The Children’s Train

Despite the shock of his wife’s horrifying electrocution, the father only had a moment to size up the situation. “Take my children. Keep them safe,” he said to Peter through the fence.

He waved to his boys, still hidden behind the bushes, but protected by Noah from witnessing the horror of their mother’s death. “I love you. Remember that. I love you!” the father called to his children. “Go with them. Don’t look back. We will come to you shortly. We will all be together. Go! Now!”

Frightened, the three brothers all ran toward the park after Peter and Noah, obeying their father’s final command. Peter remembered when his own mother had lied to him, that she would shortly follow him to England, that they would soon be reunited in a new country. Without the lie, he wouldn’t have gone, but to discover the deceit was overwhelming, and the feeling of being abandoned left a hollowness that could never be filled.

He wondered if these boys would ever be able to forgive their father. Peter knew he hadn’t fully forgiven his mother until he helped Olga deliver her calf. Then, he’d understood the connection of a mother to her child and how his mother might be willing to do anything, even the unthinkable, to save her children.