Home Is Beyond the Mountains (16 page)

The children, too, went over
their clothes and belongings again and again. Each was equipped with a
canvas bag made by the Rooftop Family, and in each bag was a cotton scarf in
case of dust storms, a drinking cup, a washcloth and any small things too
precious to be left behind. Samira managed to squeeze her two books and the
little measure she had found in the umbar into her bag. Then she had to
persuade Elias that his stone collection would be too heavy to
carry.

“There will be plenty of
stones along the way, I promise you,” she told him. He nodded, but she saw
him slip three special round stones that always hit their mark into his
pocket.

She went to find Hanna, who
had come from the city to help the younger children get ready. Hanna was
worried about the weather.

“I know you have your warm
jackets,” she said to Samira. “But you'll still be on the road in November.
Cold weather will come. Wind and rain and even snow. And you children
sleeping on the ground.” She shook her head.

“But we have to go,” said
Samira. “After all this waiting.”

“I know. You have to go when
you have the chance.” She smiled. “And you have Susan Shedd. She won't
listen if you complain about wind or snow, but she'll get you there.” She
gave Samira a hug before she went back to the city.

Mules and their chavadars —
the men who would load them and drive them all the way to Tabriz — had
arrived that morning and were waiting restlessly outside the gate along with
three big wagons called furgoons. The furgoons had canvas tops for shelter
from rain and sun. One would be a kitchen wagon and one the doctor's wagon.
The third would carry supplies.

The orphans who were too
small to walk would ride two by two in wooden carriers fastened on either
side of a mule's saddle. Each carrier was like a box with a wooden seat
inside.

Monna got tired very easily
so she would ride in a carrier though she was almost six. This plan worried
Elias, who was younger than Monna.

“I will walk,” he stated
firmly.

“You just turned five and
some five-year-olds will be riding,” Samira told him. “Do you feel big enough
to walk with us? It will be a long way every day and we can't carry you.
You're too heavy.”

“I'm big and I'm strong,”
Elias said. “I can run faster than you.” He raced to the farthest end of the
yard to prove it.

There was no point arguing,
and Samira knew that if Elias couldn't manage the walk there would be room
for him on one of the mules.

Besides the mules there were
horses for the outriders who would go ahead of the caravan and find camping
places, buy eggs and meat, and ask village women if they could bake bread
for three hundred people. Miss Shedd would have a horse, too. A big black
horse named Sumbul.

“You children will be strung
out in a very long line,” Miss Shedd explained. “On Sumbul I can ride up and
down the line and make sure that all is well.”

During the evening meal on
the third day Miss Shedd came into the eating room.

“Something's wrong,” said
Benyamin.

Miss Shedd waited for the
children to stop talking. Then she said, “I'm sorry to tell you that we
won't start out tomorrow. The general in charge of military affairs here in
Hamadan says that he has no orders from the Minister of War so he won't let
us leave. There's nothing we can do but wait until they get their orders
straight. Lots of games and circle dances will help pass the time tomorrow.
Maybe I'll come and join you.”

But she didn't. She went
down into the city to talk to the people in the Near East Relief office. But
day after day passed with no news. The orphans kept on waiting.

The warm weather of autumn
was coming to an end. Nights were chilly, and Samira could feel the edge of
frost in the air. Miss Shedd had wanted to set out in September when the
harvest was coming in and the caravan could buy grapes and melons and squash
from villagers. But now it was October.

“We have good shoes and warm
jackets,” she said to Anna. “We can make it, can't we?”

“If we leave today we can,”
said Anna. “But we're not leaving today.” She was busy with the three- and
four-year-olds and didn't want to waste her time thinking about what might
happen next.

Samira went to talk to
Benyamin. She found him squatting on the ground playing a game with two
other boys. Malik stood a little distance away, watching. The players held
small stones in their hands and on a count of three each boy threw several
pebbles on the ground. The one who threw the largest number won, but only if
his number was only one higher than the next one down. Often no one won for
a long time, but that just kept the boys playing.

Suddenly a picture came into
Samira's mind, a picture of Benyamin and his friends playing this game in
Ayna. She was watching them from the rooftop so she could only see the tops
of their heads and their hands reaching out to throw down the pebbles.

Those boys. Where were they
now?

Benyamin stood up and came
over to Samira. After a moment Malik squatted down with the other boys and
picked up the rocks.

Samira could feel herself
smiling, and Benyamin said, “Are we going? Have you heard something?”

“No. There's no news. I was
smiling about Malik. He's willing to be part of our caravan family now, just
like the rest of us. But, Benyamin, if we get to Ayna we might find no family
at all. I'm not sure I want to go.”

“All this waiting is giving
us too much time to think and we don't know anything about how things are in
Ayna. We have to get to Tabriz and see what happens next.”

It was true, Samira knew. It
was impossible to stay in this place now, anyway. The whole orphanage had
been packed away. It was as empty as it had been when they arrived more than
a year ago.

“Yes,” she said. “We have to
go.”

When she got back to the
schoolyard she found Miss Shedd waving a piece of paper above her head.

“Get everyone,” she called
out.

In minutes the yard was
filled with children. Miss Shedd stood on one of the packing cases and spoke
in a loud, clear voice.

“This letter says that our
final letter of permission will be delivered by a messenger early tomorrow.
We'll gather here right after breakfast, ready for the journey.”

She stretched her arms wide,
as if she wanted to reach out to all the children. “I hope you have been
happy in the Hamadan Orphanage,” she said. “I have been happy to be here
with you but it is time to give you a chance to get out from behind these
walls and get on with your lives.”

She jumped off the crate and
made her way through the crowd of children. There was a moment of silence
and then everyone began to talk.

Samira and Anna gathered
Elias and Sheran and Monna and David in their room.

“You heard Miss Shedd,
didn't you?” asked Samira. The children nodded. “So you know that tomorrow
we will start our journey.” Again they all nodded.

“Tell us what you will do
tomorrow,” said Anna.

The answers tumbled out.
“We'll stay near you.” “We'll remember our bags.” “We'll walk but no
running.”

“And if you forget, who will
you ask?”

“You or you or Benyamin or
Ashur.”

Then Monna spoke. “We'll
come back here after, won't we?”

Samira looked around the
bare room. Nothing was left in it except the things that would go with them
tomorrow. But it was home. How could it be that they would never come
back?

“We won't come back here,”
she said. “But we're going to find new places to live. New homes. And we're
all making the journey together.”

That night all of the girls
had a hard time settling down. Each one packed and repacked her bag until
Anna said, “That's enough. Everyone into bed.”

In a few minutes the girls'
rooms were quiet, but Samira knew that Anna was still awake.

“Remember Mrs. McDowell?”
she whispered.

“Yes, of course I
do.”

“She would say that this is
a step in the right direction.”

“An awful lot of steps,”
answered Anna, and suddenly she giggled. “I know that Mrs. McDowell never
dreamed we would have to walk home. I don't think she would choose to make
this journey. She loved transport.”

A memory from home slid into
Samira's mind. The whole family walking with Papa down the road and around a
few bends to get him started on his journey to the market in the city.

“Come with me and pour me on
my way,” he would say. That's what people in the village always said when
they traveled away from home. “Come with me and pour me on my
way.”

“Mrs. McDowell would pour us
on our way,” she whispered.

Anna stopped giggling and
said, “Yes, she would.”

A Long Way to Go

October 1923

SAMIRA WOKE UP AT
THE
first light of the gray dawn and saw that Anna was already
dressed and rolling up her sleeping mat.

“I'll get the other girls
up,” she said to Samira. “You can roll up the rest of the mats.”

The day had begun. They
found the boys out in the yard, waiting for breakfast. The eating room was
closed so they sat on the ground to eat their bread and drink their tea.
Then they ran to get their sleeping mats and quilts. Benyamin and Ashur took
them out through the gate to the chavadar who was to carry their things.
They helped him load the mules and came back to the yard where everyone was
waiting.

Miss Shedd was standing near
the gate, ready to receive the final letter of permission that would allow
them to leave Hamadan. She was wearing trousers and a jacket, and she
carried a small whip under her arm.

“Why does she have that
whip?' asked Anna.

Benyamin answered, “A horse
sometimes needs a touch of the whip. Anyway, she's riding like a man, not a
fine lady, so she has to have what a man would have.”

Samira thought he was right.
Miss Shedd could not look like a weak woman. Not on this journey.

For a long time the children
sat on the ground, waiting quietly. Then the small ones began to get
restless, and Miss Shedd came around to the families and said, “I don't know
when the wretched official is going to appear. You had better get some games
going.”

So Anna and Samira organized
some circle games. Most of the older children wandered around chatting
aimlessly until one of the teachers got them running races instead. Malik
stood leaning against the nearest building, not moving, but Samira could see
that he was keeping track of every member of the Rooftop Family.

Then it was
lunchtime.

The cook came around with
packets of lunch he had ready for them.

“This is your first meal of
the journey. Next time you'll be carrying your lunch in those fancy sacks
you folks made.”

The packets contained bread
and cheese and dried fruit. No one was very hungry but eating passed the
time. After lunch some of the younger children simply fell asleep on the
ground and the rest just sat. Waiting.

Then, suddenly, there was
the sound of a horse galloping up the slope. A man in a uniform with gold
braid at his cuffs came riding through the gate. He dismounted and handed a
big envelope to Miss Shedd. She took a moment to speak with him. Then she
opened the envelope and took out a piece of paper.

As she read it the
expression on her face changed from relief and joy to disappointment and
anger. Samira could see it quite plainly. What had happened?

For several minutes Miss
Shedd spoke with the messenger. Then she gathered around her the doctor, the
cook, the outriders and Mr. Edwards. They talked with their heads close
together. The children waited for what seemed a very long time.

At last Miss Shedd went and
got a wooden box.

“She's going to tell us what
has gone wrong this time,” said Anna in a gloomy voice.

“Shhh,” said Samira.
“Listen.”

Miss Shedd stepped up on the
box and looked out at the children.

“We have a serious problem,”
she said. “Three hundred and ten of us are ready to set out on our journey
but the government has chosen to give permission for only two hundred and
eighty to leave today. This official will be counting and he will not let any
more go out of the gate. We have decided that the two oldest boys in each
family will stay here for now. As soon as their permit comes they will join
us.”

Samira looked around. Miss
Shedd could not have said those words. But everyone was looking stunned.
They had all heard her.

Miss Shedd saw their dismay.
“I know that asking these big brothers to stay here so that the rest of us
can go is hard for everyone. It's hard for me, too. But there is no time to
weep and argue. This permit is for today. Tomorrow they might decide not to
let any of us go. Say goodbye to the boys for just a few days. Then wake up
the young ones and follow our plan.”

Miss Shedd stepped down from
the box. She went to her horse, put her foot in the stirrup and swung
herself into the saddle.

Samira went over to
Benyamin.

“I can't leave you here,”
she said. “I won't. We have to stay together. Anyway, how can we manage
without you and Ashur?”

Benyamin looked taller all
of a sudden. “Samira, Miss Shedd is right. You have to go. For the next few
days you and Anna can look after our family. Everyone will help. That's why
we're a family, so that there is always someone to step in and take care of
things.” He gave her a quick hug. “Ashur and I will help you get organized
now.”

Indeed, everyone needed to
be organized. Some young children were crying because they were wakened so
suddenly. Others were wandering around looking confused. All over the yard
children were wailing and calling to each other.

Benyamin went up to Malik.

“Malik,” he said. “For a few
days you and Avram will be the oldest brothers in the Rooftop Family. The
rest of the family is going to need you to be with them and help them. Will
you do it?”

Malik didn't say anything
for a minute, and in the hubbub Samira was afraid he would never answer. But
he finally looked at Benyamin and said, “Well, if they listen to me I will.”

“That's all I need to hear.
Now let's get going.”

Samira counted heads. “Two
little girls. Two little boys. Malik, Avram, Shula, Anna, Maryam and me. Ten
of us. Do you all have your bags?”

Everyone nodded.

“All right, Rooftop Family,”
said Ashur. “Benyamin and I will walk with you to the gate. Remember, all of
you, look for Samira or Anna or Malik or Avram when you need help. Stay
together. Remember to — ”

“We have to let them go,”
said Benyamin. “They'll manage.”

Then the gate was in front
of them. It was open just enough for one child at a time to go through. The
official tapped each child on the head with his pen, counting them as they
went past.

When the Rooftop Family was
outside the wall Samira turned to take a last look at Benyamin, but there
were so many people crowding around the gate that she couldn't see him.

She reached out for Monna.
There wasn't time to find the mule carrying the box she should be riding in.
She would have to walk this first part of the journey.

They all turned to go down
the slope, away from the orphanage and away from the city.

Elias came to her and said,
“Why are you crying?”

Samira put her hand to her
cheek. Tears were running down her face.

“I'm not sure. We're going
home at last but this time we're leaving things behind, too.” The room in
the dormitory. The umbar. Miss Shuman. Benyamin.

She managed a smile for
Elias.

“I won't cry anymore,” she
said. “We have to walk.”

They walked. The sun set
behind the mountains and they were still walking. Monna began to droop, and
Samira and Anna took turns carrying her. Elias stumbled but he insisted that
he could keep walking. Samira was tired, too, but comforted to see that all
the children in the Rooftop Family were together with Malik always on the
outside of the group, always nearby.

When it was nearly dark Miss
Shedd came by on Sumbul. She dismounted and led him as she walked beside
Samira and Anna.

“We won't go much farther,”
she said. “It's too late to camp properly but luckily it's not going to
rain. We'll see that you all get sleeping mats and quilts and food. I know
it's hard without the boys, but we're doing fine.” She got back on her horse
and went on to the next group.

By the time they stopped it
was very dark. There was no moon and clouds covered the stars. Samira knew
that somewhere out there two hundred and seventy children were trying to find
the places were they should sleep. She was glad she only had to think about
the ten in her family.

She was so worn out that she
didn't care whether the mat she lay down on and the quilt she pulled over
her were hers. She just lay there, not even feeling hungry, but when someone
came and put raisins and a piece of cheese in her hand, she ate them and
felt a little better. She fell asleep knowing that the Rooftop Family was
around her in the darkness.

In the morning Miss Shedd
came around just as Samira was waking up.

“I'm making sure that
everyone is here,” she said. “It was such a rush yesterday that a few people
fell asleep before they found their families. But no one is
missing.”

“Malik made sure no one
wandered or got left behind,” Samira told her. “He was always
watching.”

Miss Shedd looked at the
lumps of quilt that were all that could be seen of most of the children. She
located one of the bigger lumps and walked over to it.

“I see that you're awake,
Malik,” she said. “You did a good job of keeping your family together
yesterday. Now, do you know which chavadar has the Rooftop Family's
supplies?”

Malik sat up. “Yes, Miss
Shedd. I'm in charge of loading and unloading.”

“Good. Go and talk to him
now. Make sure he knows who you are. Nobody got the right bedding last night
so you'll have to get that sorted out. And, Malik, ask others in your family
to give you the help you need.”

As Malik went off, Samira
thought he was probably more scared of asking the family for help than of
talking to a strange chavadar.

She stood up and looked
around. Now she could see what nearly three hundred children looked like
scattered around a bare pasture. Most were still asleep but a few were
sitting up and stretching or standing and shaking themselves to straighten
their clothes. Last night they had simply lain down in what they were
wearing so now there was no need to get dressed.

She could see steaming
basins of hot water set up by the doctor's wagon ready for children to wash
their faces and hands. The privies were farther off.

There was a big samovar
sitting on the table folded out from the cook wagon. A samovar meant tea,
and Samira suddenly wanted tea very, very much. Hot tea. She took her cup
out of her bag and went to stand in the line of children waiting for
breakfast.

While she waited she looked
beyond the camp. Empty land and mountains stretched in one direction, and
she could see the wide dirt road they would travel that day. In the other
direction was the Hamadan Orphanage. She couldn't see it but it had to be
there because Benyamin was there, waiting to join them.

She took her tea and some
bread spread with stewed apricots back to where the Rooftop Family had been
sleeping. The younger children were awake with their quilts pulled up to
their chins. They were waiting for her to tell them what to do.

“You can all get up,” she
said. “Monna, give that Anna a little poke. She's the only lazybones
here.”

Anna snorted. “I'm awake. I
just don't want to open my eyes and see where I am.” She sat up. “You're
already drinking tea. That's not fair!”

“It's a little reward for
waking up early,” said Samira. “But it's Malik who really deserves a reward.
He's already gone to meet our chavadar. He'll make sure that we have our own
things tonight.” She looked around and saw Malik making his way through the
children and sleeping mats scattered around the field.

He looked at the Rooftop
Family and said clearly, “Time to get up!”

Everyone stared at him. None
of them had ever heard Malik speak so loudly before. He went on more
quietly, “Well, it is. We have a long way to walk today. That's what Miss
Shedd told me.” He stopped and looked at the ground.

“Malik is right,” said Anna,
and she scrambled up and shook out her skirt. “I hope I won't have to sleep
in my skirt again. Too lumpy and look at it now.”

“We're all just the same,”
said Maryam. “I'm hungry.” She walked off toward the cook wagon and came
back a few minutes later with a stack of bread and apricots for everyone.

“Mr. Edwards will come
around with tea. Get out your cups and he'll fill them,” she said.

“After you've eaten take the
cloth that's in your bag and wash your face,” said Samira. “Anna and I will
brush your hair if you need help.”

“And you'd better hurry,”
said Anna. “Malik's rolling up the mats and quilts. We'll be starting
soon.”

Samira helped Malik carry
the bedding to the place where the mules were tethered. The bedding they had
used had green tags. This meant it really belonged to the Mountain Family,
so they found the chavadar in charge of supplies for that family.