"You may have heard those rumors about me: How I escaped by moonlight; how I hid inside each one of the seven wells of Beersheba, with nothing in my possession but the shirt on my back; how I eluded my enemy, my brother; and then, how frightened I was, how alone. I’m afraid you have been, at best, misinformed; or, more probably, mislead by some romantic foolery, some fiction and lies, the kind of which can easily be found, and in abundance I might add, in the holy scriptures.
I insist: It was not moonlight but rather, high noon; I was wearing no shirt whatsoever—nothing, really, but a goatskin sleeve. There was only one well in which I could hide, not seven. And most importantly, I was hardly alone; for the entire camp—all the maidservants, the shepherds, the guards—stood aghast all around me. So now, you must see that I could not, despite my best intentions, escape stealthily out of there; nor could I elude anyone.
Instead I was flung out, kicking and screaming, with tugs and pulls loosening the remaining shreds of my clothes, and whacks and smacks coming at my bare back from all directions. My left eye swelled up to such a degree that out of necessity, I resorted to use the right one—only to discover, once I raised my head from the dirt, that my brother was standing right over me. His foot could be seen coming straight at me, at an easygoing, unhurried pace, until it turned into a full blown kick."
I insist: It was not moonlight but rather, high noon; I was wearing no shirt whatsoever—nothing, really, but a goatskin sleeve. There was only one well in which I could hide, not seven. And most importantly, I was hardly alone; for the entire camp—all the maidservants, the shepherds, the guards—stood aghast all around me. So now, you must see that I could not, despite my best intentions, escape stealthily out of there; nor could I elude anyone.
Instead I was flung out, kicking and screaming, with tugs and pulls loosening the remaining shreds of my clothes, and whacks and smacks coming at my bare back from all directions. My left eye swelled up to such a degree that out of necessity, I resorted to use the right one—only to discover, once I raised my head from the dirt, that my brother was standing right over me. His foot could be seen coming straight at me, at an easygoing, unhurried pace, until it turned into a full blown kick."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
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"Compelling", "Entertaining", "Like a kaleidoscope"
Dang...nice work.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lola!
DeleteBrilliant writing, and I don't say that lightly. I lost myself reading this, brief as it was. Also, I am now reminded of a book called the "The Red Tent" about women in biblical times, retold from their perspective.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lurana. Yes, I have read The Red Tent--inspired by the same biblical period. My book is told by the 'bad boy'--Jacob who has just cheated his brother out of the inheritence. Check out the opening pages of this story by using the 'Look Inside' Amazon feature, I have a feeling you might like it.
DeleteIt's simply a delight to read!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sandra!
ReplyDelete