Page 4 of In Just a Year
“Yes, yes, Dreidel of Desty.” Ruthie’s toddler voice always evoked a warm smile on their father’s face.
He inhaled deeply and began. “The Dreidel of Destiny has a long story. Are you sure you’re awake enough to hear it?”
Ruthie nodded vigorously and nestled into Esther’s arm like a chick under a hen’s wing.
“Alright then. Legend says—and you know legends are not true—that the Dreidel of Destiny was born when stars fell from the sky and sparks flew everywhere. One of the sparks fell onto a lotus blossom in a pond that reflected the falling stars’ light, so it looked like the sun was in the flower. The glow irritated the … ahem… shall we say light rays.” Tate cast Esther a look and she arched her brow in the questioning way that all the Solomons shared.
“Magic,” Ruthie declared as she let out a yawn.
The world was much easier to explain for a two-year-old, Esther mused. How was it possible that the more she knew, the more she questioned?
“Magic isn’t real,” Tate said. Ever the scholar, he valued his children’s education above most other things in life, boys and girls alike.
Esther’s oldest sister was the living example of what made Tate proud. She had her own button factory and was an entrepreneur, married with two children, Izaac aged three and baby Elke, but Hannah still returned often to look after her younger siblings’ progress, and she demanded that Esther and Lenny, their thirteen-year-old brother, submit essays to her weekly that she’d pick apart with the severity of a university professor.
“Dreidel real. Born in magic flower.” Ruthie sighed as if matters had been settled for her.
Esther pulled the covers up over her shoulder and smiled as Ruthie’s breath grew shallower.
Tate chuckled as he leaned in to kiss her on her little upturned baby nose. “Well, that was a short story tonight.”
He took Ester’s hand and gave her the same warm, fatherly smile all the children received as though the heavens had opened, and he’d received the warmth of the sun’s rays. His love meant everything to Esther, except she didn’t feel like alittlegirl. She loved Ruthie and would lay down her life in a heartbeat for her, but she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else in store for her besides dolls, ribbons, and arithmetic with her younger siblings.
“Where do you think Izaac Pearler really got the dreidel from, Tate?” Esther asked when her father laid his other hand atop hers, holding hers between both of his.
The dreidel had been the subject of much excitement; everyone was speaking about it. The Klonimus brothers were quite taken with Izaac Pearler’s treasures. Although Tate was at the sidelines, Esther had overheard his conversation with Pavel Klonimus, the family patriarch, who’d shared concern for his sons’ safety on this dangerous quest.
“Izaac was a special man, smarter than anyone else I’ve ever met, but he didn’t trust anyone.” Tate spoke in a hushed voice.
“Not even his own family?”
“Only his family.” Tate’s mien fell, and darkness washed over him as if he’d suddenly remembered bad news. “Except that … never mind.” He rose and reached for the gas light on Esther’s nightstand.
“Don’t, please. I’m going to read.”
His eyes fell on the little bundle under Esther’s arm, sleeping peacefully in her sister’s comfortable bed.
“Leave her here, it’s alright.”
“You knowmaidale, I knew Izaac. He trusted his family, but he didn’t trust the world.”
“But he must have traveled to hide the treasures.”
“And the more he saw, the less he trusted.”
“How terribly sad.”
“Why’s that?”
“He got to see the world, different countries, different cultures, and none of it convinced him that there is good in the world. He must have known so much disappointment.”
“He was very wise, Esti, he truly was, but his heart was too pure, and he was too kind. Every time he encountered obstacles in life, people disappointed him. I think that’s what made him the way he was.”
“And Pavel’s different because he didn’t travel?”
“I think so. The less he’s seen of the world, the more he worries about the dangers of traveling. But don’t misunderstand, Pavel knows human nature as well as Izaac did.”
“Are you also scared of all the bad things in the world? Evil people, diseases, and dangers?”
