"My mother was wrong. That was only the beginning of our suffering," Grandma Henny said, with downcast eyes full of sadness. Jake felt really bad for his grandmother. She didn't deserve that.
"My father was arrested soon after. We didn't know why, as my father did nothing wrong. Then we were told that he was being deported to Poland, his birthplace. We were all crying. He had no choice and we couldn't hug him or even say goodbye, for fear of the SS, or Schutzstaffel, killing us," Henny told Jake, who was thinking about his father right then. He opened his mouth, about to say something but the thunder beat him to it.
BOOM! The thunder roared in the sky, with the pitter-patter of rain following it. The two decided to go inside and resume their talk there. Once inside, Henny spotted the glinting porcelain music box perched on the mantle.
"Jake, come here!" she beckoned, her finger tracing the intricate golden pattern running along the music box's edge.
"My mother used to have one just like this. It even has the same song playing," Henny spoke gently, as if afraid that a loud voice would cause damage to it. She twisted the knob underneath and immediately a soft melody played, filling the whole room. Her mind was immersed with the melodious sound, every note bringing her back to an earlier time when she had heard the tune.
Thirteen- year-old Henny Adler was humming along to the song and dancing in their well-lit living room. "I wish I knew how to dance a waltz," Henny said to herself, "and had a boy to dance with." She giggled, knowing that what she wished for was near impossible. Suddenly she heard voices from the doorway. Taking a peek, she was surprised to see a Christian family talking to her mother.
"...and the officers told us we can move in here," the father finished. Henny's mother stood in the hallway, stunned at what was happening. They were being thrown out of their own home!
"But where are we supposed to live? Please, kind sir, spare our home," she pleaded to the father of the Christian family. He was looking at her with pity but a Gestapo officer interfered.
"You were ordered to leave this house and you must follow. All your possessions will be confiscated as well," the officer said coldly. She gathered up her 3 children, managing to pocket some valuable jewelry while doing so. As they were leaving through the door, Henny heard the final lingering note of the song she was dancing to just a few moments ago.
Not knowing where else to go, the family stopped by a jewelry shop and sold the only possessions they still had. The jeweler gave them barely a fraction of the jewelry's true worth. As they were walking, shards of broken glass could be seen spread along the sidewalk, a reminder of the terror that Kristallnacht or the "night of the broken glass" on November 9 caused. Signs saying, "No Jews allowed" were still seen hanging from shop windows. Nothing compared, though, to seeing a synagogue recklessly burned to the ground. All they could do was look away but the image remained in their minds. Henny looked worriedly at her mother and 2 brothers, thinking of how much this affected them.
They were crossing a bridge coming back from the jeweler when unexpectedly, Henny's mother stopped walking. Her face became pale as she looked down at the gushing waters of the river below them, her long hair being blown by the strong wind. "Mother, what are you doing?" the younger brother asked innocently. Henny knew what her mother was thinking and the very thought of it made her blood run cold. She clutched her mom's coat desperately, knowing full well what would happen if she let go. Her voice kept breaking and tears freely flowed from her eyes as she begged, "Please don't do this, Mother! Don't kill yourself! We need you. You know that we wouldn't be able to live without you. Don't leave us!" Henny's brothers finally understood and hugged their beloved mother. The coat blocked Henny's eyes from seeing her siblings' faces but their cries of "Mommy, we love you" told it all.
