My Mother's Secret Read Online Free

or not, I am too happy to care.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    T HE NEXT DAY, Ferda is fired.
    I didn’t know Casmir was that angry.

Chapter 12
    I n June 1941, Hitler breaks his pact with Stalin and the Germans move to our side of the river. It seems like we have gone from bad to worse. The Nazis start persecuting the Jews just as the Russians did to the Poles, but they don’t discriminate. They treat all Jews, rich and poor, equally badly.
    We notice how the Germans start by denying Jews their ability to work and shop. It then moves to their loss of freedom, when all the Jews in town are imprisoned in the ghetto.
    At random, Jews are selected to be executed, and this creates terror among their population.
    I wish I could wipe out the images of children crying as they are pulled from their fathers’ arms, of old men struggling as they are made to dance with shots fired at their feet, of soldiers laughing as they take what they want from stores without paying.
    I don’t want to see the cruelty of men, but it is impossible not to witness such brutal acts on a daily basis.
    How can people do this to each other?

Chapter 13
    C asmir is the light that brightens my world, which is becoming darker by the day.
    If he is ever afraid, no one would know.
    People gravitate to him, to his charm and his lightness, so rare in these times.
    Casmir finds out that the local German commander is recently married and has a wife in Germany. Cleverly, he arranges for a car to pick her up and drive her to Sokal for a visit. Casmir’s father owns the hotel in town. In her room, there are flowers, chocolates, and wine to make sure she is happy when she sees her husband.
    The commander is elated to see his wife and ever so grateful to Casmir.
    From there, it is effortless for Casmir to become good friends with the man who is the most feared in Sokal.

Chapter 14
    I t hasbeen four years since I have been seeing Casmir, but it feels like I have known him all my life. He has a way of making me feel safe and happy—something I have never known before.
    When I am with him, everything else fades away. The world is a good place, and there is no war to think about. There is nothing except the face of the man I love.
    One day, we are at our regular restaurant and have just finished dinner when he says, “My father is ill, Helena. He needs me in Germany. I have to move back.”
    Every part of my body is shouting, “No, don’t go!” but I sit there in silence.
    I start crying, and I hate that.
    He says, “Come with me, Helena.”
    He thinks that should make me stop crying, but now I really lose control.
    I’m not pretty when I cry this hard, because my face gets all squished up. My nose is red and my eyes swell up, but I can’t help any of it.
    I want to go with him more than anything, but I can’t.
    I can’t stop crying because there’s so much to say and none of it can be said.
    In our small house and shed, my mother and I are hiding two Jewish families!
    She needs me to help buy the food, so it isn’t obvious that we are feeding many people. I can’t imagine leaving her with such a large responsibility.
    At times I resent that she has hidden these families. There are nights when I wake up sweating with nightmares of German soldiers breaking down our door. I cannot be truthful with Casmir, and that is very hard.
    Whenever I feel this way, I think of the day we heard it—unbelievable sounds from the ghetto where they were keeping all the Jews from Sokal. There were gunshots, screaming, and explosions.
    It makes me shiver. I know why we had to do what we did, but that didn’t make it any easier.
    I dare not tell Casmir about my internal conflicts.
    I say, “I love you more than anything, and I would go if I could.”
    â€œI don’t understand,” he says.
    I say, “I can’t leave my mother.”
    He replies with relief. “Is that all? My