Andrius wasn't smiling. "Lina," he said, taking my arm.

"What?"

"Not here." We walked away from the line. Andrius didn't speak. He gently steered me behind a nearby shack.

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked over his shoulder.

"What's going on?"

"They're moving people," he whispered.

"The NKVD?"

"Yes."

"Where?" I asked.

"I don't know yet." The light that had bounced through his eyes the day before had disappeared.

"Why are they moving people? How did you find out?"

"Lina," he said, holding on to my arm. His expression frightened me.

"What is it?"

He took my hand. "You're on the list."

"What list?"

"The list of people who are being moved. Jonas and your mother are on it, too."

"Do they know I took the file?" I asked. He shook his head. "Who told you?"

"That's all I know," he said. He looked down. His hand squeezed mine.

I looked at our clasped hands. "Andrius," I said slowly, "are you on the list?"

He looked up. He shook his head.

I dropped his hand. I ran past the tattered shacks. Mother. I had to tell Mother. Where were they taking us? Was it because we hadn't signed? Who else was on the list?

"Lina, calm yourself!" said Mother. "Slow down."

"They're taking us away. Andrius said so," I panted.

"Maybe we're going home," said Jonas.

"Exactly!" said Mother. "Maybe we're going someplace better."

"Maybe we're going to be with Papa," said Jonas.

"Mother, we haven't signed. You didn't see the look on Andrius's face," I said.

"Where is Andrius?" asked Jonas.

"I don't know," I said. "He's not on the list."

Mother left the shack to find Andrius and Mrs. Rimas. I paced the floor.

The floorboards creaked, complaining of Papa's pacing.

"Sweden is preferable," said Mother.

"It's not possible," explained Papa. "Germany is their only choice."

"Kostas, we have to help," said Mother.

"We are helping. They'll take a train to Poland, and we'll arrange passage to Germany from there."

"And the papers?" asked Mother.

"Arranged."

"I would feel better if it were Sweden," said Mother.

"It cannot be. It's Germany."

"Who's going to Germany?" I yelled from the dining room.

Silence.

"Lina, I didn't know you were in here," said Mother, coming out of the kitchen.

"I'm doing my homework."

"A colleague of your father's is going to Germany," said Mother.

"I'll be back for dinner." Papa kissed Mother on the cheek and rushed out the back door.

News of the impending move burned through the camp like a spark riding gasoline. People dashed in and out of huts. Speculations flew. Stories changed each minute. Others cropped up the next. Someone claimed additional NKVD had arrived in camp. Someone else said they saw a group of NKVD loading their rifles. No one knew the truth.

Ulyushka threw open the door of the shack. She spoke to Jonas and quickly exited.

"She's looking for Mother," said Jonas.

"Does she know something?" I asked.

Miss Grybas ran into our shack. "Where is your mother?" she asked.

"She went to find Andrius and Mrs. Rimas," I said.

"Mrs. Rimas is with us. Bring your mother to the bald man's shack."

We waited. I didn't know what to do. Should I put everything in my suitcase? Were we really leaving? Could Jonas be right? Could we be going home? We hadn't signed. I couldn't shake the image of concern on Andrius's face when he told me we were on the list. How did he know we were on it? How did he know he wasn't?

Mother returned. People stood elbow-to-elbow in the bald man's shack. The volume grew as we entered.

"Shh," said the man who wound his watch. "Everyone, please sit down. Let's hear from Elena."

"It's true," said Mother. "There is a list and there is word of moving people."

"How did Andrius find out about it?" asked Jonas.

"Mrs. Arvydas received some information." Mother looked away. "I don't know how she came by it. I am on the list. So are my children. Mrs. Rimas is on the list. Miss Grybas, you are not on the list. That's all I know."

People quickly began asking if they were on the list.

"Stop your yapping. She said that's all she knows," said the bald man.

"Interesting," said the man who wound his watch. "Miss Grybas is not on the list. She hasn't signed. So it's not just those who refuse to sign."

"Please," choked Miss Grybas, "don't leave me here."

"Quit blubbering. We don't know what's happening yet," said the bald man.

I tried to find the pattern. How were they sorting us for the impending move? But there wasn't a pattern. Stalin's psychology of terror seemed to rely on never knowing what to expect.

"We must be prepared," said Mr. Lukas, winding his watch. "Think of the journey we had in coming here. We're not nearly as strong. If we are to face that journey again, we must be prepared."

"You don't think they'll put us back in the train cars, do you?" gasped Mrs. Rimas. A wave of cries rippled through the group.

How could we be prepared? None of us had food. We were malnourished, weak. We had sold nearly all of our valuables.

"If it is true, and I am not leaving, I will sign the papers," announced Miss Grybas.

"No! You mustn't!" I said.

"Stop," said Mrs. Rimas. "You're not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking very clearly," said Miss Grybas, sniffing back tears. "If you and Elena are gone, I will be nearly alone. If I sign, they will allow me to teach the children in the camp. Even if my Russian is poor, I can still teach. And if I'm alone, I'll need to have access to the village. They'll grant access only if I sign. That way, I can continue writing letters for all of us. It must be done."

"Let's not make any decisions yet," said Mother, patting Miss Grybas's hands.

"Maybe it's all a mistake," said Mrs. Rimas.

Mother looked down and closed her eyes.

61.

ANDRIUS CAME TO OUR shack late that night and spoke to Mother outside.

"Andrius would like to speak with you," said Mother. Ulyushka said something to her in Russian. Mother nodded.

I walked outside. Andrius stood with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi." He chipped at the dirt with his shoe.

"Hi."

I stared down the row of shacks. A breeze lifted the ends of my hair. "It's getting warm," I finally said.

"Yeah," said Andrius, looking up at the sky. "Let's walk."

The snow had melted and the mud had firmed. Neither one of us spoke until we passed the bald man's shack.

"Do you know where they're taking us?" I asked.

"I think they're transferring you to another camp. It seems that some of the NKVD are going, too. They're packing up."

"I can't stop thinking of my father and what it said in the file."

"Lina, I figured out what the word in the file means," said Andrius.

I stopped, looking to him for the answer.

He reached out and gently moved my hair away from my eyes. "It means 'accessory,'" said Andrius.

"Accessory?"

"It probably means that he tried to help people who were in danger," said Andrius.

"Well, of course he'd do that. But you don't think he actually committed some kind of crime, do you?"

"Of course not! We're not criminals," he said. "Well, maybe you are-stealing logs, pens, and files." He looked over at me, suppressing a grin.

"Oh, you should talk-tomatoes, chocolate, vodka."

"Yeah, and who knows what else," said Andrius.

He took my hand and kissed it.