I was a silly girl...
I used to gossip and chatter with Tzeitel and Chava every night. I
used to argue with Bielke and Shprintze over mindless little things.
I used to learn to dance from Mama. I learned to read from Papa, even
though Chava used this skill more than I ever did. I flirted with
Mendel, the Rabbi's son, even though he was promised to Ruth. I used
to listen to Mama's conversations with Yente and torment Tzeitel
because she wanted to marry Motel.
Now, that seems
like someone foreign, like a story character. Because of a man I
completely changed. I no longer daydream about Mendel. I no longer
fear Yente and Papa's decisions. The day I met Perchik was the day I
realised nothing would ever be the same.
He was the first man
I ever danced with, actually the first man to dance in the whole
village of Anatevekah. He opened my eyes to the problems facing the
world outside the village. He was leaving and proposed, and Papa was
less than amused that we skipped tradition like a rock in a pond.
I begged Papa to accept that I would have to leave. Mama cried
along with my sisters. The whole town was talking all because of
Yente. They wanted me to reconsider but I had to leave. I love him.
I packed my bags and Papa refused to let me go to the train
station by myself. I carried Perchik's letter in my pocket so I could
feel close to him. Papa had me promised we shall be married under a
canopy with a rabbi, jokingly, ofcourse.
A new start. I can't help but look back at the naive, innocent girl I once was. Dancing with my sisters, preparing for Sabbath with Mama, and tending the barn with Papa. I was leaving it all behind. My weary eye are welling up with tears. I may never see my family again.
The train slowly begins to slow down, and I wiped my tears away. I pickup my bags and feel light on my feet and in my head. I start out into to the coldness of Siberia to find my Perchik.
Within a year I am to be married to Perchik, who should be released for good behavior, as he wrote. I write to my family to tell them about my work as a servant. Also, I believe Papa shall be pleased to hear that I have found a Rabbi willing to marry me and my beloved. I hope to find Anatevkah and my family waiting for our return one day very soon...