The Last Song

was still turned away before I stood on my tiptoes and reached into a vase that stood on top of the armoire. I found the key inside.
    I unlocked the chest, took out the heavy gold chain my parents had given me for my confirmation, locked the chest, and put the key back in its hiding place. Sofia was still busy. I tugged the chain with all my might. It took several tries, but the clasp finally gave way.
    “Oh no! Look what happened when I tried to close the clasp of this necklace. It broke.”
    “What a pity. It’s such a beautiful chain. Give it to me.” She took it out of my hand. “The silversmith’s son is still downstairs. I’ll take it to him. He’ll repair it.”
    “No! Bring the boy to me. This chain is one of my favorites. I want to ask him how he plans to fix it.”
    She returned the gold chain to me and went to fetch Yonah. I pinched my cheeks and bit my lips to make them rosier. I sat down on a stool facing the door, careful to spread out my skirts.
    Yonah bowed deeply. “My lady, your servant tells me that you have a broken necklace.”
    Not with a blink did he let on that we knew each other.
    “Yes, I do.” I kept my voice haughty. I turned to Sofia. “I just remembered … I forgot my fan on a bench in the rose garden. Fetch it for me.”
    Sofia’s eyes darted to Yonah. I could see that she was reluctant to leave me alone with a young man.
    “I’ll ask one of the kitchen maids,” she said. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
    Yonah stepped closer. “How are you?”
    “Better. I wanted to thank you for listening to me the other day.” I lowered my voice. “We must speak quickly. I broke the clasp on the necklace on purpose. I want to talk to you. Meet me by the orange tree tomorrow night, after sunset.”
    I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and couldn’t meet his eyes. I hoped that he didn’t think that I was too forward.
    “I’ll be there!” he whispered.
    There were footsteps outside my door.
    “It won’t be difficult to repair the gold chain, my lady,” he said as Sofia returned.
    I threw a dark cloak over my nightdress and tiptoed down the corridor. The house was so quiet that I could hear my own breathing. My feet were bare – I didn’t want to make any sound. As I passed the open door of the kitchen, I could see Sofia’s sleeping form in front of the fireplace. She turned restlessly on the pallet she used as her bed. I held my breath as her snores rose to a deafening crescendo, but she didn’t open her eyes.
    The latches that secured the door rattled as loudly as cannons when I undid them with trembling fingers.
    I slipped into the garden. The clouds had hidden the moon, and I had to run my fingers along the wall of the house to guide me as I made my way around it. Though I had walked it countless times, in the dark it seemed strange and new.
    The fragrance of the oranges hanging from the boughs sweetened the air. A figure clad in dark clothing stepped out from behind the trunk of the tree, making me jump. A cloud danced away from the moon, revealing Yonah’s face.
    “I was afraid that you wouldn’t come,” he whispered.
    “I had to wait until everybody was asleep.”
    He was standing so close that I could feel his breath on my face.
    “Tell me about your betrothal,” he said.
    We sat down on the ground under the heavy boughs and I recounted the events of the last few days. I even told him how the memory of Luis’s lips on my cheek sent a chill down my spine. The words tumbled out of my mouth. I could not stop them any more than I could have stopped the flow of a river. Then, I found myself repeating what Mama and Papa had told me. The minute the words escaped my lips I wished that I could take them back. My parents had made it very clear that their secret was not mine to share.
    It was as if Yonah could read my mind. “Your secret is safe with me. I understand now why I felt as if I had always known you the minute my eyes fell upon your face. You are one of us.”
    I swept away a tear. I was happy that the darkness covered my distress.
    “I don’t know where I belong,” I said. “I have always believed in the Lord Jesus. Now … I don’t know what I am supposed to believe.”
    “You belong to God’s chosen people. You are oneof us,” he repeated. “It is your duty to discover this. I will help you do it.”
    I looked into his eyes. “How?”
    “Do you know anything about being Jewish?”
    I shook my head. “Nothing. You are the first