The Last Song

would never have believed that Alfonso de Carrera would break his word,” Papa said after Luis and his father left.
    Mama shrugged her shoulders. “Isabel would have been miserable living with that creature.”
    “It’s over and done with now,” Papa said. “You were right. Luis must have reported me to the Inquisition.”
    “He probably did, but we’ll never know for sure,” Mama said. “Thank God that Isabel doesn’t have to marry him.”
    “I couldn’t be happier about it,” I said as I kissed their cheeks.
    Mama stood up. “Let’s go upstairs. We can’t take much with us tomorrow night. I want to sort through my clothes.”
    I went up to my chamber. It was hard to believe that I would be spending only one more night within the four walls that had been my home for as long as I could remember. I opened the shutters and the window. Dappled sunlight snaked into the room. I wandered around, touching my belongings. I picked up an earthenware cup full of smooth stones Brianda and I had collected when we were young girls. I folded a shawl I had carelessly thrown down on my bed. I took my jewelry chest out of the armoire and unlocked it. I tried on the necklace Brianda had given me for the last time. I put it back into the chest with a heavy heart for I knew that the Inquisition forbade Jews from taking gold and silver out of the country. I locked the chest and returned it to the armoire. Finally, I went back to the window. Anusim’s cage stood on the windowsill.
    The little bird ruffled its feathers when it saw me. I opened the cage door and cradled it in my palm. Ismoothed down its feathers with a finger and kissed its head gently. I knew what I had to do. I leaned out of the window and opened my hand. The bird fluttered its wings, and then it was gone. It soared high into the sky before landing on the bough of a tree under the window. It broke into such a sweet song that my heart filled with hope. Then it flew away.
    That night, after everyone in the house had gone to sleep, I returned to the orange tree. I dug up the silver kiddush cup Yonah had given me. I hid it among the clothes I had packed in a bundle made out of a petticoat even though I knew I shouldn’t.
I will decide what to do with it later on
, I said to myself. I would be taking the bundle with me. I also put into it the boy’s clothes that I had worn when I went to the Juderia.
    The moonlight crept into the shed through a small window. I could see that somebody had recently tried to clean up the cramped space. The clay floor had been swept clean. Several hoes, rakes, a scythe, and two buckets were piled up in a corner. Three burlap sacks had been laid on the floor as our beds. An unlit tallow candle was placed on a wooden box, a flint beside it.
    “I am sorry that I can’t make you more comfortable, but I was afraid that somebody would notice ifI had furniture brought in here,” Brianda said.
    “We’ll manage,” Mama said.
    “We won’t be here long. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be gone tomorrow night,” Papa added.
    “From your mouth to God’s ears,” Mama and I said together.
    “Don’t light the candle unless you absolutely have to. I am worried that someone in the house might notice the flame.” Brianda walked to the door. “I must go now, before I am missed. My slave will bring you something to eat. I am afraid that it won’t be much. My mother knows the contents of our larder to the last mouthful. I don’t want her to suspect anything.”
    “We want to thank you again, Brianda,” Mama said. “You are saving our lives at great risk to your own.”
    Brianda walked back toward us. “I wish that I could do more, Tia Catarina.” She wrapped her arms around Mama’s waist and put her head on her shoulder. “I just wish that my parents would …” Her voice trailed off.
    My mother patted her back. “When somebody is afraid, it’s hard to do the right thing.”
    “You have a forgiving soul, Tia Catarina.” Brianda straightened up. “I don’t dare stay here any longer. Your food will be arriving soon. I told Mara to knock three times when she comes. Don’t open the door unless you hear three knocks.”
    “Can you trust the slave?” Mama asked.
    “Absolutely!”
    “You said that she was stupid and clumsy,” I said.
    “You know this slave girl?” Mama asked me.
    “You’ve seen her, too, Mama, the last time we visited Tia Juana. She served us cakes.”
    “Ah yes. The girl with the