Recap: The children are captured, but Miri thinks fast and offers her watch, which Mr. Norman had given her, as a bribe to let them go. One of the men takes the bribe. A scuffle results among them over the watch. They are stopped by some other men who drag them off to the dungeon. The watch is left on the ground.
I sank back onto the hard ground.
“You okay?” Sabrina asked anxiously.
My head was hurting, but I didn’t want to complain.
“I’m fine. Just was dizzy for a minute there.”
“Do you want to rest before we start out?”
I needed to rest, but I couldn’t rest. We had to keep going. My head was pounding. I took a deep breath.
“No, no, let’s go. We’re so close now.”
Katie felt my forehead. “You’re warm.”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“Please don’t get sick now,” Katie said.
She was right. I couldn’t get sick now. We were so close to finding the Rabbi and a way to get back to our families.
Every muscle ached as I walked. We trudged on. The sun was beating down on us as we walked. My throat burned. I longed for something to soothe the pain. When I swallowed water, it was like my throat was on fire. We were almost there. Why did I have to get sick now?
Please, Hashem, help us get there. Please.
If only the unrelenting sun would sink lower in the sky. If only my head would stop pounding.
The dusty road stretched on and on.
“You okay?” Sabrina kept asking me.
I wasn’t okay, but I didn’t want to worry her.
“It’s fine,” I whispered. It hurt to talk.
Liselle kept walking, carrying her sleeping brother. She never complained, though I was sure she must be tired.
Would we ever reach Toledo?
In the distance, I saw a hill with tall, crowded stone-and-brick homes.
“We’re almost there,” Sabrina said.
Finally, we reached the outskirts of the city.
“Toledo is ahead,” Sabrina whispered.
We hadn’t heard any horses or carriages. The only sounds in the woods were our footsteps and the whirr and buzz of insects. Occasionally, we heard a coyote song from somewhere in the distance.
Sabrina called us into a huddle. “The Rabbi’s house is very close to here. Remember, if anyone stops us, we are all Christian children coming to visit a sick uncle.”
We all nodded solemnly.
Please don’t let anyone stop us!
Every muscle ached. A chill went through me. I shivered. Then, I felt hot. I tried to will away this uncomfortable feeling. There wasn’t time to be ill. We were almost at the Rabbi’s house.
“How much farther?” I asked. My voice was hoarse.
“It’s just down this street.”
We plodded onward.
“There!” Sabrina pointed to a stone house with a grove of olive trees in front. We strode up to the house, and Katie knocked. The sound echoed.
Liselle Rosa was still carrying her sleeping brother. “I can’t wait to go inside and rest,” she said.
I said a prayer. Hashem, please help the Rabbi to help us. Liselle Rosa and her brother need to go to Amsterdam to see their parents. Katie and I need to go to our parents in the future.
“Who’s there?” someone asked from behind the door.
“Please, we bring a gift for Rabbi Sarna.”
The door opened a crack, and a lady peeked through the crack.
“Who are you?”
“We’ve traveled from Madrid on foot with a special package. Please let us in.”
“The Rabbi is away for the next two weeks. Come back then.”
I stuck my foot in the crack so she couldn’t close the door. “Please, Señora. Please have mercy. We’re children. We came here to see the Rabbi. Please let us in.” My heart was pounding, and the world was whirling around me.
I felt myself sinking to the ground as everything around me turned white…
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.