The Magic Flute

by J. J. Park

  Karl finally had an opportunity to ask what happened and demand full attention without interruption, leaving no room for evasion.

  “Now, tell me what happened,” Karl asked as they walked after the two dogs.

  Gopan and Dyami expected this. They could no longer dodge Karl’s inquiry, and after all, he had a right to know.

  “It was through magic. The flute had something to do with it. Do you remember the flute?” Dyami asked.

  “Flute? Yes, I remember,” Karl answered.

  Dyami explained the magical power of the flute. Karl would not have believed what Dyami said if it wasn’t self-evident; in the absence of any other explanations, he accepted it and sighed in resignation.

  “I am very sorry, but it was an unexpected outcome,” Dyami explained.

  “Can the flute take me back?” Karl posed the question after a short pause.

  “Do you want to go back to the war?” Dyami remarked.

  “I have family there.”

  “Our elders forbade us using the flute because of what happened. Regardless, we don’t know if we can go back to the same place where we left off,” Dyami said. Karl looked disappointed.

  “What do you think? Can we at least try it?” Gopan asked, seeing how sad Karl looked.

  “I don’t know. First, we have to get permission.”

  “Look at him. He looks so disappointed,” Gopan persisted.

  “We’ll see. We have to get permission from our parents, but even then, as I said before, we don’t know if we can go back to the same place and time,” Dyami repeated.

  Regardless of the risk, Karl wanted to try, and Dyami and Gopan understood.

  The spring semester arrived and moved forward swiftly, leaving them with very little time to contemplate the vision or brood over Karl’s situation. They scored high on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Time was fast approaching for them to face the real world.

  However, Karl’s wish to go back to his time stayed in their minds.

  “Should we ask your grandfather about the flute for Karl?” Gopan raised the inevitable question one day.

  They approached Kuruk and Taza, advising them of Karl’s wish to go back to his time. After much discussion and persuasion, two elders conceded and permitted them to try it. When he heard the news, Karl did not want to waste any time.

  The three set out for the adventure immediately after Kuruk permitted them to use the flute. It was a breezy, cloudy day. Animals stayed invisible, and the forest quiet as if the calm before the storm. Their hearts palpitated in anticipation. They hiked toward the cave that Dyami and Gopan found during one of their hikes.

  Dyami noticed a blackbird perched on the tall acacia branch across the cave entrance when they reached it.

  “Look! A raven!”

  Dyami exclaimed and pointed, remembering his Grandfather Kuruk’s words about animals. The presence of the raven seemed to say something to him.

  They ventured into the cave and went further than ever before. It became dark quickly. However, when eyes became acclimated to darkness, they saw bats on the cave walls.

  The entrance was now a small opening, and the solitary blackbird sat outside immobile. The three settled down on a flat surface. Karl’s presence was reassuring.

  “Are we ready?” Dyami asked.

  Not expecting any answers, he played the flute, hoping they would return to the German forest as Karl wished, never imagining the scope and intensity of adventures awaiting them.

  9

  THREE VISIONS

  ***

  VISION I: THE SLAVE TRADING

  They found themselves in a busy seaport at the break of the day. A large ship unloaded chained Africans onto the pier while other boats prepared for a sail.

  Immediately, shouts, gestures, and curses bombarded their ears. Workers and passers-by cast unfriendly and suspicious looks at them. It was a rough place.

  “These must be slave-trading ships,” Gopan said in a low voice inaudible amid the noise.

  Karl looked confused and disappointed, finding himself in a place other than the German forest.

  “I can’t hear you, but we must figure out what to do. First, where are we?” Dyami shouted.

  “Liverpool, look over there, the sign,” Gopan said, pointing at a sign over a tavern.

  “All right. We’re in Liverpool, England. What period?” Dyami thought out loud.

  “The slave ships tell us the 18th century. It is a very different time and place. We must tread carefully,” Gopan warned.

  “What do you know about Liverpool?” Dyami questioned Gopan.

  “Nothing much. I know about Mersey Beat and the Beatles,” Gopan answered.

  “Right, the Beatles are from here, aren’t they?” Dyami noted.

  “My father likes the Beatles,” Gopan said.

  “All right. What do you suggest we do? These people don’t look friendly,” Gopan raised his concerns.

  “We’re in Liverpool, England, back when they traded slaves. What do you want to do, Karl?” Dyami asked Karl, who stood next to them, looking uneasy.

  “Should we try to get on one of the slave-trading ships here and see what happens?” Gopan suggested.

  “These ships will take us south to the west coast of Africa and across the Atlantic to the West Indies,” Dyami recited what he learned in history class.

  “Are you up for an adventure, Karl?” Gopan asked.

  “Why not! We’re here,” Karl said, yielding after a pause.

  Karl resigned himself to the situation and decided to follow the two young men, who seemed to understand the circumstance better than he.

  They decided to find jobs on the ship and waited near a large boat to talk to someone about hiring. Several men disembarked and headed to nearby markets and pubs. Their inhospitable looks discouraged them, but eventually, they found a man who had an air of authority and appeared less hostile.

  “Sir, we’re looking for jobs. Are you hiring anyone?” Karl asked, posing as their leader.

  The man quickly assessed them and gave a suspicious look at their strange clothing, but he appeared impressed by their healthy physiques.

  “What type of work are you looking for?” he asked.

  “We can do anything required on the ship. We want to learn the trade,” Karl answered.

  “Is that so?” the man said with skepticism and a tone of mockery. Still, he added, “As a matter of fact, my ship will be sailing the day after tomorrow. I can use additional help.”

  “What exactly would we be doing, sir?” Dyami asked.

  “You’d load and unload cargo, anchor the ship, raise the mast, and carry out other small tasks. You’ll be shipmates,” he said.

  They accepted the job under the condition that their job included their active participation in every transaction and activity on the business side of trading. In turn, the three declined wages other than food and lodging. The captain was satisfied with the arrangement and permitted them to sleep on board until the ship sailed.

  They had a day to explore Liverpool. After eating simple fried fish lunch at a nearby food stand, they walked to the market center. It was a busy commercial town teeming with merchants from Ireland.

  As anticipated, merchants viewed them suspiciously. They moved away from the market quickly to avoid any conflicts. They returned to the ship to acclimate themselves with the vessel and prepare for a transatlantic voyage.

  ***

  The Atlantic crossing was long and trying with a violent hurricane that almost wrecked the ship. Nonetheless, they arrived at the port in Ghana. The captain surveyed the Gold Coast through a binocular, looking for his African counterpart, Ephraim.

  “Look at that fort. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Dyami said, pointing at a red-tile roofed white structure glowing in the backdrop of blue Atlantic. It offered a bit of comfort to their battered spirits and bodies.

  William kept his side of the bargain and included the three young men in all tradi
ng business aspects. First, William explained to them the importance of having a capable African trader counterpart. His African trader, Ephraim, was a clever man with a warlike stature. He spoke several languages.

  As soon as the ship touched the dock, William disembarked with a gift in his hand. Ephraim was busy talking to Jean, a French trader. When Ephraim became available, William approached him. After cursory greetings, he introduced the three men to Ephraim, then immediately discussed business.

  “There are many captives in the castle. I can take you there right now if you wish,” Ephraim said.

  He pointed at the fortress on the coast that Dyami admired from the ship. The beautiful chateau, after all, had a sinister role in this nasty business.

  Without delay, the two traders walked to the fort, and the three younger men followed. As they climbed stairs, they saw many arched entrances around a large courtyard.

  Ephraim led them upstairs into a finely furnished officer’s quarter where the fresh ocean breeze filled the room. They discussed the logistics of the transaction, sipping tea from delicate porcelain cups.

  “What’s the number?” Ephraim asked.

  “Three hundred, and I would like a three to one ratio of males and females,” William responded.

  “I can bring them to the ship tomorrow if you wish,” Ephraim said.

  Then Ephraim led them to dark dungeons at the lower level. They found hundreds of Africans crammed together in small spaces, littered with wastes, without any room to lie or sit down. It was dark and dank, and the air was putrid from poor ventilation. The three steadied themselves.

  After seeing people in that condition, they went back to the beautiful airy office to discuss business further.

  “Bring them on Wednesday. We’ll begin loading in the morning,” William said casually. He seemed unaffected by the horrid sight.

  Afterward, four men walked back to the ship in silence, absorbed in their thoughts.

  “That beautiful fort is a hell gate of no return. I never imagined people could do such horrible things to others. Now I understand what our elders have been saying all along,” Gopan said to Dyami when they were alone.

  During the following week, Ephraim brought slaves to the ship on small boats with their hands tied to a pole to prevent escaping. William and John, the doctor on board, examined their teeth and other body parts in similar way farmers did with farm animals.

  They chained the captives together and kept them in the ship’s hold until it sailed for America.

  “Where are we going?” one young boy asked a shipmate who pushed him down from deck to the ship’s hold.

  “To America,” said the man.

  “What for?” the boy continued his inquiry.

  “New life! Get moving,” he growled.

  “Are they going to eat us?” the boy asked the grown man next to him.

  Ephraim purchased firearms, rum, and fabric from William, and William, in turn, bought spices, coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, and ivory from Ephraim.

  Soon after, the ship sailed across the Atlantic to America. The ship’s hold’s condition was as revolting as it was at the dungeon in the fort. The stench of sweat and human waste traveled far and wide in the vast ocean.

  They lashed captives at the slightest infraction. When enslaved became gravely ill, the crew dumped them overboard alive. William lost 90 out of 300 of his investments to the heat and diseases.

  He sold the remaining 210 slaves to plantation owners in America. It baffled Dyami and Gopan that William had no qualms about the whole appalling situation.

  The three had seen enough of gruesome business and decided to quit. Dyami blew into the flute holding Gopan and Karl with a lightened heart at the prospect of returning to Arizona.

  VISION II: TRAIN RIDE TO AUSCHWITZ

  Instead of Arizona, the three found themselves among people trying to get on a train already filled. There was a lot of jostling and pushing. They saw a family of father, mother, and two children huddled together for comfort and warmth.

  “This must be the train to Auschwitz,” Dyami whispered to Gopan and Karl.

  “How do you know? You can’t be certain,” Gopan whispered back.

  “Look at yellow badges on them,” Dyami pointed out.

  Karl immediately knew in what situation he was when he saw German soldiers not far from him. Karl remained quiet, overwhelmed by unexplainable feelings and conflicting thoughts. His heart pounded fast. He finally had an opportunity to return to Germany by joining the army, but he could not go forward. The more he thought about the situation, the more it became difficult.

  He began to doubt the reality of achieving what he set out to do. If he chose to stay behind and rejoin the German army, he would have to explain to the military how he had become separated from them. Explaining his disappearance would be an impossible task. No one in their right mind would possibly believe him with the likelihood of him ending in a concentration camp.

  Suddenly, he realized how unrealistic the plan to return to his former life had been. The matter settled itself, and he felt more at ease now, knowing what to do. At this point, Dyami looked at him and asked,

  “Karl, what do you want to do? There are German soldiers here. Do you want to join them and go back? We’re going to get on the train.”

  “I don’t think I can join them, but why do you want to get on the train?” Karl asked, perplexed.

  “I don’t think we have any choice.”

  Soon after, all three got pushed up onto the slowly moving train. The stale air was overwhelming. Children somehow knew that they must endure as best as they could. For a few minutes, all was silent except for occasional coughs. The train soon moved at full speed.

  “Anyone knows where we are going?” someone finally broke the silence.

  No one answered, and the questioner retreated into silence again.

  “Oh, I’m suffocating. I need air,” an old woman complained after a long silence.

  “We all need air,” an old man grumbled.

  In the meantime, Dyami and Gopan acquainted themselves with the family.

  “You are not Jews, are you?” Daniel, the father, asked them.

  “No. I don’t know how, but somehow, we got caught up in this,” Gopan answered.

  “How unfortunate for you,” Miriam, the mother, said.

  She then added, looking at two young men of good stature,

  “I wish my Jacob were as strong as you two.”

  Jacob had asthma and was cold all the time. Dyami and Gopan wished that they had their warm jackets to offer to Jacob.

  As they got to know the family better, they came to know their history.

  ***

  The family lived in a shtetl in Poland before this horror began. Daniel was a successful accountant providing a good living for his family.

  It was his 13-years old son Jacob’s bar mitzvah, the end of August 1939. His house was bustling with friends and family. Laughter and lively conversation filled the house, and a feeling of well-being floated in the air. People enjoyed good food and drink.

  Earlier, Jacob recited Torah at the temple for his bar mitzvah during the worship service. His mother, sister, aunt, and neighbors threw candies from the balcony, and Daniel showered him with gifts afterward.

  Jacob was then a healthy and happy 13-years old boy, and his family had high expectations for his future.

  However, this happiness lasted only a short time. Toward evening, one of Daniel’s friends, Joel, walked in, pale and worried. He was holding several newspapers. Daniel immediately pulled him aside.

  “I am sorry for being late, but the business meeting lasted longer than planned. That’s of no importance now. I have bad news,” Joel said, showing newspapers to Daniel.

  “Hitler’s army is in Poland,” Joel whispered to Daniel.

  “Let’s keep this quiet until after the party when the boy goes to bed. I want Jacob to end this day with unbroken happy feelings,” Daniel said after reading hea
dlines.

  When he saw Jacob yawning, he ordered him to bed. The boy followed his father’s instruction gladly, tired from all the excitement. After Jacob retired to his room, Daniel broke the news to the adults gathered in the garden. Their faces became overcast as if clouds covered sun-light.

  Shortly after the invasion, German soldiers stormed their shtetl and sent them to the ghetto, stripping them of material wealth and dignity.

  Life in the ghetto was miserable, which continued for four years. Barbed wire fences separated them from the outside world, and people lived under crowded and unsanitary conditions. There was no heat in winter, and the ongoing food shortage brought families to near starvation. Jacob, once a healthy and happy boy, had become a sickly teen.

  It was 1943. Without any notice, German soldiers came and ordered them to leave. They didn’t dare ask any questions and just followed orders taking whatever they could for the one-way train ride to oblivion.

  Karl stood next to the Jews he once despised, wondering what would be waiting for him at the destination. Several people died on the way, and the Nazi soldiers threw their bodies overboard. It gave everyone a glimpse of what was to come.

  It took three days to arrive at the destination, and German officers, guards, and kapos7 met them at the train station. They led them to their camps, buildings that looked like elongated factories. They were at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

  Many fell on the way, exhausted. Soldiers beat stragglers, and children clung to their parents. Yelling, beating, and dog growling augmented their anxiety.

  German soldiers and guards ordered them to form lines, then selected and separated them according to their process. They dragged Daniel’s entire family away and hit him when he protested. Soldiers assigned the three to work at Crematorium ll.

  When they entered it, they saw several furnaces. There were dead bodies stacked up with personal belongings scattered around on the ground. The stench of death permeated the air. Dyami looked at Gopan and Karl and saw the desperation on their faces. Without words, he held their hands and blew the flute.