Together in Another Place Read Online Free PDF Page B

longer or bear to hear Judith’s sighs of anguish.
    ‘My
daughter is sick! Leave us here to tend to her?’
    ‘No!
There will be no changes!’ the leader called out in brutal honesty, ‘none! The
decision’s been made.’
    ‘Who
by…and do they care?’
    ‘You
will do as you’re told, sir. Besides, I am told the facilities are better where
you are going to…’
    ‘And
on the train?’ another man was emboldened to call out.
    ‘Provision
will be made for you…for one and all.’
    The man to whom
these questions had been directed now joined the group of OD staff who had
gathered by the main door of the barrack block. Their expressions showed their
relief that they would not be on the afternoon’s train. They could deal with
their fellows with moderate equanimity and breathe a little easier for the next
seven days.
    ●
    Harriette
walked quickly as if each step kept pace with her furiously beating heart.
    She
had to see him, to tell Simon of all that had happened and to have him know
that they would be together on the next stage of their life’s journey however
that was to be arranged. They had met within this bounded scrap of ground
called Westerbork. Soon, in matter of hours, they would be on a train. She
couldn’t keep from worrying about that prospect.
    Would
she be separated from him now?
    Where
would Simon be?
    His
smile and gentle touch had brought calm to her anxious spirit.
    Was
there a chance that they would meet again at the place destined to be their
next stop if…heaven forbid…they became separated?
    Her
shoes crunched on the gravel and she dodged between the people gathered by each
block that she passed; many stood by small suitcases and others by soft flimsy
bags. All of their life’s possessions, all that they were allowed to bring, were
close at hand. There was so little of it.
    She,
Mother and Pa, even her sick sister Betty, were reduced to carrying these small
pathetic bundles. But, her spirit, deep within her, remained undimmed and Simon
in his own charming ways had set her free.
    Now
she looked for the hut number and the door that he had been barred from
entering only a few nights ago.
    There
he was! Her heart leapt at the sight of him. There he was, the young man who
still wore his cap at a jaunty angle. But, his tie was neatly fastened and he
gave every sign of going on a journey that held a certain outcome.
    Why was that?
    ‘Simon!
Simon! I’m here!’ she called out and scurried to be with him.
    ‘And…and?’
he kissed breathlessly, ‘what is the news? I was wondering if I should come
looking for you.’
    ‘I’ve
done what we agreed…I have come here to you.’
    She
clung to his arms and slid her hands until she could grip Simon’s fiercely, possessively.
    ‘Yes…I
forgot.’
    ‘There’s
no time now…no time at all…to do this.’
    She
kissed his fingers then placed them to her lips.
    ‘I
want so much more of you…do you understand?’ he said softly.
    Simon
bowed his head until it touch hers; he had taken off his cap so that the peak
would not interfere in this moment of intimacy.
    ‘I
am going with you…I am leaving too. Mother and Pa are collecting Betty from the
sanatorium…somehow. I have to be sure that I can meet them…at the train.’
    ‘There’s
not a trace of humanity in them…if they put her on it,’ he said with evident
bitterness.
    ‘Be
still, now,’ she asked of him. A weak smile had passed her lips. ‘I remember
you telling me once…not to be so angry.’
    ‘Yes,’
he nodded and she heard his surprise that she should think of that moment now. In
a sliding caress of his fingers he touched her cheeks and then cupped her face
in his hands so that she would meet his gaze upon her. ‘Whatever happens…I am
near you.’
    ‘I
have your necklace…’
    ‘Yes,
I am glad. I also have something else for you. I wrote a letter to you…early
this morning.’
    He
shrugged his apology for the scrap of paper that it had been written on and
that he