Aharon Appelfeld - Adam and Thomas

“Thomas, you had a very bad dream,” said Adam, “but you resisted like a hero.”

“I was trembling,” Thomas admitted.

“In that situation, one against many, anyone, not just a boy, would have trembled. It’s important to say that you resisted like a hero and didn’t give in. Bravo. After a dream like that you deserve a good breakfast.”

When he heard Adam’s words, Thomas’s eyes filled with tears.

After eating raspberries and blueberries, they went out to explore the forest. Hunger was weakening them. After a short walk, they stopped and sat down. Thomas sank into reverie.

“A penny for your thoughts, Thomas,” said Adam. “I was thinking about the dream I had. It won’t let go of me.”

“Thomas, in that dream you were a guy who didn’t give in. Sure, you got whipped, but you didn’t surrender. You can be proud of yourself.”

While they were walking, dizzy with hunger, before their eyes, between the trees, lay a meadow with a cow and a calf. The cow didn’t seem to be used to strangers, and she was surprised. But the calf wasn’t frightened. It looked at them with eyes full of wonder. The meadow was fenced in. After looking at it from all sides, Adam entered, patted the cow and the calf, and, without delay, started to milk the cow. He caught the milk in his cupped hand and drank. Right away he invited Thomas to join him in drinking. They drank the fresh milk sip by sip. If they had had a cup or bowl, they could have milked some more. But they were happy with what the morning had given them and withdrew into the forest.

“There’s nothing like fresh milk,” said Adam.

“I forgot. I have a thermos bottle in my pack. Let’s bring it and fill it with milk,” said Thomas.

They didn’t hurry back. They looked around to see whether there were any suspicious creatures, and only after making certain there was no danger, they returned to their tree. Thomas climbed up to the nest and brought down the thermos bottle. They hurried back to the meadow.

Adam milked the cow and filled the thermos bottle. If they hadn’t been afraid of the owner of the cow and the calf, they would have stayed and petted the dear creatures they had found.

They went back to the tree, climbed up, and sipped the milk. With every sip, they felt the fresh milk slaking their thirst and satisfying their hunger. Without noticing, they fell asleep.

When they woke up, toward evening, Thomas said, “I dreamed a strange dream. A white dream. Everything looked white: the trees, the streets, and the people.”

“Were the people in a panic?” Adam asked.

“No, everyone was standing there, bewildered.”

“And were you white, too?”

“I was apparently whiter than everyone. They all looked at me, and they were sure I was the one who had brought about that whitening.”

“What did you say to them?”

“I didn’t know what to say.”

“You had that white dream because we drank that good, fresh milk. Grandma says, ‘A white dream is a good dream,’” said Adam.

“Thanks for interpreting the dream,” said Thomas.

Crouching and with caution, they went back to visit the cow and her calf. When they were close they saw that the grass was still there, but the cow and the calf were gone.

Adam didn’t look worried. “The forest has a lot more presents for us.”

“I see that you trust the forest,” said Thomas.

“The forest is sometimes better than people,” said Adam.

Thomas commented, “The forest always appears to us as a place where wild animals live.”

“Don’t forget. Wild animals only attack when they’re hungry.”

“That shows that people are worse than them,” said Thomas, speaking in his father’s words.

The next day, when they went to see the cow and her calf, they found a little girl, dressed in peasant clothes, milking the cow. They clung to one of the trees and stared at her tensely.

“She’s very short, but she’s sweet,” said Thomas.

Adam, who had concentrated on her face and hands as she milked, discovered she was Mina, a girl from their class.

Adam didn’t restrain himself but called out in a whisper, “Mina.”

The girl didn’t respond to his call.

“Are you sure it’s Mina?” Thomas asked fearfully. “I have no doubt.”

“Mina. It’s Adam and Thomas. We live in the forest and we’re eating berries. If you could bring us some bread, we’d be very grateful,” Adam said to her.

She didn’t respond to that call either. She kept milking. When the bucket was full, she quickly took it and the stool she had been sitting on and disappeared between the trees.

“It’s Mina, without doubt,” Adam murmured. “She has changed a bit, but her expression hasn’t changed.”

“How did you recognize her?”

“I sat next to her in second grade. I remember the way she sat and the expression of her face.”

“Strange. In the spring we were still in school, and now we’re all on our own,” Thomas said to himself.

Indeed Mina was short and skinny, and she didn’t stand out in the class. She did all her homework seriously and diligently, but she didn’t attract attention or affection. They didn’t assign her tasks. She didn’t play in the school yard, and she didn’t have friends. At the time of the ghetto, she worked in the hospital with her mother. She helped wash and feed the patients. The patients were fond of her and called her the little angel. Mina floated from room to room. She brought medicine to this one and a bowl of soup to that one. After a while people heard that her mother had found a pair of peasants who were willing to hide her for money.

“That’s Mina. I’m sure,” Adam muttered again.

They were sitting near the brook, looking at the shimmering water in silence.

“The brook is a living thing,” said Adam. “Do you mean that the brook gives us life?”

“Not exactly. It’s good to observe its shining motion. Your eyes love to look at water, and it gives the heart joy.”

“Strange,” said Thomas. “What’s so strange?”

“We have to learn from everything, my father says. What can be learned from water?”

“It’s hard for me to explain. If it makes you happy to look at the flowing water, it will make you happy to look at a sleeping dog,” said Adam, and they both laughed.

After that Adam began to steal in and milk the cow. The fresh milk nourished them. Every day they practiced running in a crouch, finding hiding places, and climbing trees. Thomas was glad to be running with Adam. If they hadn’t been weak, they would have exercised more. The raspberries and blueberries and the bit of milk did nourish them, but not enough. “Bread, bread,” Thomas called out from time to time, and they both laughed.

They saw Mina milking the cow again. Adam called to her in a whisper, “Mina, Adam and Thomas are here. If you bring us some bread, we’ll be very grateful.”

Mina didn’t respond.