fascinated on how he described how she taught herself to become a pianist, aided by only a piece of sounding wood in her mouth. Josif’s eyes lit up after the story. So he gave him more self-esteem.The prison administrators soon got over their fright at Stalin’s death. There had been serious troubles in the slave camps of Siberia, and they were determined to show no weakness. Old restrictions were revived, and new ones created. The window were closed and painted over, despite the doctors protests, and they could open them only an inch at night when the guards were not looking. In the summer the heat was very rough.One blow for the faithfull was the fate of Pentach Lupu, known as “the shepherd saint” from Oltenia. While tending his flock for many years before, he had seen the figure of an old man. The old man introduced himself as God, declaring that more churches must be built and money given for the poor. He was later arrested by the communists. The Orthodox Priests were saddened. He spent all of his time with his friend Boris in his death room. Later he had died, died thinking of a sexual sin in his youth, even though he did not suffer alone.The communists worked deliberately to corrode morality. It seemed unlikely from the talk in prison, and a handful of Christian prisoners tried to find out by asking for a truthful answer to a question. “Have you always obeyed the basic rule of the Christian church, remaining chaste in word, thought and deed before marriage, and faithful there after”, was this question. Of the 300 prisoners, all Christians, two men answered yes. One was a father and one was a fifteen year old boy. Not too good I suppose. Then they talk of women.Part VThe prisoners chains were struck off in the Stone courtyard, and were led with blows along dark passages with dirt.. And they were thrown in small groups, into cells along the gallery. With this roughness the guards squeezed even mo...
