A Cup of Water
by C. Metzinger
Copyright 2014 C. Metzinger
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Other Titles by C. Metzinger
Playing to Win
Snow Angels
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Best Friends
Chapter Two: A Bold Decision
Chapter Three: Meeting Ezra
Chapter Four: Dangerous Journey
Chapter Five: The Search
Chapter Six: Arrested
Chapter Seven: The Cup of Water
Chapter Eight: Home Again
Chapter One: Best Friends
Leah picked up her playing piece and hopped it over several others on the checkered mat.
“Ha! I beat you! Third game in a row!”
“That’s not fair!” cried Hannah, “I wasn’t finished making my move yet!”
“No, you let go of your piece. That means you were finished and then it was my turn! It’s a fair game!”
Hannah sighed, knowing her friend was right. She just hated losing.
“Hannah! Time to come home now!” a voice called.
“Yes, Mama! I’m coming!” Hannah called back. Leah looked disappointed, saying, “Do you have to go right now?”
“Yes, you know I do! But I’ll be back tomorrow. I have to go into the fields to gather flax. Do you want to come with me?” Flax was a plant that had many useful purposes.
Leah’s eyes lit up, and then she looked down at her crippled legs, folded aside at an awkward angle. Before she could answer, Hannah said cheerfully,
“You can ride Buttercup!”
Leah smiled, “All right! Come and get me as soon as you can!”
“I will; as soon as I finish my chores for Mama. See you tomorrow, Leah!”
“Bye, Hannah!”
Leah watched as her friend dashed off. Leah and Hannah grew up living next door to each other in a small village along the Jordan River, and they were best friends. Then two years ago, a plague nearly killed Leah, and she was sick for a long time. When she was well enough for visitors, Hannah came every day. Leah grew stronger but she could no longer walk without support. Her father made her two wooden crutches which she learned to use with Hannah’s help. She still remained very weak, and there were times that her mother still feared that Leah was still not over her sickness.
But Hannah didn’t seem to mind playing games and doing things that Leah could do. Leah often thought how lucky she was to have a good friend like Hannah, and felt she would do anything for her.
Leah hobbled inside the house where her three sisters were getting ready for bed. Tonight, after saying her prayers, she thought about going out with Hannah and riding on her young donkey, Buttercup. Whenever she and Hannah were together, they always found something to laugh about. Thinking about tomorrow, she fell asleep with a smile on her face,.
Hannah led the small donkey to the front of Leah’s house and called out,
“Leah! Come on, let’s go!”
Hannah helped Leah climb on and put her crutches into the basket strapped onto the donkey. She led the donkey up into the hills where wildflowers swayed in the breeze.
In the meadow, they joined the other girls and women picking flax among the field of delicate bright blue flowers. Leah leaned over and tried to pick some, but her crutches got in the way.
Hannah quickly said, “Leah, why don’t you stay by the basket and I’ll hand the stalks to you so you can put them in?”
Leah smiled, “All right!”
So they began working, and when they had filled the basket, they stopped to rest. Just a short distance away, they could see a large group of people walking along the road together.
“Who are they?” asked Leah.
“I don’t know. They aren’t from our village.”
As they began to work again, one man from the group passing by came into the fields, calling, “Come with us! Leave your fields and your work and join us in Jerico! Come and hear Jesus of Nazareth, the great teacher!”
Leah and Hannah looked at the man, who seemed crazy. He was still yelling out his invitation when Hannah began jumping up and down, imitating him, crying, “Come to Jerico! Leave all your work behind for somebody else to do! Join us to hear the great teacher! Whee!”
She threw her arms up and leapt around in wild circles and Leah began to laugh at her antics.
The man saw her imitating him and scowled. Hannah’s hand flew to her mouth and she pulled her scarf over her face in embarrassment, which made Leah laugh even harder. Leah doubled over with laughter as Hannah crouched down, hiding behind Buttercup.
After the man and his group disappeared down the road, the girls started home. Along the way, they walked with another girl, Ruth, and her mother.
“Who was that crazy man who told us to join him?” asked Hannah.
“Oh, that!” said Mrs. Neeva, waving her hand impatiently, “He’s one of those crazy people who follow Jesus of Nazareth. He’s just another prophet! God knows we have enough of them already!”
Her daughter said to Hannah, “My brother David told me that this man Jesus does miracles! He can even heal people!”
Mrs. Neeva was not impressed, and waved her hand again, “Nonsense! I don’t believe it! It’s probably all just a rumor!”
“But David’s best friend is one of them, and he saw Jesus heal a leper!” Ruth insisted.
“It’s probably just a trick,” Mrs. Neeva said, “Most of those prophets are just crazy or too lazy to do a man’s work! This Jesus, what does he do for a living? Does he have a job?”
“David said that he’s a carpenter,” Ruth replied.
“A carpenter!” cried Mrs. Neeva, “So where are his tools? Why isn’t he at home building something instead of wandering the countryside fooling people? Nonsense!” she cried, batting the air again as if it held pesky mosquitoes.
The girls were quiet the rest of the way, but Hannah found herself looking back at the road leading to Jerico, and wondering. What if David were telling the truth? What if Jesus did heal people? Would he heal her friend Leah?
Chapter Two: A Bold Decision
At dinner that evening, Hannah waited until her father and four brothers were served before she and her mother joined them. Her mother had made a stew from vegetables and fish, served with freshly baked bread, and plenty of grapes, dates, and figs.
Hannah was the only girl, and felt as though she were the least important member of the family. The boys in the family always bragged about the fish they caught. No one in Hannah’s family usually paid much attention to her, but she told them about what the crazy man had said about Jesus.
Her father replied, “I’ve heard about that man Jesus, the carpenter.”
Hannah’s mother, Judith, asked, “And is it true? Is he a healer?”
Saul shrugged, “Who knows? He’s probably just another fake!”
Hannah’s eyes widened, “Or maybe he can heal Leah!”
Everyone at the table stared at her as if she were crazy.
“Don’t be silly!” cried her brother Zach, “He’s probably just tricking people.”
Joel, the oldest, joined in, “Remember that old guy at the market in Jerusalem? He was supposedly healing cripples until they found out that the cripples were all fakes who were being paid to act. That’s what all of those healers do-- cheat people out of their money!”
Hannah argued, “But Ruth said-“
/> Hannah’s father slammed his hand down on the table, making the dishes jump.
“Enough about Jesus!” he shouted, “Pass me the salt! This stew needs more.”
Hannah’s spirit sank as her brothers began arguing over the last slice of bread. She ate in silence, thinking that her family had no interest in her or in Jesus. But she thought about what Ruth had said. Ruth’s brother David actually knew someone who had been healed. Perhaps she had better talk to him.
The next day, as soon as her chores were done, Hannah ran through the dusty streets to Ruth’s house to see David. She asked him if what she had heard about Jesus was true.
David’s face came alive. “Yes! My best friend, Joel, saw it with his own eyes! A few days ago, a big crowd was hanging around this man called Jesus of Nazareth. He preached for a while, and then he began healing people…not just a few, but hundreds!”
Hannah became excited, “How much did he charge?”
David’s eyebrows shot up, “Nothing! He did it for free! He never asked for anything!”
“Does he heal women, too? And young people?”
“He healed anybody to came to him—young, old, men, women, children—everyone!”
Hannah’s heart soared.
“Is he still there?”
David shrugged, “I don’t know.”
Hannah gave him a warm smile.
“Thanks, David! Thanks a lot!”
She ran all the way to Leah’s house to tell her what she learned.
After hearing Hannah's words, Leah was confused.
“But Mrs. Neeva said he was just somebody out to trick people.”
“But she was wrong, Leah! He can heal anybody! You’ve got to go see him!”
Leah was almost afraid to hope for her prayers to be answered. Every day she prayed that she would wake up and find her legs back to normal and she would look and walk like everyone else. She wished she didn’t feel so tired all the time, and that she wouldn’t wake up some nights with a fever. She often lay awake at night worrying what would become of her. She thought there was little chance that anyone would want to marry her. She was afraid that she would always be a burden on her family.
“I’ll ask my parents tonight at supper,” Leah replied, looking worried, “But we don’t have a lot of extra money to go see him.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, too!” Hannah said quickly, “You and I could go back to the fields and pick wildflowers. We could make beautiful bouquets and sell them in the village market place!”
Leah’s frown dissolved as her eyes brightened.
“Yes…We could, couldn’t we?”
“We’ll go tomorrow, after our chores are done!” said Hannah.
“Okay!”
The girls began making plans for the bouquets they would sell in the marketplace, and they couldn’t wait for the next day to begin.
At dinner that evening, Leah told her parents what Hannah had learned about Jesus of Nazareth, who was in Jeroico.
“Jerico?” her father asked.
“Yes. Can we go?” asked Leah hopefully.
Her parents looked at each other. Leah’s mother had reddish brown hair and blue eyes, but her father was very dark. They seemed to be speaking to each other in some silent language that only they could understand.
“I’ll find out about this Jesus of Nazareth next time I’m in Jerico,” her father said, “There’s no use running all the way there to find out that he’s a fraud or that he’s gone. I’ll be making a trip there next week.”
“But Father! He may be gone by next week! And Hannah said-“
“Hannah is just repeating something that someone told her. Did she see this man heal people with her own eyes? No. Of course not. If there really were healers, don’t you think your mother and I would have taken you to one before now? Leah, you must understand that most of these men who claim to be healers are fakes.”
“But Papa-“
“Leah,” her mother interrupted gently, “It’s just that we don’t want you to get your hopes up and be disappointed. Let your father find out what he can about this man, and then we will know what to do.”
Leah heaved a sigh of disappointment. Why did her parents always have to be so cautious about everything? Why wouldn’t they just take her to Jerico and see Jesus for themselves? Why couldn’t they believe as she did?
She said little for the rest of the evening and went to bed early so that she could be alone with her thoughts. She dreamed about what it would be like to never have to walk with crutches again.
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands tightly, praying as hard as she could to go to Jerico and be healed by Jesus. She prayed for so long that she finally drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Leah and Hannah returned to the hills and collected wild flowers. They filled a large basket, and then went back to Leah’s house where they tied the buttercups, wild daisies, blue flax and Queen Ann’s Lace into bouquets with long green palm fronds. They set them into large clay pots of water to keep them fresh until morning.
The following day, Hannah and Leah went to the marketplace on Buttercup. Their bouquet sales were slow at first, but as the market became busy, more and more people stopped by to buy their flowers.
At the end of the day, they counted their money.
“Fifteen shekels!” Hannah grinned.
“That’s great! What will we do next?”
Hannah lowered her voice and looked around to see if anyone was listening.
“We’ll use it to go to Jerico and find Jesus so he can heal you!”
Leah frowned.
“But my father said he won’t take me there. He said he’s going next week.”
“That may be too late,” Hannah shook her head, “We’ve got to go tomorrow!”
“How?”
Hannah began to pace up and down.
“I noticed that a large caravan came into the village today, and I heard someone say they were on their way to Jerico. We could go with them! They’ll probably leave early in the morning. Then we’ll find another caravan coming back this way in the evening. We can use this money to pay for our own food and be back here before night.”
Leah looked worried, “But my parents would never let me go.”
“Neither would mine,” Hannah said, turning to her friend. Her face became serious.
“But this is important, Leah. And we’ve got to go! This could be your only chance to get well again!”
“What will we tell our parents?”
“I’ll just leave my mother a message saying that I’m with you, selling flowers in the village.”
Leah wondered if they were making a mistake.
“I don’t know, Hannah. I’ve never left home without my parents before…”
“Neither have I. But they’ll forgive us when they see that you’re healed!”
Leah thought about that, and then smiled, “All right. Let’s do it.”
The next morning, just as the sun was rising, Hannah left a short note for her mother. She tiptoed out of her house while everyone was asleep and hurried next door to meet Leah.
“Ready?” Hannah asked.
Leah looked a little worried.
“I think so. Hanna, what if this doesn’t work? What if our parents get really mad at us?”
Hannah heaved a sigh, “Well, I don’t think yours will beat you. Mine might, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Come on, let’s go.”
She took her friend by the arm and they hurried away as fast as Leah could manage on her crutches.
When they were out of sight from their homes, Hannah said, “The caravan that’s leaving for Jerico is at the end of this road. It’s a long walk, but we’ll get there.”
“I hope we make it in time,” Leah replied, hobbling as fast as she could. Even at her fastest pace, Hannah was walking slowly beside her. By the time they reached the end of the road, Leah’s face glistened with sweat and she was slightly out of breath.
“Wait here while I try to get us a ride,” Hannah said.
Leah sat down on a large wooden box while Hannah went to speak to one of the men in charge of the caravan. She came back five minutes later, saying,
“You can ride on the back of that man’s ox cart,” she said, pointing to a young man who had a small cart filled with large jars.
“What about you?” asked Leah.
“I’ll walk behind you,’ she shrugged indifferently, adding, “I don’t mind. I like to walk.”
“But it’s a long way!” Leah shook her head, frowning.
Hannah patted her shoulders, “Don’t worry! On the way back, I’ll ride and you can walk!”
Leah smiled happily, “Okay.”
In a short while, the caravan began to move, and the girls smiled at each other, knowing they were about to begin a great adventure.
Chapter Three: Meeting Ezra
The young man with the ox cart was kind enough to share his water with the girls. Leah only took a small sip, and handed the cup to Hannah.
“You take the rest. I’m really not thirsty.”
Hannah shook her head. “You’re spoiling me!” she teased.
Leah smiled, trying to ignore her own thirst. She knew that her friend Hannah needed the water more since she would be walking.
When they finally reached Jerico, they stared up at the massive, strong walls and huge, arched gate. Open fields dotted with wildflowers and date palms lay outside the gates. A few groups of people were camping in the fields outside of the city walls. Some had set up shops to sell their produce and wares to passing travelers.
Crowds of people were passing through the gate, some with carts and small herds of animals. Many carried bundles and others rode on carts piled high with rugs, blankets, hand-woven fabrics, and other goods.
Once they passed through the high gate, new sounds and smells filled the air. Merchants hawked their goods, and people shouted over prices. Everywhere there were crowded shops and stalls filled with all kinds of wonderful foods and things to buy.
Leah and Hannah thanked the young man for sharing his cart and asked him if he might know where they could find the man named Jesus.
“Try the temple…up this street and to the right. You can’t miss it.”
They made their way through the crowds, stopping to buy oranges and bread. When they reached the temple, Hannah said, “Wait here while I go find out where Jesus is. Peel an orange for me, okay?”