Recap: The children are walking through a fog, and Miri falls into a deep hole. Sabrina manages to help her out with a branch, but now Sabrina is confused because of the fog and is not sure which way to continue.
“Can we figure it out by the sun?” I asked hopefully.
Sabrina shook her head. “I’m just not sure. We were walking one way, and then the fog came and—”
“What should we do?” I asked, trying not to let my frustration show. We were so close now to Toledo, but it didn’t matter if we headed in the wrong direction now.
“Let me daven, and I’ll try to figure out a way to know the right direction.”
Katie whispered in my ear. “We’re lost. Now what? We’ll never get home.”
“We will get home,” I said, trying to pour that belief into my heart. “We have to get home.”
Walking through the fog felt surreal. You couldn’t see anything in front of you. It was like being enclosed inside a cloud. I prayed we would get to Toledo as fast as possible.
Suddenly, there was a loud shout.
“Hallo!”
Startled, we ducked. A gypsy girl wearing a long skirt, a tunic, and a cape, with a blanket draped over her shoulder, approached us. Her dark hair was braided and reached her waist. “Hallo!” she called again.
Sabrina rose up. “Hallo!” she said.
“Who are ye?” the girl asked.
“Travelers like yourself,” Sabrina replied.
“Aye, that I am, traveling, looking fer work. Ye have work for me, maybe?”
Sabrina glanced at me, and then she nodded. “Yes, we have work for you. What is your charge?”
“What is your work?” the girl asked.
Close up, I saw her skirt was muddied and torn at the hem. The material of her tunic was yellowed with age. She was clearly in need of new clothing. I looked down and noticed she was barefoot.
She followed my glance. “Lost me sandals in the woods. Had a nice new pair.”
I felt bad. I’d embarrassed her. I doubted she ever had a new pair of anything.
“What are you willing to pay?”
“One silver penny.”
The girl hesitated and then nodded. “So, what ‘ye need done?”
“Directions. We got turned around in the fog. We need to find our way back towards Toledo, but we don’t want a main road.”
“Why not?”
Sabrina answered quickly. “Our business, not yours.”
“You runnin’ from someone.”
“We’ll keep the penny.” Sabrina motioned us to start walking.
“Okay, okay. No more questions.”
“What’s your name?” Sabrina asked.
“Josephina.” She spit on her finger and held it up. “Wind’s blowing this way. This is the way.”
She led us towards a hidden path in the woods.
Sabrina handed her the silver penny from a pouch pinned inside her cloak.
“Gracias.”
We assumed she’d take off, but she surprised us.
“Hey, I’ll go with you. You might need my help later, and gettin’ to be mealtime.”
Sabrina shot me a look. Adding another person – a stranger – wasn’t really what we wanted at all.
We walked behind her. When she was talking to Katie, I whispered in Sabrina’s ear. “It’s hashgachah that Hashem sent Josephina now when we needed help with directions.”
Sabrina didn’t reply, but I noticed she was glancing at the food basket from Mrs. Hanan.
We kept walking for a while until Josephina signaled. “Let’s stop here. I’m famished.”
“Me, too.” Liselle Rosa sat down on the ground, and Davie plopped into her lap. “Hungry!” He pointed at his stomach.
“I’m very hungry, and I gave you all a good service,” Josephina said.
Sabrina and I exchanged looks. We would have to share our food with her. There was no other choice.
“We haven’t got a lot of food,” Sabrina said.
Davie started to cry. “I want Mama. I’m hungry.”
“Shhh!” Sabrina tried to quiet him. “Here, Davie.” She handed him some bread and cheese and some to Liselle Rosa.
Then she handed a half piece of bread to Josephina.
“I get same as her,” Josephina said.
There was something almost threatening in the way she stood over the food basket and Sabrina.
Liselle Rosa, meantime, was quietly pouring water over Davie’s hands and her own and mumbling the blessing.
Sabrina’s nostrils flared. “You are lucky we give you any.”
She held her hand out towards Sabrina. “Best for you to give me a whole piece,” she said.
I swallowed. What did she think about us? There was something very unsettling in the gleam in her dark eyes.
I tore my piece in half and handed her the bigger half.
“That’s better,” Josephina said, biting into the bread and gulping it fast like a hungry animal.
I went behind a tree to wash my hands and say the blessings.
“How much farther?” I asked Sabrina.
“We’re ‘bout a day away now,” she said.
It was starting to get dark. I dreaded spending another night on the road. “Maybe we can just walk through the night.”
Liselle Rosa overheard me. “Davie needs to rest. I can’t carry him for so long.”
We heard a loud whistle. “That’s my cousin. I know her whistle.” Josephina whistled back.
A girl dressed similarly to Josephina appeared. Her clothing looked even more worn and old than Josephina’s, and she was a few inches taller than her. She looked to be around 15 or 16 years old, like her cousin. There was a hardened look in her eye.
“Ya found work?”
“Right here with these children.”
“Well, I’m hungry, so I’ll join your group.”
Sabrina and I exchanged looks. Another mouth to feed.
“Where you all headed?”
“What’s your name?” Sabrina asked.
“Paulina.”
“We’re going to my uncle in Toledo. He’s ill and wanted to see us,” Sabrina said. The words rolled smoothly off her lips.
“Rich man?” Paulina asked.
“No,” Sabrina answered quickly.
“Well, doesn’t matter. Toledo is as good a place for me to head as any.”
We hadn’t asked her to come, but now we had two unwanted escorts.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of 11 popular Jewish books, including her newly released historical fiction novel The Blizzard (Menucha 2026) and recently published novel Captured (Menucha 2025). She is also the current news editor of Binyan Magazine.
