Recap: Jordie was waiting for a message from FBI agent Donaldson, but instead he got a phone text message to go to Zevi’s house and to bring the envelope. Aunt Ellie was suspicious if this was legitimate and told them to wait to see if another message came. While they waited to see if another message would come, they began reading the journal from Nana.
Joe rushed over to me. “What happened?”
“I tripped on one of the dogs,” I said through gritted teeth. ”My ankle hurts!” It was throbbing with pain like someone had hit it with a baseball bat.
“Here, come sit down.” Joe helped ease me onto a hard wooden chair. He pulled out a first aid kit from his backpack. “Let me maneuver it to see if it’s broken.”
I bit my lip as he tried to see if I could move my ankle. “OW!!” I shrieked. “PLEASE STOP!!”
One of the dogs yelped.
“You’re scaring the dogs,” Betzalel said, trying to get me to laugh.
The shooting pain was making me see stars. Joe placed his knapsack under my foot.
“I’ll get some ice. We’ve got plenty of ice for you to ice it.” He opened the cabin door and scooped up some ice and put it into a rag. “Keep that on there to reduce the swelling. What a bummer. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you out.”
Betzalel hovered over me with a concerned expression on his face.
“Do you think it’s broken?”
Joe examined it without touching it. “It’s swelling and it looks black and blue. I’m so sorry I sent you for wood.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said.
He offered me some aspirin from the first aid kit and I took it for the pain.
Teddy came over and patted my arm in sympathy. “I want to tell him I’ll be okay,” I said to Joe.
Joe showed me how to sign that.
It was hard to move anything with all the pain, but I managed to sign that I would be okay.
Teddy smiled.
“Do you think the snow will let up soon?” I asked. I wanted my parents here right now.
“Like I said, no plane will be flying over Alaska in this kind of blizzard. Where were they flying from?”
“Seattle,” Betzalel answered.
“And Zeidy must be worried about us,” I whispered. “I wish there was some way I could reach my grandfather.”
“That’s not a thing to worry about. He knows about Alaskan weather and that I would put us in a cabin in a surprise blizzard like this. I’m sure he’s not worried,” Joe said.
That was reassuring.
Betzalel brought near me his pocket-sized Gemara that he always carried with him, and offered to learn with me. My foot was stinging so much that I didn’t feel like I could concentrate. I tried to think of the song I had thought of before, and how the fingering would go on the piano. The pain made it hard to concentrate.
“We could do a little,” Betzalel offered.
“Maybe later,” I winced again.
One of the dogs kept coming and rubbing against me. I patted it and it stayed right there by my side. It was like it sensed I was hurt.
“That’s Star. He’s a sensitive dog,” Joe said.
Star had a white shape, sort of like a star, on his forehead.
“We need more wood for tonight,” Joe said. “I’m going out to gather some.” The wind rattled the cabin and icy gusts blew into the cabin when he opened the door. Teddy jumped up.” I want to come with you.”
“No, It’s not a good idea.”
After Joe left, Teddy headed out the door after him despite Joe’s warning.
“I’m sorry this is all happening,” Betzalel said.
“Thanks.” I sighed. “This is really bad! I can’t believe we are stuck here!” I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.
Betzalel nodded. “Yeah, it is bad. I wish Abba was here. I’m trying to think what Abba would say about all this. He’d probably say, focus on the blessings – on the positives in every situation. Everything happens for a reason, and Hashem has a plan.”
“Yeah, he’d say that.”
“We gotta believe it’s all good.”
I didn’t think Betzalel sounded so convinced.
I thought of my upcoming disastrous bar mitzvah. Snowed out parents, snowed out injured bar mitzvah boy, horrible pain and possible broken ankle, no way to reach Zeidy and tell him we were all right. Stranded with only oatmeal and water. Lost silver dollars bar mitzvah gift. What were the positives to focus on?
“I can tell by your expression that you’re not focusing on positives.”
“So, help me,” I said. I moved slightly. “Ouch!” A sharp pain shot up my leg.
“We’re in Alaska, a gorgeous place, and visiting our Zeidy. You’re about to become bar mitzvah.”
“…with no one there.”
“I’m focusing on positives,” Betzalel interrupted. “We found a safe shelter from the storm with a ranger who knows first aid. We made a new friend, Teddy. Your injury could have been worse. We found oatmeal to eat, and it was kosher.”
“Okay,” I said. “I see what you mean.”
Betzalel wasn’t through. “The snow – looking at it from the inside, it is beautiful. Like a giant snow globe all full of glitter. Oh, and we get to spend time with these magnificent Alaskan huskies.”
“You like dogs more than me,” I winced in pain again.
“Can I get you more ice?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think anything will help. It kills.” I’m really not a complainer but this pain was unbearable.
Just then, Joe stepped into the cabin carrying a huge pile of wood and Teddy followed him with more. They were both caked in snow and had to stomp it off their boots and shake it off their faces and bodies.
“We need to dry this wood by the fire right now,” Joe said. His voice rose as he hurried over to the fire with the wood.
“It’s not anywhere near nightfall. Why do we have to hurry with the wood?” Betzalel asked.
Joe moved a pile of branches back and forth in front of the fire. Teddy did the same with his branches.
“I heard wolves!” Joe said. “This is what keeps them from coming close. We don’t want that pack to come here. They smell the dogs and they are hungry. I glanced at the dogs. They were pawing and whining. The cabin was really one big room but luckily the room was spacious enough to accommodate us and the dogs.
My stomach clenched, thinking of the yellow eyes and the high-pitched howl I’d seen and heard just last night.
Betzalel put his arm on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Akiva. Joe knows what to do. He’s a ranger at Mt. McKinley National Park. He knows how to keep away the wolves.”
As if on cue, we suddenly heard a howl.
“I thought they only came out at night,” I said.
Star put his paw on my arm like he wanted to protect me.
“I think they smell the dogs,” Joe said.
“Aoooowww!!!” It sounded like a huge number of wolves were moving close to our cabin.
“Stoke the flame,” Joe directed Betzalel. “We need a bigger fire.”
We need to get out of here now! I thought. Right now!!!
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of an historical fiction novel, Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishing, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishing, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha Publishers, 2020), Denver Dreams (a novel, Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha Publishers, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022), and Alaskan Gold ( 2023-2024).
