Rafael and Miriam
Published in Issue #8 Translated from Ladino by Michael Alpert(Excerpt from a Novel)
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It was one of those mild, cool early mornings in the month of September, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Millions of stars were still shining in the firmament, flashing like a sea of large and small diamonds, disappearing and reappearing on the black sea of the sky as if playing a mad and daring game, intended to make the eyes of people on earth wonder and marvel at the sight.
From the road which led from the city to the Jewish district or mahallé, the great river could be seen. It stretched like a wide band of silver, shining in the darkness of the night, like an immense mirror in which myriads of stars could see themselves reflected as they played in the heavens as a flock of sheep gambols in the fields. The city seemed empty. The mahallé was deserted and silent, everybody still plunged in the slumber of the small hours. Not a sound, not a cry troubled nature’s rest. Every living thing still slept. Not even the trees moved their branches and their leaves.
Two men came from the city towards the river, through the narrow, crooked streets of the mahallé.
‘You must be there today, Branko. If you really are my true and faithful friend, everything depends on your sharpness and skill. The moment you see us get into the boat, you must row with all your strength and make for the other bank of the river, opposite, for Rumania. Once we reach the other side and step on Rumanian soil, nobody can hinder...
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