Page 26 of Villa of Secrets

Naomi stuttered, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Mama once told me Bubba was a wartime hero. A legend. But nobody talked about it, or recognised her bravery.’

‘But why?’

Heleny dropped her head to one side, gauging how frank she could be, then she lowered her eyes. ‘Because she was Jewish of course,’ she said sadly. ‘Sorry, but it’s a fact, and also because, you know how it was in those days . . . a baby out of wedlock?’

Naomi nodded. ‘That child was my mother.’ She tried to keep the animosity out of her voice. ‘Anyway, I’m not even halfway through yet, so please don’t say any more. Perhaps when I’ve read the diary, and you have a little time, you can tell me what else your Mama told you?’

‘Glad to. I’d better get on and leave you in peace.’ She picked up the carrier, glanced inside and grinned. ‘Thank you, this means so much to me.’

Naomi watched Heleny’s wide hips as she returned to her house up the street. She recalled the evening Rebecca left, walking up to a taxi on the main road. They’d wanted to hug, say goodbye properly, but racked by tears and steaming angry, they didn’t.

Heleny turned and waved, but Rebecca had never looked back.

Naomi picked up the diary. Resisting the urge to read the page that had grabbed Heleny, she continued where she’d left off.

Friday, 21 July 1944

Diary number two.

I’m very tired, and it has been a terrible day, but I want to write all this down before I go to sleep, because who knows when I will ever get the chance to update my diary again. As planned, I left the first diary at home, under my sister’s frocks. Now, I’m sitting on the concrete floor of L’Aeronautica and it’s difficult to stay awake. We are worn out by worry.

This morning, we gathered bundles of clothes and food together. Afraid of what lay ahead, we all put on a brave face. The women led their children out of the Jewish quarter and, once again, the streets were peculiarly empty.

Outside L’Aeronautica, the German soldiers told us to line up. A man that I guessed to be a little younger than my mother, began talking to the women quite urgently. I couldn’t hear what he said, but everyone became agitated and some mothers started crying.

A shiny black car with two German flags on the front stopped in front of the building. The driver emerged and opened the door for a tall, fair man with a stern pale face. He wore a smart, charcoal suit with a grey coat draped over his shoulders, and he had a silver-topped walking stick under his arm. A person of importance. The German soldiers immediately faced him and stood to attention.

I saw an opportunity for us all to run away, but then what would they do to the men?

A high-ranking officer came out of L’Aeronautica and saluted. They spoke quietly, then the well-dressed man returned to his car and the chauffeur drove him away.

‘Who was that, Mama?’

‘Frick Hendrick Nüller.’ She spat on the pavement, cleansing her mouth of the name.

Guards grabbed the man that had agitated the women with his quiet words and marched him off.

‘And that?’ I asked Mama.

‘The Turkish Consul-General, Selahattin Ulkumen,’ my mother replied. ‘He was begging us not to enter the building, but we must. Now stop asking questions, Dora.’

Once inside, we searched for my father and the boys. We found them with Uncle Levi, my grandfather, and our cousins.

‘Papa!’ I rushed into his arms. He held me tightly, yet didn’t seem pleased to see me.

They hadn’t eaten since leaving home, and my brothers were starving. We shared the food with them.

Some people insisted we were about to be relocated to mountain villages; others said we were going to be put to work as labourers and cooks for the Germans.

That evening, we received orders to hand over matches, candles, cigarettes, scissors, knives and many other things. Some adults wept, but most seemed numb, staring, hugging their children.

This was an important event in my life, a chance to try my reporting skills and interview people, but they didn’t want to talk. I found Carlo, the boy Irini liked, and sat with him.

‘Where’s your friend?’ he said, looking past me.

‘Up Filerimos with my sister. What’s happening? Where are we going?’