Chapter 9

In the box was a gold necklace. It had a locket in the shape of a heart that dangled on the end of it. My hand was trembling so much, I almost couldn't take it out of the box. Tucked tightly underneath the necklace was a note. When I opened it up, I noticed that it was Matthew's handwriting. My heart felt as if it broke into two pieces. The note was addressed to me. Tears fell on the letter as I read it out loud.

" Dear Llana,

Much has happened in the past year. You have turned from a girl into a women. Your perspective on the world and people in it has changed. Some times for the worse, but mostly for the best. You know now that not everyone in the world is perfect, or kind.

The day that your parents died and you were given to me, I was terrified! I was a man of 26 and had no idea how to raise a child. But I tried my best, and I hope and pray to God that I did a good job. You are a beautiful person Llana, inside and out. And I know that you will find the perfect man to take care of you for the rest of your life and love you as much as I do. Maybe you already have.

I love you very much, and just promise me that you will try your hardest to survive this ordeal. All I want is for you to live a long and happy life.

This locket was your mothers and I have saved it for you until a time when I think that you deserve it. That time is now. Saving that little child from the selection took a lot of courage. Courage that not many kids your age posses. You will go on, Llana. I know you will.

Shalom my angle.

Your loving guardian,

Matthew

I folded the letter back up. Tear stained by my heart ache. How I wish that he were here right now so I could thank him for everything. But I know that he is still around me. I can feel his presence.

I had to get out of the apartment. I didn't want to put on the necklace when I went outside for the fear that it would be noticed, but I didn't care. I felt closer to Matthew and my parents when I wore the locket, so I tucked it under my shirt. I was walking down a blood stained road when I heard screaming. Blood curdling screams. When I got to the end of the street, I saw two Nazis drag out a women from her home. She was covered with blood and bruises.

" Please Sir! I can work still! I can! Please!" The women begged and pleaded for the officers to spare her life but she had no chance… she was pregnant. One rule in the ghetto is neverget pregnant. They don't want pregnant women in the ghetto because they have trouble working. Before the women could beg for her life and that of her unborn child, one of the Nazis pulled out his handgun and fired two shots into her stomach. I thought that my heart would jump out of my chest. Then, one of the Nazis noticed that I was watching and pointed a finger at me.

" You there! Come here and drag this body to the woods! Schnell!" I couldn't do that. I knew that I would rather be shot than carry a dead body into the woods.

" This puny Jew can't do it by her self." One of the Nazis said. "You! Where is your apartment?" I pointed a shaky finger towards my house that was only a few steps from where we were standing.

" I want you to call someone down to help you get her out of here! Where is everyone!" Nobody wandered around this part of the ghetto. They weren't as stupid as I was now.

" N -Nathan!" I screamed out the first name that cam to my mind. In a second, I saw him run out of the apartment.

" Get this body out of here you stupid kids!" I looked at Nathan feeling terrible that I got him into all of this. He flashed me a look that said don't worry, I am not mad at you. The both of us gently picked up the women. She was soaked in blood. I went to grab her shoulders when Nathan quickly took her from me.

" You don't have to carry her head Llana. Grab her legs." I gently took hold of her legs and carefully carried her towards the woods. The smell of rotting flesh made me want to throw up. I can't believe that we were being forced to do this work that nobody should do. I tried not to look at the women's face by looking straight at Nathan. He stared back at me and tried to give me a comforting smile. When we finally got to the woods, we were ordered to " dump" the women's body in a ditch. The ditch was huge and had many other dead bodies in it. I couldn't help but cry when I saw all of the dead men, women, and children in the ditch. How could this be happening? Instead of tossing her body into the ditch, Nathan and I placed her gently on top of other corpses while the Nazis were not watching. As soon as we completed our job, we ran as fast as we could back to our apartment. I had to stop. I felt my heart beating faster and faster in my chest. I leaned up against a brick wall to catch a breath. Nathan came over to me and looked deep in my eyes. No words were spoken. And none needed to be. We just stood there looking at each other telling what was deep within our souls.