ODESSA, 1919-1974 1. Daniel, son of Mir, said unto Miriam, daughter of Aaron, "Be my wife according to the Law of Moses and the custom of Israel, and I shall love thee, keep thee and support thee according to the custom of the sons of Israel, hardworking, loving, respecting and supporting their wives as is fitting." The lines of the contract acquire the tint of suffering under the patina of past circumstance too fearful to stand comparison with the simple vows listed above. 2. Above, high above the expanse divided into equal blocks, paved with cobbles and Italian tile, are built flimsy two-story houses of golden limestone with Italianate pretensions, and wrought iron gates with ornamental plaques bearing the date of construction (usually, the turn of the last century, an era that reveals an aspect increasingly akilter as it verges on becoming the century before last). 3. She had a piano and a document certifying that, as a student of the conservatory, she used the piano as an instrument of production, not as a bougeois luxury or as a source of income. And she had a thoughtful husband, who graduated (barely) from a miller's trade school, but who donned a military uniform despite his natural inclination and contrary to his education. Her husband had friends-- commanders in the Red Army. They often appeared in group photos with the military bandsmen. Flags, horns and drums, it seems, were ornaments of the uniform and regimented pace of the life. Then the photos fell subject to dismemberment. Faces, groups, whole ranks disappeared, from the left, from the right and top, but his face (until a certain time) remained as a constant. She wept for weeks, or lay in silence, curled toward the wall-- or worse--gaiety, hilarity, dramatic poses in bright dresses, made-up eyes dilated with unnatural elation. He called her a person given to extremes. Psychiatrists, who documented her disability as mental illness, apparently thought differently. 4. Then he disappeared. The family still keeps three documents reflecting three versions of his fate. In the first, the NKVD chief informs the applicant that his very well-informed bureau has no information at its disposal pertaining to her husband. The other two disagree concerning the time and cause of death. So, she could take her pick between two words: "pneumonia" or "shot". She read the papers through and kept them with the document certifying that her son was killed in action. * * * * * Near the end of her life the bouts of madness ceased to visit her. When she was well past seventy she married a deaf, quarrelsome old man who slapped her around, providing the grounds for divorce. When she was young she often exclaimed, "Leave me alone!" When she was old, they did. 5. Miriam, daughter of Aaron, said unto Daniel, son of Mir, "Oh, take my hand, don't turn away, but lead me along the gallery where all the boards are sprung and the doors and windows to the left resemble old picture frames, which would take restorers years of labor to see that, beneath the layer of soot and dust; under rust-colored spots and ripped grey paper with remnants of print, there is nothing, nothing." And at the threshold is a heap of clay clods and these people with ropes and shovels, wearing quilted jackets. These people-- what are they doing here? © 1996 Boris Khersonsky. All rights reserved. Translation by Ruth Kreuzer and Dale Hobson.