A Pocket Full of Seeds by Marilyn Sachs

Jacqueline’s tears did not make them stop.
    “Mme. Labarthe heard from her brother and his family, and now she will be leaving in a few days. They are in a detention camp, but people are kind to them. There is a school for the children, and the Red Cross and other organizations bring them extra food and clothing. There was no problem crossing the border. Mme. Labarthe says the guards usually look the other way.”
    “And what will happen when they come back, if they come back?”
    “They will worry about it then.”
    “I am not going to drag my family out in the middle of the night, and run the danger of having them shot.”
    Jacqueline started crying. Papa picked her up, and held her very tight. “My God, do you think I could stand it if anything happened to any one of you?”
    “Something will certainly happen to all of us, if we don’t get out now.”
    “Leave me be!” my father shouted. “You never stop. I can’t stand it!”
    Some nights now, Papa went to the café and stayed there with the men, drinking and playing cards. Maman cried, and waited up for him, and they would argue when he came home. Many times I had to hold Jacqueline in my arms and tell her stories. She was afraid of being put into a prison camp in Switzerland, and she did not want to go.
    One night when Papa was out, and Maman was crying in her bedroom, I got out of bed, dressed, and tiptoed out of the apartment. Down in the street I met my father coming toward me. He was looking at me but didn’t seem to know who I was until I said, “Papa” and put my hand on his arm.
    “Nicole?”
    “Yes, Papa. Please come home now. Maman is crying.”
    “But Nicole, you shouldn’t be out on the streets at night. It’s dangerous.”
    “It’s dangerous for you too, Papa, and you shouldn’t drink all that wine. You will feel sick tomorrow.”
    “I know, I know,” my father said.
    He put his arm on my shoulder, and I helped him home.
    A few days later, at breakfast, Maman had a smile all over her face. She looked fresh and happy and said she had some good news for us.
    “What is it, Maman?”
    “Papa has decided that he will go to Switzerland. He will make sure it is safe, and once he gets over he will send word to us, and we will join him.”
    “I don’t want to go to Switzerland,” Jacqueline cried. “They will put me in prison, and I don’t want to be put in prison. I want to stay here.”
    “It will only be for a little while,” I told Jacqueline, “until the war is over. You can take your doll with you, and once we are there, I will show you how to make a beaded purse for her.”
    “Really? But every time I ask you now, you always say you have no time.”
    “Yes, but once we are in Switzerland, I promise I will show you how.”
    Maman nodded at me approvingly. “You are really growing up, Nicole,” she said.
    “I am thirteen, Maman.”
    “Yes,” said Maman, and she looked me up and down as if she was seeing me for the first time.
    Papa was going to take the train to Annemasse on Thursday afternoon. In Annemasse, he would go to a certain address where he would meet the runner, and any other people who were planning to cross the border. He carried a small suitcase, and if anyone questioned him, he would say that he was visiting a relative.
    Nobody questioned him. I went down to the station with him, but Maman and Jacqueline stayed at home so that it would not look suspicious.
    There were two German soldiers in the station who were waiting to take the train. One of them was eating chocolate, and I could feel my stomach ache with longing. It had been so long since I had tasted chocolate. I watched him as he ate it, quickly, talking to his friend all the time, and hardly noticing what he was eating. “Slow down,” I wanted to say. “Don’t eat it so fast. Let me watch you.” A few crumbs scattered on his jacket, and he brushed them away with his hand.
    Papa held his suitcase slightly behind him as he walked through the