Recap: Daniel and Yisroel Meir bring Tasir back to Yisroel Meir’s house, and his father bandages Tasir’s injury. Daniel stays at Yisroel Meir’s house for Shabbos, as it isn’t safe to return to campus where all the protests are occurring. Daniel is worried that his father will be concerned. Yisroel Meir suggests they read a special manuscript that his father shared, which will be a good distraction.
Jasmin plucked a handful of tiny daisies and skillfully wove them into the crown of braids on top of my long hair. The licorice scent of fennel plants wafted in the air.
“Your hair is so pretty, Ava. I love the gold color. I wish my hair was that color.”
“Your hair is lovely,” I said. Jasmin had curly dark hair that she wore in two long braids. Dark hair suited her olive complexion.
We were sitting in the yard behind the palace. A late summer breeze caressed our cheeks. The mountains rose like old friends behind the lake. Sunlight shimmered through the willows, casting delicate leaf shadows on the ground.
“What will you wear to the pageant?” Jasmin asked as she plucked more daisies. “The white silk gown your cousin sent is perfect for the occasion.”
“I’ll see,” I said, hoping to change the subject. I didn’t want to think about the spring pageant. This year was going to be different. My aunt had already announced that she and my older cousin did not plan to attend. The reason was a secret, and I knew I’d better be careful, or I might blurt it out to my best friend. I don’t have many friends, so Jasmin is someone to whom I confide everything.
“Now that we’re both 12, we can stay up late for the whole thing,” Jasmin said.
I was relieved that she didn’t notice my lack of enthusiasm, though she knows me so well. We’ve been friends since we were little, when her mother became the handmaiden for my mother.
“The blue sash to that gown matches your eyes. You should wear that gown. You look so pretty in it.”
I blushed at her praise. I never thought of myself as pretty. I glanced down at my right arm, the part that made me feel ugly. My right arm was much shorter than my left arm, and it didn’t work as well as my left arm either. I couldn’t balance things in my arms like other people, and I wrote with my left hand. I was sure that was the main thing people noticed when they saw me.
Jasmin wove more daisies into my hair. “All the dignitaries will be coming from Parthia, and even some from farther away. I heard your cousin, Galla, and her family will be staying at the palace,” Jasmin said.
Galla and her family came once a year for the spring pageant.
A knot formed in my stomach.
I never told Jasmin how I dreaded Galla’s visits.
Just then, Jasmin’s mother appeared. She curtsied toward me. “Jasmin, hurry inside. The royal relatives will be here soon. A donkey rider just arrived with a message. We must ready the back rooms and set up the bowls for the midday meal.”
Jasmin handed me the last of the daisies. “Sorry I couldn’t finish, but your hair looks lovely.”
I wanted to linger. I had my parchment and ink pen. I had hoped to write a poem today.
I rose slowly and headed back toward the palace.
Inside, the servants were busy preparing the guest rooms for Galla’s family. Jasmin’s mother was in the kitchen, giving instructions on how to prepare the bean pastes, meats, and fish.
Farah, the royal cook, stood by the brick oven, stirring soup in a pot.
“Shufra!” she said, pointing at my hair. “So lovely!”
Darya, the kitchen maid, strolled into the kitchen carrying a pile of ceramic dishes. “We have to keep these separate for meat, as Queen Annabelle said. Where should I put them?”
Farah pointed to the shelf near the doorway. Mihran, my older cousin, strode into the kitchen carrying a hammer and a small object in his hand.
Thunder rumbled. I cowered behind the doorway.
Farah called to me. “Just thunder, Ava. You must outgrow such fear.”
There was another explosion of thunder. My heart pounded. A fork of lightning flashed.
I took a deep breath.
Mihran called to me. “Come share the mitzvah with me.”
“The what?” I asked. My voice was shaking. Why did I have such a fear of thunder? I needed to outgrow all my silly fears.
“The mitzvah of mezuzah. I’ll say a blessing, and you answer Amein.”
He said the blessing for affixing the mezuzah, and then I watched as he hammered it slanted onto the doorpost. Rain pounded outside. The thunder had stopped. “It’s slanted to show we follow two opinions. It shows the idea of compromising for shalom.”
I nodded.
“This is a sign to help us remember Hashem, the one G-d, is always with us. We kiss it when we walk into the room. Inside are the holy words of the Sh’ma, the prayer Ima taught you.”
“Is this why Aunt Annabelle doesn’t want to go to the pageant?” I asked. The idea of one G-d was the opposite of the pageant.
Mihran stopped and looked me in the eye. “I know it may be hard for you to understand since you’ve always gone, but we can’t go to a celebration of idols. It’s not the way we believe anymore.”
My cousin Mihran, like my aunt – his mother – has dark eyes and olive skin. His eyes were kind when he asked me, “As Mother told you, Ava, you are free to choose at your age now.”
Did I want to change? I was still clinging to my old ways, and I was still embarrassed by our secret. What would Galla and her family say? They would see we weren’t going to the pageant. They would see the mezuzah. How much longer could we keep the secret?
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of an historical fiction novel, Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishing, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishing, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha Publishers, 2020), Denver Dreams (a novel, Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha Publishers, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022), and Alaskan Gold ( 2023-2024).
