Of course not. We had decided not to meet here anymore. Dejected, I left the alley. I neared the market square and looked in the direction of the café. Part of me wanted to go see if Krys was there, but after how poorly we had parted the last time, I could not. Instead, I started back toward the bridge. It was going to take a while to get through the checkpoint and I debated whether I should take the time to walk to another bridge. As I skirted the edge of the Rynek De˛bnicki, I spied a familiar figure.

Sadie.

I blinked twice, not quite believing what I was seeing. Sadie was on the street.

I raced toward her. What was she doing here? I had gotten here not a moment too soon. She was standing in the middle of a crowd of ordinary people in broad daylight, looking around, as if to get her bearings. The dress I had given her when we last met was now soiled and wet from the sewer. She sorely stood out with her gaunt frame and dirty clothes. People steered wide around her, giving her odd looks, and any moment now someone was going to realize what was going on—and possibly alert the police. I raced toward her.

“There you are!” I said, forcing normalcy into my voice. I kissed her cheek as though nothing was amiss, trying not to cringe at the sewer smell. “We’re late for your doctor’s appointment. Come.” Before she could protest, I led her away from the square and onto a side street.

“Doctor’s appointment?” she asked when we were far enough away that no one else could hear.

“I was just trying to think of an excuse why you were standing on the street in such a state. What on earth are you doing here?” I was torn between happiness at seeing her and concern at the same time.

“The grate by the river was stuck and I had to get out. I need to find my mother.”

“Find her?” I stopped walking and turned to Sadie. An uneasy feeling rose in me. “What do you mean?”

“Right after I last saw you, my mother went into early labor. She had the baby, a girl. But we couldn’t keep her in the sewer because she was crying too loudly. So my mother brought her up to a hospital, the Bonifratrów Hospital in Kazimierz, because Pawel said someone there might shelter a child. Or at least that is what she was trying to do. It’s been over a week and she hasn’t come back yet.”

“Oh, Sadie...” My mind whirled, trying to process all that had happened to Sadie in the short time since I had last seen her.

She continued, “So I came looking for you to see if you would help me. Only you weren’t there.”

“I’m so sorry. There were children playing near the grate and I had to wait until they left.” I omitted the part about the checkpoint, not wanting to alarm her needlessly. “But, Sadie, you can’t do this. It isn’t safe for you to be up here.”