It was dark again when Seth got home. Not just dinner time dark - after bedtime dark. The courtyard was silent as he walked through and he could hear every step. Not even the servants were up any more.
The empty quiet was almost eerie. The front door creaked as he opened it the smallest amount possible to squeeze through. The house was just as quiet and empty as the courtyard. Seth had never been up so late, past everyone else. He was surprised not to find his father pacing by the door, furious with his son for disobeying once again.
But no. Seth had been forgotten in the events of the day; even Juliet was sound asleep, exhausted from mourning.
Seth sank to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. It was okay to cry now. No one was there to see him and tell him to be strong or offer awkward condolences.
But the tears wouldn't come. No matter how long Seth thought about it, his eyes stayed dry.
Finally, he rose and went to his room. Maybe sleep would help.
After a sleepless hour in bed though, he decided otherwise. Seth was restless. His mind darted from one thing to another. His mother was replaced by the Rabbi who was replaced by the physician's words which were replaced by the disciple's words.
On impulse, Seth grabbed a satchel from its place on the floor in the corner of the room. He stuffed it with clothes and the few coins that belonged to him. He took a few wheat pancakes, carrots, almonds, and radishes before returning to the courtyard.
This time, the silence didn't disturb him. Seth had a task - something to focus on.
He didn't pay attention to where he was going as he walked purposefully through the market for the second time that day. Dark figures moved in the alleys and distant yells and dog howls cut through the air. But Seth just walked straight ahead until he was outside the city.
A nice clump of trees offered shelter, and Seth settled in. He nibbled on a pancake as he drifted off to sleep.
-Kira
The man sat on the ground with his back to Seth, speaking with his followers in between bites of his meal. Seth paused on his way up the hill. One of the men around the teacher noticed him and beckoned for him to continue. The rest of the group silenced and turned to look at Seth.
He swallowed and climbed the rest of the hill, avoiding the eyes of the Rabbi and his disciples.
"What is it, son?" the Rabbi asked. His face was weathered, but gentle and kind.
"Um, I wanted to ask you something sir."
"Please sit down."
Seth obeyed.
"Now, what is your question?"
Now that he was here, Seth didn't know how to say it - he wasn't even sure he wanted to any more. "Um, well, this morning..." He glanced at the teacher.
The man didn't speak and neither did his followers. They all watched Seth. So they all saw a quick tear slip down his cheek to the ground.
"This morning my mother died. I heard you speaking in the market the past two days, telling stories. I don't know what to do. She just died. And I wasn't there to say goodbye because I was listening to you."
"What is your question?"
Seth shook his head.
The teacher laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that you lost your mother."
"Couldn't you help him, sir?" one of the men spoke up eagerly. "Isn't there something you could do?"
The Rabbi looked at his disciple. "His mother was already dead. She has only died physically."
Seth brushed another tear away and looked into the man's face. "What does he mean? Could you help me?"
"No, son, you must suffer this."
Seth leapt to his feet. "You're supposed to be a great teacher! Isn't there anything you can say? I came to you for help and you offered me nothing! Only that I must suffer." He swept one last angry glance around the circle of men and stormed back down the hill.
-Kira
Seth tried to look normal as he walked through the house. If he looked like he was supposed to be there, no one would notice.
As he turned the corner to approach his mother's room, he heard voices. All thoughts of pretending to belong vanished. Seth flattened himself against the wall just before the turn and listened.
A man's voice spoke. "Will she be alright?" It was his father's voice, but something was different. It didn't hold the authority it usually held, but rather desperation and worry.
A sigh. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. I don't know what to do for her."
"Please! You have to do something! You've been our family's physician for years. You can't just let my wife die." The speech had gradually faded into a whisper.
"I'm sorry Scipio. There's nothing that I know to do. I'll come back every day and examine her. If anything changes, send for me immediately."
Silence.
"Thank you."
"Of course."
Footsteps slapped against the stone floor and Seth turned and ran out one of the servant's doors into the courtyard. A few of the slaves gave him odd looks.
The fact that Father was so upset unsettled Seth. He was the strong one who always had it together, no matter what. What was wrong with Mother?
He ran out of the courtyard and toward the marketplace. Seth had never really learned the lesson he was supposed to from punishments for going there. Instead, it now seemed like a secret forbidden place. Well, maybe not secret, but at least forbidden.
He wanted the anonymity of the crowds for a few hours so that he could think.
Even from a distance, the marketplace looked quiet. Upon arriving in the midst of it, Seth could tell that the teacher from the day before was there again. "Rabbis" the Jews called them. He told another story. Seth scoffed at the childishness but allowed himself to listen.
"The kingdom of Heaven is like the master of a house who hire laborors in his vineyard," the Rabbi said. "He hires some in the morning and sends them out to work in the fields. A few hours later, he goes into the marketplace again and hires more men. He sends them out to work as well. He does this two more times throughout the day."
Seth stood on tiptoe, straining to see above the crowds. He couldn't quite get a glimpse of the man.
"At the end of the day, the master paid his workers their wages. Every one of them received the same amount - those who had worked all day and those who had only worked an hour."
Righteous indignation on behalf of the workers hired in the morning rose up in Seth. He was a Roman and he knew what was just. This wasn't it.
"The workers who had worked longer grumbled and complained. When the master of the house heard about their grumbling he asked for an explanation. They told him that it was unfair that those hired late in the day should receive the same payment as those hired early." Seth nodded.
"Then the master asked them if they had not agreed to work for one day's pay. They had. He told them that he could pay the others as he liked - he had paid the first men what he agreed to pay them. It was up to him how to spend his money. He could choose to be generous with it if he liked. So the last will be first and the first will be last."
The Rabbi turned to his disciples and they moved away from the market. A few of the listeners chased after, some falling at his feet. The rest of the people went back to their business.
Seth just stood there. Every bit of justice printed into him over the years cried out against the unfair treatment of the workers. But what the master had said about it being his money and he could choose to be generous also made sense.
Seth began walking, trying to puzzle out the story. A minute later, he came upon another Rabbi. This one was gray haired and flung his arms through the air as he spoke. His disciples listened eagerly, but all of the other people on the street continued with what they were doing. Seth stopped to watch.
This one did not tell a story, but rather told what would happen if anyone disobeyed the laws of the Sabbath. Not nearly as entertaining.
Turning to walk home, Seth decided to return tomorrow. Maybe the Rabbi from the market would tell another story.
In the courtyard, he found Juliet sitting under a tree. He rushed over to tell her about the Rabbi and his story.
Juliet sniffed and wiped at her eyes when she saw him.
"What's wrong?" Seth asked.
"Sit down."
"Why?" Seth sat down.
Juliet stared up at the deep blue of the sky and took a deep shaky breath. "Mother died today."
"What?" Juliet may have spoken in a whisper, but Seth knew exactly what she said.
She turned to face him. "Mother died today. There was nothing the physician could do. He still doesn't know what happened."
Seth stood up. He paused and then walked deliberately toward the street.
"Seth? Seth! Where are you going?"
He didn't answer.
A moment later, a hand touched his shoulder, bringing him to a stop. He stared straight ahead, refusing to move or speak.
"Where are you going?" Her voice quaked.
"I'm going to ask someone a question."
"Who?"
"A Jewish Rabbi." Seth gently pulled his shoulder from her grip and walked out of the courtyard.
-Kira
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
