Recap: Sabrina, Miri, and Katie were searching in the woods for Esther’s siblings: little sister Ita and her twin siblings, Ruthy and Naftali. They found the twins, but Ita was frightened and ran away. They are trying to find Ita when they come across Iberian wolves.
I pulled the children close and covered them with my body. I squeezed my eyes shut and said Sh’ma. This was it. I didn’t have to worry about informers. The wolves would take care of that! I waited for the excruciating pain of teeth sinking into me.
Two shots rang out. “Takka takka!”
Silence. Nothing moved.
The children were crying softly.
I opened my eyes. The moon glowed eerily like an all-seeing eye.
Two wolves lay dead a few feet away from me.
My whole body trembled.
A tall man strode toward us. Was he from the Inquisition?
What was I supposed to tell him? My mind froze. The children squirmed out from under me. “Madre. I want my madre!” Ruthy cried.
Just then, Sabrina and Katie ran over, all out of breath. “Are you all right? We heard gunshots,” Sabrina said.
“Yes, baruch Hashem.” I pointed toward the man with the gun.
“He shot the wolves.”
“Wolves!” Katie stared at the two dead animals.
“Mr. Sanchez. I’m so glad you’re here. Ita Ben-David is frightened, and she ran away from us. We’re trying to bring her back to the castle. These are her twin siblings.” Sabrina nodded toward the children. Sabrina knew the man who saved us.
“Where?” he asked.
She pointed ahead.
He turned toward Katie and me. “Go with the children. The carriage is behind those trees. Take them inside.”
Sabrina ran ahead, leading the way, with Mr. Sanchez racing behind.
I took Ruthy’s hand, and Katie took Naftali’s. We led them toward the carriage.
“Madre,” Ruthy whimpered. Naftali was crying softly.
“Come, we’ll take you to Esther. We’re going to find Madre.”
We helped them up into the carriage and climbed inside beside them.
Ruthy leaned near me. I put my arm around her and tried to comfort her. I wished I knew more Spanish words.
Ruthy’s whimpering faded, and her head fell on my shoulder. Her breathing was even. Naftali fell asleep leaning against Katie.
Waiting here in the still of the night, I said T’hilim that I knew by heart. If only they would find Ita quickly and bring her back to the carriage. A terrifying thought flashed in my mind. What if someone, an informer, came now looking for the children? What would we say?
I shivered. “Please, Hashem, don’t let anyone come.”
So much had happened. Still, the main question remained unanswered.
I whispered in Katie’s ear. “How did we end up in another time period? How could it be?”
Katie shook her head slowly. “How will we get back? I miss my parents. They must be frantic with worry. I’m scared!”
I thought of my mother. She must be so worried. Would we ever see our families again?
Katie was wiping away tears. I had to be the strong one. So strange that our roles had changed. “I’ll make up a story. That always makes me feel better.”
I closed my eyes and tried to think of a story to distract us from our worries. Doing that helps me feel better whenever I feel lonely or scared.
I made up a character named Ariella who was a princess lost in the woods. I had a whole plot going on, and Katie was listening to my whispered story with rapt attention.
Just then, we heard them coming back. Baruch Hashem, Mr. Sanchez appeared holding a little girl in his arms, and Sabrina and Katie were right behind.
The little girl was crying, and Sabrina was talking to her in Spanish. Whatever she said, it calmed the little girl.
Baruch Hashem, we were all safe.
Mr. Sanchez mounted the front of the carriage, and Katie and Sabrina piled in, with Sabrina holding Ita’s hand.
Mr. Sanchez turned to us and whispered, “I am going to drive the carriage as fast as I can to beat the sunrise.”
We needed the darkness for cover. My heart pounded in time to the horses’ steady hoofbeats as we galloped back toward the castle.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of 11 popular Jewish books, including her newly released historical fiction novel The Blizzard (Menucha 2026) and recently published novel Captured (Menucha 2025). She is also the current news editor of Binyan Magazine.
