We Were the Lucky Ones

‘It’s a miracle in many ways,’ she finally said, looking out toward the tree line. ‘We were the lucky ones.’

Just because I always wear a smile
Like to dress up in the latest style
’Cause I’m glad I’m livin’
I take these troubles all with a smile

With Selim. In Italy. Find us through Polish II Corps.’ She looks up at her mother, her father, her sister, Felicia, her eyes dancing between them, filling up again with tears. ‘Signed, Genek Kurc,’ she adds, her voice cracking

Time disappears as they hold each other, laughing and crying, Sol reciting the telegram’s twelve perfect words over and over and over again

They hug in pairs, Sol and Nechuma, Mila and Felicia, Mila and Halina, Halina and Nechuma, and then huddle together as one, like a giant wheel, hands wrapped around waists and foreheads pressed up against one another’s, Felicia tucked somewhere in the middle.

Halina reads the telegram again, and once again. By the third read, Nechuma is in tears, and the small apartment is filled with the deep clap of Sol’s laughter. ‘That is the best news I’ve heard since … I can remember,’ he says, his shoulders shaking.

This is the foundation, for to be in love means to be able to share everything – your dreams, your faults, your deepest fears. Without these truths, a relationship will collapse.

Private Wojtek, the only official four-legged member of Anders’s Army, is a bear. He was discovered in Iran as an orphaned cub. Wojtek, Polish for ‘smiling warrior,’ is now the unofficial mascot for the Polish II Corps. He’s travelled with the army from Iran, through Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and finally to Italy. Along the way, he’s learnt to haul ammunition and to salute when greeted; he enjoys a good boxing match, and he nods in approval when rewarded with a bottle of beer or a cigarette, both of which he eagerly devours. Understandably so, Wojtek is easily the most popular member of the Polish II Corps.

Thank you for your letter.