Summary
On October 30, 1942, the Gestapo commander in Estonia received a message that the Finnish government intended to hand over nine Jewish refugees to Germany.
A week later, on November 6, 1942, only eight Jewish refugees were handed over to the Nazis.
Where did the ninth Jew go?
Nadav, a young Israeli photographer, loses his way in the frozen wilderness of Lapland and is saved from death thanks to a survival cabin. A mysterious cipher engraved in a hidden corner of the cabin arouses his curiosity and together with Heidi, a young Finnish woman he met, they crack the cipher and reveal the secret behind it. During the investigation, the two discover the connection between a Jewish-Finnish sniper unit that exterminated Nazis in World War II, a stolen treasure of diamonds and the mysterious disappearance of the ninth Jew.
In the settlement of Yad Hamona, established near Jerusalem by a group of Finnish immigrants in memory of those eight Jewish refugees, the mystery is finally solved. The message conveyed by the ninth Jew in the cipher takes on a chilling meaning in the horrific massacre that took place in Israel on October 7, 2023, and brings together the fate of Nadav and Heidi with human evil.
It is an imaginary historical suspense novel written inspired by real events, while being based on places, people and historical facts, and takes place in Finland, Austria, Germany and Israel.
The book will be published soon. Selected chapters from it will be published in Hai Pa in the coming weeks.
Chapter 3 - The Survival Cabin
At the first moment I was sure that it was my imagination that was deceiving me, but when I took off the snow goggles and embraced my eyes, hope arose in my heart. Against the background of the green painted horizon, I noticed the silhouette of a small cabin standing on the slopes of a hill, at the edge of the forest. Hope will give me renewed strength. I leaned forward and with the rest of my strength I pushed myself towards the silhouette.
Gliding up the hill was not easy. More than once I had to stop and measure the remaining distance until I reach that cabin, I hope that my strength will hold me and that it is not just an illusion.
I don't remember how long it took, but I finally did. I was standing in front of a small wooden cabin with a sloping roof on both sides, which was covered with a thick layer of snow and inside of which was a chimney.
Three steps climbed out of the snow and led to an entrance that was blocked by a heavy wooden door. The cabin was surrounded by pristine white snow. There were no signs that anyone had recently visited the place. I sat down on the stairs, took off my skis and went upstairs.
I raised my hand, knocked on the door with my fist and called out in a weak voice:
"H E L P!"
I waited a few seconds and tilted my ears. No voice came from inside and anxiety filled my heart. Is there any chance I'll freeze to death out here after all this?
I reached for the doorknob and pushed it carefully, praying with all my heart that it wasn't locked.
It opened easily.
I peeked inside, but in the darkness that prevailed, I didn't notice anything. I tentatively moved forward, took the backpack off my back, pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. In front of me we will discover a small space whose walls are made of old, unpolished logs. The air in the place was freezing, but the fact that the wind did not blow here, greatly eased the feeling of the searing cold.
My attention was drawn to a rectangular fireplace that stood close to the wall to the right of the entrance. A chimney rose from it, straight to the ceiling above it. I approached him heavily and collapsed in front of him. I reached for the metal door and opened it. In the space that opened in front of me were laid several logs and dry twigs, inviting them to be lit. Next to them was a box of matches.
I removed my gloves and with trembling hands lit a match and threw it on the pile of twigs. A yellow flame engulfed them almost immediately. I eagerly brought my frozen hands closer to her, drawing the little warmth that emanated from her.
I don't know how long I sat like that, motionless, staring at the yellow flames that quickly took hold of the logs. After a while their color turned red and they sent heat waves into the space of the room. The trembling that gripped my body stopped. I knew I was saved and tears began to flow from my eyes. I turned my back to the hearth and in the reddish pine of the flames I examined the place.
Against the wall to my right was a simple wooden bed, on top of which was a mattress with neatly folded woolen blankets on it. Above the bed was a window blocked by a coarse, opaque wooden shutter. A small, simple wooden table and a stool next to it were close to the wall in front of me. I turned my gaze to the left, to the opening through which I entered. On his right side stood a small cupboard with a lantern on it and on his left side a shovel and a rake were leaning against the wall.
A great fatigue took over my whole being. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep. I mustered the rest of my strength, got up from my seat, closed the door, went to the bed, picked up the blanket, stretched out exhausted and covered myself with it. Before falling asleep, I managed to glance at my wristwatch. It was eight in the evening. Over four hours have passed since I got into this trouble.
The rays of light that injured through the slits of the shutter above me, made me open my eyes. For a split second I didn't understand where I was. I raised my head and looked. A few seconds passed before I remembered. The watch showed half past ten. I slept for over twelve hours straight. The realization suddenly dawned on me that the fact that I noticed, at the very last moment, this isolated cabin, saved my life.
A chill enveloped me. The wood in the fireplace was long gone, and I realized that the first thing I had to do was start a fire. I got out of bed, knelt down by the fireplace, took several logs and twigs from a box that was lying next to it, lit them and hurried back under the blanket.
The fire quickly heated up and began to repel the chill that had penetrated. I removed the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed. I just noticed that I was still wearing my snowsuit and wearing my shoes. I felt that my strength returned to me. I let out a sigh of relief, got off the bed, went to the door and opened it wide.
Cold air hit my face and my eyes were dazzled by the whiteness of the snow that shone in the light of the first rays of the morning sun. The weather was fine, clear and cold. A forest of tall, upright and dense birch trees appeared before me. Birds chirping reached my ears and the smell of nature hit my nostrils.
I went outside the hut, went down the small staircase and stepped into the snow. I circled the cabin that stood alone on the edge of the forest. My feet sank into the deep snow and led me behind her. At the foot of the hill on which the cabin stood, stretched a white surface, smooth and clean of vegetation. I guessed that in the summer its color is blue and its banks are decorated with flowering bushes. It was a small frozen lake, typical of the landscape of Finland, the land of a thousand lakes.
I scanned the landscape beyond the lake - a large forest, interspersed with snowy clearings and single trees stretched out in front of me, followed by white hills, with no sign of a settlement, road or road.
The cold began to seep through my clothes. I hurried back into the shack to warm up and plan my next steps. My phone was useless and going out into the frost without knowing where to go was an irresponsible step. I must find a better way than to go back and wander aimlessly through the forests, snowy hills and frozen lakes.
I picked up the backpack that I had dropped last night on the wooden floor, placed it on the bed and sat down next to him at a loss. I pulled out the kuksa, the Finnish wooden mug that Jonas had given us as a gift at the beginning of the journey, and went outside. I shoveled snow into it, rushed inside and brought it closer to the burning hearth. I pulled from one of the compartments in the backpack, an energy bar, one of those that regularly accompanied me on my trips.
I sat down in front of the fireplace and looked thoughtfully at the slowly melting snow inside the cox. Only now I felt how thirsty I was. As I nibbled on the energy bar and sipped the melted snow water, I scanned the interior of the cabin more thoroughly. It was a simple rectangular space. The walls, pitched roof and floor were built of boards and bare, unpainted logs. It was obvious that the building had been standing for many years, but no effort had been made to maintain, clean and equip it.
I moved my gaze along the walls, looking for something to help me figure out how to proceed from here. My eyes rested on the lantern that stood on the bookcase to the right of the entrance. Under it I noticed a folded sheet of paper.
Is this what I think it is?
I sprang from my seat and moved the lantern eagerly.
there is! This is exactly what I was hoping for - a topographical map.