Rena's Promise Read Online Free PDF

the snow. Andrzej motioned me toward the stable. There, snuggling between the horses and cows, we waited.
"This is the connecting point between the Slovakian and Polish undergrounds," he whispered into my ear. I nodded, knowing we were now safe.
They were greeted by a farmer who boasted about his poker game with the border guards, and his wife, who served them hot cocoa and gave Rena some dry clothes. The farmer, Karl, assumed that Rena and Andrzej would sleep together, but Andrzej assured him

     

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that that wouldn't be proper, so Rena was given the couple's bed while Andrzej slept in the attic. The next morning, dressed like Slovakian farmers, Karl, Andrzej, and Rena climbed into a wagon and headed for the city of Bardejov .
Outside of Uncle Jacob's, Andrzej took my hand. "I kept my promise to your father, didn't I?"
"Yes you did, Andrzej."
"I only held your hand." I wanted him to hold it forever and never let go. I was so frightened of this big city and this strange country.
"I love you, Rena."
"Thank you for delivering me to my Uncle Jacob Schützer's house." I blushed, darting inside.
Rena hid in the Schützers' house until she could speak Slovakian fluently, and had her long braids cut off so she would look more like a city girl. She tried to tell her aunt and uncle about the horrors the Jews in Poland were experiencing, but they thought she was being far too serious and didn't believe her. Cili and Gizzy, her cousins, tried to get Rena to go out and have fun. As hard as Rena tried, they just didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation .
Two weeks after my arrival in Bardejov, I saw Andrzej standing outside the house. He'd smuggled in a package from Mama with some clothes in it for me. I got nervous and tried to cut our conversation short, but he asked if we could speak privately. We stepped behind my uncle's house.
"I've just heard that they're going to start taking young Jewish people to camps for forced labor unless they are a mixed couple," Andrzej began. "If you were married to a Gentile there'd be a good chance they wouldn't take you." I wanted to stop his words before he spoke them. "I want to marry youtomorrow. I have it all arranged. My brother is living about fifteen kilometers away and has a room we can stay in. I would not have to go back and forth to Poland anymore, except for the important people, and we could live here in Slovakia, where it's safe."

     

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I was all alone. I had no one to talk with about this idea. I did not know what to do but I knew I could not betray my family or my faith. Finally I said, "I'm not actually happy in Slovakia, Andrzej. My parents are still in Poland and I'm dying for them. I am young and strong, more assertive than they are, yet they are the ones exposed to the Germans. I don't really want to stay here. I want to go home to Tylicz, but I can't and I don't know what else to do." My heart ached to tell him just once that I loved him, too, and if it were not for the rest of the world I would happily marry him. "There is still the matter of our religions, too," I said instead. "I'm sorry. I cannot be your wife." I couldn't look into his face any longer. "I can't talk to you anymore. My aunt and Uncle might get suspicious."
"If you change your mind, Rena, send word." He grabbed my hand in his for one tender moment. "I will never change mine." How I wanted to tell him the truth of my heart! But I remained silent and dutiful to my family, stepping back into the house bewildered and confused.
Jacob Schützer and his wife, Regina, gave Rena a weekly allowance and asked Gizzy and Cili to lend Rena some nice clothes to wear to the dances and the movies. Rena spent her allowance on food for her parents, though. Going to the marketplace to meet their Gentile friends from Tylicz was the closest she could get to home, and she waited eagerly for those days .
Most of the Jewish youths of Bardejov were involved with the Zionist organization. They