchlights cascaded across the landscape we fell face down so as not to create a shadow. It would have been hard enough walking in that slippery slush in daylight while laughing and singing winter sledding songs, but silent, under threat of death, trying not to crunch through the new crust of snow, it was nearly impossible. Along a

     

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ravine, we threaded our way between trees, using the underbrush to hide our tracks.
Andrzej stumbled, losing his grasp on my hand for a second. Thrown off balance, struggling to keep from falling into the abyss below, I plummeted out of reach. Rolling down the steep incline, I grabbed at tree branches to break my fall as they ripped the mittens from my hands. Biting my tongue, I splashed into a stream with no cushion but ice-covered boulders. The silence of the night shrank. Icy water crept into my clothes. Our ears pricked up for the sound of rudely woken dogs in the nearby kennels. There was the sound of water dripping off my elbows. Neither of us dared move or breathe. No dogs barked.
Finally, Andrzej signaled for me to stand up. Slowly, bracing my hands against the river rocks, I stood. My legs were barely able to stand my weight, they were shaking so badly with cold and fear. Grabbing hold of a tree for an anchor, Andrzej reached toward me. My nails dug into his flesh. My muscles shuddered, but he didn't weaken as I forced myself up the embankment. Finally I stood on level ground. His hands rubbed mine, trying to warm them as I clamped my mouth shut to muffle the chattering of my teeth. He smiled, knowing how wet and cold I was, then, taking my hand more firmly than before, he led me toward our destination.
The light from the farmhouse seemed at first to be a mirage. I was sure I was dreaming; it was late, one or two in the morning, but there were these gorgeous lights shimmering out across