SukritiNo More Hide And Seek
They were taken as prisoners and even their fake IDs didn’t aid any help this time. Philippe was badly beaten and looking at her husband close to falling unconscious on the floor, Claire admitted that they were Jews. The couple was thrown in a truck with many other Jews and taken away. What happened next was just the beginning.
Arrival
Claire and Philippe were driven to the detention camp at Mechelen. They too faced all that horrible process of leaving all the jewelry and other valuables behind. The newlywed, Claire was allowed to keep her wedding ring and that was all for her.
In those times of misery, the couple was going to see a familiar face among the crowd of the detention camp.
The Reunion
Chaskel, Claire’s father who was sent to Mechelen was the one who saw them from a distance and came running to his daughter and son-in-law. He told them how he used to wait there whenever any truck arrived to see if any of his family members were sent in. They didn’t know whether they should be happy to see each other after so long or sad to see each other in the detention camp.
Nameless Numbers
Their identities were gone and all they were left with were the numbers written on the clothes that were given to them. Now they were not Claire and Philippe but “254”, hers “255” and XX was written next to their piece of cardboard. What did this XX even mean?
Life In Prison
They were in the detention camp for over three months before they heard the news of further transport. The prisoners were surviving on one meal a day. That too was a little piece of bread and cabbage soup. They lived in the fear of the ruthless camp commander and the aggressive trained dogs. And the stories of what was happening to the Jews in Poland was making it hard to pass every moment.
XX
Soon Philippe and Claire decoded the meaning of XX that was written along with their numbers. It was the number of the train that will be taking them to an unforeseen track, on Convoy 20. When Chaskel got to know that his daughter will be taken away from him, it affected him deeply enough that he fell severely ill. He was bed-ridden and suffering from high fever.
Claire couldn’t leave his father behind and she knew something has to be done.