Chapter+18+from+Number+the+Stars.

Who is That Walking Down the Path? Crash! Went the waves around the Ingeborg, as the boat came to a stop after a very long journey. Uncle Henrik went to open the secret door. When he did, all the Jews squinted their eyes as if they had never seen light before. They all cheered as they climbed out of the boat one by one. When the Rosens had all been escorted out, there was a family waiting for them. As the Rosens approached them the woman said, “Hello we are the Glittermans and this is my daughter Birgit, my husband Davin, and my name is Allsa. We are very glad to be having you stay with us. Come along now.” As the Rosens and the Glittermans were walking down the bumpy path to Malmo a bird flew right in front of them. Ellen jumped, but then everyone stared laughing, they were going to get along very well Ellen thought. When they all arrived at the farmhouse Birgit asked, “Ellen would you like to run ahead with me and I can show you around?” “Yes!” said Ellen. The girls ran to the house as fast as wind! Ellen put her luggage down and then she and Birgit ran to the barn to see her animals. They had a horse named Polly, a cat named Mouse, a dog named Rugar, and a cow named Lily. Ellen loved them all. After they were done looking at the animals Ellen asked, “Birgit how old are you?” She replied “Nine.” Ellen said “Great! We are almost the same age! I’m ten!” After they were done looking around they walked back up to the house where their parents were chatting and getting to know each other. When they saw the girls come in Allsa said, “I just got a phone call from a fisherman and he asked if we would be willing to have a girl named Kaila stay with us for a while. She is seven years old and might be very shy because her parents were killed trying to escape. So we will be going to town tomorrow afternoon. “Is that fine with you girls?” Birgit and Ellen both said yes at the same time. They were ecstatic at this news. They sat down and ate supper together. “Thank you for letting us stay here,” said Mrs. Rosen. “It’s our pleasure,” said Allsa. That night everyone picked out their beds, and Ellen and Birgit got to share a bed. Then Ellen and Birgit got on their nightgowns and laid down in their bed. Before they fell asleep they whispered and laughed for a while until they both drifted off happily to sleep. The next morning Ellen woke up just as the sun was coming up. Ellen looked to her right and saw that Birgit was already up. Ellen swung herself out of bed and quickly got dressed. When she went downstairs, Allsa greeted her with a friendly “Good morning! Birgit is already out in the barn doing chores if you would like to join her! Tell her to be back in the house in twenty minutes for breakfast then we will be leaving to get Kaila!” “Great!” said Ellen as she went outside. “Hi!” She said when she saw Birgit feeding the horse Polly. “We have to be in the house in twenty minutes to eat,” said Ellen. “O.K.” said Birgit. “I’m almost done here anyways,” she said. After she was finished feeding the animals they went into the house for breakfast. “Mmmmm…Delicious!” said Ellen. When they had both finished their breakfasts and cleaned up their dishes it was already time to leave. While Ellen and Birgit went skipping down the path Birgit said, “I can’t wait to meet her! I hope she is really nice!” “Me too!” said Ellen. When they reached the dock they saw a small girl all by herself. “Hello, are you Kaila?” asked Ellen. “Yes,” said Kaila in a tiny whisper. “Come with us, you will be staying at our farm,” said Birgit. So Kaila followed them to their parents. While they walked back to the farmhouse no one said a word. When they got there Allsa showed Kaila to her room that she would be sharing with Ellen and Birgit. Allsa said, “Kaila, you must be very tired from your long journey here. Why don’t you rest for a while?” “Sure,” said Kaila in a faint voice. She slept through the whole night till the next morning when the sun was coming up. That whole week Ellen and Birgit showed Kaila everything. By the end of the week, Kaila fit in perfectly. On the morning of May 13th, 1945 a fisherman came and knocked on the door while the girls were out in the barn feeding the animals. Davin opened the door and greeted him. “Come in,” said Davin. So the fisherman walked into the living room and sat down. “Mrs. Rosen I can only stay for a bit, but I have brought you a letter that Mrs. Johansen insisted I must deliver it immediately to you. So I must be on my way now but I will be back in six days for you,” said the fisherman as he left. Mrs. Rosen read the letter and said, “O, my! This is great news!” She gathered everyone into the house and told everyone that her family and Annalise would be returning home in six days. “And the best part is…the war is over!” exclaimed Mrs. Rosen. Everyone cheered so loud it was like the roofs were shaking! Everyone had a great night. After that night the week went by very quickly and it was already time to go home to Copenhagen. Everyone packed their things and went to the dock where that same fisherman was waiting just like he said he would be. They all hugged the Glittermans for so long it seemed like a year. They said their goodbyes and boarded the boat. “Goodbye!” cried everyone as the engine started and the boat slowly started to move away. Everyone waved until the boat or Glittermans were out of sight. “Ahhh…” sighed Ellen as they were finally going back to their home. “I am sure going to miss them,” sighed Ellen as she took in another deep breath of the fresh air. This time they actually got to stand on the top deck of the boat and smell the fresh air instead of having to smell the fish in that dark, cold, and cramped secret compartment in the boat. “Kaila, we are going to have so much fun in Copenhagen! Annemarie and I will show you everything!” said Ellen. “O.k.! I’m so excited!” said Kaila in a very excited tone. “This sea is so big and beautiful! I wish we would have come here more often!” exclaimed Mrs. Rosen as she gazed out at the sea. “My mother and Papa never let me go near the sea when I was little,” sighed Kaila. “We will be stopping at Henrik’s tomorrow morning!” yelled the captain. “Yay! We get to go see Henrik!” yelled Ellen. Everyone talked and talked about how excited they were to finally see him again, all except Kaila, she had no clue who Henrik was! “Time to go to bed girls!” said Mrs. Rosen. “O.K.” said the girls sounding disappointed. So the girls went to bed that night and slept very peacefully considering how loud the motor was. The next morning the girls woke up to hear the engine just shutting off. “Kaila! We must be here! Let’s get dressed quick and run to see Henrik!” said Ellen in a very exciting tone. When the girls were done getting dressed they went to the main deck and looked out at the land. They grabbed their bags and went to find Ellen’s mother. When they found her mother Ellen asked, “May Kaila and I run ahead? I know the way from last time.” Mr. and Mrs. Rosen both agreed that they could. “Let’s go!” cried Ellen as they ran off down the path. As they reached the farmhouse Ellen saw Henrik out in the barn milking Blossom. So the girls threw down their bags in the house and ran to the barn. “Henrik! Henrik! I want you to meet Kaila! She is part of our family now!” shouted Ellen. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you Kaila. You’re lucky to have a great family like them.” Said Henrik. “Thanks. I know, ” replied Kaila. “Well why don’t we go in the house and talk for a while. I’m done milking Blossom now,” said Henrik. “Great! Let’s go!” said Ellen in an excited tone. The girls ran to the house leaving Henrik behind with the milk pail. Once they all got back to the house everyone shared their stories and got to know each other better. They ate a delicious supper and then went to bed. The next morning they had to be on their way bright and early, so everyone woke up early and got dressed and packed up to go. They ate a delicious breakfast, said their goodbyes, and started walking down the path. “I can’t wait to see Annemarie!” sang Ellen as she skipped down the path to the boat. When they got to the boat everyone loaded their luggage. The boat started its engine with a loud grumble and everyone settled down into their spots. Kaila and Ellen played some games on the way to Denmark. After a few hours the boat finally came to a stop in Denmark. Ellen and Kaila danced with joy. “We’re here! We’re here!” they shouted. Everyone gleamed with joy as they unloaded their things from the boat. Once everyone was ready they were on their way to the train. When they got to the train everyone was so excited. They boarded the train to Copenhagen and they were on their way. Ellen couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was. By the time they got there Ellen had told Kaila almost everything she knew! “We’re here!” cried Ellen as the train came to a stop. When they got off the train Ellen twirled with joy so much that when she stopped she was dizzy! Everyone breathed in the fresh air of freedom. They went to the telephone by the train station to call the Johansens. When they reached the telephone Ellen asked, “Mother, can I please phone them? Please Mother?” “Of course you can! Just make sure you don’t spoil our surprise!” said Mrs. Rosen with a big smile on her face. “O.K.!” said Ellen as she dialed their phone number, which she knew by heart. Ring! Ring! Went the phone in the Johansen’s house. “I’ll get it!” shouted Annemarie as she picked up the phone. “Annemarie! Is that you?” asked Ellen in an extremely excited tone. “Ellen! I can’t believe it! Mom it’s Ellen! Cried Annemarie as if she just had the best moment in her life. “I…I…I…just can’t believe it’s actually you!” she stammered. “Well we can’t waste time now but I am supposed to tell you we will be there soon,” said Annemarie. “Well we will be waiting!” she said as she heard Ellen hang up with a click. “Mom! Annemarie said they will be waiting for us!” said Ellen as they started walking down the street. There Ellen could see just a glimpse of their house way down the street. “Kaila, you’ll just love it here, I know you will,” said Ellen quietly to Kaila. “Yes, yes, I can see I will already,” said Kaila. When they had just reached their block Annemarie and another girl about Kaila’s age came running up the street. “Ellen! Ellen! Ellen!” cried Annemarie as she approached. When she came up to Ellen she gave her a big whirling hug and they both just stood there grasping onto this important moment in their lives. “Who is this?” asked Annemarie with surprise as she saw Kaila. “This is Kaila; she is part of our family now! Surprise!” said Ellen. “Now it’s your turn. Who is that?” asked Ellen. “This is Saydi. She is seven years old,” replied Annemarie. “So am I!” replied Kaila with a gleam in her eyes. “Well these are great surprises girls but we better get back to the house now,” said Mrs. Rosen. “O.k.,” said the girls as they sprinted faster than the wind down the road with Annemarie leading. “Mama! Mama! They’re here! They’re here!” cried Annemarie as she burst through the door. One of the neighbors was looking through his window to see what the entire racket was about. “We have dolls we can play with, or we could play tag, or…or…we could play another game if you would like!” said Saydi with a grin as big as the sun on her face. “Can we tell stories?” asked Kaila. “That’s a great idea!” said Annemarie. “We can go on my room!” said Annemarie. “Ellen you’re back!” shouted Kristi as she wrapped her arms around Ellen in a big hug. “Yes, I’m back,” said Ellen with a big smile on her face. “Do you want to tell stories with us?” asked Kaila. “Who are you?” asked Kristi in a blunt tone. “I’m Kaila part of Ellen’s family now,” replied Kaila in a friendly way. “O…great!” responded Kristi happily. So the girls told stories for a few hours while their parents talked in the kitchen. After everyone was done telling their stories they sat down for a delicious meal together. After they were done eating Annemarie took Ellen in her room. “Ellen, I am so glad you’re back. I have something to give you.” Said Annemarie as she took the Star of David necklace off of her neck. “O, Annemarie! Thank you!” said Ellen as she put it on. “Papa fixed the chain for you.” Said Annemarie. For the next hour they just sat by the window together watching the sun go down, with their whole life still ahead of them. Marie Wedepohl