Milkweed

Misha sees Uri dressed in nice clothes in the lobby of the Jackboot hotel. He calls after him and follows, only for Uri to lock them both in a dark room and whisper into Misha’s ear. Uri tells Misha that he works in the laundry, that his name is not Uri there, and warns Misha never to come back to the hotel. That same night, Misha is unable to find Janina. Janina usually follows Misha, though she pretends she does not, and Misha is unsettled by her sudden absence.

Misha finishes his smuggling and allows himself to wait at the wall for a moment, worried that Janina or his friends may have been caught by the many patrols along the wall. Misha finds Janina staring at a body hanging from a streetlight. Both Janina and Misha recognize the body as Olek.

Enos tells Misha that the sign on Olek’s body read, “I was a smuggler” (116). The boys mourn for their friend in their own ways. While Ferdi smokes and Kuba remains silent, Big Henryk weeps. Misha tells the boys that he saw