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>> Dreamscape presents The Whispering Town, written by Jennifer Elvgren and illustrated
by Fabio Santamaro.
There are new friends in the cellar Annette, mama said when I woke up, time to take breakfast
down to them.
I paused at the top of the stairs, the cellar scared me because it was dark, but the whispering
voices gave me courage.
When I reached the bottom, I entered the secret room where we hid Danish Jews from the *****.
A woman and her son sat on a cot.
"I'm Annette," I said, holding out the basket.
"Mama made you breakfast."
"I'm Carl."
The boy took the basket and handed his mother a roll and a soft boiled egg.
"We thank you," she said.
Back upstairs, I sat down to my own breakfast.
"How long will our new friends stay?" I asked.
"Two nights," said Papa.
On the third night, a boat will take them to Sweden.
"While they're here, we'll need more bread," mama said.
After breakfast, I walked to the bakery.
"We have new friends," I whispered to the baker.
"Here is extra," he whispered back, handing me a bulging bag.
"Stay safe."
On the way home, I saw **** soldiers knock on a door across the street.
Even though they had been in my town for a long time, my stomach still nodded when I
saw them.
"Mama, Papa, soldiers across the street," I said when I came home.
Mama tapped three times on the cellar door to warn our friends to be quiet.
After the soldiers left, Papa looked up at the cloudy sky.
"No moon tonight," he said.
"It will be difficult for our friends to find the harbor in the darkness."
The next day, I took food to the cellar again.
Again, I let the whispering voices guide me down the dark stairs.
"This will help the time pass," I said, handing Carl some library books.
He took them and smiled.
"I love to read."
"Mama, I need new books," I said when I came upstairs.
After breakfast, I walked to the library.
"We have new friends," I whispered to the librarian.
"Be careful," she whispered back, handing me extra books.
On the way home, I saw **** soldiers knock on our neighbor's door.
"Mama, Papa, soldiers next door," I said when I came in the house.
Mama tapped three times on the cellar door.
After the soldiers left, Papa looked up at the cloudy sky.
"No moon again tonight," he said.
"Maybe the clouds will clear tomorrow."
Again, the next morning, I let the whispering voices guide me down the dark stairs.
As Carl reached into the breakfast basket, a heart-shaped stone fell to the floor.
Carl picked it up.
"I found this with my Papa the last time he walked on the beach," he said.
"It's beautiful," I said.
"A net, we need more eggs," Papa said when we finished breakfast.
I walked to the farm.
"We have new friends," I whispered to the farmer.
"Wish them well," he whispered back, giving me extra eggs.
On my way home, I saw **** soldiers heading for our house.
I cut across the alley and raced through our back door.
"Mama, Papa, the soldiers are coming to our house."
They didn't answer me.
No one was home.
I tapped three times on the cellar door.
Then I heard pounding on the front door.
I opened it a crack.
"We've heard rumors that someone is hiding Jews on this street," said a soldier, pushing
the door open.
"I haven't heard any rumors," I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking.
When we find them, we will arrest everyone, warned the other soldier.
Trembling, I closed the door.
The soldiers were here, I said, when Mama and Papa returned.
They are looking for hidden Jews.
Brave a net, Papa hugged me.
Our friends must leave tonight, even though it is cloudy.
How can we get them safely to the harbor?
I thought about being afraid of the dark cellar, and how the whispering voices guided
me down the stairs.
"Papa, what if people stood in their doorways and used their voices to guide our friends
to the boat?"
I suggested.
Papa stood quietly, considering my idea.
"That might work," he said.
"Help me to arrange it."
I ran to the baker, the librarian, and the farmer to tell them about our plan.
They agreed to help spread the word around the village.
At midnight, Carl and his mama came up from the cellar.
Carl pressed the heart-shaped stone into my hand.
Remember me always a net?
I held the little heart against my own.
After Carl and his mama slipped into the night, I leaned as far as I could out my bedroom
window.
I heard our neighbor whisper from his doorway.
"This way," he said, guiding Carl and his mother toward the harbor.
Upon our neighbor's neighbor whispered, "This way."
The whispers continued from neighbor to neighbor, until Carl and his mama had safely reached
the boat.
I squeezed the stone in my hand, and imagined them walking free on the beach in Sweden.
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