Elisheva was finally asleep in Miriam’s arms. They’d given her a small dose of Eloise’s sedative before wrapping her in a blanket for the trip to the farm. “It’s time for me to go,” Ans said. She thought her heart would break as Miriam gave a little sob and pulled Elisheva close to her heart one last time.

“I love you, my darling girl,” she said before kissing her goodbye. Avi took his daughter from Miriam’s arms and did the same, murmuring a prayer over her before laying the sleeping baby in her carriage for the walk to the train station. Tears streamed down his face.

Ans needed to leave the house quickly to avoid causing the Leopolds further pain. Professor Huizenga helped Ans maneuver the carriage through the front door. He and Eloise would go with Ans to the train station and bring the carriage home again. If the Gestapo raided the town house while the three of them were away, Avi and Miriam would hide on the ledge outside the attic window. Avi had added a handle to the outside of the window frame so he could close it behind them without Ans’s help.

The walk to the station took fifteen minutes. Eloise pushed the carriage, and the professor carried the suitcase with Elisheva’s clothes and a few of Ans’s things for her overnight stay on the farm. The suitcase also contained the photograph album Miriam had brought from Cologne. She had begged Ans to take it with her, saying, “Please keep this for Elisheva so she’ll remember us. Tell her these silver candlesticks once belonged to my grandmother.” If the Nazis saw the photographs, they would know in an instant that the owner was Jewish. Carrying it would be extremely dangerous. Yet Ans couldn’t refuse Miriam’s request.

They arrived on the platform only minutes before the train was scheduled to leave in order to decrease the chances of running into Erik. Eloise lifted the baby from the carriage and handed her to Ans. She felt heavy in her arms, the weight of her responsibility heavier still.

“Be careful,” Eloise whispered. “Be safe. Don’t take any unnecessary chances.” She kissed Ans goodbye as if they were mother and daughter, and the professor handed her the suitcase.

Ans boarded quickly and took a seat. She felt enormous relief as the train steamed from the station without encountering any Nazi soldiers or Leiden police officers. It wasn’t a long trip, but she would have to change to a different rail line along the way.