The Pianist’s Wife

Chapter Twenty-Nine New York, 2006

Chapter Twenty-Nine

New York, 2006

‘Amira, please don’t feel you have to answer this, but as a writer, I need to ask.’

She nodded, feeling so very tired as she took the blanket from the back of her chair and wrapped it around herself. ‘You may ask.’

‘Do you think Fred would have done the same for you?’ Madison asked. ‘Do you think that he would have voluntarily put himself in harm’s way to help you?’

‘I do,’ she said, without hesitation, even though her voice cracked with emotion as the memories of that day came rushing back to her. Because she’d asked herself this question so many times over the years, especially in those first nights she’d spent at Buchenwald. And every time, even in her darkest moments, she’d known that the answer was yes .

‘And neither of you ever spoke of your time in Buchenwald? I’ve read countless interviews of Fred’s over the years, about his musical talents, but not one of them ever mentioned that he was a Holocaust survivor.’

‘You’re asking if he ever spoke about Buchenwald, or how he ended up there?’

Madison nodded.

Amira sighed and shook her head. ‘Once it was over, we never wanted to speak of it ever again.’

‘Then after all this time,’ Madison asked, ‘why share your story, and your secrets, now?’

‘Because I’ve come to realise that if I don’t tell our story now, there will be no one left to tell it to.’ Amira paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath. ‘Besides, Fred had to hide who he was his entire life. To be truthful about who and what he was as a young man would have been a death sentence.’

A tear slid unexpectedly down her cheek, and she brushed it away with the back of her knuckles as she fought to retain her composure.

‘You loved him though, despite it all?’ Madison asked gently.

Amira smiled at Fred as she spoke. ‘What we had was a pure kind of love, a great friendship that knew no bounds. And we gave each other hope. Hope for the future, hope for life itself.’

She paused and saw that Madison’s eyes were shining with tears.

‘Tonight, I simply feel like it’s time I told the truth.’