The Glow of the Spotlight: My Journey with Rebecca

The day passes quickly, and by the time Rebecca comes home from school, I have already decided which fairy tale deserves the honor: Baba Yaga. Rebecca agrees at once, delighted, and starts plotting out parts before I can even finish explaining. She declares she will play the witch herself, hunching her shoulders and waggling a crooked finger just like Bubbie did. I will play the girl who wanders into the forest picking wildflowers, and Benny will be my little brother, sent off after strawberries until we both get lost and stumble onto Baba Yaga’s hut.

Rebecca is certain the play could win over her parents and grandparents, but only if we keep it secret until the very last minute, so it lands as a surprise. Back in the kitchen, she tells her mother we are only taking Benny up to see the pigeons on the roof. Mrs. Rubin agrees, though she cautions us to keep a close eye on him and to keep him away from the low wall.

Upstairs, the pigeons flock around Benny’s feet, hoping for crumbs, but Rebecca pulls our attention straight back to rehearsal. She reminds Benny of everything Bubbie has told him about the witch’s chicken-legged house, then transforms into Baba Yaga on the spot, scrunching her face into a scowl and singing out orders in a cackling voice: fetch the water, spin the thread, or she will bake us into bread. Benny backs away, and even I feel a shiver as I mime spinning thread and hauling a leaky bucket.

At first it seems like harmless fun, but partway through, Benny’s worry turns real. He peers into my imaginary bucket and wails that Baba Yaga is going to eat us up, and his fright looks nothing like acting. I try to reassure him, promising I know how to fool the witch and get us home, and I dig up the detail from Bubbie’s story about befriending the birds and the black cat. It does nothing to calm him. Benny’s face goes pale, and he looks like he might cry.

Rebecca and I exchange a glance. What should we do?