The men came home from shul and the meal began. The warmth, good food and beautiful zemirot found their way into her soul, but something about Chaya didn’t sit right with her.
Chaya enjoyed her food in silence, not joining the chatter or helping to clean off the table. As a matter of fact, she seemed to be reading the whole time. However, Talya did notice that at times Chaya would reread lines a few times as she tried to concentrate on the conversation around her.
“Leah, just how can you and every one stay so skinny after this festive meal?” Talya asked.
Leah laughed. “We usually walk for a while after the meal.”
The rest of Shabbat was just as amazing. So much so, that when she got ready to leave on Motzei Shabbat, she asked Leah if she could come back again the following week.
This time the family was more at ease with Talya and when she and Leah went for a walk in the afternoon, she felt comfortable enough to ask the question that had been bothering her for a week.
“Leah, how old is Chaya?”
“She’s 13,” Leah answered.
“Has she always been so distant?”
As a matter of fact,” Leah began, “no. She was always so warm and friendly. None of us are sure what caused the change. When we try to talk to her about it, she closes up even more.”
The two girls walked back to the house in silence.
After a bit, Talya said, “You know, they say that many things can be discovered about a person by studying his or her writing. I am still a beginner, but if you would want, I could take a look at something Chaya wrote and see if I can figure out what’s wrong.”
“C’mon, you really think you’ll know the answer through her writing?” Leah asked.
Talya nodded yes.
They headed home and got ready for a peaceful Shabbos sleep after finishing their serious discussions.
When Shabbos was over, Talya broached the subject again.
“Leah, please bring me Chaya’s writing, before I have to leave.”
Leah dashed to the cloakroom, managed to find Chaya’s briefcase. She slipped out a notebook and brought it to Talya. Talya opened to the middle page, turning it in all directions, analyzing every inch from the triangle patterns all around the edge to the spiral t’s jumping off the lines.
Talya lifted it closer to her eyes as if studying a treasure map. Her eyelids half closed, drops of sweat could be seen on her forehead. Finally, she looked up at Leah, with a heavy sigh.
“Your sister is being bullied in some way. It comes right through her writing, she is in terrible pain, and is ashamed and afraid to share it with anyone. She feels as though no one will understand her. Is she being bullied by someone in school?”
Leah listened, but wasn’t sure whether or not to take what Talya was saying seriously. However, she decided to let Talya share her thoughts with her mother.
What no one realized was that Chaya was outside the kitchen door and heard everything Talya said to Mrs. Wax, until, that is, they heard her uncontrollable weeping, her running up the stairs and slamming her door closed.
Before she went upstairs to be with her daughter, Mrs. Wax thanked Talya for all her help and placed a leather-bound Tehillim in her hands.
“Oh, wow,” said Talya, moved beyond words. “This has been an amazing experience for me. I am going to meet with our community rav when I get home and see what I can do to continue learning about Yiddishkeit.”
