Excerpt: Miriam The Unbitter

Yosef sighed and felt he needed a little rest. He walked away from the house, going a little up the hill. The orchards that ascended up the hills surrounding Nazareth were great and thick with trees, with many good places to hide. He found a thicket within some bushes to hide. Yosef liked lying down flat on the dusty ground, surrounded by the branches and leaves.
There he lay, his hands under his head, thinking deeply. There was so much to think about in life, like what to make of everything surrounding life. He was now a man within Nazareth, a man like any Jewish man. He held a place in this village, preparing for his occupation, learning and preparing for the steps that would make him someday be a husband and father. He had to be a righteous sage like the other holy men, a hard worked like all the workers, and meet up with all that was expected of him. Yosef wasn’t afraid that he could do those things. He always admired the role that his father and other men within the village played. He didn’t feel any better than the rest. Yet Yosef worried. How was he going to decide on some of these things? There was so much to think about, so many ways to go. The Romans made life hard, but he didn’t need to worry about what the Romans said or did, for Yosef was proud and brave for his faith and people well enough. No need to fear Herod who was like the devil, not even the devil himself. Yet Yosef still worried and it made him close to being afraid, knowing that no matter how strongly he believed, he was uncertain in many ways. That uncertainty made him afraid. His heart and mind wanted to follow so many ways, his heart of compassion laying one way, his anger going another, and his knowledge flying high.
Yosef breathed in the still air. Everything was quiet. It was so quiet, that one little new sound was a total surprise. He heard rustling. Yosef sat up quickly, wide eyed and surprised. He looked to the rustling in the thicket. He heard a girl make some struggling sounds. He knew Miriam’s voice. Yosef grinned. “Miriam, what are you doing here?”
Miriam walked up to him, feeling her hair that was a mess from getting mixed in branches, but still smiling at him.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“Oh, looking for me? What could you want with me?” Yosef said with a joking tone.
Miriam only gave him a smirk. She sat right beside him. “I have another story to tell you.”
“Do I need to do anything for this story like how I have for others?” he asked playfully. “Do I need to get a leather shard? Or a scarf? Or a wood chip? Or a piece of clay?”
“For this one,” Miriam said, her eyes beaming, “you need a leaf.”
Yosef right away picked a leaf from a bush. “All right. I have one.”
“This,” Miriam began, her voice whispering to show the mystery, excitement, and tension. “This is a story about a man who traveled to the other side of the sea of Galilee. When he came home, he felt very sick. He asked the priest what he should do. The priest told him that he had to eat a certain leaf to get better. The man walked up to a tree, about to pick the leaf. But then the man’s donkey spoke to him. The donkey told him that if he ate the leaf, he would get better. However, the man’s brother was sick with the same sickness. If he gave the leaf to his brother, then his brother would get better. However, that leaf would only work once. He could only use one leaf. Hence he had the choice. He could either eat the leaf for himself and get better or he could give the leaf to his brother for him to get better. What was he to do? Should he heal himself or heal his brother? Then the man decided to bring the leaf to his brother. He gave the leaf to his brother and soon, his brother was better. The man was now expecting himself to soon die right then and there. He thought he saw death coming to him. But then the man saw a bright light. He raised his hands and stood up. He felt better. He was healed from his sickness. The man was totally surprised. Then an angel came to him. The angel said that by healing his brother, he healed himself.” Miriam let out a breath for letting the story out.
Yosef slumped where he sat on the ground, amazed by Miriam’s story. Miriam smiled.
“That is a good story,” Yosef said solemnly, feeling humbled by the story. “Did you hear it from someone or did you make it up?”
Miriam stood up, brushing the dirt off herself. “I heard the story from Elisheva. I don’t know where she got it from. She only told me it long ago, when I was very short and small. I’ve known it for years. I’ve always wanted to find the right time to tell it. I just knew that now was the time to tell it. Now was the time to finally let the story out.” Miriam smiled broadly at her proud accomplishment.
Yosef nodded. “That’s a good story.” He stood up, brushing the dirt off himself just as she had. “Well, I’ve been here long enough. Let’s go home.”
The two then walked together down the road, still chatting with each other. Miriam had no more stories to tell other than those about some funny interesting trips her brothers had while they tried to do their chores. Yosef didn’t tell her about his day. The trouble was that Miriam eventually got tired of talking and said, “So Yosef, you have a story?”
Yosef shook his head. Miriam frowned with disappointment. He tried to think of some excuse. He didn’t need to think long before he was rescued by a suitable distraction. There was the old man Samuel, one of the oldest men in the village, weakly struggling to carry a stack of sticks wrapped up in reeds.
“His wife died,” Miriam said solemnly. “He no longer has her to help him. Let’s go help him.”
Without hesitation, Yosef followed Miriam as the two approached Samuel and offered to carry his stack. They carried the sticks into his home. They set the sticks next to the hearth for him to start his fire. The old man smiled, his old wrinkly cheeks and rosy lips twinkling together, not a scary old man, but a happy cheerful one, more reason to be delighted than any other.
As Miriam and Yosef left his house, heading to their own homes, Miriam said brightly, “It’s been a good day.”
Yosef shrugged. “I suppose.”
Miriam giggled as she ran up to her house, touched the mezuzah, and smoothly entered through her home, disappearing behind the door.