A new beginning to the novel

A TIME TO BE BORN

a tale of survival and recovery.

Written by Yehiel Grenimann

1

Yanosh and Eva

The old oak tree in Pilsudski square, Warsaw, provided them with privacy. It stood there in the square, house-like in its immensity, its big leaves hanging from long twisted branches. Sometimes children would climb them and boys would hang from the twisted tree limbs imitating Tarzan of the apes.. More often it was quiet there, particularly as evening approached and it grew colder.

They would meet there regularly after school. He was learning in a Polish state high school, she in a Yiddish school, Peretz it was called. His parents did not like the relationship, neither did hers. She was too radical politically and too “Jewish” for them; he from too assimilated a family, lacking Jewish loyality or pride

He inscribed their names into the tree, a sign of their mutal commitment. He cut the date in Roman numerals as he had learned in school to show her how clever he was. Then he translated them for her. June 7^th. 1933. She laughed watching him work away at the tough bark with his little Swiss pocket knife. It glinted in the afternoon sun.

He loved this handy red knife, given him by his friend Yanek. Yanek’s parents had been overseas many times.They often brought small gifts on their return from a trip.Yanek’s father was a diplomat, who often would enchant Yanosh with his stories of exotic far-away places, like Jamaica or Australia.

Yanosh promised Eva that when they were old enough he would marry her and they would travel far away to one of those distant lands. There no one would attack or spit at Jews or Communists any more, and no one would stop them seeing each other.

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