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

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“Enough, Penina, stop it.” Simi sounded irritated, and it took an effort on Penina’s part not to be insulted. She reminded herself that Simi was also after birth right now, and there was no reason to take her words too much to heart.

“Fine,” Penina said quietly. “When you get released from the hospital, go to the Eim V’Yeled. The loss is yours.”

Simi sighed. “Let’s talk about something else now, okay? How does your baby sleep at night?”

“Every night is different. Last night she cried a lot, and Hinda came and took her for a while.”

“Oh,” Simi said. “And other times?”

“She helps me when she can, and when she can’t, I try to manage on my own.”

“Oh,” Simi said again. She sounded tired. “When you come back, Penina, I’ll try to help you as much as I can…”

“Which won’t be too much,” Penina muttered darkly. “Simi, when you had Yehudis, what did you do?”

“I came to Abba and Ima’s house, of course.”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 27 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Penina pulled up a chair and sat down at the table near Hinda. “How do you manage?” she asked conversationally, revealing that she had heard part of what Hinda had been saying on the phone, even before coming into the kitchen. “Who works with papers today?”

“Me.” Hinda smiled and put the telephone aside. “And there are a few others like me. Afterward, I send the papers to someone else, and she builds the plan using a computer program.”

“Why does she do this for you?”

“That’s her job. Usually, the person who would do this step is a beginner interior designer, so it’s worth it for her to do just this part of the work. The woman I work with happens to have been in the business for years, but—” She paused. “We enjoy working together,” she concluded.

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 26 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

The conversation with Rabbi Eisenthal was friendly. The rabbi didn’t probe; perhaps he didn’t know anything about Martin’s current state of affairs. It was nice to hear that as his current custodian, he had deposited the money in Martin’s account.

The second phone call was to Dan, at one in the morning, as Martin strolled along the sidewalk near Perl’s house. Dan answered sounding rather sleepy, but grew much more alert when he heard Martin’s voice. “Hey!” he said, displaying commendable caution when he didn’t state the caller’s name. “I’m not sure that I’m right and you are who I think you are, but if it’s you, how are you? Where are you hanging out?”

“And if it’s not me?” Martin laughed. “In any case, whether you mean me or not, I hang out here and there, there and here.” It was so good to hear his own voice again, and to just be himself! “How are you? What’s new in your pretty settlement?”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 25 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Hinda took a few steps back, as she parted from the Kosel, and then turned right. A group of girls was walking ahead of her. One of the girls was holding a bottle of spring water. She didn’t have a pocketbook. Hinda looked at the light blue top and wondered how loudly she should call out, “Mali!” In the end she decided not to say anything at all, and to just continue walking.

Someone said something, and Mali laughed. Another girl asked a question, and Mali answered. She had a pleasant voice, and despite the tingle of irritation that rose inside Hinda when she heard that oh-so-familiar voice, she was also filled with warm, maternal emotions that she could not clearly define.

She looked at her own pocketbook and her black shoes, with the zippers on them. Mali wouldn’t like them. She wouldn’t want to meet her like this, with her friends. So Hinda just continued walking.

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 24 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

On Sunday morning, Dov and Hinda set out for Yerushalayim, as planned. Penina waved goodbye from the doorway of the house and wished them good luck. Hinda, who had wondered earlier if Penina would be nervous to stay alone in a strange house, was happy to see the confidence with which the younger woman closed the door behind them and then locked it.

Zevi, Penina’s husband, was also joining them. It would be a much shorter and more comfortable trip for him than traveling by bus, he’d said, and he was grateful that they were willing to pass through Bnei Brak for him.

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 23 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

A few minutes after Martin sat down at the computer again, all the open programs closed down one after another, and the screen went dark. Martin’s hand paused over the keyboard. Something was very strange. It couldn’t be a sudden bug, because the programs wouldn’t close one by one if the shutdown would have been uncontrolled. This was intentional.

Like what was going on in this whole house…

Martin turned around. For the first time since he had arrived, the main timer had also taken control over the computer. It was strange that until now, it had only affected the lights, air conditioner, and curtains, but not the computer. What had changed?

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 22 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Martin placed the frozen pizza he had just removed from the freezer onto the counter and studied the two ovens. He was fortunate that Perl was a religious Jew who observed kashrus, because that was the only thing that he still retained from living with Grandma. So, it was safe to assume that the oven near the stovetop was for meat, and if so, the one to his right was dairy. Martin switched the oven on, placed the pizza on the tray that was inside, and closed the door. Ten minutes on the bake setting should be enough.

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 21 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“He’s always been very caring, my uncle.” Hinda’s voice held a sad note as Dov turned the pages of the album. The album began when the twins were five and Mali was a year old. “After I was widowed, he decided that if I would not take photos of the kids, he’d do it. I didn’t have a camera at home, so he would come every so often with his, and snap photos of whatever he thought was interesting.” She looked at the second album Dov had picked up. There, the twins were nine, and the photo on the first page was a memento of their outing to Ganei Yehoshua.

“Here, he already had a digital camera.” She smiled at the memory. “He wanted me to take a picture of him and the twins together, but I couldn’t figure out how to use the thing, so Chani took the pictures. They actually came out nice.”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 19 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

The door opened. He waited a beat, and then walked into the dark house, closing the door behind him.

The old fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling by two gold chains blinked for a second and then switched on. Light flooded the large hall in which he was standing, and Martin could see that it led into a dining room with gold-hued wallpaper. There was a slight noise above him, as if someone was walking on the second floor with soft furry or cloth slippers.

“Good morning, I’m not a thief, don’t panic!” Martin shouted. Then he fell silent, waiting for a response.

There was no response. Martin turned his head in all directions, and walked carefully toward the doorway of the dining room. He froze for a minute when he saw a figure walking to his right, but then realized that it was a huge mirror, and it was just his own reflection.

Where was the old man?

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 18 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

He had no idea how it happened, but Martin soon found himself on the bus. It didn’t seem like any of the handful of passengers had helped him board; he must have dragged himself on, somehow. He swiped his bus card and slumped down onto the front seat, leaning his head on the clear plastic partition that separated him from the driver.

The bus sped through the empty streets, and the monotony of the ride made his brain even fuzzier. But he couldn’t let the fog overtake him. Every few seconds, he opened his eyes and glanced outside. He wondered if this route was purposely designed to take the windiest roads, with the sharpest turns. To Martin, it was all unfamiliar territory. But the sixth time he opened his eyes, he began to recognize the scenery. Now he could not allow himself to slump forward. He sat up straight, despite the hammering in his head, and pressed his face to the window. When the bus passed a certain house, his eyes grew as big as tennis balls.