Friday, February 17, 2017

Seth's Journey: Part One



Seth licked his lips, tasting the dirt and grit covering his whole body in a film. The evening sun relentlessly bore down on him and he felt a drop of sweat run down his back. Why did it have to be so hot?

The position of the sun, though, reminded him that he was supposed to be home. He quickened his pace, pushing through all the Jews in the marketplace. There sure were a lot of them. Seth looked around, irritated by the crowds. None of them were moving. They weren't going around buying things like you were supposed to in a market. Instead, they stood still.

As he kept shoving through, a voice grew clearer and clearer above the rustling and whispering of the unmoving Jews. Seth caught a glimpse of a man in the middle of them all, talking. He was surrounded by people on all sides.

Seth stopped working his way toward home. What could be so interesting that all the people had stopped their work to just listen?

Apparently not much. The man told a story about some ungrateful servant who demanded payment after his own debt had been canceled. Seth shook his head and kept going toward home.

He took a deep breath before going inside. By now, it was almost dark and he knew his father would be angry with him for staying out so late. He was a Roman citizen and as such, he didn't need to mix with Jews. According to his father, anyway.

Seth tried to sneak in quietly, without being noticed, but it didn't matter. His father paced in front of the door. Seth's entrance made him look up.

"Seth!"

"Good evening, father." Seth didn't look him in the eye, knowing the irritation and impatience he would see.

"Where have you been? It's dark out and you should have been home hours ago!"

"I just went for a walk."

"A walk? Among the Jews? I told you to keep your distance! There are plenty of Roman citizens nearby. Play with one of them!" His voice was still relatively quiet. Seth wasn't sure whether that was a good sign. Usually, by now, his father would be yelling and Seth would wear the obligatory look of remorse while feeling no such thing. But he wasn't yelling.

"I'm twelve. I think I can take care of myself!" This change in the pattern gave Seth the courage to test limits.

"No!" His father put a hand to his head and rubbed his brow. He sighed. "I've told you not to go walking in the market place before and I won't tell you again. Those Jews aren't happy that we're here and I don't want anything to happen to you. Go to bed." He walked away, leaving Seth to marvel at the ease with which he escaped the encounter.



The next morning, Seth ate breakfast with his sister. 

"You could slow down a bit," Juliet scoffed.

"I went to the market yesterday."

"Oh." She knew that would mean no dinner and her growing brother was probably starving. "See anything interesting?"

Seth shook his head. He paused in his eating. "Oh, wait. There was one thing. A man was speaking - telling a story - and all the Jews had stopped to listen. It was strange." He shrugged and went back to eating before remembering something else. "Who was that coughing all night?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Juliet lowered her voice. "It was mother. She got sick yesterday. Father's very worried. The physician doesn't know what's wrong."

Seth looked at his sister. "Is she going to be okay?"

"We don't know." She lowered her eyes. "Finish your breakfast."

To be continued...



Let me know what you think!

-Kira

5 comments:

  1. Ooh I'm intrigued! Can't wait for the next part. By the way, I miss having a class with you this year :)

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    1. Glad you like it :) I miss having class with you too - maybe next year! :D

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  2. Oh now -- what's wrong with his mom? And why is his dad so particular about not talking to Jews if his son has a Jewish name? Why are they in Jerusalem if they don't like Jews? And why is Seth so dirty? Why is he eating breakfast when it's dark? I want to figure out who all these people are! There seems to be a *lot* of backstory behind it all.... I can't wait to read the next part! Do write fast. :)

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    1. Thanks for all these questions Rachel - I'll figure out the answers eventually. :P To be honest, I wrote this early in the morning and wasn't quite sure what I was writing, but this story's been in my head for a while. Now I've got to figure out the details. You know how it goes. ;)

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