“Come here, little ones,” she calls to her boys, “I’ve got something to show you.”

They run to her, giggling, their Batman capes flying in the clouds as she brushes their perfect red hair through her fingers. She can’t believe how big they’ve gotten.

“Look down. There’s something special happening today.”

Ariel picks up his brother, Kfir, and brushes the hair out of his face so they can see.

“Hey! There’s Batman! So many Batmans!” Ariel says, smiling from ear to ear.

“Balllllooons!” Kfir points excitedly.

Everywhere they look on earth, there is a flood of Batmans, orange and teddy bears.

They all stand quietly for a minute, watching, and echoing the silence down below.

“There’s so many people on the streets, Mama. What are they doing?” Sweet little Kfir, in the curious 2- year- old stage, asks.

Shiri sighs as she smiles gently. “They’ve come to show you how much they love you, Poopik.”

“They know we’re here? I thought they didn’t yet know where we are!” Ariel, with his natural sensitivity, chimes in.

“They know.” she whispers, her voice cracking. “Now they know.”

“But I don’t know them. So why are they sad and crying?”

“Because they know you well. And although we’ve been happy and safe up here for a while, they miss us, and they’re just getting a chance to put our bodies to rest.”

“Oh. But our souls are strong and happy.” he responds, nonchalantly. “Right, you always tell me that, Mama?”

She nods and chuckles, glad to hear that the words she is constantly telling him are finally being internalized.

She tries to look away so they don’t see her tears. She’s gone a long stretch without crying— maybe even a year—but today it hurts a little more. Not for herself. But for Yarden.

The boys come close and give her a hug.

As they push their faces into her chest, she notices that down there, they, too, are hugging, as they are being buried in one casket.

“Mama, I love you. Thanks for never leaving me.” Ariel kisses her cheek, understanding that something’s going on.

“I love you too, Chuki.” she replies softly, “The entire Jewish nation loves you.” She gets lost in her thoughts. If only he knew how much his words meant to her. She never, ever, left him. Even in the dar-

“Mama? Can I go play with Morah Maya Goren? She said we can try to make cloud angels in the clouds today! Do you think it’s gonna work, Mama?”

Shiri laughs. “Go, my love. I can’t wait to hear about it.”

She watches as Ariel and Kfir run back into the bright clouds, holding hands while waving to the people down on earth.

She smiles, and looks down one more time before getting up. “I love you all. Thanks for never leaving me.”

Chanie Kamman is a mother of seven young children, children’s book author, and a proud Chabad shlucha living in Stamford, CT.