Shalom

I clutch Mother’s skeletal frame, shivering in the harsh wind and frigid snow. I fearfully eye the ominous metal door before me, awaiting my fate.

“Nächste - Move!” the guard yells at me all too soon, his red and black Swastika mocking me.

Mother hugs me, her hollowed eyes moist and her dirty sunken cheeks streaked with tears. “I’ll see you on the other side,” she whispers.

With shallow breaths, I enter the dim chamber, the door closing with a dooming thud. I take one last breath before the gas hisses.

“Šālōm, My Child,” a Voice whispers through the dark.