Free My Mother's Secret by J. L. Witterick

rounded up and placed in a confined area.
    For all the lives that my father saved, and the thought that we might have been repaid in kind, it was my mother’s friendship with Franciszka that gave us a chance.

Chapter 39
    W e have to be very quiet during the daybecause you never know if a neighbor will drop by.
    One day Franciszka tells us about a Polish family that was found to have hidden Jews. They were forced to walk throughout the village with signs describing their crime before they were hanged in the public square as an example.
    This shakes us all up.
    A Polish pharmacist had turned them in. He suspected that the family was hiding Jews when they purchased more medicine than they usually would have needed.
    Not all Nazis are German.
    My father says to Franciszka, “We will never forget what you and your daughter have done for us. The war will be over one day, and we will repay you.”
    She says, “It’s wrong, what is happening. I’m only doing what is decent.”
    She says to my mother, “You would do the same for me,” and my mother nods, although who really knows? Would my mother have been willing to risk my life?

Chapter 40
    O ne day, the deliveryman comes to drop offa notice from German headquarters.
    There is now a reward of five liters of whiskey and some cash for turning in a Jew.
    He calls out to Franciszka, and she opens the door.
    At this exact moment, I sneeze.
    It is damp in the cellar, and I have caught a very bad cold. My father is worried but does not have cough syrup, even though he brought other medicines. We all agreed that it was not possible to obtain medicine discreetly, especially from the infamous pharmacist.
    The deliveryman pushes past Franciszka and comes in.
    He sees that there is no one in the house.
    We hear him accusing Franciszka. “You’re hiding someone, aren’t you? I’m sure I heard something. I’m going to report you.”
    To the astonishment of Franciszka and the deliveryman, there is a knock from the floor.
    Franciszka is frozen. She doesn’t know what to do now.
    Then the knock becomes louder.
    The deliveryman says, “Franciszka, someone hiding under your floor wants to come out.”
    They move the kitchen table, and my father emerges from under the floor.
    He says to the deliveryman, “Hello, Leszek.”
    My father’s voice is deep and resonates with authority.
    He speaks as if there is no war, as if there is no hunt for Jews, and as if he is still the chief at the hospital.
    For a moment, we are all suspended in this reality.
    My father then says, “How is your wife, Edyta?”
    He had saved her life.
    The man is clearly taken aback here. ”Dr. Wolenski, I didn’t know it was you. Of course I won’t say anything.”
    My father continues as if this man has come for a visit. “Good, now if you or your family need medical care, you can come here, and I will personally look after you.”
    â€œYes, yes, thank you very much, Doctor.” Leszek sounds like a different man than the one we heard earlier.
    â€œBefore you go,” my father says, “I need you to buy some medicine for my son who you heard coughing. Here is fifty zlotys for the cough medicine. You will need to say that it is for your wife. Understood?”
    â€œYes, Doctor, of course. I will bring it tomorrow,” Leszek replies.
    We can hear my father’s command of the situation from our hiding place, but my mother and I do not come out.
    We huddle together like two little mice.
    After Leszek leaves, my father returns to us and the table is replaced over our heads.
    He is shaking, and my mother goes to him.
    She holds him the way she holds me when I have had a bad dream.
    The next day, good as his word, Leszek returns with the cough medicine.
    We all know that cough medicine costs a few zlotys, but we weren’t expecting any change.

Chapter 41
    E very day is night, so I dream of seeing the