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I had no wish for that either Lithuania was a dangerous place to live My parents had often explained that as their reason for keeping me on our little farm

Our country was occupied by Cossack soldiers from Russia, the ereed, of course, but ere a small country of farainst such a vast empire?

“We’re supposed to keep our heads down and obey their laws,” Mama said whenever lance at me “For Audra’s sake”

“All of this is for Audra’s sake” was always Papa’s answer

Those conversations continued late into the night, long after they thought I was asleep, and those were theabout un to make Mama nervous

“Has this gone too far?” she’d whisper “Have we risked too much?”

It wasn’t the first tier to answer

On this night, he finally replied, “Everything is fine, my love This work is more important now than ever”

Then his asn’t ic shows, not really My fatherthat made Mama anxious

Then she offered another question “Do you think Audra suspects so?”

If I did, then that was all I had, a suspicion of so And Papa’s assurance that I didn’t knohat they were doing began to feel like an itch I couldn’t scratch I needed answers

To get the in on their conversations, becoh to touch them and they wouldn’t realize I was there One scrap of infor in erous, and that Mama feared one day he would make a mistake and we’d all be in trouble Every discussion they had ended in the sareement to keep me out of their business

That is, until the su of the summer solstice, Papa said to ht”

I igest such a thing He was seated in his chair at the table and had been reviewing a card trick for tonight’s performance Laid out on the table was his brown leather shoulder bag, the one in which he carried most of his tricks At his side was a tall canvas sack containing extra clothes and provisions for his travels froe to the next He wore that on his back and rarely traveled with anything more

“Did you hearme a wink as he did “Audra should come—”

Ma on to other villages after the show Audra won’t kno to get back ho extra for Papa to take with hientle, but I heard the warning in her tone tonight There was no chance of

But he wasn’t giving up “We’ll stay in our own village square, and there will be festivities all around She won’t be in any danger tonight”

“How do you know that, Henri? People have disappeared froe We both knohy!”