Recap: Aida is unjustly punished by the Arab teacher just because she is Jewish. When she comes home, her father tells her that he is going on a business trip and he shows her some of his important papers, just in case. He says it’s always risky when Jews go away on business.
It was Sunday and Aba was scheduled to leave soon. I noticed a paper on the front hall table. It had someone’s last name and address in Canada.
Ima was reading on the couch in the living room. She winced.
“Ima, what’s wrong?”
“Pain here.” She pointed to the left side of her chest.
She had pain there once in a while, and Aba usually gave her a remedy. Aba didn’t just run a spice business; he also was a natural healer, and people came to him all the time with various ailments. He knew about herbs and nutritional ways to heal. “Shouldn’t you tell Aba?” I asked.
Ima rose. “I don’t want to bother him now when he’s leaving for the trip. It will just cause him to worry.”
I was thinking it would be smarter to tell him, but Ima knows me well.
“Don’t say anything, Aida. It is better for me if you don’t.” She moaned softly as she lowered herself back onto the couch.
I wanted to protest further, but Ima’s blue eyes implored me to listen.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Stella stood in the doorway; her cheeks were flushed and she was out of breath. “Aida, hurry. Rabbi H just got a shipment of siddurim and T’hilim books and he’s giving them out to whoever wants. Hurry.”
“Ima, I’ll be back soon,” I called and rushed out the door with Stella.
It was still sunny outside and the fall air was crisp. Stella and I raced down the cobblestone street. Rabbi H’s house was a few blocks down from Stella’s.
“Libby told me about the shipment. It just came from this woman in Canada. I’m so excited. Libby said he has T’hilim from Eretz Yisrael.”
“Shh!” I motioned to the house we were passing. Just then one of the Palestinian boys who lived in the run-down house strode outside. He stared at us and shouted “Musawi, Musawi.”
My heart started pounding. I wanted to dash away, but Stella had put her arm on my shoulder. She whispered, “Stay calm. If we run, he’ll run after us. Just pretend you don’t hear him.”
His taunts rang in our ears as we strolled away.
“I hate them. Why do they hate us?”
“You know what Rabbi H taught us about Yaakov and Eisav. Eisav hates Yaakov. It’s not changing until Mashiach.”
Rabbi H’s house loomed in front of us. We strolled through the courtyard gate. I rang the doorbell.
The Rebbetzin answered and ushered us in.
“Come, girls. Rabbi has lots of s’farim to give out.”
Rabbi H was in his study. There was a line of girls from our class standing in front of his desk. He had two huge boxes, and he carefully handed a siddur and a T’hilim to each girl.
Rabbi H asked everyone to stay and say T’hilim together. I was so excited to be reciting from my own T’hilim book. It was only as we were leaving the Rav’s house that I remembered that Aba was leaving today. What if I’d missed saying good-bye. “Stella, I have to run home. I want to say good-bye to my father.”
I raced down the stone street as fast as I could. The sun was just setting as I rushed into our courtyard and ran through the front door.
Ima was lying on the couch. The suitcases that were standing in the hallway before were gone.
“Where’s Aba?” I asked all out of breath.
“He left. He said to tell you he was sorry he couldn’t wait for you to come home. His cab was leaving.”
I had wanted so much to wish him a good, safe trip. The house felt so quiet and empty without Aba.
“Come sit with me, Aida. Don’t look so sad. Aba will come back soon. It’s just a business trip. He’s done this many times before.”
“Why Canada?” I asked.
Ima’s eyebrows shot up. “He goes all over on trips.”
“He never went to Canada before.”
Ima shrugged.
”Are you feeling better?”
Ima nodded.
“Please ask Katlin to start the dinner for us.”
I headed into the kitchen and spoke to our maid Katlin. Ima said she felt better but it wasn’t like her to stay on the couch and not go into the kitchen to supervise dinner preparation.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of an historical fiction novel, Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishing, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishing, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha Publishers, 2020), Denver Dreams (a novel, Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha Publishers, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022), and Alaskan Gold ( 2023-2024).
