The Yahrzeit Candle

Semester abroad, spring break, Hoosier Holly met Jersey girl Debbie on the train. In Florence, they found a room with vaulted columns, frescoes, putti.

Next afternoon, Debbie exclaimed: “Dad died last year, today. I have to light a yahrzeit candle.” They searched. No luck. Dusk approaching, Holly spotted the Star of David on a store window, shutter descending. Debbie raced, pleaded, bought her candle.

At their villa, Debbie lit the candle, recited the Yahrzeit prayer. By shimmering candlelight, wide-eyed putti watching above, the girls spent hours trading father stories.

Forty years on, Debbie and her father live for Holly still.