Millions of Pebbles

by Roberta Kagan

  “Be careful where you step. There are poisonous snakes,” the guide said.

  Ilsa trembled, but she didn’t speak. What a stupid man he is. How am I supposed to be careful if I can’t see what’s in front of me? she thought.

  Finally, they came to a small clearing where a large hut had been constructed out of what appeared to be some form of bamboo. There were two stories, and a good portion of the structure was not enclosed.

  At the door to the hut stood a portly woman with a face as brown as a coconut. She had a big, yellow-toothed smile. “Welcome,” she said in German. Then she escorted each member of the group to their individual rooms. Ilsa was led to a very small room with a dirt floor. In the center was a hard and uncomfortable cot that had been covered with mosquito netting.

  The woman looked at Ilsa and then said, “This will be your room. We put breakfast on table just as sun come up in sky. Please, you will sleep inside netting at night or insects will attack you. And when you need to relieve yourself, hole is outside, a little walk behind house.”

  Ilsa nodded. She wanted to vomit. Somewhere in the distance, a wild animal let out a howl. Ilsa jumped. “Before you go,” Ilsa said to the woman, “the animals? Can they get in here? I’ve heard that there is a big cat that lives here that is like a leopard.”

  “This is jungle. Anything can happen here. The cat you talk of is jaguar. Jaguar have powerful spirit, must respect jaguar spirit. But not worry, jaguar mostly shy away from people. That is unless somehow she gets taste of human flesh. Once this happens, jaguar must have more and more. So we must send out hunters to find her and kill her. If not, she keep coming into villages and she kill more people. Now, about snakes and spiders? Yes, they come in.”

  “Poisonous ones?”

  “Yes, some are. Others not poison. Many spiders look very bad but are harmless; others look harmless but are very bad.” She smiled, and Ilsa noticed that she was missing some of her teeth. Then she continued, “Mostly colorful spiders are poison. Now snakes are different. Some not poison but still dangerous. These snakes kill by wrapping around victim and squeezing life out.”

  “Oh!” Ilsa sucked in a deep breath.

  “Don’t be afraid. If you don’t go walking in forest, you should be safe. As I tell you before, no need for worry, jaguar rarely come into village. And anaconda, the giant serpent with powerful dark spirit that can swallow a man whole . . . are most of time found on river. Stay here in house with others, and all will be well.”

  “As for bathing in the river? I heard there is a poisonous eel?”

  “Yes, I think you speak of brown snake. Very powerful. If she touch you, you may be, could be, dead in minutes. Something in her magic stop your breathing and your heart instantly. Also, keep eye open for large, long insect with lots of legs. This one has very bad poison. She be smaller than snake, still very long. In fact, longer than most man’s sex part. And she have strong dark spirit. Called centipede.”

  “Centipede,” Ilsa said, so angry with Eichmann that she could hardly speak.

  “I think maybe it be best if you not go all the way into river for taking a bath. Perhaps bathe using cloth but stay on land by river. Even so, still must be cautious for caiman. Hard to see. He hide in bushes, and then he come out fast. Big strong spirit. Big teeth.”

  Ilsa stared at the native woman.

  But the woman continued to speak. “Also, you must never to go walk in forest. Tribes live in forest. Some very dangerous, hate white man. Hate others not in tribe. These not friendly. Some eat heart of others not in their tribe to steal their power and spirit.”

  “Oh, what a horrible place. This is an absolute nightmare. Well, don’t you worry. I have no intentions of ever walking through the forest,” Ilsa said, speaking more to herself than to the woman.

  She didn’t sleep at all that night. The sounds of the jungle unnerved her. There were the cries from the howler monkeys, and she was sure she heard the growls of the jaguars. How am I ever going to stay here even for another day?

  Working at Ravensbrück, she’d become accustomed to bathing each day. However, this was not possible in the jungle. When she asked one of the servants where the bathing facilities were she was told that she would be required to bathe in the river.

  “The river?” The river is filthy, full of mud.

  “Yes, but you must be careful when you go in. Look where you are going because you must watch out for big green snake.”

  “You mean the anaconda? I heard about that.” Ilsa shivered. This place is what nightmares are made of.

  “Oh yes, of course, the anaconda, you must beware but also the eel. He live in river too. If eel bite you, you are finished.”

  “Where am I?” Ilsa said.

  “I don’t understand question?” he asked.

  “Never mind.” She dismissed him. Then she went down to breakfast where she saw Adolf Eichmann. She looked everywhere for Josef Mengele, but she didn’t see him or Eichmann’s family. Ilsa wondered, Perhaps Eichmann has made other arrangements for his family so that he and I can have some time for fun before his wife arrives, and he is under her thumb again. Perhaps he’s done the same with Mengele. I can’t be sure, but I dare not ask. He wouldn’t want me asking about his wife, and he certainly wouldn’t want me asking about Josef.

  The food, which was mostly beans and rice with some strange chewy meat, did not appeal to her. It was not at all what she was used to eating. But she was glad that at least a few of the servants spoke some, if not fluent, German.

  Eichmann walked over to her after breakfast. She turned away from him. “You never came to visit me,” she said, a little angry.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I was unable to come. I was busy making all of the arrangements for these people to get out of Germany.”

  “I see. It doesn’t matter anyway,” she added, turning away. She was disgusted with him, but she dared not show it. She still needed him. “ How long do I have to stay here?”

  “You don’t like it here?” he said.

  “And you do?” she replied sarcastically.

  “I don’t mind it, really. It’s peaceful. But don’t worry. You won’t be staying in the jungle. I’ll have you moved to a city,” he said, smiling.

  “A city, here? In this place?”

  “In South America, yes. Buenos Aires, perhaps?”

  “I want to go to the USA,” Ilsa insisted. The thought of spending the rest of her days in this hot, tropical hell made her feel desperate. “I’ve already paid you very well, Adolf, but I can’t stay here. I’ll give you more. Just get me to the United States.”

  “I know you want to go there. But it’s harder to get in.”

  She glared at him. “How much?”

  “A lot more. How much do you have?”

  “I have a large ruby brooch, perhaps three carats, two thick gold wedding bands, seven thinner gold bands, a two-carat emerald necklace, a matching emerald bracelet, a thick gold Jewish star on a thick gold chain, and a diamond necklace.”

  “How big is the diamond?”

  “Not as big as the last one I gave you, but at least two carats.”

  “Hmmm? That’s all you have?”

  “I have a diamond necklace and diamond earrings. I wanted to keep them for myself, but I’d rather get out of here.”

  “I need all of it,” he said.

  She grunted. “I’ll pay, but hurry up and get this done for me. This place is unbearable.”

  “Believe me, I’m working on it.”

  CHAPTER 57

  Ilsa held her urine until she could not hold it anymore. She was not looking forward to using a hole in the ground as a toilet. But she braced herself and walked outside.

  “Which way to the hole?” she asked a native man who was making a fishing pole out of a stick.

  He stared at her.

  “The toilet,” she said, frustrated.

  He shrugged his shoulders. Ilsa thought she might cry, but then the large woman who spoke German wal
ked by. “What you want?” she asked Ilsa.

  “Toilet,” Ilsa said.

  “Toilet?”

  “Hole?”

  The woman nodded and pointed. Ilsa began walking. As she did, she passed a group of children playing a game with a stick. When she looked down at the ground where they were playing, she saw a giant hairy spider in the center of the group. They’d attached what looked like a huge, lime-green grasshopper to a stick which they were dangling in front of the spider. Every time the spider lunged for the insect they moved the stick. Ilsa felt her skin crawl as she let out a scream.

  One of the servants came running. “What is it?” he asked.

  She pointed to the massive spider. “That!”

  “Oh.” The servant laughed. “No need to be afraid. That’s a tarantula. But that’s one of the harmless kind. They are everywhere here. The children play with them. But you are right to be cautious because there are two kinds of these spiders. This one is all right. But the other one is deadly.”

  Ilsa shivered. She kept her distance as the spider danced on it’s eight long, thick legs. She had to go so badly that she had no choice but to continue to the makeshift toilet. When she got there she found it to be a smelly, dirty place covered in large, black bugs. Quickly, she peed then she ran back to the house. The children were still playing with the spider. She continued to run until she was in her room. Bees buzzed around her head, landing on her face and eyelids, stinging. Not only did they buzz, but they made a peculiar sound that she’d never heard the bees in Germany make.

  Throwing herself down on her cot, she thought it might have been better to face the Allies than to come here. Biting her lip, she forced herself not to cry. Damn Eichmann. He had better find a way to get me to America quickly.

  Before dinner that evening, Ilsa joined the rest of the group for drinks in the main room of the house. She saw Eichmann standing at the bar and talking to some of the men. She immediately walked up to him.

  “I must get out of here as soon as possible,” she blurted as she marched over to him, interrupting his conversation.

  “Excuse me,” Eichmann said to the other men, then he turned to Ilsa. “Let’s take a walk outside, shall we?”

  She glared at him and nodded.

  He squeezed her arm a little too tightly as he led her outside. “That was very rude,” he said.

  “I can’t bear this place another minute,” she growled. “I am covered in bee stings. These bees are horrible. They are so aggressive even though they are smaller than any I’ve ever seen. They sting, and I just can't stand to have them landing on me. It makes my skin crawl.”

  “They are attracted to your sweat, and that sound you hear is them licking the sweat from your skin. And being that it’s very hot here, there is plenty of sweat. Even you, my beauty, have to be sweating furiously in this heat.”

  She gave him a vicious stare.

  “Anyway,” he continued, trying to sound casual, “they are called sweat bees, and they are exclusive to the Amazon rainforest. Now you can think of your situation of being here in another way. You can say to yourself, 'Ilsa, you have a seen an insect that most people will never encounter,'” he said mockingly.

  “Oh, shut up, won't you? I am horrified by this place. You promised to get me out of here.”

  “I’m doing the best I can.” He forced a smile more for the sake of the men who were watching him from inside than for her sake.

  “It’s not good enough. I can’t stand it.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “That’s simply not good enough, Adolf. I have to get out of this place, or I’ll go out of my mind.”

  “You haven’t forgotten, have you? My name is Ricardo. You must never use my old name. It’s important that we don’t forget our new identities.”

  “Go to hell.” She was angry. “If you don’t get me out of here by the end of the month, I swear I’ll tell your wife what happened between us. I swear I will, Adolf. I’ll find a way.”

  “Dinner is served,” the heavyset, brown-skinned servant woman called out.

  “Shall we go to the dining room?”

  “I am serious about what I am saying to you. I demand that you get me out of here and soon.”

  The group of seven SS officers, including Eichmann and Ilsa, sat down at the table. Ilsa glared at Eichmann as a large, black ant crawled across the plate of rice that one of the servants had just placed in the middle of the table.

  “This place is not a fit place to live,” one of the Nazis said. “The animals alone are a good reason to move to the city.”

  “Oh, yes, you are correct. The animals and the insects are monstrous,” another of the Nazis answered him. “It’s uncivilized.”

  “I think it’s rather lovely. This morning I saw a flock of iridescent, brightly colored butterflies,” said a Nazi, with a head of thick, white hair.

  “Lovely, yes, but dangerous. Just wait until you meet up with a jaguar,” a servant boy, carrying a large platter of beans, chimed in. “The jaguar is a beautiful animal but deadly too.”

  “I’d rather not meet up with one,” Eichmann said, “but I did hear a rather curious story about the anaconda the other day. Would you like to hear it?”

  “Yes, do tell us.”

  Then Eichmann went on. “First off, the anaconda is the largest snake in the world. She can grow to twenty-five feet long. Some of the natives say they’ve seen even bigger ones.”

  “Are these the ones that are poisonous?”

  “No, but they’re constrictors. They wrap themselves around their prey and squeeze until they’ve squeezed the life out of their victim. And you know what I have heard? I’ve heard that after they mate, the female devours the male. She eats him and that way she will not have to eat again until her seven months of gestation is over.”

  “How vile,” one of the Nazis said.

  “I know some human women who are just like that. They devour the men in their lives just to serve their own ends.” Eichmann laughed, but he set his eyes on Ilsa. She glared back at him to let him know that she would not back down. And if he didn’t get her out of South America, she would find a way to destroy his marriage.

  CHAPTER 58

  Eichmann disappeared from the jungle camp for two weeks. Ilsa began to worry that he’d abandoned her. During that time she’d stood at the edge of the river and sponged herself off with rags in order to bathe. She found she was unable to submerge herself in the water. The food upset her stomach so much that she’d run to the hole at least twice and woke in the middle of the night to vomit.

  When Eichmann finally returned, Ilsa was relieved. He was standing at the bar when she came into the main room. Giving her a smile, he asked Ilsa if they could go to her room so they could speak privately. She agreed.

  Once they were in her room, Eichmann locked the door. Then he turned to Ilsa and spoke in a whisper. “I have found a solution to your problem. I think I can get you into America.”

  “I knew you could do it if you tried hard enough.” She was so relieved that she slumped down on the bed and let the tears flow down her face. “How?” she asked.

  “Here is my plan. You are going to pose as the fiancée of a Jewish scientist. Of course, this man is not really a Jew. He, like you, is really one of us. But don’t worry, the American government knows the truth. And they will keep your secret safe because the Americans want this scientist in their country. They know of his reputation, and they want him to be a part of their outer-space program.”

  “The United States knows he is a part of the Nazi Party, and they are letting him in anyway?”

  “That’s right. They need him to further their progress in the space race.”

  “I can’t wait to leave. Who is he? Will I be required to marry him?”

  “He’s an old man. Sickly too. He doesn’t expect you to really marry him, so you needn’t worry.”

  “When you get to America, you’ll stay with him for a few months t
hen you can break up. After that, you’ll be free to go your own way.”

  “I can’t wait. When do I leave?”

  “Next week”

  “Not soon enough,” she said, but she let out a sigh of relief.

  “So tonight? Shall we say our goodbyes, old friend?” He cupped her breast in his hand.

  She looked in his eyes trying to hide her true feelings of hatred for him. He’d taken so much of the valuables she’d worked so hard to acquire. She was left with almost nothing. As far as he is concerned, I have nothing left to start my new life. And now he expects this too! Bastard. But I’d better not refuse him. If I do, he might not fulfill his promise, and I have to get to America.

  Ilsa put her arms around Eichmann’s neck and kissed him. Then she pulled him down onto the cot where she slept. A bee stung him in the back of his arm. He let out a little shriek. “Damn these bees," he said then added, “Perhaps we should get undressed and go under the netting.”

  She nodded. At least this will be the last time, she thought.

  CHAPTER 59

  New York, NY, United States of America 1947

  Where the streets are paved in gold.

  After the war ended, Benjamin Rabinowitz contacted Levi Mansky and told him that he was a good friend of Caleb Ornstein’s. Without hesitation, Levi graciously agreed to sponsor Ben, and who then moved in with Levi and his family on the Lower West Side of Manhattan. Levi, who was a religious man and a part of a tight-knit religious community, had even secured a job for Ben as an apprentice to a diamond cutter. Although Ben had never been very religious, he recognized that his employers, two brothers, were Hasidics. He knew this by their clothes, their beards, and their payots. Many of the men who worked in New York’s diamond district had come from Eastern Europe. And although his bosses had been born in America, many of the others he met, like Ben, had survived concentration camps. Although they had shared a harsh past, no one ever mentioned the Nazis or what had happened before they came to America.