Recap: Miri, Katie, and Sabrina are heading to Rav Sarna, hoping he will help Miri and Katie go back to their own time. They start walking toward Toledo. They are confronted by a wild boar.
There was a minute that seemed to stretch on and on.
Then a screech filled the air.
The pig turned toward the sound.
Please go away. Please go away.
It snorted.
Then it lumbered away.
“Baruch Hashem!” I let out my breath.
“That was scary,” Katie said.
Sabrina motioned for us to continue.
We trudged on and on.
Finally, Sabrina said, “Let’s stop here.”
We davened under a carob tree.
Sabrina brought out some cheese and fruit.
“How long will it take to get there?” I asked.
“If we keep up this pace, it could be in two days. If it rains, we will be delayed.”
“Too bad you can’t check the weather prediction,” Katie said.
Sabrina bit into a plum. “Weather prediction?”
“Yeah, you could see what the weather is supposed to be on a computer or in a newspaper.”
Sabrina stopped biting the plum. “How?”
“They use computers.”
“What’s a computer?”
Katie and I exchanged glances.
“It’s a machine that does all kinds of amazing things. Technology,” I explained.
Sabrina shrugged. “To predict weather, they use a mathematical way based on the planets, but most people just observe the clouds. Tell me other things from the future.” She offered me a carrot.
“Well, there are cars and buses and trains and airplanes.”
“Cars? What is that?”
“Like a wagon, but it runs on a motor without a horse.”
“Amazing.”
“Airplanes are more amazing,” Katie said.
Katie started demonstrating how an airplane takes off into the air. We all looked up at the sky in time to see a menacing gray cloud.
“Well, I don’t know about airplanes or computers that predict weather, but that gray cloud means rain.” Sabrina pointed.
A wind suddenly whipped up. We quickly packed up our food and started walking again.
“I just pray it won’t be a hard spring rain. The paths here fill quickly and flood.”
The wind blew stronger. I had to hold on to my cape.
We plodded ahead, but our quick pace slowed. Then a burst of rain pounded us. We ran to the cover of an olive tree. The path was swiftly deluged with roaring water.
“If it keeps on at this rate, it’ll flood.” Sabrina was watching the rain.
A flood! How would we get away from a flood? How high did she mean the flood would rise? How would we ever make it to Toledo?
The wind blew the rain at us, even under the tree.
I shivered.
“What should we do?” I asked. My heart was pounding.
“Daven for it to stop.”
The three of us began saying T’hilim. Our voices were swallowed by the howling wind and pounding rain.
We continued trudging ahead. Needles of rain blew in sheets, chafing our cheeks. We battled the heavy rain that pounded mercilessly against us, tearing at our thin layers of clothing.
Puddles quickly formed, rising into swirling currents that roared, pushing us down.
“It’s up to my knees!” I said, my voice rising.
“It’s rising so fast!” I was amazed at how quickly the road had changed into a river.
“Sabrina, it’s getting so high,” I said. My feet and the bottom of my skirt were totally soaked.
I shivered. The wind blew right through me.
“It can rise much, much higher.” Sabrina grabbed my hand, and I grabbed Katie’s.
What if the water reached our necks? I don’t know how to swim. Was this the end for us?
“What should we do?” Katie yelled over the wind. “It’s rising so fast!”
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of 11 popular Jewish books, including her newly released historical fiction novel The Blizzard (Menucha 2026) and recently published novel Captured (Menucha 2025). She is also the current news editor of Binyan Magazine.