Evalyne and Jeffrey Tulschinsky
Twins on their 15th birthday
“Mama, Jeffrey took my doll and hid it. Make him tell me where it is!”
“Mama, Jeffrey took my doll and hid it. Make him tell me where it is!”
“Tattletale!”
Frustrated by her children’s constant bickering, Sarah Tulschinsky stood and hurled her sewing basket to the floor. “Can’t you two play nice? Don’t you know how good you have it?”
Eyes wide, twins Jeffrey and Evalyne backed away from her. Sarah wished she could take back her harsh words. She had always made it a point never to raise her voice to them. After all, they were only four. How could she expect them to understand?
While they were outside playing tag and climbing trees, the postman delivered a letter from Arel that had been lost for almost two months. His detailed account tore her heart into pieces.
Before she could explain to her son and daughter what had happened to those poor children in Kishinev, the front door opened, and Wolf stepped over the threshold. Evalyne and Jeffrey raced to him. He scooped them up, one on each arm and spun them around.
“Papa, the lights comed back on today and we gots water, too!” Evalyne always had to be the first to share whatever she knew.
~~Taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me
________________
“Do you miss those boys and girls in Kishinev, Auntie?” Evalyne’s round eyes, brimming with curiosity, seemed to pop out of her slender face.
“Would you miss your nose if it fell off?” asked Havah.
Sarah held her finger to her lips. “Evie, you’ll wear Auntie out with your questions.” “How else will she learn? She can never ask me too many questions.”
~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes
Evalyne and Jeffrey Tulschinsky are Sarah and Wolf’s twin children. In the excerpt from Please Say Kaddish for Me they are five-years-old when Sarah receives a lost letter from Arel telling her about the Kishinev pogrom (massacre).
The excerpt from From Silt and Ashes takes place a few months later, after Arel and Havah have settled in Kansas City.
Evalyne is the more outgoing of the two children. Although Havah loves both children, she is drawn to the precocious little girl who is constantly asking questions.
Jeffrey doesn’t share his sister’s enthusiasm for the written word. He would be more than happy to let his sister go to Hebrew school in his place and doesn’t mind living in her shadow.
Not a particularly pretty child, Evalyne makes up for it with her zest for learning, a trait Havah can’t resist.
Published by Argus Publishing
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency