we managed to board the tram. Even though we were not comfortable, we
reached Zdrowie, a Łódź suburb, safe and sound and with our bundles intact.
There was an alert, but it was peaceful nonetheless. There were no aircrafts or
scenes that usually took place on such occasions. I was very surprised, but it
was only the beginning. For when by the city tram we reached the corner of
Gdańska and Zawadzka Streets, I could not believe my eyes. The streets had
retained their normal, everyday appearance. No signs of bombing, no signs
of war whatsoever. The shops were open and the people were completely unaware
of what was happening in Lutomiersk, Zduńska Wola, Wieluń, or on
Polish roads in general. Something broke in me and I lost control of myself.
The final straw was the surprised and compassionate stares that followed
us, that irritating nodding, and persistent questions: Where? How? What?
I burst into tears, weeping loudly in the middle of the street. And that was
how I reached my aunt’s flat, ostentatiously carrying a sack on my back with
some dumb satisfaction.
A maid, who was beating a carpet, greeted me on the stairs. Treading on
the carpets in a deliberate manner, I rushed into the last room, lay down on the
sofa, and burst into tears again. It was a great relief but I could not calm down
for the rest of the day. I seethed with anger whenever I recalled that stark
contrast between the life in Łódź and our horrible experiences. But that ignorant
state of bliss combined with anger did not last long. As early as the next
day, the city changed beyond recognition, as the Tuesday night marked the
city with the signs of war. We had arrived in Łódź on Tuesday at midday so
we had only that one day of rest. I have only vague, unclear memories of that
night because I had slept almost through it. I slept a peaceful sleep on that
memorable, turbulent night from Tuesday to Wednesday, when thousands of
men abandoned their homes and families to frantically chase after the army.
I woke up only once. It was early in the morning. [. . .] [10] father, mother,
aunt, uncle, and several other members of our family. They were talking,
debating something. Before I understood the sense of their words I was
struck by my mother’s presence. Why, she was supposed to sleep at her sister’s
instead of here. Day was only beginning to break, so how did it come
that she was here? It turned out later that my mother ran to us to see if my
father had already left. She found everybody asleep and that was when she
created a disturbance. I did not wake up though. When she saw my father,
she was truly terrified. We were sleeping as if nothing was going on; unaware
