What miserable weather thought Yaakov, stepping out of the rain and into his family's small house. He had just come back from a neighboring village where he had been selling hardware. He had been in the hardware business since he was 14, and had worked his way up from being a poor apprentice to being a somewhat less poor agent for a big company. Much as he enjoyed his job and getting to travel beyond the little village of Stolin that was his home, he hated being apart from his family and Leah. Leah was the daughter of Yeshiah, the rich bodyguard and collector for the village rabbi; but in spite of these shortcomings, Yaakov loved her with all his heart. The truly wonderful thing, he mused, was that she loved him back. The beautiful, rich, smart, wonderful Leah could have her pick of any of the men in the village... no, in the province, but she'd chosen him. He dropped his bags in the corner and collapsed against the wall, content to hear the splashing of the rain from somewhere that was not so wet. Of course, there was always the little problem of who Leah's father would choose for her to wed... and that was definitely not going to be him. Yaakov was the exact opposite of what Yeshiah had in mind for his daughter. He was poor, not very well educated, and "practically atheist" as Yeshiah, had described him in his latest argument with Yaakov- an argument that gotten him thrown out of the house and never to return, as the door was slammed in his face. "Yaakov? Is that you?" His mother Miriam's voice could be heard from the other side of the wall and jolted him out of his musings. She came around to the corner, and smiled at him. She was a short, portly woman, used to all the hardships of life. Her arms were laden with clothing; she had just finished taking in the wash to get it out of the rain. All of this was forgotten as she ran over and hugged her son. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you. You're late, you had me so worried! What with this weather and all, I was so sure you had gotten sick, or drowned, or- or, well, I don't want to think about it. Come, get changed into some dry clothes, and let me get you some hot food. You must be freezing! And what were you thinking, out there without your coat, you could catch your death of cold, and then where would we be, hmm?" She smiled and hugged him again, oblivious to the water the laundry she was carrying was soaking up. ~~~~~ "Leah left a note for you through that boarder of hers, what's-his-name, while you were gone." Said Lazar, Yaakov's father, over a plate of steaming food. He handed Yaakov a folded up sheet of paper that looked like it had seen better days. 'To Yaakov' was written on top, in fine calligraphy. He carefully opened it, and read it to himself. Dearest Yaakov, My father has decided it is time for me to marry. I would ask him to consider you, but we both know what his answer would be. I have written to my uncle in America, and told him that our family has fallen upon hard times financially. I have asked if he could send me enough money for passage to New York, where I can find work as a seamstress and send some of my earnings back home. I can use The money I make there to set up a life for us in America, where we can be together. You can come on another ship, in a few months, so no one gets suspicious. Meet me under the tree on the hill to talk further. With love, -Leah Yaakov carefully folded the note up, making sure his parents did not see it. He wasn't sure how long ago it had been written, and he was pretty sure Leah hadn't known he was gone on the trip. It had been an emergency, and only his parents and whoever they had chosen to tell knew he had been away. Had she waited for him? Stuffing the note into his shirt, he pushed his plate away and got up. "I have to go out for a while, I'll be back in time for dinner." "Yaakov, wait!" Said his father "Where are you going?" "Out." Yaakov responded shortly. He grabbed his coat and dashed out into the rain. ~~~~~ When Yaakov arrived at the tree, he saw no one there. He sighed, realizing he could not hope for her t spend every waking hour under the tree, waiting for him. He ran his fingers over the smooth bark, feeling the familiar carvings professing his and Leah's love for one another. This was their tree. They had been coming here in secret since before they could remember; it was a place to get away from their parents, to get away from life, and to just be together. He looked up at the trunk, thinking about the times they had hidden up in those branches, not wanting to be discovered, and made a discovery of his own. There was a folded piece of paper, just like the one he had received before, tucked in a crevice in the bark. It had a red string wrapped around it. He opened it carefully. Dearest Yaakov, I regret that I am unable to wait any longer, Father insisted that I must marry right away, so I had to leave as soon as possible. I will take a ship to New York and wait for you there. I know we will find each other there, somehow. Come to me as soon as it is safe, I will be waiting. Love, -Leah Yaakov sighed to himself. He had been looking forward to ending his trip so he could come home and be with Leah, and now she was gone. There was nothing else to do, he would have to raise enough money to buy a ticket for a ship so he could go join Leah in America. He shrugged and, shifting his coat, trudged back home. ~~~~~ The days seemed to move more slowly than they ever had before, as Yaakov saved money for a ticket, and anticipated the day when he could at last be with Leah again. One morning as he was coming home from the hardware store, a man came up to him and asked if he was Yaakov, son of Lazar. When Yaakov said he was, the man handed him a paper. Yaakov looked at it critically, then shrugged, tucked it in side his coat, and continued home. He would have time to look at it later. When Yaakov walked in the door, he was greeted be his mother's worried face and his father's stern one. "What is it? Did I do something wrong? What happened?" They know he thought suddenly. They know about leah's and my plan. His eyes went wide. What am I going to do? If I get caught, Leah's father will find out, and he'll find a way to get her back. I just know he will. Yaakov was surprised to hear that his father's grim words were not at all what he had expected... they were worse. "Son, we saw a man coming around with conscription notices just now. Did you-" Lazar broke off, as Yaakov pulled the crumpled folded piece of paper out of his coat. His mother began to cry. Yaakov had a very specific list of things he did not want to do, and next to losing Leah, Joining the Russian Army was at the top of it all. He stared at the paper in shock, and thought about the horror stories he'd heard about the army as a child. They kill you if you do something the sergeant doesn't like, they don't let you keep the Sabbath, and you have to either eat un-kosher food, or starve! I can't do this! Why me? why now? One of Yaakov's childhood friends had been drafted not less than a year ago, and he hadn't been heard from since. There were rumors that he had tried to desert, and had been executed. Yaakov felt a shudder run through him. "What will they do if I don't show up? He asked quietly, dreading the answer. "They'll hunt you down and kill you." Replied Lazar emotionlessly. ~~~~~ It was with a heavy heart that Yaakov boarded the train headed for the army base the next morning. He saw some other men with the same expressions, some he recognized, some he did not. Yaakov opened his pack. All the possessions he had, and it was still only half full. He sighed and tried to look on the bright side; it weighed less that way. He rummaged through his things until he found what he was looking for. He withdrew a rumpled sheaf of bills and counted them one more time. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. This was all of the money his family could scrape together to aid him in his upcoming journey. He felt a lurch as the train turned a sharp corner. The train was going to the army encampment, but Yaakov was not riding the train to the end of the line. Yaakov was running away. The train rounded one more bend, and Yaakov saw it: the perfect place to jump off and never be noticed by any of the other passengers. He walked over to the door, slid it open, and stared at the ground rushing past beneath him. He looked back over his shoulder nervously at the other passengers, still involved in their own conversations, nervous looking, but comfortable. He gulped. It's now or never he thought to himself. 'If I lose my nerve now, I'll never get to America, I'll never see Leah again, and I'll *urk* be stuck in the Russian army!! GO!!' And with that last thought, he leaned forward and... fell. ~~~~~ Yaakov was exhausted and footsore when he trudged into the town. He knew it was a port, he had been there once before with his family; when his uncle had left on the long voyage to America, they had come to see him off. 'Finally' he thought. 'All I have to do now is find a ship going to America, and I can get away from them!' The Russian army had not been pleased to know that Yaakov had deserted. They had almost found him as he wandered aimlessly in search of a port where he could get out of the country. They had chased him through the woods, and halfway across the countryside before he had finally lost them. He wondered if he was really that good or if they had just given up; not seeing him as worth their trouble. He had found that port now, and... "Hurry! The boat is leaving soon, and we don't want to miss it!" Yaakov overheard a woman talking to her family. "Mommy! Mommy! Are we really going to America?" Yaakov heard a younger voice say. America!? All he had to do was follow those people to see what boat they got on, then he could get a ticket himself. He had just started after them when a flash of something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A soldier! They'd found him! Yaakov began running, pushing through the crowded port, in an effort to find some kind of shelter. He saw the perfect place in front of him- a women's clothing store! They'd never look for him in there! He made a break for it, weaving in and out of protesting shoppers and travelers alike. The boutique was dimly lit, and full of the imported finery he'd seen his mother stare at longingly every time she saw it. "May I help you?" a saleslady inquired. The sound of running feet was heard outside the door. Yaakov stiffened. They were here! "Please miss, you have to help me! the army is after me!" Yaakov tried not to think about the things that could happen to her if she got caught helping a deserter, and pressed on, a pleading look in his eyes. The saleslady cast a grim glance over her shoulder at the door, and was seized by a sudden inspiration. She grinned at Yaakov. Yaakov suddenly got the feeling this wasn't going to be pleasant... but he couldn't be captured by the army. Not here! He was so close! She caught his arm, and guided him into one of the changing rooms. Yaakov came out from behind the curtain, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. He looked down at himself, and groaned inwardly. 'It's a good thing Leah can't see me now' he thought. 'I'm wearing a dress!' The saleslady came over and looked him up and down. She nodded in approval and handed him a stack of things- women's button up boots, a hat, a purse and a pair of stockings. "It's a shame you aren't a woman." The saleslady said to him. Yaakov frowned. "I meant that you look good in this. It'll fool anyone who doesn't look too closely." "Uhm, that's good... I think" Yaakov said haltingly. He picked up his pack and began rummaging through it. "Here" he said finally, pulling out a grubby handful of money. It's all I have. The saleslady eyed it cautiously, as if she expected it to come alive. She finally reached out het hand and took it, not even bothering to count it. " I know it's not enough, but I'll let it go because it means your life, and because I like you." "thank you!" Yaakov said, and, grabbing his bag, shoved the new clothes into it and headed out the door. After a close call involving a run in with one of the soldiers following him, and near miss involving a girl who thought he was her 'mommy' (who proceeded to make a big scene when she realized she had been wrong and had hugged a strange man in a dress), Yaakov made it to the ship he'd seen before; the one bound for America. He had tried begging the ticket seller for a ticket, anything- even steerage; but the man was not helpful. Yaakov thought of the kind saleslady at the boutique. Yaakov went over and began watching the boat, to see if there was any way he could sneak aboard. He soon found one. Wet, cold, and trembling from exhaustion, Yaakov huddled in the dark beneath the cover of the life boat. He had jumped off the pier and swam to the boat; climbed up the side, and hidden in one of the life boats, a smelly rusty old rowboat that probably couldn't handle a calm lake, let alone the raging sea. He was developing a new respect for women; how did they put up with dresses? You couldn't move in them! ~~~~~ "Hey in there!" A hoarse voice whispered, jolting Yaakov out of his fitful sleep. He had been dreaming about Leah. "You alive?" Yaakov stiffened, knowing he was caught and there was nothing he could do about it. They would probably send him back to Russia, or maybe even throw him over the side. "Yes, I'm alive." Yaakov responded, sullenly. It was all over. Now, he would never see Leah again, and he would be killed, either by the army or the sea. A face leaned over the side of the row boat. It was not the kind of face Yaakov had expected. The man was unshaven, graying, and smelled of old fish. He held out his hand and grinned. "I'm Boris." He said, still smiling, his rotten teeth making a whistling noise on the 's'. "That guy over there" Boris said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder "is Yoni. You're a stowaway too, right? Well come on, you can come out now. It's past dark, and nobody's out here but us." He gestured his companion. "Yoni don't talk much." He added, explaining the other man's silence. "Come on out of there. We got some fool we er... liberated from the cargo hold. Ya' like pickled herring?" The man held out a jar of herring and Yaakov felt his mouth begin to water. Although he didn't trust these two very much, Yaakov hadn't eaten since breakfast two days before- a little fruit he'd found in the forest while hiding from the soldiers- and his stomach was a solid lump in his gut. Over the next few weeks, Yaakov, Boris, and Yoni became close friends; raiding the cargo hold for food and entertainment, and passing the time playing cards. By this time, yaakov had found himself a new set of clothing- and had gotten rid of the dress; to his great relief. The days and nights seemed to blur together, but eventually they came to New York, specifically ellis island. All three of the stowaways were sorry to part company, but glad to get on solid land again; and they were all completely sick of pickled herring. Yaakov would be the happiest man on earth if he never had to see (or smell) another another piece of that stuff in his life! Realizing that because he wasn't officially registered as a passenger he wouldn't be admitted, Yaakov came up with a plan- after all the passengers had left, he walked over to the side of the ship and jumped. He swam to shore and sneaked around the side of the building all new immigrants were being herded through. he found a door, and joined the line headed for the registration desk. The man behind it gave him a new name and told him that this was who he was in America; that Yaakov sounded too Russian. He left the building with mixed feelings, but boarded the ferry that would take him to the main land; where the streets were paved with gold and Leah was waiting for him. ~~~~~ Yaakov's first stop was the hebrew aid society, and it had turned out to be a lucky break for him (the first in a long time). They remembered that Leah had come through not a month before. They told him she was working as a dressmaker in a little shop of her own. Leah! Yaakov ran all the way there; his excitement overshadowing the exahustion he felt. dashing through the door, he composed himself, caught his breath, and walked over tho the counter. "May I help- Yaakov!" In the time following, Yaakov and Leah, now Lillian got married, and started a life of their own.