After Fiddler; Part 1
Tevye and what was left of his family stood on the dock. Hundreds of other immigrants and Jews stood around them, they were waiting for their boat to come in. His wife Golde stood next to him shivering and holding Shprintze, their second youngest daughter's, hand. Bielke their youngest sat next to their bags. Originally they had, had a cow, and cart filled with all of their belongings, but since there was such a lack of money in their family they had to sell most of their things so they could buy their tickets for the boat to America.
Their daughters Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava were all married (or believed to be,) and so were not coming with them to America. Tzeitel their oldest had married a poor tailor named Motel and they, and their small child were trying to raise enough money to go to Boston Massachusetts and later join them in New York. Hodel the next oldest was off in Siberia somewhere with her fiancé, (or husband. They didn't know if they had been married yet,) Perchik, neither of whom they would probably ever see again because they didn't know where they were going nor that they had to leave Anatevka in the first place. Chava, the middle daughter and her husband Fyedka were moving to Cracow and would be writing to them when they had moved in with Uncle Abrum in Buffalo New York.
Golde's brother, Abrum had never been Tevye's favorite person, nor would he ever be. He reminded Tevye to much of Lazar-Wolf the butcher who had been intent on marrying Tzeitel.
Lazar-Wolf, had really been a nice man and Tevye had realized this just before they left Anatevka. But he would see him again at some point Tevye thought. I mean really, how far is Chicago, America from New York, America?
Golde was never really his favorite person either and it was her brother, Abrum. Even if she was his wife and he did love her she never really came in first place, in his heart. Golde, who was standing next to him suddenly, looked up at him almost like she knew he was thinking of her.
"Did you hear that Tevye?" she asked
"What?" he asked rubbing his hands together, trying to warm them
"I thought I heard… never mind." her voice trailed off and she looked away again
"What do you think you heard?" he asked. He hated when she did that. When she thinks something and then she decides it doesn't matter any more.
"I thought I heard Hodel for a moment. But it couldn't be. She's in Siberia with Perchik."
It was quiet for a while, other than the people around them chattering. Then from a distance Tevye heard,
"Mama! Papa!" Tevye looked at Golde. He knew she had heard it to because she was looking around frantically. Bielke stood up and tried to look around but she was to short to see over the crowd of people, Shprintze started jumping up and down tugging on Tevye's jacket.
"Papa! I think I hear Hodel!"
"I do too!" Bielke cried joyfully
"Mama! Papa!" Tevye heard her voice even closer now.
"Papa! Lift me up! I can find her!" Shprintze said tugging on his jacket even harder. Tevye obliged.
"I see her!" she cried "It's Hodel! Hodel over here! We're here!" she screamed waving her arms frantically.
Hodel knew they were there she had seen them go through the gate.
"Mama! Papa!" she tried again. Then she heard
"It's Hodel! Hodel over here!" Hodel recognized her sister's voice. She spun around and saw Shprintze up on someone's shoulders (her father's no doubt.) Hodel shoved her way through the crowd. Finally reaching where Shprintze was. She ran through the last few people standing in her way nearly knocking an old woman off the dock entirely. Golde stood there with open arms crying. Tevye was still getting Shprintze off his shoulders. When her Mama had finally let go she ran into her Papa's waiting arms.
"Where's Perchik?" asked Bielke tugging at Hodel's coat
The month before Perchik had escaped from jail. He planned on finding Hodel and catching a boat for America but everything went wrong. That night he had gone to the inn where Hodel had been working, as a maid, and there was a troop of officers there. The same officers that had arrested him for speaking out. Hodel was just descending the stairs to go into the small bar when she hear screaming, sounds of flesh hitting flesh and a gun shot. She had come around the corner in time to see Perchik fall to the floor with a bullet in his heart. She quickly ran to his heaving form. Blood trickled from his mouth.
"Hodel…" he gasped "Hodel…" then he breathed no more. His form had gone limp.
"You Bastards!" she screamed hysterically "YOU BASTARDS!"
But the officers only laughed and pushed her away. That was when she grabbed a bottle that was sitting on the bar and smashed it on a first officer's head. Blood ran through his hair. She stabbed a second in the stomach with the broken end she was still holding. She didn't realize that the officer who she at hit on the head had stood up and came behind her with a club. He hit her hard before falling to his death himself. She didn't wake up till the next morning, with a splitting headache. The inn keeper had come back to a bar with four lifeless forms lying on the floor. One an escaped convict, one his maid and two officers.
Hodel told them that Perchik had been found guilty and sentenced to death. She couldn't bare to retell the story of his true death. She would start a new life in America with her family and right now that's all that mattered. Just then people all around them started crying out in joy. The boat was coming.