Avi drew her into his arms. There was still so much she wanted to say to him. A few short hours weren’t long enough to tell him how much she loved him and how much his love meant to her.

“I know, Miriam. I know,” he murmured. “But the Almighty One brought us together in the refugee camp, and He brought me here to you after the invasion. If it’s His will, He’ll bring us together again when this war finally ends.”

But what if it isn’t His will? She was afraid to ask that question.

Avi released her, and she saw him struggling to compose himself. “What do I need to do?” he asked.

“Someone from the underground will come to our back door, posing as a repairman,” Ans said. “You need to pack a bag, a winter coat if you have one, and be ready to leave with him. Someone will come for Miriam tomorrow at ten o’clock.”

After all of the endless hours in the attic, time was passing too quickly now. Miriam lay beside Avi on the bed they’d shared after their wedding, trying to say all the things they wanted each other to remember. Her heart felt as if she were keeping watch beside a deathbed. This was really happening. Avi was really leaving today. Who knew how long it would be until they could sleep beside each other again?

Much too soon, Ans knocked on their door. “He’s here, Avi. I’m sorry.”

Avi took Miriam’s hands in his to pray one last time, fighting his tears. “We place our lives in Your hands, Almighty God. We entrust our future to You. You brought us together in the beginning, and now You are separating us. We pray that it be Your will to unite us with each other and with our daughter, Elisheva, once again.”

The man waiting in the kitchen wore coveralls. He had unstrapped a large toolbox from his bicycle and carried it inside as if making repairs. A second bicycle had mysteriously appeared on the back stoop. The man gave Avi coveralls like his to wear and a hat to cover his hair. He put Avi’s clothes and belongings inside the toolbox and an extra rucksack. Miriam felt as if she stood at a great distance, watching everything happen to someone else, not to the man she loved.

“Ready?” the repairman asked.

Avi nodded. Tears filled his eyes as he pulled Miriam into his arms one last time. “I want you to live, Miriam! Live! Do whatever you need to do to stay alive, and I will too. We must believe that we’ll be together again when this is all over.”

“I love you, Avi.”