When I was almost better and had gone outside on my own, Sunka arrived all in a rush to announce that Dovid had died from complications of the heart.
Sunka shouted this news at my back. I glanced round but didn’t think to stop. I kept going – to the toilet. Only there did the message sink in that Dovid was dead.
It sank in like an insurmountable burden. I thought I would never get back on my feet.
Miron, Sima and Sunka convened a family council around my bed.
It didn’t take long to discuss the details of Dovid’s funeral. It was quite clear. He’d be buried in Soviet fashion, with no prayers and no shroud, wearing his jacket. Particularly since Zusel had gone and there was no-one to bewail him properly.
We got stuck on the children.
Faida gave Sima the floor as a woman and a mother.
S
