“Yet, he sent you,” he shrugged his shoulders. “To my understanding, he wants you to get trained in your new role and earn a reputation so you can liaise with people on this side of the wall.”

He placed toast topped with butter and a cup of coffee on the table before Ewa, saying, “Father Kowalski at the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary looks forward to meeting you.”

Borys took her to the church, where the priest greeted her, “Aah, my child, so you have finally arrived.”

“Your kids stayed with us for about a week before the Italian gentleman came after them and took them away.”

Ewa needed to prepare for this. “Father, are they alright? Where are they?” she asked tremblingly, on the verge of tears.

“Come, come, my child. They should be alright. The rich Italian seemed to be a cultured and considerate young man. From what I know, they have left the country,” Father Kowalski comforted her and helped her sit on a bench while he stood with his hands clasped.

“Oh, thank God. Father, you have given the only good news in what seems to be eternity.” She grasped the hands of the priest and kissed them.

“Come, I will introduce some friends.” After five minutes of walking, they arrived at a convent, where the Mother Superior greeted them and led them to the nunnery-run orphanage. A younger nun was teaching boys of three to seven years and girls three to fifteen years of age the fundamentals of Christian religion.

“Among a hundred Christians, forty-six Jewish youngsters are hiding. Their relatives sent them here for their safety through the Jewish and Polish partisans and a group of most remarkable women,” he said softly to Ewa.

“We impart enough Christian doctrine to enable them to get through difficult situations,” the Mother Superior remarked. “They stand a better chance as Christians than as Jews.”

Referring to two women seated behind the students, she said gently, “There are Polish volunteers who teach them the language and customs and sometimes provide shelter to them at their homes.”

The Father brought her forward and introduced her to the tutors, saying, “May I introduce Mrs. Nowak? Her husband is a doctor, and she has come to offer, on behalf of her noble husband, free medical consultations for the students, the teachers, and their respective families.”

“I am delighted to meet you and feel so proud of your contribution to society. Our Christian values mandate that we help fellow human beings in times of need irrespective of their beliefs or skin color,” said Ewa.

She glanced at the children, and her heart ached when she realized that the souls of each of the woeful heirs of her faith were scarred for life by the harrowing events they had witnessed. The Nazis had annihilated the families of most of them.

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As they came out of the hall, Ewa remarked, “No one can thank you enough for the service you are doing, putting your own lives at stake to save these unfortunate children. Please tell me what is required of me, Father. I will help in every way I can.”

“Indeed. Come, let us pray in the church.”

Father Kowalski said, “Very few people in our neighborhood know about the Jewish children. Once a week, we go on walks into the town with these children. The nuns keep a close eye on them and step in to answer on their behalf; they have been specifically cautioned not to speak to strangers.”

He continued, “The day before yesterday, one of the boys had an urge to pass urine and slipped away from the group. Seeing the boy circumcised, a man talked to him in Yiddish. Embarrassed and confused, the lad responded also in his mother tongue.”

“This man runs a pub close by and approached our gardener that he would report the matter to the Germans unless the convent paid him a specific amount of money, which, I am afraid, exceeds our means. His deadline expires three days from now.”

“Our gardener will brief you further; he is a member of the resistance.”

“Father, you need not worry. Pray for me, please.” Saying goodbye to the Father, Ewa headed toward the man cutting a hedge on the church wall.

“Hello, Mrs. Nowak,” he said, lifting his cap as he descended the ladder to meet Ewa, “I am Bogdas.”

He got straight to the point: “Lewandowski will not remain silent even if we offer him all heaven and earth. Soon after we pay him, he will visit the Germans. We must silence him."

“You will meet him at the Mass tomorrow and persuade him to accompany you on the tram to your house, close to Zobie Park," he continued. "A street food vendor will have a poster titled ‘Cezar Zupa Grzybowa’ for selling hot soup there. As soon as you disembark the tram, you will ask Lewandowski to fetch you a bowl of soup.”

“The hawker will feed him deadly mushroom soup; he ought to begin to exhibit symptoms by the time the tram shows up to pick people up in the opposite direction. He will be in a hurry to get to his house, so it’s best to stay back and avoid boarding the tram. The vendor’s helper will take you home.”

That evening at their house, Nowak handed Ewa a pistol. “This is for the taking of the lives of the enemies, should you have the opportunity.”

“This is for taking your own life when chances and bullets run out.” He shook a small metal box in front of her, causing its contents to tinkle, and then handed it to her.

After opening the box, Ewa discovered the outline of a foil-wrapped pill.

“Cyanide,” Nowak said.

“Don’t scare the young lady, Nowak,” Marcin said in a lively tone. “You will have many happy years to live, my dear,” he said to Ewa as he passed her a sandwich his wife had made.

That night when they had all settled in their bunks Ewa asked her roommates, “Have you girls ever killed someone?”

“I killed a bunch of Nazis in the Knyszyń Forest when I used to live in Bialystok with my parents. We attacked their fuel dump at night,” replied Anna somberly.

“You sound sad. Could I please know why?” Ewa asked.

“The Germans took the young people away for forced labor and executed the elders of our village. One of the victims was my father. I left home for good when my mother and sisters started accusing me of the death of my father.”

Anna was a beautiful girl in her early twenties. Despite being the youngest resistance member at the facility, Anna possessed a wealth of experience.

The other girl was a courier and had not yet participated in active combat.

“Don’t shy away from looking your target in the eye; he will become suspicious. When he looks at you, look back at him, not away,” Anna cautioned Ewa.

“And don’t take coffee before meeting a target. It gives you tremors under tense conditions. The jitteriness and tremors can give you away,” she continued.

“Thank you.” Ewa wondered how many such missions the young girl had undertaken so far.