I realized that each announced a death. The sheer volume resulted in a macabre wallpaper so thick in places it could have chipped off in solid clumps.
“Eyes forward,” Sara kept saying, even as we reached the youth center. She opened the door for me, but my attention kept snagging on the long line of people waiting to reach the window where soup was being distributed. Eventually, she tugged at my arm and pulled me inside. I was startled by the size of the room. The facade of the building suggested this had once been a store, but the interior walls had been removed, opening the space across what would have been adjoining buildings. In the cavernous room that stretched across a city block, people of all ages were sitting around tables or milling in groups.
“This is a youth center?” I said, confused.
“It started as a youth center, but the organizers are no longer focused on one age or service. Every time I visit, they have added new support for the residents of the district, but the original name stuck.”
Sara took my elbow and led me through the room. She greeted some people as we passed but did not stop until we had reached a smaller space at the very back of the building. This room was empty, except for some furniture and some books and a tall man and a small child.
“You made it,” the man said, rising from a chair to approach us, a broad smile on his face.
“Andrzej,” Sara said warmly, and she shook his hand, then motioned toward me. “This is our friend and your new teacher, Elz·bieta.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Andrzej said, and he motioned all around him. “Welcome to our youth center. We’re so glad to have your help.”
He reminded me a lot of Uncle Piotr, with his generous smile and his ruddy cheeks, but this man was half the breadth of Uncle Piotr.
“Andrzej is the coordinator of this youth center, and he is a great asset to our work,” Sara murmured.
“You flatter me, Sara,” he said, winking playfully at her.
“Nonsense.”
“Elz·bieta, we do a lot of good work here, but none more important than connecting families to Matylda and Sara and their team,” Andrzej said, the smile in his eyes remaining even as he grew more serious.
“What else do you do?” I asked him.
“Well, we sometimes house people, and of course there is the soup kitchen, and we also quietly run a few classes here and there. We help families out wherever we can. Speaking of which, let me introduce you to someone.”
Andrzej waved to the little boy sitting in the corner of the room, holding a book. When Andrzej indicated he should join us, the little boy scrambled to his feet and approached us, his book hanging loosely from his left hand.
“Elz·bieta, this is Icchak. His parents are no longer with us, and he has been waiting for a place in an orphanage for a while. I have other groups of children coming later so that you can work with them together, but Icchak’s situation is quite urgent so we thought you could start with him one-on-one.”
“Icchak has no one,” Sara said, her voice low as the boy approached us. “He has been living on the streets. On his own.”
“On his own?” I repeated, looking between them in alarm, then back to Icchak. “How old are you?”
The child opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound, Andrzej interjected.
“And remember, Icchak, when we speak to Miss Elz·bieta, we use Polish, not Yiddish.”
“I am six,” Icchak said carefully as he raised his chin. “But I am very clever. I can learn fast.”
“I’ll bet you can,” I whispered, blinking rapidly. Six years old and all alone.
“He’s very excited to learn from you today,” Andrzej said quietly.
I stared down at the little boy, and as he looked up at me with eyes shining with hope, the last of my nausea passed. I could almost feel my courage returning as I stared at him.
I could do this. I had to do this. Icchak needed me to help him, and even more than that, he trusted that I would.
“In that case, Icchak, we should get to work. Would you like to learn some prayers with me today?”
* * *
I spent most of the day in the youth center, sitting in the back room with Icchak, and then with a procession of other children. They were eager to please and quick to learn, but