• “Grandma, I need to ask you something. It’s for homework.”
    I was cooking dinner for my granddaughter who was sleeping over for the night, “Yes dear, what is it?”
    “We’re doing a project. I’m supposed to ask you where you came from, how you got here, why you came, stuff like that.”
    I closed my eyes. I could still remember the time I first came here even though it had been about eighty years. I can remember my father suffering from tuberculosis who convinced me to come to America; I can remember how scared I was at Ellis Island. I can remember every little detail: the salty, fishy air, the person at the registry desk. And so I told my granddaughter everything because I believed she had a right to know everything. It went something like this:
    “It was 1895. At first I didn’t want to come, but I had to, my father, your great-grandfather, convinced me to go. He was sick; he couldn’t support me or my siblings much longer. My mother had died; she had died giving birth to my younger sister Chaya who luckily survived. I remember it like yesterday, “‘Esther, I want you to go to America. It’s the land of hopes and dreams. I can’t support you much longer, Esther. You must go! Your mother is dead and I’m sick, soon you and your siblings will have nothing left. I want you to go by yourself. When you make enough money you’ll send it over to us so that Morris can go.’”
    “Who is Morris, Grandma?”
    “My brother. He was the second oldest child. Papa was going to send everyone over, one by one, oldest to youngest, until I and all of my siblings were in America.”
    “Oh, continue with your story please.”
    I watched my granddaughter for a little bit as she was eating her dinner and thought about how much she looked like Morris. A rush of sadness washed over me. He had gotten tuberculosis (he got it from my father) and died before I could send money over to him. That, at least, was what Chaya said. Then I resumed my story. “Alright, anyway, it took me a while to be convinced; I remember what I said afterwards, “‘But Papa, we don’t have any money! And America, it’s so…so big….so foreign. And how will we make enough money?’
    “Papa sat up in bed; it was all he was able to do. He hardly had any strength any more. Esther, he said, look over there, in the wall. There is a loose brick over there, take it out.
    “It took me a while but eventually I found the brick he had spoken of. I took it out. In there was $50. It was a lot. I couldn’t even begin to guess how long it took for Papa to save that much. He was an artist in Bucharest and therefore didn’t get paid much. He painted churches. He should have gotten paid more than he did, the paintings were so big and beautiful, but he didn’t. Before I could begin to speak he said, “‘I’ve been saving that money for a very long time. I saved 50 cents a week. I saved it for this purpose, so that we could go to America one day. And that day has come. Esther, you can go to America! You can start a new life! Go, Esther, go!’
    “I sighed, “Papa, I will go, but I don’t know how long it will take me to save enough money.’
    “Papa laughed, “‘Esther, it’s America! The land of opportunity! People say that even the streets are paved with gold! Of course you’ll save enough money, and in no time! Esther, I have faith in you!’
    “‘Alright Papa,’” I said, “‘I will go.’
    “‘Thank you Esther, thank you.’” And he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
    “The boat ride over was horrible. Everybody was seasick, including me. I spent almost all of it throwing up over the side of the boat. The whole way over I kept on having to remind myself that I was doing this for Papa and that America was going to be just as wonderful as everyone said it was and that I would make money in no time so that I could send it over to Morris. Oh, I missed Romania. I missed Bucharest and my siblings: Morris, Chaya, and Clara. Still, I hoped and believed in what everybody said about America: that it was the land of opportunity. And then I saw the Statue of Liberty. I still remember that. I held my breath when I saw it; it was so big and seemed so sacred. Then we got off at the Statue of Liberty and boarded another boat that would take us to Ellis Island.
    “When I got to Ellis Island it didn’t seem so amazing. It was dark and gloomy, children cried, many people looked scared. But I told myself that it was just a little part of America and that New York City would be beautiful. I sat down where everybody else was sitting. I was nervous and afraid. I was by myself in a foreign land where people spoke in a strange tongue. I remember waiting there. I waited for a long time until finally it was my turn to be checked.
    “First I had to go up to a desk where a woman sat behind it asking me questions. She spoke in a very cold, unfriendly voice. I wish she had been friendlier. That was all I needed, a friendly a voice and a kind smile. Anyway, this is how the conversation went:
    “‘What’s your name?’”
    “‘Esther Goldman.’
    “‘How old are you?’
    “’I am 16.’
    “’Why are you here?’
    “‘For a better life. And because my father is sick. I am trying to make money so he can send my brother and sisters over.’
    “’Do you have $25 with you?’
    “’Yes, I do.’
    “’You said your father was sick?’
    “’I did say that.’
    “’You do know that if you end up having the same disease as him you will be deported and have to go back right?’
    “’I do know that but I believe I don’t have any diseases.’”
    “’Alright, go to the doctor over there.’
    “I watched her scribble something down. Then I went to the doctor. I waited for him to finish checking me. It only took six seconds but it felt like eternity. The whole time I kept on thinking of what the woman had said before, about how I would be sent back to Romania if I had the same illness my father had. I knew that I couldn’t be deported. If I was then I would have to go back to Romania and Father would be crushed. He put so much into me going to America. He wanted his children to have a good life and a good opportunity. I held my breath until finally the doctor said I could go and that I was alright. I took a deep breath and walked on.
    “After the process of checking me was finally over I went to the doors that would lead me outside. I took a deep breath, and held it. I looked up and quickly said a quick prayer in Hebrew. Then I walked outside. I was in America….