Irina

by Philip Warren

  Ever so softly, Deena Joselewicz said, “His name is Berek. Berek Joselewicz.”

  Irina’s heart pounded to a stop. This is why!

  …

  For Zuzzie and Deena, the purpose of their long journey had been achieved, Irina understood. A family was reunited in both sorrow and joy. For Irina, the answer to her greatest question had arrived, and in a most profound way. She was saddened by her loss, but overjoyed that Stashu lived on in his son. She held little Berek—and said his name—as often as she could.

  Near the Feast of Epiphany, when the Three Kings paid homage to the King of all Kings, Irina sent Rosta to fetch le Docteur Bernard.

  “It is time, Monsieur le Docteur. Do you best work, s’il vous plaît. You will not have to bother with me much longer.”

  “Hah! Madame, you are so…” he ended, not finding his word.

  “Correcte?”

  “Oui, Madame,” he said, and bowed deeply. “I shall remain close by for you.”

  “No need, Monsieur. There must be others for you to torture.”

  Bernard could not help himself. He chuckled, and departed quietly, waiting only a moment for the opium and hemlock to have their desired effect.

  …

  The weakness and pain had returned fourfold, it seemed. Irina was glad she had called in le docteur before her remaining hours became excruciating. With the opiates, she found relief, but her world was becoming a gauze through which she could see but dimly.

  It comforted her that Velka never left her side. Irina wanted for nothing Velka could provide, and after so many years, the air around her was not the same if Velka was not nearby.

  In the moments when lucidity returned, she used every opportunity to visit with Zuzzie and Marta, and, most especially, with Deena and little Berek. To hold the little one took her back to another time. Only now, it wasn’t a distant memory that held her attention. The infant in her arms was real, as real as Stashu and Berek. Another comfort was the blue cape she asked to blanket her. It had protected her near the beginning of her life’s adventure, and she was glad to have it now.

  When she sighed deeply, her bedside companions thought she was in pain. It was not pain at all, she hastened to tell them. It was the deep satisfaction that all she had ever wanted or hoped for in life had not been for naught. With the powerful effect of the opium, she wasn’t sure if they heard her words at all, or if she had even formed them.

  In her mind, however, everything was clear. She understood well when Père Dubois came to administer the Last Rites. The balm of oil with which he made the sign of the cross on her forehead, lips, and heart had a most soothing effect on her. Indeed, at that moment, opiates were unnecessary. She lay in peace, sprinkled with holy water, as she had been in Baptism. Irina was ready to be born to an eternal life, where greed and hate were no more. Père Dubois blessed her a final time, and left her to the wishes of Almighty God.

  It was after the priest departed, and when she had said all that needed to be said in farewell to the ever loyal Velka and Rosta, and when she and her family, old and new, exchanged words of love, that she found herself alone again with her thoughts. What came to her were Madrosh’s words about a divine plan that might play itself out over hundreds of years, even hundreds of lifetimes. She felt blessed to have but a glimpse of one small part.

  The next day, Deena came alone to visit. She sat close by Irina’s bed and, wordlessly, reached into her pocket. In her hand was the gold cross emblazoned with diamonds. She attempted to place it in Irina’s hand, but Irina’s fingers grasped the cross and Deena’s fingers, and held them tight.

  “This cross should stay with you, my child.”

  “I do not know why Stashu kept it—it came from a king of people who look down on Poles and hate Jews,” Deena said, pleading.

  “I, too, have had those thoughts, but I am mindful that the emperor was paying a debt—it was a Pole who saved his Wenceslas.”

  “But we are not of the same faith, Mother Irina,” Deena whispered.

  “Yet we are of the same God, Deena, and this cross is a reminder that our same God has never stopped loving all of us. It is right that this be passed down from my son to his son, and all who come after.”

  …

  As Irina went in and out of consciousness, her thoughts wandered. She saw clearly how the work of Chevalle & Companie explained much about what Madrosh had told her. Veneers were everywhere in life, often deceiving one’s eye about what lay underneath. Veneer prised from a fine cabinet reveals scarred, less valuable woods, just as garments hide the body’s blemishes. All most see of us is veneer. What’s more important is the nourishment of one’s soul, which is, perhaps, seen only by God’s eyes. It is what we do with what we are given that matters.

  Irina also remembered Madrosh speaking about what he thought was the most important thing for Christians: It wasn’t that Christ’s life was an example for us all—though it was. It wasn’t that he sacrificed his life for us—though he did. No, it wasn’t what happened on Good Friday. It was what happened on Easter morning—he showed us eternal life could be ours. It was his everlasting gift to us. Even to me.

  Irina breathed deeply and thanked God for her life, hard at times though it had been, and for the lives of so many others. Will I see those who have gone before me?

  In the time remaining, Irina thought of her love for Berek and their son, and of a kind and deeper love she shared with Jan. She thought of Madrosh, a wise old priest who taught her that Almighty God held his arms open for everyone. Even me.

  She wondered, at last, how she might fare at the instant of accounting.

  As she closed her eyes, she saw faces familiar to her, all seeming to come from a bright, beckoning light.

  Author’s Afterword

  “It is not important what is done; it only matters who does it and who is the victim.”

  Jerzy Rawicz. KL Auschwitz Seen by the SS. Oswiecim, Poland,

  The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1998, p. 24.

  Irina lived during another pandemic, one that lasted many decades. How life is depicted during her lifetime when the plague pillaged the population of Europe is as accurately portrayed as I have understood it. If there are errors of any kind, I take full responsibility for them.

  The setting and characters of Irina are to some degree fictional, but the historical backdrop is, for the most part, factual. The Church of the Heart of Jesus in Poznan, for example, built in 966 and rebuilt 300 years later, one hundred years before Irina’s time, stands today along with the city’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. There is no Sokorski Castle, however, and neither is there a St. Michael village or, in Silesia, a monastery devoted to St. Stephen the Martyr.

  On the other hand, the plague, or one of its many forms, visited European cities every five or six years from 1348 onward, until for some reason, it died out many decades later. A conclave of nobles was, indeed, convened in the Christmas season by King Charles in Paris in 1378, with the circumstance of two popes no doubt dominating their deliberations. The name Joselewicz was chosen because it honors a Polish Jew famed in Poland’s military history, although in a different time and place than depicted in Irina.

  Inspiring me to write this book were a few interesting parallels between Irina Kwasniewska, in 1378, and my own mother nearly 600 years later. Irina was born into a peasant’s existence, but through luck and pluck, made something of her life that surprised even herself. In a world where every act—except childbirth—was dominated by men, Irina triumphed, and this is why Irina is dedicated to a real woman of her time, Irene Kosniewska Gasiewicz, 1914–2003.

  The character Madrosh—his interpretations of the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas, and his understanding of church precepts—may challenge some readers. It should be noted that while Madrosh appears as a Catholic priest in Irina, some of his opinions may be incon
sistent with traditional Christian teaching. This story is not intended to serve as a Christian apologetic, but it is, in part, witness to one man’s struggle to make sense of the teachings of his church and the experiences of his life. There is also discussion about the church’s view of abortion in the 14th century, and as it is in so many situations, where one stands on the matter depends upon one’s heartfelt beliefs and the sources one has chosen to consult. In this regard, no apologies are necessary.

  This book is not about the Catholic Church, its prelates, or the meanness of the times in which the church struggled to exist. Irina and her characters tell the story of the constancy of greed and oppression in the parade of history. The story’s focus is on the Jews in Europe and, to a lesser degree, Black slavery, but both history and current circumstances offer many other, disconcerting examples. The point? Irina takes us from our high place of pretension and arrogance, and reminds us that we are not as far removed from our biological antecedents as we think. Have we become more civilized since Irina’s time? Even a casual survey of contemporary events offers proof of the answer.

  History tells us that peoples generally propel themselves forward when they have a firm grasp upon their limitations in the present. Only when we understand and own exactly who and what we are can we say with conviction: We can be better than we are!

  What propelled me to write this book was my simple observation that as a human race, we do not yet have it right. Edward R. Murrow has been quoted as saying, “The obscure takes time to see, but the obvious takes longer.” Religiously, politically, culturally, we haven’t found the right fit for ourselves and our times.

  I would be remiss in not thanking my first readers, Mary Gene Kling and Michele Perelman, when Irina’s journey began some years ago, and, more recently, Holly Johnson and Judy Sainato, each of whom gave their own valuable input, without which Irina’s journey might not have ended well. Then there’s Brooks Becker to thank for careful copyediting, Stewart Williams for thoughtful interior design, and Evocative for the book’s cover design.

  To prepare myself for Irina, I consulted the sources listed below, much of the research having been conducted between 2008-2012. How one lists the myriad books and experiences brought to bear in any writing exercise such as this is a question only Madrosh may answer. I hope readers will assume much else has been brought to this effort than the few listings here.

  Bibliography

  Caro, Ina. The Parisian Jewel for the Jerusalem Crown. New York: The Wall Street Journal, June 25–26, 2011, p. C13.

  Dellapenna, Joseph W. Dispelling the Myths of Abortion History. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2006.

  Forsythe, Clarke D. Politics for the Greatest Good. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2009.

  Gies, Frances & Joseph. Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.

  The Internet was consulted from 2008 to 2011 on various topics in relative historical order:

  European Maps, mapofeurope.com,8/8/10, mapsofworld.com, 8/8/10, worldatlas.com.,12/4/10, en.wikimedia.org, 3/26/10, 12/5/10.

  Timeline of Polish History, rootsweb.ancestry.co., 3/26/10.

  The Mongol Invasion, en.wikipedia.org, 9/11/10.

  History of Poznan, en.wikipedia.org, 3/26/10.

  Casimir III the Great, en.wikipedia.org, 3/26/10.

  Poland—The Later Piasts, historymedren.about.com, 3/26/10.

  Bubonic Plague Symptoms, plague.emedtv.com, 4/11/10.

  Black Death, enotes.com, 3/15/09.

  Black Death, sheppardsoftware.com, 3/27/10.

  The Black Death, history-world.org, 3/27/10.

  Black Death Recurrence & Migration, en.wikipedia.org, 3/27/10.

  History of Jews in Poland, en.wikipedia.org, 3/26/10.

  Jews and the Black Death, jewishencyclopedia.com, 3/15/09.

  The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE, fordham.edu, 3/15/09.

  The Jews of Poland, dangoor.com, 3/15/09.

  Statute of Kalisz, en.wikipedia.org, 3/26/10.

  Jewish Genealogy—Origin of Jewish Surnames in Poland, nancy.polishsite.us, 3/26/10.

  List of Common Surnames, en.wikipedia.com, 3/26/10.

  People from Poznan, en.wikipedia.org, 3/26/10.

  GABIN List of Jewish Surnames, zchor.org, 3/26/10.

  Philosophy and Proof of God’s Existence, philosopher.org, 5/31/10.

  A Practical Man’s Proof of God, doesgodexist.org, 5/31/10.

  History of Natural Law, West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, answers.com, 4/26/09.

  The Making of Medieval Glass, awesomestories.com, 10/21/10.

  Making Glass, publicbookshelf.com, 10/18/10.

  Medieval Warm Period, en.wikipedia.org, 9/8/11.

  Little Ice Age, 1250-1870, en.wikipedia.org, 9/8/11.

  Louis I of Hungary, wikipedia.org, 9/11/10.

  Jagiellonian Dynasty, wikipedia.org, 9/11/10.

  Wenceslaus, en.wikipedia.org, 1/10/11.

  Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, en.wikipedia.org, 8/8/10.

  Charles IV, en.wikipedia.org, 1/10/11.

  Charles V of France, en.wikipedia.org, 1/10/11.

  The Catholic Encyclopedia for a history of the Papacy, newadvent.org, 6/27/11.

  Krosno Odrzanskie, en.wikipedia.org, 8/9/10.

  Tangermunde, en.wikipedia.org, 12/14/11.

  The Saale, en.wikipedia.org, 12/5/10.

  Pre-Tridentine Mass, en.wikipedia.org, 7/31/10.

  The Code of Hammurabi, Wikipedia.org, 3/25/10.

  Life of Moses, wikipedia.org, 3/25/10.

  The Burning of Rome, eyewitnesshistory.com, 11/26/10.

  Early Mechanical Clocks, en.wikipedia.org, 9/11/10.

  French Names, en.wikipedia.org, 8/17/11.

  History of Paris, en.wikipedia.org, 1/17/11.

  Louvre Palace, en.wikipedia.org, 1/17/11.

  History of the Jews in France, en.wikipedia.org, 6/14/11.

  African-American History for information on slavery in Europe and pre-Revolutionary America, afroamhistory.about.com, 3/15/09.

  Abortion and Catholic Thought, faculty.cua.edu, 4/10/09.

  Why Can’t We Love Them Both, abortionfacts.com, 4/10/09.

  Milestones of Early Life, abortionfacts.com, 4/10/09.

  Early Church Fathers on Abortion, priestsforlife.org, 4/9/09.

  History of Abortion, infoplease.com, 4/6/09.

  Abortion in the Ancient and Premodern World, womenshistory.about.com, 4/6/09.

  The Vatican on Veritatis Splendor, catholic.com, 3/31/09.

  Wood Veneer, en.wikipedia.org, 12/14/11.

  Ebony Gaboon, woodfinder.com, 12/14/11.

  Etimoe, formwood.com, 12/14/11.

  Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War, en.wikipedia.org, 8/6/11.

  Berek Joselewicz, en.wikipedia.org, 12/15/11.

  Kretzmann, Norman, and Stump, Eleonore. The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

  Maguire, Daniel C. Sacred Choices. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2001.

  Manchester, William. A World Lit Only by Fire. New York: Little Brown and Company, 1992.

  McGill, Frank N., Editor. Masterpieces of World Philosophy. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1990. See Sections on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Ethica Nicomachea, Augustine’s City of God, and Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica.

  McGreal, Ian P., Editor. Great Thinkers of the Western World. New York: Harper Collins, 1992. See Sections on Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas.

  About the Author

  Philip Warren is a retired national security executive who reads extensively in historical, espionage, and crime fiction and various non-fiction genres, but prefers writing historical fiction as well as political
and crime thrillers. He lives with his wife in western Pennsylvania’s Amish country.

  Email: philipwarrenwriter@gmail.com

  Website: www.philipwarrenwriter.com

  As John P. Warren, the author invites you to enjoy Turnover and its sequel, TurnAround, political thrillers published in 2013 and 2014, respectively. What was true then about political ambition and the lengths to which someone may go to achieve the presidency remains true today. Stories like these never get old.