Read Online When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg - Free Book Online Page A

felt vanished entirely from the moment she saw him until the moment they parted.
    By Passover Vivi and Martin had been together for half a year. He had told her eight times that he loved her; she had refrained more times than that from telling him that she loved him in return. Her friends at the base knew Martin, his friends at Ein Gedi knew her. Martin was intrigued by Jewish tradition and Vivi was desperate to invite him to her house for the Seder meal, but she knew the obstacles were overwhelming. Instead she volunteered to spend the holiday on the base and planned to sneak Martin in for the Seder; there would be only a slim crew and they all knew him, so she was sure nobody would mind. Her mother was devastated that she would not be joining them, had offered to call her commanding officer to argue for her release. In the end Leah acquiesced and sent Vivi a package of Passover supplies.
    On the morning after the holiday, as the soldiers returned to the base, Vivi was summoned to the office of the commander, an affable captain named Hezi.
    â€œClose the door behind you,” he said without looking up as she stepped into his office. He was sitting at the head of his T-shaped table under a photograph of Israel’s current president, Chaim Herzog.
    â€œI understand that you have a boyfriend, a gentile kibbutz volunteer from Germany, and that he spent the Seder night with you here on the base.”
    Vivi was too shocked to respond, did not even nod or indicate in any fashion that she had heard what Hezi was saying.
    â€œThat’s grounds for court-martial, you could have breached the security of this entire base, or worse. You’ve been a good soldier and excellent at your job so I’ll spare you a dishonorable discharge. Still, you leave me no choice but to use my authority as base commander and sentence you immediately to twenty-one days in prison, the bare minimum for such an infraction. Incidentally, the guard on duty that night will also be going to jail, for letting you talk him into allowing your friend onto the base.”
    Vivi burst out crying, but Hezi was unsympathetic. He let her cry herself out, nonchalantly completing some paperwork as she sobbed. When she had finished crying she realized she would be forced to tell her parents where she was and why she would not be coming home. The thought frightened her beyond measure. Terrified, she appealed to Hezi.
    â€œI’m sorry this will get you into trouble at home, but you should be glad I’m not going to make this any worse than it is. I can’t believe a girl as smart as you could do something so incredibly stupid.” He leaned back in his chair. “Anyway, maybe you’ll be surprised, maybe they’ll be more understanding than you think.”
    With that, Vivi began to cry again, harder than last time. Hezi called to her through her tears. “Vivi.” He tried again, louder and with less patience. “Vivi, pull yourself together and get yourself organized. I’ve contacted military police and they’ll be here soon to pick you up. Get yourself ready.”
    On her way out of the office he called to her from his desk. “I just want you to know,” he said evenly, “that when you come back it’ll be fine between us. No hard feelings either way, I hope.”
    Vivi fled the office in tears.
    Late that evening, the events of her long and traumatic day just barely behind her, Vivi sat to write a letter from the large cell she shared with five other female soldiers. The others were asleep, so Vivi wrote in a corner, where orange light from the hall shone weakly in a small square.
    Dear Mother and Father,
    I am writing to you from Prison 400, the prison for women soldiers at Zrifin. I was sentenced to three weeks and brought here this morning. How ironic that this should happen on the second day of Passover, our celebration of freedom.
    I am here because I invited a friend, a Christian kibbutz