Sewer Rat took out a round loaf of bread and a huge slab of salt pork wrapped in newspaper. With his switchblade he cut up some bite-size chunks of pork and bread, and passed them back. We were hungry, and ate like starving wolves. The salt pork had a nice and smoky taste. We washed it down with some homemade red wine we passed around in a long-necked bottle. I had had wine before at one of our family’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, but I don’t remember it tasting this sour. Imre Pálréti said it was the best meal he had in seven years.
The rain let up once we neared Budapest. What we saw ahead of us made my heart sink. An endless column of Soviet tanks rolled toward the city from the east. In the distance, we could see fires lighting up the night sky. I shuddered to think of what those tan
