The Heart Of A Gypsy (13 page)

As Nadya sat by the side of the river with two of her young friends and several of the older gypsy women, scrubbing their clothing clean, she heard a soft rustle in the bushes. Turning quickly, she saw a German soldier carrying a gun. Screaming, the women began to leave their laundry and run back to camp. Shots rang out and two of the older women fell. Nadya was glued to the ground; she could not move, so stricken was she by fear that she was unable to get away.  She felt her body tremble as the soldier came toward her, the taste of fear bitter in her mouth. But when she attempted to scream, all that came out of her mouth was a soft croak, “No, please.”

Filled with lust, the man licked his lips as he looked at Nadya with desire. Finally she found her inner strength and stood up. She tried to run away, but she was no match for the soldier, who was young and strong. He grabbed for her hair and she fell to the ground. Ripping her blouse, he gripped her breast in his hand. A piercing scream of panic escaped her lips as she bit his shoulder. Nadya threw her body about in a wild kicking and punching frenzy. The soldier grabbed her shoulder and held fast. With his other hand he drew back and slapped her face hard to insure that she would think twice before biting him again. Blood spilled from her lip and she cried out.

As he lay trying to sleep Christian heard the scream and recognized it as Nadya’s voice. At lightning speed, he jumped from the bed. Then he grabbed a gun from the pile and ran to the edge of the river where he knew the women had gone. When he came upon the dead women and the soldier on top of Nadya, he was enraged. Although Christian could have shot the man, he walked over and pulled him off Nadya. Then he held the gun in the soldier’s face.

“You’ve made a mistake touching this woman, you Nazi bastard.” Christian pulled the trigger. Half of the man’s face blew away in a cloud of skin, brain matter and blood.  Nadya screamed both in terror and relief. Immediately Christian went to her. He took her in his arms and held her tenderly, rocking her like a baby while her tiny body trembled.

“Sweetheart… Did he hurt you?” Christian asked.

“No.”

“Are you sure?” He held her face up to his so he could look into her eyes.

“No. I mean not really. He just scared me. I’m fine Christian. I’m just so glad to see you.”

“You have to stay close to me, Nadya. It’s too dangerous right now for you to be off on your own.”

She was too shaken to argue.

Ion arrived just then.

“What happened?”

“A German soldier, from the army, attacked the women.”

“My God… Nadya, are you all right?”

“Yes, thanks to Christian.”

Later that night the group was having their evening meal as Nadya walked up to Christian.

“Thank you for today, and for the other day. It seems like saving me has become your regular job,” she laughed.

“Nadya… I love you. I would do this for a stranger… But for you…for you I would risk my life.”

“I am so proud to be your betrothed.”

“Nadya, oh Nadya, you mean so much to me. But I hope that your feelings for me are not because you think I rescued you. You don’t owe me anything. I want you to want me because you love me, not because you think that you have to give me your heart,” Christian said, so choked by the power of his emotions that his voice came as barely a whisper.

“Christian, I do. I love you… I always have. I just didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. I was afraid we couldn’t be together. I was afraid Ion wouldn’t approve.”

“I know. I was too, but I couldn’t give up. I will never give up on you, Nadya. No matter what happens, I will be here…to save you, to help you, to love you.”

C
hapter
25

That night when the darkness blanketed them with safety, the
Shera Rom
called out, “Good Road!” and the group began to move deeper into the forest.  It was too dark to see the signs that the Romany leave carved into the trees for each other called
patrin
. As
kumpanias
travel through an area, it has always been customary to leave signs for groups which might follow. These
patrin
often tell of friendly places where the gypsies might find food, or dangerous areas to be avoided. The
Shera Rom
wished he could read their messages, but they were hidden by the darkness, and to travel during the day was suicide. Their only option was to make their way at night and travel as far from their old camp as possible.

As the wagon train rambled along through the ancient, narrow paths of the gypsy
kumpanias
before them, Ion rode up on horseback to ride beside Christian.

“I heard all about this afternoon.”

“Yes, Nadya gave me quite a scare,” Christian said.

“Since it was only one soldier, by himself, it was probably a deserter.”

“I think so too.”

“How is she?”

“Holding up all right, I suppose, but she was quite shaken and rightfully so. I just thank God I was awake and that I heard her.”

“Yes…a little from us, but a lot from God. That is how we survive.” Ion said.

“The
Rom
have a special way of looking at things,” Christian said as he smiled at Ion.

“That we do, my brother.” The night was quiet save for the soft clopping of the horses hooves on the dirt path. “I have another group of refugees that needs your help. Shmul is drawing up papers for them. It may take a few weeks until we can iron out all the details. Because of this mission there has been a change of plans. The attack on our camp left us with little ammunition, and so when this job came up, we decided it was a good idea to do it in order to earn the money to buy more. We were going to wait and send three men for the truck, but it looks as if we might need it sooner than we expected. Shmul and Samuel went ahead of us and moved the truck a few miles from where we intend to make our temporary camp. I was talking to the
Shera Rom
, and although at first we thought we might make a permanent camp through the winter, the
Shera Rom
has changed his mind. We may just have to continue traveling, even when the weather gets bad. I don’t know if it will be possible, but we must try. The ice makes travel very difficult, but it seems that it is just too dangerous to stay in one place. If the others do not agree, then they can stay. I will follow the
Shera Rom
, snd I hope you will as well.”

“I think that is wise. I will follow the
Shera Rom
, and I think the others will agree.  Now, tell me more about the mission,” Christian said.

“Well, as I said they took the truck. Shmul and Samuel are smart; they will hide it well, so that the Nazis will never find it should they come upon our hiding place.” He hesitated for a few moments. “Christian, I am afraid that this mission might be more challenging than the first, and therefore I intend to go with you. That is, if you decide to go, of course. And remember, no one will force you. I would understand if you refused,” Ion said.

Christian looked back into the wagon to see if Nadya had fallen asleep, but the moonlight did not shine far enough inside the wagon, so the inner core of the
vurdun
was completely dark. It had been over an hour since he’d heard Hanzi’s voice, so he knew the child slept. But he wondered if Nadya still lay awake. He hoped she did not hear this conversation. After what she had gone through that afternoon, the last thing she needed was to know that Christian would be accepting another dangerous job. It would be far better to tell her himself when the time was right. But he knew he must do this. It was his destiny; it was the price he must pay for being born an Aryan.

“Of course I will accept,” Christian said.

“As I said, the details will not be in place for several weeks. We must make contacts and arrangements. You will have time to get married first if you would like.”

“I would. I would like to get married as soon as we settle, even if it is only temporarily. I am not sure, but I think your sister would agree.”

“I believe she would. Again, I must thank you for my sister’s life. You saved her today.”

“I love her, Ion.” They were both rode in silence for several minutes. Then Christian spoke again, his voice soft and cracking, “I would give my life to protect her.”

“I know that, Christian, and that is why I am sure I made the right decision in giving my consent to the marriage.”

“I am honored, my brother.”

“And well you should be, because now you will be
Roma
, like us.”

“The only problem is that, since we have had these two close calls, first the attack and now the solider, I am concerned every time Nadya is out of my sight.”

“That makes these missions more difficult for you? I will understand if you chose to stop going with us.”

“Yes, it does make things more problematic. But I must do what I can to help.”

“If you are sure…then you are with us…”

“I am sure,” Christian nodded in the darkness.
“You are good man, Christian, and I will be proud to have you as my brother.” Ion kicked his horse and rode back up to ride beside the
Shera Rom’s
wagon.

C
hapter
26

The
Shera Rom
was waiting for Ion. He watched as Ion rode up on horseback to ride beside his
vurdun
.

“Did Christian accept the mission?” the
Shera Rom
asked.

“He did.”

“He is brave for a
gage
.”

“That he is. Actually, he is brave for any race. I will be proud to have him as one of us.”

The
Shera Rom
nodded in agreement. “I have been thinking. We will have to teach the
gage
among us to build wagons. To sleep out in the open is all right as long as the weather holds up, but once the winter sets in, it will be a different story. And even if we are to keep moving, the nights will be very cold without wagons. You and Christian did well; you brought back several small
vurduns
, but that is still not enough for everyone to have shelter. No, the
gage
among us must learn to build wagons just as we do,” the
Shera Rom
said. “We will help them; we will show them how it is done.”

As they traveled deeper into the woods, the darkness grew thicker and blacker. An owl hooted softly in the distance as a tree branch slapped at Ion’s thigh.

“Building a
vurdun
is no small task,” Ion said.

“And it must be done quickly, because we must continue to move quickly, especially now, while we are in heavily infiltrated Nazi territory. We cannot remain stationary for long. It would be unsafe.”

“How long do you plan to stay at the site where we are now headed?”

“Until you return from the mission. Of course, that is only if nothing happens to force us to move before then,” the
Shera Rom
replied.

“Even with the wagons, it is difficult to move in the winter,” Ion said.

“I know, and that is why I am trying to head north to Switzerland as rapidly as we can. I am hoping to make it across the border before the onset of the truly cold weather. I know Switzerland has a brutal winter, but at least it is not occupied. If we can make it there, perhaps we can settle until the weather breaks.”

“Would it be wise to abort this mission Christian and I are about to undertake and just continue traveling?” Ion asked.

“No, we must stop to give the men the time they will need the time to build their wagons, so we might as well help this new group to safety if we can, and in the meantime it will give us the funds that we need to replenish the ammunition,” the
Shera Rom
said. Then he rubbed his chin as he continued speaking, “You have a
vurdun
, Ion. Will you share it with your sister and Christian once they are married?”

“I will, yes.” Ion said.

“And, of course, the
chawy
(the child)…you know…the simple boy with the dog…he will stay with you?”

“Yes.”

“Zadar is a master builder; he apprenticed under his father. Their whole family was full of wonderful wood workers; he will help to teach the others. In fact, it was his father who built my
vurdun
,” the
Shera Rom
said as he smiled in the darkness, remembering when he had first married his wife and commissioned the builder with his specifications. How excited the young couple had been when they entered their own home for the first time.

C
hapter
27

This battle that the Resistance waged against the Germans was becoming overwhelming for Christian. Acquiring ammunition and weapons was becoming more and more difficult.  Since his arrest, the danger of the operations kept him awake at night, where once they’d not even fazed him.   It seemed so long ago, but once he’d wanted to be a hero, to change the course of history, to stop the Nazis single-handedly, but now he had Nadya to think of, and everything else seemed to pale in comparison.  How would she fare when he was gone on a mission that was not his own? And once the winter set in, could she manage alone if he were to be gone for several weeks? Then, of course, he must consider that he could be killed or arrested again. What would become of Nadya then? Christian was no coward, and he would accept his own demise if fate had death in store for him, but he decided he must talk to Ion and ask him how Nadya would be cared for should he be killed on one of the missions. He must be assured that her safety would be of the utmost importance; that she would be cared and provided for, for the rest of her life. Sometimes Christian wanted to turn away from all of this. He was tired, tired of the struggle, tired of the constant worry, tired of looking over his shoulder. It would be wonderful to take his wife far away from this terror, to protect her, to live only for her. Yes, it would be truly glorious, but the guilt that ate away at him for having been born an Aryan forced him to forge on in his quest for a just world.