As the land recedes behind them, Ramon stares. Africa. Home of riches and cruelty. The glitter of gold and flash of blood

Papa holds out his hand. “Brother Garcon,” he says in greeting. He will not dip his head, for the icon the man wears on a thick gold chain

Something inside her burns. She steps forward. “We are indeed honored by your suggestion, but I am afraid we must decline”

“If their menfolk are lost in the ocean’s waves, then these women will curse you and your luck will fail, and most likely your fortune too”

“When the authorities go after the Talmud, they search. Every synagogue. Every house. Every person. And everything is carted away”

“Clara. I know why you are not eating,” she says. “It is because you have already broken your fast, is it not?”

Just as she thinks that they should cease the day’s work, he says, “I do not see how you can avoid depicting the Garden of Eden”

The apples give him courage. He tucks them into a pocket on the inside of his cassock and grips the rope ladder with both hands