Letting Her Go

He sat in the quiet cafe his fingers slowly turning the silver bracelet he held. His mind, not on the bracelet, but rather thinking of the girl who once wore it. He had given her the bracelet, and she had loved it. They were so in love. They were so young. They were so naive. They believed their love would last forever. They believed nothing could or would tear them apart. And then came Hitler.

He glanced at the decanter of wine sitting on his table. He really did not want to drink the wine. He thought the wine would give him the strength he needed. But rethinking his plan he decided he would rather be strong on his own, without the aid of alcohol. If he was to do this, he wanted to do it with a sober mind. The bag of potato chips on the table went unopened. He ordered them only because they reminded him of her. Potato chips had long been a favorite of hers.

Before being deported to the camps, she wrapped the bracelet in her silk scarf and handed it to him. She wanted him to have the bracelet to always remember her by. Keeping the bracelet wrapped gently in her scarf, he buried them in the back corner of his cellar. He hoped they would be safe there. He hoped they would remain there.

They had, of course, been separated at the camps. Initially at the same camp, but later, she had been transported once again. He knew not where. He asked. He got little information. He thought of her. He prayed for her. He could do nothing else. His heart ached. His soul anguished.

After his liberation, he made his way back home. She was not there. She had not been there. He ran down to the cellar and clawed at the dirt. His package, her package, was still there. Her silver bracelet remained wrapped in her silky blue scarf. He held them to his face and wept.

He searched for her. He searched for any information on her he could find. Eventually he discovered she had perished.

He knew he could no longer stay in that country. He knew he could never get on with his own life in that country. There were too many memories of her. There was too much to remind him of her. If he remained, he would continue to slowly die himself, day by day. He did not want to ever forget her. He did not want to ever get over her. But to save himself, he would have to begin a new life, in a new place.

So he sat in the cafe waiting to catch the ship that would take him to America. When he felt ready, he stood up and walked towards the dock. He walked towards his new life.

But he was taking along his scuba gear just in case he was not as brave as the thought. Just in case he needed to jump off that boat and swim back ...... to her.