Vanished Without A Trace (2 page)

 "I came to tell you Daniel is not my grandson. I’m willing to take a test to prove it. I admit, there was a bond between me and Julia, for some reason I couldn’t tell you, but between that and being the grandfather of Daniel..."

He stood up. "Look, you are a nice woman. It was a pleasure to meet you and I'm willing to give any information you want, anytime. By the way, what about the letter? Can we read it?"

"No, I'm sorry, not unless something else happens. It's nothing personal against you, I hope you understand."

"Yes, I understand. Honestly, I really don’t care. It shouldn’t be any of my business."

Deborah couldn’t understand what had just happened. She was confused. It was all about Moshe. Her only role in the whole process was to make the coffee. Suddenly everything seemed detached from reality. She had never been lucky enough in this gray and monotonous job to suddenly come upon such a valuable story. She felt sorry she hadn’t notified her superior, but she really thought there was a big story and she wanted to handle it herself and get the credit.

Moshe got in his car and drove to the hotel where Julia was staying, hoping the late hour would prevent passers-by from seeing him. He called from a pay phone and asked her to come down with the boy to discuss her agenda. “There is a solution,” he said.

He noticed her approaching without the boy. "Daniel is sleeping," she said, getting into the car, but while she tried to find the appropriate position for the seat, she felt a syringe piercing her neck, and the car drove off.

The next morning, the chamber maid entered Julia’s room to clean. She found Daniel alone. She tried to talk to him in Hebrew and English, but he did not answer. After cleaning the other rooms, she went back again and found him still alone. She reported it to her superiors and after a while he was taken to the police.

Deborah was happy for the second opportunity that fell to her. She knew Julia’s disappearance would rearrange the cards and now she had the upper hand again. She hurried to call Kowalski and was surprised to discover he was not available to talk to her. She left him many messages again and again, but he never got back to her. Feelings of frustration began to fill her. The letter was the only thing she could latch onto. She opened it. Her disappointment was indescribable. Dreams vanished in that moment. All the hopes and dreams that had revolved around the letter of a miserable woman, were slowly reduced to a few words, "I flew to America. I ask you to find the father of my son. A letter is attached for personal information of a Romanian man and five thousand dollars that should help in finding his father." Deborah put the money in her pocket and tore the letter to pieces.

2

Daniel walked side by side with Deborah. His feet were having a hard time keeping up with her fast pace. Her big palms were wrapped around his fingers, and he found himself being dragged. He stumbled on a big stone. Deborah stopped and looked down at him, then pulled him up so hard that his arms seemed to tear. He tried to wipe the sand stuck to his elbow, but he failed and was left with a dirty wounded elbow. He kept walking. One hand holding Deborah’s hand and the other holding a rustling plastic bag with a white T-shirt and ripped jeans; the things he took with him on his new journey. The heavy smell of Deborah’s perfume was a clear indication things were rough. Although he was only five years old, he had no trouble understanding from now on his life would change completely.

They stood in front of the gate, waiting for the school guard to open it for them. It was a big red gate, flanked with tall cypress trees on each side, trying to give a fresh atmosphere and prevent passers-byers from seeing in, but the trees couldn’t hide the sense of bitterness displayed in the abandoned parking lot. Roots and weeds grew in between the cracks in the asphalt. The guard opened the gate for them and Daniel was amazed to see a large green lawn. Deborah dragged him right onto a pathway across the grass, disregarding the gravel walkway intended for walking. She knocked at the door of the Principal's office, ignoring the secretary who was sitting in the doorway, and when she realized the Principal was not in the office, she turned to the secretary.

"Is he not here?"

"You mean the Principal?"

"Of course the Principal." Deborah didn’t hide her anger. There was an expression of terror on her face. She pulled her glasses off her nose. "I don’t have all day! Go and find him for me, otherwise, I will leave this little boy in the office and I will get out of here."

"He went to a meeting. He’ll be back about half an hour."

"Half an hour!? I do not have half an hour. Why do I have to wait for half an hour when this matter doesn’t even take more than two minutes to settle?!"

The secretary looked at her and waited until she finished grumbling. She knew the social worker was going to be surprised. The procedure for registering a child to a boarding school takes at least two hours and this particular case would take even more. She looked at the skinny little boy who was standing upright, looking around. Behind those bright gray eyes and long eyelashes lay undeniable sadness and anxiety.

Deborah sent Daniel to sit in the hallway and she paced back and forth, smoking one cigarette after the other.

Daniel tried intently not to meet her eyes. He had already succeeded at upsetting her in everything he did during the last two days he spent in her apartment. He looked to the right side of the school and saw a paved basketball court, concrete benches and high fences built around the lot. On the left side of the field stood a beautiful oval-shaped building with round windows, painted blue. In front of the building, close to the walls were tall palm trees and ornamental trees, with colorful flowers beautifully arranged at the base of each palm tree. Daniel saw a tall man who was headed straight in his direction. He shrunk in place, scared of the stranger.

The Principal entered the office and Deborah ran hurriedly after him. She sat right in front of him without invitation.

"Listen Mr. Solomon, I brought a child to the boarding school. Let's arrange everything quickly so I can live a normal life. Since the disappearance of his mother, I have not had a single peaceful moment."

"Let me explain something to you," Solomon said, with a soft penetrating voice, "This school is already fully occupied. Living rooms that are pre-designed for four children are already housing six children. There is only one bed left intended for a child that will be coming next week. So, there is no way I can accommodate this boy, even though I want to."

"But this boy has no family. I have nowhere else to take him."

"That can work in your favor. Try to look for another boarding school. After all, if he has no family, there is no preference for our school which is in great demand." He paused, and when he realized she didn’t respond, he said "Sorry" and stood up, indicating the conversation was over.

Deborah pursed her lips angrily. She realized the Principal had no intention of making her life easier. But she didn’t intend to give up either. She had already made a decision. She would leave this place without the boy. "Listen, Mr. Solomon, your explanations do not interest me. My job is to find a place, whether a fit or not to the child, to get him out of the system. If he won’t be accommodated here, Ziona, my boss, will ask me to do her a favor again and take this boy to be with my children and I have no intention of doing so. I come across these cases all the time, I do not have time to waste my feelings on this and I certainly don’t have the energy to handle all the responsibilities of hosting all social cases in my home." Just as she finished, she grabbed her bag and left the place. Solomon, the Principal, followed her out and called her to take the child with her, but she continued walking along the grass path. Solomon went back to his office. He passed over Daniel and rubbed his forehead. "Give him something to eat," he asked the secretary, and went to his office. He tried to think about the situation and after a while he dialed Deborah’s boss.

"Hi Ziona, your employee Deborah, was just here. She left the boy here, even though I explained to her I had a problem accommodating new children. I am begging you to send someone to get the boy."

Ziona was not surprised to receive the call from Solomon. Not when she had sent Deborah on the mission. Daniel's case was exceptional, and only a woman like Deborah, who lacked concern for other’s feelings was suited to the task. "Yes, Deborah talked to me. She said you only have one place available for a child who should be arriving next week. So you can put Daniel in his place. First come, first served."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Solomon, please try to find one more place for the boy. Just one more place. The boy recently lost his mother. How can I send him back to Romania? You know what is going on there, the orphanages are full, the cemeteries are crowded and they just leave the children to starve. You must understand if we can’t find a place to accommodate him soon, we will be forced to send him back to Romania. I have to find him a place until the committee can find a way to keep him in the country."

"No Ziona, don’t put me in the middle of this situation. I also don’t feel good about the boy, but you have to understand I couldn’t give him the place intended for a child who also has a sad story."

"Solomon, just one look at the boy and my heart tells me not to send him back to Romania. I know you also wouldn’t dare to do that."

Solomon took a deep breath. "I know I'll be sorry but I'll see what I can do."

The secretary offered Daniel a seat beside her desk so he could eat the meal she brought him; grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, bread and fruit salad. Daniel stared at his plate, then looked across at the closed door of the principal's office. He hesitantly grabbed the bread and began eating. When he saw the Principal coming out, he quickly put back the bread he held in his hand.

"Orit, please take him to the preschool children’s quarters until we decide what we can do with him."

The secretary smiled at Daniel. After eating, she took his hand and led him to the new building, where they met Rina, the lady who was in charge of the kindergarten.

"Hello." Rina bent over Daniel.

Daniel's face was frozen.

"I’m Rina, it’s nice to meet you. Please come with me, I'll take you to your room," she took his hand and slowly they went upstairs. They went into the room where there were three built-in double beds. Rina offered him a bed on the lower level. "Here's your bed. You probably prefer the upper level just like everyone else, but it’s already occupied."

Daniel did not look at her. He just laid the bag down on the bed and sat down.

"No, do not sit down. Let's go find you some clothes."

She led him towards the storage area. Although it was still undecided what to do with him, and though she had not yet received any instructions or approval to give him some clothes, she could not ignore the handsome little boy who kept carrying this old fading bag as if there were some treasures in it. She pulled out a few clothes from the shelves and led him into the dressing room, helping him dress as he needed it. For the first time, he smiled at her with gratitude and great satisfaction, while leaving storage with a big bag full of shirts and pants.

"Just put the bag in that closet. Don’t arrange them yet." She preferred to speak to him in Hebrew, although he did not understand a word of what she said. They went down to the play room, where there were other kindergartners.

At night, Daniel was lying in bed. Lights off. He was scared. He wanted to cry, but he feared it was forbidden. Last night when he slept in the basement of Deborah’s house, he had been warned not to make a noise, but tonight, he could not help but cry. He stuck the lapel of his shirt in his mouth to strangle the sound of his crying, the tears were stronger than any frightening emotional burden.

"You can cry, sweetheart, that's fine. I know things have not been easy for you lately. It has been rough, but I’m sure after a few days you will feel much better and everything will be alright. I promise you."

Rina's words, even if he did not understand them, calmed him down. She did not try to stop him, but rather continued to caress him, until he felt his eyes close.

The next morning. Solomon left his house located on the school compound, early in the morning, he had been awake all night. The thoughts about Daniel didn’t give him rest. He didn’t know how he was going to solve this problem. He headed straight to the kindergarten and looked around trying to find Daniel, but he was not in the yard. He went to the kindergarten and found him there, sitting and reading a book. Solomon took the English book from his hands and began to scan page after page muttering to himself "What will I do with you?" The question was intended for himself. He felt a very deep compassion for this little boy, who lost his mother just a couple of days ago. He wanted him in this boarding school. He knew he would be fine here.

Rina approached them.

"Pack up his things." He ask Rina.

"Is the boy leaving?" She asked sadly.

"Yes, I will take him to my home until the end of the school year, two children are supposed to leave the boarding school next year and Daniel will be able to get one of the beds."

3

Life in the boarding school became routine. Daniel did well in school and was one of the most brilliant students. His accomplishments were high in all subjects. Solomon was so proud of him. He was even guilty of arrogance when he vested himself in some part of Daniel’s achievements, who became like his own son. Daniel managed to endear himself to all those who knew him and everyone who was in contact with him. Every day, he would sit with younger students and help them with their homework, or assist Solomon’s secretary with the jobs she did not like to do, like filing papers. He even had enough time left to enjoy his favorite hobby, taking care of animals in the animal corner. There was a dog he found on the street that turned into the ‘house dog’. That’s what they called him.