I Have Lived a Thousand Years

At dawn, Bitton-Jackson says morning prayers with her mother before joining the crowd at the gate. She remembers a similar picture of “The Wandering Jews” in a history book (59). She has become a figure in a medieval scene, along with her mother and brother. On the two-hour cart trip from Nagymagyar to Dunaszerdahely, a young Hungarian guard, Pista Szivós, sits next to Bitton-Jackson and asks her about herself. He asks her what she is thinking and if she is afraid. She says she is very afraid. She sees sadness in his eyes. He tells her she reminds him of his sister, though his sister’s eyes are brown, unlike Bitton-Jackson’s, which he calls blue. She thinks of a Hungarian folk dance that “made blue eyes the standard of beauty” and does not correct him that her eyes are blue-green (60). During the trip, Pista tells her about himself, and she confides in him about her poems. She asks if he will keep them safe in case she makes it back. He assures her that he will and that she will return.

The Hungarian soldiers deliver the Jews to Nazi guards. Bubi is horrified they are being “handed over to the Germans,” but his mother says they are “in God’s hands” (62).