Free The Road to Mercy by Kathy Harris

the room. The wooden floor creaked when he kneeled to pull open the bottom drawer of the massive mahogany heirloom.
    The large piece of furniture held a number of family treasures, some from places and times he could scarcely comprehend. Fine silver and linens from his grandparents’ grandparents had been meticulously packed and brought over from Europe. Yellowed newspaper clippings from the Great Holocaust had been handed down to enlighten future generations. And an antique ram’s horn
shofar
, as well as a
tallit
, from Mama Ruth’s great-grandfather.
    But it was remembrances of his parents, brother, and sister that drew Isaac to the aged china cabinet today. Family birthcertificates, medical records, and photos lay tucked beneath a black velvet
kippah
that had belonged to his mother. The skullcap was nestled among a number of his mother’s personal items, which Mama Ruth had saved for years.
    Isaac set aside baby shoes, a prayer shawl, and a bat mitzvah dress to dig deeper. The photographs were his favorite indulgence. He had once spent hours looking through them with his grandmother, her face radiant when she spoke of her daughter and other grandchildren, his brother and sister. She had told him stories he would never forget.
    Yet Mama Ruth, too, must pick her time to sift through these memories, the only tangible reminders of the family she had lost. Grandfather had threatened to destroy everything if he caught her sharing the photos with Isaac. So, only once or twice a year, she would wait until Levi Ruben left the house and then summon Isaac to her side.
    He now carefully folded back the aged lace, which hid a dark blue, velvet-covered box at the bottom of the musty-smelling drawer. He opened the lid and sorted through the photos with care. The aged paper was as fragile as his connection to the people they revealed.
    Isaac stopped at his favorite photograph. His mother smiled at him through the quickness of time. He took in every detail of the photo, trying to piece together the life he would have had. Soon he lost himself in the daydream that his family still lived.
    “Isaac!
A broch!
”
    Grandfather’s voice snapped Isaac back to the present reality.
    He turned to see Levi Ruben standing at the entrance of the room. His fiery, dark eyes sparked with anger. “You disobey me?” The old man picked up momentum, rushing closer. Hisface was as red as a cup of spicy borscht and his arms flailed the air.
    Isaac’s first instinct was to cower, to hide in the gap between the giant wood bureau and the corner of the wall. But something inside him clicked. Whether from courage or foolishness, a calm strength descended upon him. He was a man now, nearly sixteen. He chose to no longer live in terror. He would take the blows his tormentor was about to deliver, but this time he would land a few of his own.
    “Let me have the photos. I will destroy them once and for all.” Grandfather shouted when Isaac stood to confront the older but sinewy man.
    Grandfather’s cheeks puffed in anger, the skin stretching tautly from ear to ear. He looked like he might explode. “You think you can fight me?” He lifted his hand to strike Isaac. “Justice is mine.”
    Then, without warning, his grandfather froze. His face contorted and constricted, one side up and the other down. Isaac watched the man stagger forward before he fell backward, landing on the floor, deadly silent.
    “Levi!” Mama Ruth screamed as she ran into the room. “
Oy gevalt!
Isaac!” She turned to him. “Run. Fetch the doctor!”

13
Present Day
    Beth waited all day for Dr. Myers to call with the test results. At 6:35 p.m., the phone rang, and Alex noted the number on the caller ID.
    “Doctor’s office.” She passed the phone to Beth.
    Beth squeaked out a hello, her lungs barren of air.
    “Bethany, it’s Nicole Myers. I have good news for you.” The doctor’s smile radiated through the phone. “There is no ectopic pregnancy. Your baby is developing