The Millennium Issue:
Past
Suzanne Ruth Thurman
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Numbers
"It all comes down to numbers," he said.
The others looked at him expectantly. Wisdom flowed from his voice and surrounded his grizzled head.
"600,000!" he shouted. "840,000! 3,000,000!"
"Ah, numbers are impressive," someone said. "But what do they mean?"
He looked past the crowd, summoning courage from an unseen source.
"600,000 slaughtered at Belzec!" he replied. "840,000 at Treblinka! 3,000,000 at Auschwitz!"
The silence was heavy as the weight of the numbers pressed down on the vastness of time.
"Old man," shouted another voice in the crowd, "that is all past now, all history. Why bring it up today?"
The man’s eyes glowed with the fire of remembrance. He pulled up his sleeve to expose his arm.
"3550769!" he cried in a ragged voice.
The number rent the air, sharp and naked, piercing the veil between past and present. Memories mixed with words and numbers, creating a living mural of sound and images. The crowd gasped, pushing and shoving for a better view.
Finally the old man’s arm fell to his side, too heavy to hold up any longer. "You must never forget," he said as he turned to leave, "that it all comes down to numbers."
~Suzanne Ruth Thurman
Suzanne Thurman, history professor and award-winning writer, explores the human condition through scholarly and fiction writing. Her book on Shaker women is forthcoming in 2001. Email her.
© 2000 by Suzanne Ruth Thurman. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 23, 2002.