Last Tango

The edge of the door came closer but now the control of the crowd was breaking and the order of earlier was slipping away and people were pushing in front of her. Then Rabbi Ariel spoke to them severely and they listened to him. Angel knew that he had believed her earlier but he was over eighty and almost crippled by arthritis so he was hardly going to be able to jump from a train.

Then at last she was at the door and she pulled it back against its lock. A good two inches let her feel the blast of air and she gulped it thankfully but already she had the handle of the bucket in her hand and she eased it through the crack and reached for the latch. Angel had studied the latch on the door when they had been bundling them inside but it was only designed to keep cattle in and it was easy. She caught it first try with the handle and the door slid open to reveal the rushing darkness outside.

‘What are you doing?’ a man demanded.

‘I’m jumping from the train,’ she said loudly. ‘If anybody else wants to join me now’s your chance.’

‘You’ll be killed,’ said a woman. ‘Don’t be so stupid.’

‘I’ve done it before, if you relax and roll you should be okay,’ she said.

‘We’ll all be punished for letting you escape,’ said the woman. ‘Don’t let her go.’ And immediately strong arms were holding her from behind.

‘Just lock the door after me,’ she said not bothering to struggle, the man holding her was too strong. ‘They won’t check the individual cars.’

‘No!’ shouted a man and others were agreeing with him now and Angel could see her chance slipping away.

‘Let the child go,’ came Rabbi Ariel’s wonderful voice…a voice that had once captivated a synagogue. ‘I said let her go!’ The hands holding her slipped away.

She looked at him and nodded.

‘Go my child and may God protect you,’ he said. ‘Quickly now, the train is slowing for a bend.’

‘And God be with you all,’ she said and arms wrapped around her head she hurled herself into the darkness.