Rosanna ran down the cobblestoned streets toward the church that stood in the center of her village. As she ran, she passed children playing soccer in the sunlight, women chatting at the well, and old men playing a game of boccie in the field.

I miss Lilli so much! Rosanna thought as she ran. I wonder where she is.

Lilli had been her friend since she was 5 years old, and had lived in the house next to Rosanna. They played with dolls and loved playing hide-and-seek among the trees that lined her small house. There had been much laughter back then.

But then Lilli, her mama, papa, and three older brothers had been made to wear a yellow star on their clothes. Her mother sewed clothes for a living, and as she sewed the stars on her family’s clothes, her tears dropped between the stitches.

“I don’t understand,” Rosanna said, watching Lilli’s mother at her work. “Why do you have to do this?”

A sad look crossed Lilli’s face. “Because we are different. We are Jews, and they want us to wear our differences on our sleeves, so no one will have anything to do with us.”

“You always have me,” Rosanna nearly shouted, drawing her friend close to her. “You are my family.”

Then one day Lilli and all the Rosensteins disappeared. Upset and resentful, Rosanna thought, I did not leave you, but you have left me.

But there were rumors.

“The Nazis have taken them away,” one woman said.

“They ran off,” another woman told Rosanna. “You can find them in America.”

Rosanna hoped this was the case. That meant her friend and her family would be safe. After all, things were getting worse here in her country—and more dangerous.

Now her brother had spotted enemy soldiers marching toward the village.

I need to find Mama! Rosanna thought. She will know what to do. She will pray.

Finally, winded and her heart racing, Rosanna reached the massive wooden church doors and stood on her toes to grasp the metal knockers. They were formed into the shapes of wolves with open mouths and bared teeth. Rosanna knew that they represented the name of her village, Canta Lupa, which meant Song of the Wolves.

When Rosanna was younger, she asked her father about the name of their village and how it had come to be so named.

“At night do you hear the baying of the wolves in the distance, sweet one?” he asked his young daughter. Mr. Petrozzi reached down and placed Rosanna on his knee, smoothing her hair with one hand and wrapping the other around her waist.

“Yes, Papa, and sometimes I am afraid,” Rosanna replied with a shiver.

Thinking Rosanna was chilled, he pulled her woolen wrap up around her shoulders. “There is no need to be afraid, little one. Let me tell you the story of our village.”

Chapter 2

Long ago, two men traveled a great distance,” Father began. “Trekking across the mountains, when they finally set foot upon our rich soil, they decided that this would be a good place to call their home. They worked hard, tilling the soil, planting crops, and building homes. Eventually more people arrived, and the village grew larger. Still, our village had no name.

“At night in the distance, the people would hear the wolves baying at the moon. These people were afraid in their beds as they tried to sleep.”

“Were the wolves going to hurt them?” Rosanna turned on her father’s knee and looked intensely into his eyes. She was afraid of his answer.

“Wait, sweet one, and listen to the story,” her father replied. He tightened his arm around her waist so she would be more comfortable on his knee.

Father continued with his story.

“One night, a small boy wandered from his home in the darkness of the night and the men of the village lit torches to find him. His mother cried, certain that her child was dead, killed by the wolves. The boy’s father vowed not to return home until his son was found. As the night passed, the group of concerned villagers gathered and searched the nearby woods, calling out the boy’s name. The massive trees covered them. Suddenly they came upon a clearing in the dense forest, but it was dark and their torches did not adequately light the way. They continued to cry out, ‘Sebastian! Sebastian!’ Then one of the men cried out, ‘Look!’ He motioned with his hand and pointed his club toward a shadowed figure in the brush.

“Alarmed, Sebastian’s father prayed. ‘Please God, let Sebastian be safe, let him be here, let there be light to see!’ The group of men mumbled to each other and in the quiet of that thick forest heard a deep growling sound. They realized that ahead of them stood several large wolves, their backs arching. The men reached for their knives, ready to do battle for their lives. Then a cloud passed and released the moon above, shedding moonlight upon the clearing ahead. Four wolves surrounded a small still child as he lay curled upon a bed of rustling leaves. The wolves growled, yet when the father cried out, ‘Sebastian!’ and rushed forward, the wolves stopped growling. They stepped back from the small boy and allowed the father to scoop up his son and carry him safely home. Never again would the sound of wolves frighten the villagers,” Father explained. “They slept better in their beds, knowing that the wolves seemed to protect them at night. Our village found its name that night, Canta Lupa, or ‘Song of the Wolves.’ ”

Somehow, Rosanna felt comforted by the story.

“Sleep peacefully, sweet one,” her father said as he leaned over her and pushed her hair from her face.

And Rosanna fell sleep.

But back in the present, trouble of a new kind lay on the horizon.

It had been two years since Father had joined his fellow countrymen and marched off to protect their loved ones in the war. Rosanna missed him very much. At night she listened to the quiet outside, barely breathing as she anxiously waited for the sound of her father’s footsteps.

Sometimes Rosanna would awaken in the middle of the night, sneak from her small wooden bed, and watch her mother in the kitchen. Mother’s black Bible sat open on the table, and by candlelight Rosanna could hear her mother as she read and prayed for her family. The woman’s black hair was pulled tightly in a bun, her dress rumpled from a full day of work caring for their home and garden.

“Please, God, bring Mical home soon,” she prayed. “Keep him safe on the battlefield. Spare his life and keep him from injury. Keep our son Paulo on the straight path and help him to grow into a godly man. You know sometimes he makes unwise choices and gives in to temptation. Watch over my daughters and give them a sweet spirit,” Mother whispered in the dark.

Once, Rosanna could not stand hearing her mother’s anguish anymore and rushed from her bed to her mother’s side at the table.

“Mama, I know that God loves Papa. Soon we will see him walking down our pathway to our cottage,” she said. Mama did not reply. The love her mother showed for her family made Rosanna cry. She took her mother’s hand and said, “I wish I could make it so.”

She wished many things could be different.

Chapter 3

Time passed, and there was no sight of Papa. She knew when he came home he would be loud and happy, calling out to each of his family and scooping up her mother in a tight hug.

But with the enemy now advancing on their village, it was time to evacuate.

“Your father and I discussed this before he left,” Mama explained to Rosanna. “We have a plan.”

Rosanna looked to this tiny woman, her mother, and noticed that she displayed no nervousness.

Inside their small stone cottage Arianna, Rosanna’s blond younger sister, played with her dolls on the rug. Her older brother Paulo sat at the kitchen table drinking a glass of milk. He was dirty with grass stains on his pants’ knees.  A long deep and dirty cut ran from his elbow to his wrist, although it was not bleeding. He’d been spying on the enemy’s movements.

Catching Rosanna’s questioning glance at his arm, Paulo said, “I had to crawl down the hillside. I slipped once and landed on a rock. I don’t want the enemy to see me, you know!” He smiled into his glass.

Rosanna watched as Mama reached for her Bible, still sitting on the kitchen table from her morning prayers, its black leather cover now worn with use. Her mother opened it and began to read. She listened as her mother quietly read God’s promises of protection. Next she beckoned her children to pray with her for God’s wisdom. Paulo awkwardly joined in. The family was comforted by their belief that God loved them and that with God’s help they would be all right.

Rosanna hugged her mother.

Now Mama gave instructions. “Quickly, we must pack. Take only what is necessary and what you can carry.”

“Where are we going, Mama?” Rosanna asked.

“We will go to the caves,” her mother replied, “as others have gone before us.”

It was well known that generations of people, when faced with danger, had hidden there. The climb was not too difficult, and the caves were dry and warm, hidden within the dense trees.

Outside their open window, Rosanna watched as their neighbors silently hurried by, their belongings strapped to their backs, with a few animals, goats and pigs, leading the way. Fortunate neighbors who owned horses and donkeys had loaded bundles and large packs onto their animals’ backs. Rosanna’s family were not so fortunate.Unable to climb farther at a certain spot, the animals would have to be freed once they reached the mountains.

Rosanna’s mother began to stuff a satchel with foodstuffs, already set aside to be packed, and placed her Bible on top.

“Bring only what is necessary,” she reminded the children.

The little family closed the door of their small cottage behind them, but did not lock it. They had no idea if they would return or if there would be a door to unlock. They had everything of importance with them.

“To the mountains!” a man cried out. And with that, the Petrozzi family were off as well.

Chapter 4

Remember, children, God is with us,” Rosanna’s mother told her children. “Arianna, stop scraping your shoes,” Mama added, speaking to her youngest daughter.

Arianna was small, and now she was tired. “I don’t want to climb the mountain, Mama. I want to go home!”

Mama sighed. “We’ll be at the caves soon,” she said.

“Arianna, you can ride on my back for now,” Paulo offered.

Rosanna gave her brother a questioning look.

“It’s all right; she doesn’t weigh much,” Paulo whispered.

Arianna grinned and climbed onto her brother’s back.

It was a long walk out of the village, through the forest, and up the mountain. Although it wasn’t steep, everyone had to watch where they placed their feet on the stones. Rosanna carried her books and clothes in a satchel on her back and clutched a picture of her father in one hand. She tightly grasped her sister Arianna’s hand with the other.

“I want to go home!” Arianna kept repeating.

Mama said nothing. She was carrying a large satchel on her back also. Rosanna could hear her mother’s labored breathing.

Arianna clutched her raggedy doll to her chest and whimpered at the length of the walk. With long strides Rosanna’s older brother Paulo tried to lead the way. He carried bundles of food. Even with Arianna no longer on his back, the bundles were very heavy, and every so often when he thought no one could hear him, he let out a small groan.

Finally the group reached the ancient caves.

“They’re not much,” Rosanna commented. She missed the look of her home in her village. The caves were dark, and they would need their lanterns.

Rosanna lifted her lantern and inspected the inside of the caves. There were drawings of animals and warriors, and even some colorful prints, on the caves’ walls. Each was a permanent statement of the ancient people who had long ago inhabited the caves. During World War I the village people had fled to live there, and had even stocked weapons inside the caves’ dark recesses. Rosanna knew they would be safe here. But how long would they need to stay before it was safe to go home?

Mama chose a large deep cave and settled her family inside it. That night Rosanna tried to get comfortable as she leaned her back against the hard rock. Arianna had fallen asleep on Rosanna, her arms strewn across her big sister. The little girl’s legs were bare and scratched from the harsh climb up the mountain. Her shoes were gone, kicked off somewhere in the back of the cave. Arianna had played there with her dolls. Rosanna could feel her sister’s chest rising and falling in rhythmic sleep and felt her warm breath upon her face. Her hair stuck to her face in sweaty clumps. It was humid in the cave. Perhaps by nighttime it will become cooler, Rosanna thought. Rosanna gave her sister a gentle hug. Paulo lay sprawled on the hard dirt floor of the cave, his jacket rolled up into a pillow. He snored loudly. Rosanna looked toward the mouth of the cave and watched her mother standing in the moonlight. The woman’s hands were outstretched toward heaven. She was praying.

Rosanna heard every word of her mother’s prayer.

“Lord, deliver us from this terrible situation. Protect my family. Give me wisdom. Please don’t allow the soldiers to destroy our home and village!” she cried out to God.

Then Rosanna heard a puzzling prayer.

“No matter what happens, please, Lord, help me to forgive them. Help me to see them through Your eyes,” Mama added in a voice choked with tears.

Forgive them! Rosanna could not imagine doing so. We have been forced from our home, and Papa is somewhere out there trying to defend our village and country! Then a forbidden thought crossed her mind. Papa might even be dead or wounded and in enemy hands. Forgive them? Rosanna thought. Impossible! Her heart would never be big enough to forgive her enemies.

Such thoughts filling her mind, Rosanna eventually fell asleep.

Chapter 5

Rosanna’s mother stood in the opening of the cave and prayed in the early morning darkness. She prayed for their safety, but more so for the ability to forgive their enemies.

For the next several days, they ate their small bits of food, gathered firewood for warmth against the chill of the night, and waited. From their perch just outside their cave they could see that the soldiers were in their village. Smoke rose from the village, and Rosanna and her family shuddered at what it could mean.

Each day Paulo, his friend Rocco, and Rosanna crawled down the mountain until they found a spot that allowed them to safely watch the activities in their village.

Rosanna felt anger rise within her as she watched them set fire to many of their neighbors’ homes, stealing remaining livestock and ransacking the small cottages.

She could hear her goat, Gertie, loudly bleating in protest. Rosanna started to cry thinking of Gertie, then stopped. I have no idea what is happening, she realized. Gertie may be just fine. Still, she missed her animal friend and the routine of caring for her.

Rosanna and her brother and his friend repositioned themselves on the mountain to get a better look at the soldiers’ activity. As they moved below her, Rosanna tried to climb back up the mountain so they wouldn’t spot her. Suddenly her foot kicked a rock that tumbled below, striking a soldier on the top of his head! The soldier cried out, looked up and saw Rosanna. Drawing his weapon, he began to climb the limbs of a tree in pursuit of her. He grew closer and she couldn’t breathe. Rosanna called to her brother and began to throw more rocks at the soldier, who slipped and fell down the side of the mountain. Rosanna scrambled to safety.

“I hate them,” she whispered to her brother Paulo, then immediately felt convicted for the thought. She recalled her mother’s prayer: “Help me to forgive them.”

“We need to get closer,” Paulo told the group. He wiggled his body along the mountain ridge.

Paulo began moving downward on the mountain. Right below them stood a group of soldiers, all on horseback. Paulo motioned for them to stop. He put his finger to his mouth and looked into the eyes of Rocco and Rosanna. Now Rosanna was so close to the soldiers that she could see the gold on their uniforms, hear their rough language, and even smell their horses.

After watching them for a few moments, Paulo motioned for the group to climb back up to the caves. Rosanna found it hard to place her feet in the right places. Her shoes, worn and slippery, slid on the rocks. Suddenly she felt the rocks beneath her feet fall away. She stuck out her hands in order not to tumble below. Loosened dirt and rocks began to fall down the side of the mountain.

With a sickening realization, the group watched, terrified, as a large stone hit one soldier on his shoulder. His horse became startled and reared up on its hind legs.

All four soldiers looked up.

Rosanna peered down into the angry blue eyes of the man who had been hit with the rock. He rubbed his head with his other hand that was not holding the reins of his horse. He angrily shouted something to his comrades and pointed up the mountain.

They reached for their guns.

Chapter 6

Rosanna’s mother stood in the opening of the cave and prayed in the early morning darkness. She prayed for their safety, but more so for the ability to forgive their enemies.

For the next several days, they ate their small bits of food, gathered firewood for warmth against the chill of the night, and waited. From their perch just outside their cave they could see that the soldiers were in their village. Smoke rose from the village, and Rosanna and her family shuddered at what it could mean.

Each day Paulo, his friend Rocco, and Rosanna crawled down the mountain until they found a spot that allowed them to safely watch the activities in their village.

Rosanna felt anger rise within her as she watched them set fire to many of their neighbors’ homes, stealing remaining livestock and ransacking the small cottages.

She could hear her goat, Gertie, loudly bleating in protest. Rosanna started to cry thinking of Gertie, then stopped. I have no idea what is happening, she realized. Gertie may be just fine. Still, she missed her animal friend and the routine of caring for her.

Rosanna and her brother and his friend repositioned themselves on the mountain to get a better look at the soldiers’ activity. As they moved below her, Rosanna tried to climb back up the mountain so they wouldn’t spot her. Suddenly her foot kicked a rock that tumbled below, striking a soldier on the top of his head! The soldier cried out, looked up and saw Rosanna. Drawing his weapon, he began to climb the limbs of a tree in pursuit of her. He grew closer and she couldn’t breathe. Rosanna called to her brother and began to throw more rocks at the soldier, who slipped and fell down the side of the mountain. Rosanna scrambled to safety.

“I hate them,” she whispered to her brother Paulo, then immediately felt convicted for the thought. She recalled her mother’s prayer: “Help me to forgive them.”

“We need to get closer,” Paulo told the group. He wiggled his body along the mountain ridge.

Paulo began moving downward on the mountain. Right below them stood a group of soldiers, all on horseback. Paulo motioned for them to stop. He put his finger to his mouth and looked into the eyes of Rocco and Rosanna. Now Rosanna was so close to the soldiers that she could see the gold on their uniforms, hear their rough language, and even smell their horses.

After watching them for a few moments, Paulo motioned for the group to climb back up to the caves. Rosanna found it hard to place her feet in the right places. Her shoes, worn and slippery, slid on the rocks. Suddenly she felt the rocks beneath her feet fall away. She stuck out her hands in order not to tumble below. Loosened dirt and rocks began to fall down the side of the mountain.

With a sickening realization, the group watched, terrified, as a large stone hit one soldier on his shoulder. His horse became startled and reared up on its hind legs.

All four soldiers looked up.

Rosanna peered down into the angry blue eyes of the man who had been hit with the rock. He rubbed his head with his other hand that was not holding the reins of his horse. He angrily shouted something to his comrades and pointed up the mountain.

They reached for their guns.

(Read part 6 in next week’s Guide!)

Bullets whizzed past them as Paulo, Rosanna, and Rocco scrambled to get out of range. They grasped tree limbs and tried to dodge the incoming hail of gunfire.

The men jumped off their horses and began to climb the mountain after them.

“Hurry!” Paulo shouted to his sister and friend.

Once again, Rosanna searched frantically for a foothold among the rocks. She looked behind her and watched, horrified, as one soldier seemed to be catching up with her. He was the one who had been hit with the large rock. The soldier grinned, eager to catch the desperate girl.

Rosanna grabbed at a thick limb and pulled her weight up. Suddenly, her foot slipped. The girl tumbled several feet below her brother and Rocco, landing on a small ledge. She glanced below and watched as the soldier grew closer.

“Aha!” the man shouted at her. He was strong and relentless in his effort to catch her.

“Help, Paulo!” she cried to her brother.

The soldier peered up at her through the tree limbs. He smiled. His front tooth was gold. Rosanna could not breathe.

Now she found herself looking down into the barrel of a gun.

The soldier tipped his head back and smiled at Rosanna. Rosanna could see his teeth were yellow, and when his hat fell off his head and fell to the earth below, she saw that he had a small wound at the top of his head.

The soldier was angry. He shouted to his comrades in German and rubbed his bruised head. He began to further climb toward Rosanna. His two fellow soldiers were not so eager to bother much with the climb.

The red-faced man shouted something in German at Rosanna. In a panic, she tried to get up and continue climbing the mountain but felt a sharp pain in her ankle. She began rubbing it. The soldier’s grin grew wider.

Then he reached for her leg between the branches of the tree she sat nestled in. Rosanna kicked at him wildly in the face and struck his nose. It began to bleed.

“Ach!” the soldier cried, covering his nose with his free hand. He reached out wildly trying to capture her legs and pull her down.

“Paulo, help me, help me!” Rosanna called out.

Just then a rock came whizzing past her arm and hit the soldier in the temple, sending him crashing through the trees to the ground below. He landed with a thud on his back.

“Do you think he’ll die, Paulo?” she asked her brother when he finally made his way down to her.

“No, he’s too tough to die,” Paulo replied.

They scrambled back up to their hiding place. Never had a cave looked so inviting.

Carla Petrozzi prayed for their home every night, with her daughter Rosanna by her side. Rosanna wasn’t sure that God was hearing their prayers and became impatient. They had been there for many days. The cave was not comfortable and each of them wondered if their home and village had withstood the intruders.

Days passed. Finally, they could wait no more to return to their home.

“We have no more food,” Mama told her family. “We have no choice. We will have to return home.”

There had been no sight of the soldiers now for several days. Rosanna was relieved that the soldier that was so angry didn’t seem to be anywhere nearby.

Slowly they gathered their things, unable to voice their fear at what they might find in their small village.

“Do you think our house is still there?” Rosanna asked her brother.

“If they’ve ruined our home they will have to answer to me,” Paulo told his sister, anger crossing his dark eyes as he clenched his fists.

Rosanna knew how he felt. She felt angry also. So much had happened. She rarely cried, but now, exhausted and frustrated, tears flooded her eyes.

Chapter 7

The family climbed down the mountain and carefully approached their village of Canta Lupa. They watched for any sign of enemy soldiers and horses, but saw neither. It was good to feel the cobblestones under their feet as they walked carefully down the silent street toward their cottage.

Along the way they passed burned homes, broken signs, and dead livestock in the street. The church, a source of pride in their community, was quiet. There were holes in its stained-glass windows.

Arianna was quiet this time. She seemed to have grown older in just a few days. She did not complain. The girl held Rosanna’s hand and gazed wide-eyed at the burned and damaged buildings they passed. Rosanna watched Paulo clench his fists. She was angry too, but remembered something that had happened a few days before Papa left.

Rosanna had gotten into a fight with a girl in the village. It was silly now that Rosanna thought about it. She couldn’t even remember what it had been about. But the girls had scuffled in the courtyard in front of all the neighbors. Mothers had clucked about Rosanna’s behavior. They had watched to see how her parents would handle her.

That night Papa had said to her, “Anger should never control you. It shows weakness, not strength.”

Now Rosanna wondered if she could keep her anger under control.

At last they spotted their cottage.

“It is whole. That is a blessing,” Mama murmured.

When they reached it, Mama said, “I will go in first.”

“Mama, we want to go in with you,” Rosanna responded.

“All right,” Mama agreed.

Inside, sunlight streamed through the window of their kitchen and fell upon the table. A few chairs were overturned, but everything else seemed fine.

“God has answered my prayers!” Mrs. Petrozzi announced. She set the chairs right and looked around for food. On the floor there were dirty footprints.

“There is nothing left to eat,” Mama stated.

“I will check the garden, Mama,” Paulo volunteered and headed out the back door.

“Mama, can we live here now again?” Arianna asked.

Before she could answer, there was the sound of two voices coming from near the back door. One voice belonged to Paulo, but no one recognized the second voice.

Just then there was a loud shout.

Paulo walked back through the door. He held his hands up in the air. Behind him was an enemy soldier. He held a gun to Paulo’s back.

The soldier shouted something in German to the family, and with his free hand motioned them to sit down on the floor.

The soldier’s brow dripped beads of moisture, falling from his forehead onto the front of his uniform. His right hand, which held the gun, was shaking.

Suddenly Rosanna noticed blood on his uniform near his collar. Rosanna, sprawled on their kitchen floor, watched as the blood began to spread and grow larger on his jacket.

Satisfied that he held them captive, the soldier slowly pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down with a thump. A small groan of pain escaped him.

Rosanna clutched Arianna to her chest with one hand and the bag containing their precious items in the other. Her mind traveled to weapons first. Did she have a knife in the bag? But then another thought came to her. I have Mama’s Bible. Perhaps I can read something comforting to the soldier.

As if reading her mind, Rosanna’s mother nodded yes to her daughter.

Feeling an urge from within, Rosanna reached into the bag slowly and tried to find the Bible by touch.

“Stop!” the soldier shouted at her in German. He repositioned his gun, aiming it at Rosanna’s chest.

Paulo sat up and stared into his sister’s eyes. “No, Rosanna,” he told her in Italian.

Beside her, Rosanna’s mother whispered prayers to God.

The German slumped slightly in his seat. Now the patch of red had traveled and spread across the left side of his uniform. His eyes were dazed from pain. Then the gun shifted from its target and pointed downward.

Chapter 8

The soldier did not move. Quietly, slowly, Rosanna rose from the floor and crept toward her enemy. By now he just watched her with his eyes, the gun slipping onto the floor. Rosanna knelt beside the man and placed Mama’s black Bible on his knee. She was no longer angry with him.

“God loves you, and He will forgive you,” Rosanna told the wounded man.

With one painful motion the soldier grasped the Bible and raised it to his lips and kissed its worn cover.

By now Paulo had fled to the neighbors, and many stood in their kitchen, ready to fight the lone soldier. After witnessing his kiss on the Bible, they silently turned away. One woman brought forward bandages for his wound, and another brought clean water to bathe his shoulder. Food that could be found was shared.

Forgiveness was everywhere. The wounded soldier spent many hours listening as Rosanna read to him from Mama’s black Bible.

After the villagers had nursed him back to health, they remained silent as he returned to his army. When he left, the Bible was sent with him as a gift.

Time passed, and the village once again began to hum with life. Along with the story of the wolves a new story was added. It was a story of a brave girl who trusted God so much that she had the courage to approach an enemy and forgive him.

A short time later a knock was heard at the Petrozzis’ door. On the other side stood Papa! He was thin and dirty, but his eyes flashed with happiness.

“Papa!” Rosanna cried out, rushing into his arms. Papa had finally come home!

“What happened, Papa? How did you get home?” his family asked him.

Papa took a deep breath and began his story.

“The Army captured me and put me in a cell. It was dark and cold, and at night I could hear insects running across the floor.

“One night two soldiers came to me and started shouting in their language. I didn’t understand what they said. The officer told the other soldier something and then left. The remaining soldier pulled me from my cell and walked me outside. He tied my hands behind my back. His eyes were wet. He placed a blindfold around my eyes. I knew then that he had been told to execute me.”

Papa went on. “I could hear his breathing. The soldier stood back from me, and I waited for death. But after a long time the man walked back to me, fumbled with my blindfold, and untied my hands. He then took from his bag a worn black Bible. The soldier began to point to it, and read something in his language to me. Then he led me out of a hidden door to freedom.”

“Before we parted, from inside his jacket he pulled out another dark book. He told me something in his language, then shoved the book under my arm and walked away.” Papa now looked deep into his wife’s eyes. “It was the Bible you gave me before I left.”

That night many prayers of thanksgiving ascended from a little village home in Canta Lupa. The village name may have meant “Song of the Wolves,” but that evening many hearts were filled with songs of praise.

(Series concluded.)