Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 31 of a new online serial novel, Night Flower, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Had Elka seen the young woman walking the halls of the Russian villa, she would never have recognized her Noa. But it was Noa, striding briskly, and ignoring the fact that Stefana, the servant girl that her grandfather had assigned to her, was trying valiantly to keep up with her.

“Madam? Madam! Your milk!”

Only when she reached the stairs did Noa turn her head. “Really,” she noted icily, “I’ve long passed the age of needing a nanny. And even when I was that age, I didn’t have one.”

“So I should spill out the milk?” Stefana asked submissively.

“You can drink it yourself, if you’d like. And let them know in the kitchen that I don’t like milk,” Noa said as she continued walking.

“Once, Madam liked it very much.” Stefana shook her head in wonder.

Noa spun around. “What do you know about me?”

“The Master made sure that I know.” Stefana nodded her head. “He gave me a page out of your personal file to read.”

“My personal file! Ahem!” Noa lowered her voice. “So I understand that I really am filed away here like one of the employees. Tell me, Stefana, what other documents were there?” Keep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 30 of a new online serial novel, Night Flower, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“As is well known, the budget for each one of the yeshivah and kollel students is fifty two thousand shekel a year. Therefore the Finance Ministry has decided to stem the unlimited flow and to divert it to other purposes…”

Yoel raised his head. “Benny!” he called. “If you absolutely must hear all these lies, don’t do it next to me, okay?”

His coworker chuckled. “Really now, don’t be naïve. Even if you come from there, it doesn’t mean you have to continue covering up for them.”

“Covering up for who and for what?” Yoel asked sarcastically. “For the soy schnitzels and orzo that I ate in yeshivah when I learned there? It would actually be interesting to find out how much I cost the Finance Ministry in those years. Today I probably cost them more. One second, excuse me.” He glanced at his cell phone and went outside. “Chaiky? Is everything okay?” If she was calling him at work, something must have happened.

“Right now, yes, but I need you to come help me, Yoel!”

“What happened?” Keep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 29 of a new online serial novel, Night Flower, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Noa put her suitcases down on the floor and locked the door. “There,” she said into the small cavity of the studio apartment. “Welcome. Have you finally arrived home?” She examined herself in the huge mirror hanging at the entrance and quickly retreated. She didn’t like looking at herself from up close.

“Well, the time has come to get used to a new house,” she said aloud, and chuckled. For the first time, she had a corner that was only hers, and not just some space inside someone else’s place. She bent down to pick up her bags and walked into the inner room. It was heavily furnished, with very ornate pieces. She wondered how much the rent was here. After all, she had to remember that this tiny home was not actually hers, not only because it wasn’t registered in her name, but because she wasn’t even paying the rent.

She sat down on the only bed in the room. It stood in the center of a rug that was a blend of turquoise and other  shades of blue, and thought about how none of her sets of linen matched the colors of this room, so it was as good a time as any to buy some new linen. Maybe something turquoise would be good, to match the rug, the curtain, the picture frames, and the door of the walk-in-closet. On the other hand, beech-wood shades or silver would also match, because that was the color of the furniture in the room. Tomorrow after work, she’d go shopping.

She tiredly took her clothes out of her suitcase and went to open the door to the closet. She hung the skirts on hangers and wondered if she should buy some new clothes, if she really would be visiting her grandfather in the near future. He would hardly be pleased to see her in these clothes, even though it was he who had initiated the whole thing.

She would have gladly forgone the whole visit; she hadn’t quite enjoyed the few encounters she’d had with him in the past. But that was not an option. She knew that, and her grandfather knew that she knew it.

She passed her hand over the shelves to make sure they weren’t covered in dust. Just then, her phone rang. Keep Reading…

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 28 of a new online serial novel, Night Flower, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Noa couldn’t stand the busy hours at the library. She loved the hours when it was quiet, and she could cover books, sort, catalog, and do anything else she pleased. Even those morning hours when a few women came to exchange their books were bearable. But the noise of Sundays and Wednesdays from four till seven were a major pain for her, and recently, they had become unbearable. Already at ten to four her head began to ache.

“Young lady.” She left her desk and approached a short girl who was sitting on the floor, taking out books from the bottom shelf and stacking them next to her as she leafed through one of them. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I want to see the covers.” The girl raised a pair of innocent eyes. “Then I’ll put them all back, don’t worry.”

“Fine, but you’d better start doing that soon, because it’s already six thirty.”

“Okay,” the girl replied, her head back in the book on her lap.

“We haven’t been here in a long time,” a voice behind her said, “because Ima didn’t have the energy to bring us. Rachel, will you also take out some books? You should. There are really, really good books here for your age.”

“How do you know?”

“Because when I once wanted all kinds of books from the higher shelf, Ima told me that I’ll read them when I get older. And you’re big already, right?”

“Right. But I don’t really like to read.”

“Besides for your book about flowers. My father also knows a lot about flowers, you know. We once took a trip during vacation, before he went to Russia, and he helped us find twelve different types of flowers! Twelve!”

Noa turned around sharply. Yes, it was Chaiky’s daughter. And the older girl next to her looked like the one she had once seen in their house. Aha.

“Hello, sweetie,” she said warmly to the little girl. “Your name is Naomi, right?”

The girl raised her head to her. “Oh, you know me because you’re here at my mother’s work, right? You also once came to our house.”

“That’s right.” Noa smiled. “How is your mother doing?”

“Baruch Hashem, fine.”

“You have a new baby, right?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the older girl drop Naomi’s hand and walk over to the shelf with the encyclopedias.

“Yes.”

“Send regards to your mother, okay? Is she home?” Keep Reading…