Apprentice (53 page)

I was tied to Abba until he gave me a
get
, which might be never. After all, he hadn't vowed to release me in two years. In truth, after carefully recalling his exact words, I realized that he had merely said that he “could” write me a
get
at that time. What an act he had put on, falling on his knees and begging me not to shame him in that compelling voice of his. He had set more effective snares than the best Persian hunters. And I, who knew how clever he was and should have been more careful, had been caught like a bird in a fowler's net.

No spell or incantation could save me. If I remained in Sura, he would continue to work his wiles until I ended up married to him. But only if I remained in Sura.

Furious at myself for falling into Abba's trap, and at him for leading me into it, I searched the villa until I found Tachlifa in his storeroom. He was busy organizing goods and supplies for his upcoming trip, but I had to speak with him.

He smiled when he first saw me. “Dada, I thank you for your confidence in my trading skills. A merchant can always use an additional source of capital.” Then he came closer and observed the fearsome expression on my face. “Ha-Elohim! What happened to upset you?”

“I must leave with you and Samuel. I need to go as far from Sura as I can, as quickly as possible.” I locked eyes with him. “If you don't take me, I'll cross the desert on my own.”

He looked at me in alarm. “Of course you can accompany us, if it's that important. But I'd like to know why.”

I explained the situation. “Even if I am only imagining Abba's evil intentions, I must get away from him.” I couldn't explain the panic behind my decision, only that I had to go.

He shook his head in disbelief. “I suppose your daughter will come too.”

“Of course.” I began to relax once the decision was made. “Also, I don't want anyone to know until after we've left.”

“No,” he said firmly. “You must tell Mother and Father. Otherwise everyone will worry that you've been kidnapped or worse. They'd probably start searching for you.”

“I'll write a letter for them to find after I'm gone.”

“Where are you planning to go?”

There was no doubt in my mind. “To Sepphoris, to stay with Yochani. When are we leaving?”

“We'll be leaving before dawn on First Day after Shavuot. So you have a week to change your mind.”

That meant I could probably slip away without anyone seeing me. “As long as we're gone before Abba returns.”

The night Shavuot ended, I was putting out the lamp when Mother entered my
kiton
. Nurse and Leuton still belonged to Father, so I hadn't told them about my plans for fear they'd inform him. Had Tachlifa divulged my secret?

Evidently someone had, for Mother handed me a scroll of papyrus and said, “This document transfers ownership of these two slaves to you. It will make transporting them easier.”

“You don't mind me leaving?” I asked, hoping for her understanding.

“I do not like you running away like a child or a slave,” she replied. “I would prefer that you stay and calmly work out your problems with Abba like an adult.”

I cringed at her criticism. “I can't. Maybe later, but right now I can't.”

“What about Chama? You've only just started seeing him again.”

It would break my heart to leave him again, but I had to escape. “He's happy with Achti. He won't miss his auntie much,” I said bitterly.

“How long do you intend to stay away?”

“I don't know.” I hadn't planned that far in the future.

“At least you weren't foolish enough to run off by yourself,” she chided me gently. “I know I can count on Tachlifa to see that you get to Sepphoris safely.”

“So he told you?” Instead of getting angry, I felt relieved.

“He told Pazi, and she, being a mother, told me.”

“Will you bless me, Mother, before I go?”

“Of course I will.”

But the next morning it was Father who blessed me with the priestly benediction. “Adonai bless you and protect you; Adonai make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; Adonai lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Mother said the amens.

Thus the only people up early enough to bid me farewell were Mother, Father, Pazi, and Tazi; the twins being there to see their husbands off. The carts had been loaded the night before, and all that remained was to hitch up the donkeys and head to Sura's docks. I had made us all new travelers' amulets, and between those and my parents' blessings, I felt confident about reaching Sepphoris safely. Once I left Sura behind, I didn't care how long it took going upstream against the river's current.

I could tell we were approaching Nehardea by the increased boat traffic. Located on a bluff at the confluence of the Euphrates River and the Nehar Malka, the city was surrounded on three sides by water. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the city's towering ramparts came into view. After Nehardea had been destroyed by the Tadmorians, King Shapur had rebuilt it, concentrating on the docks that continuously lined the riverbank in addition to the thick walls and heavy gates that protected the city.

The bustling port was so crowded that I was surprised when we tied up and disembarked. “Are you buying more merchandise here?” I asked Tachlifa when Samuel disappeared into the city.

“No. Samuel's gone to hire the camels and their drivers.”

“Camels? I thought we'd be traveling by boat.”

He shook his head. “It was a hard winter in the north, and the Euphrates is still so rain-swollen that going upriver will be both difficult and treacherous.”

“We're going to cross the desert now, when the east wind is still a danger?” I'd heard stories of people buried in spring sandstorms.

“Didn't I hear you say that you would cross the desert on your own if I didn't take you?” he replied teasingly. “Don't tell me that you want to go back, Dada.”

“Not at all. I just thought that winter was the best season to cross the desert, and summer the worst.”

“In a dry year, that is true. In a wet year, however, the middle of Sivan is an excellent time,” he said. “The desert oases won't have dried out yet, the east wind is weakening so the likelihood of sandstorms is lessened, and the many hours of daylight mean we can travel farther each day than in the short days of winter.” He grinned and added, “And we will get our goods to the West well before our competitors who take the river to the northern Silk Road.”

“Northern Silk Road?” I asked. “I thought there was only one Silk Road, which starts somewhere in China and goes through Ctesiphon and Machoza.” That was what Tazi and Pazi told me.

“The Silk Road splits in two at the Euphrates,” Tachlifa explained. “The northern road through Rakka is what we took to get home from Antioch, but the southern road cuts across the desert and goes through Damascus to Tyre. That's the route we'll be traveling to get you to Sepphoris.”

I gazed at my brother in admiration. He'd traveled to so many places I'd never seen and knew about so many things I didn't. “Will we be going by ourselves, like I did with father, or will we be joining a large caravan?”

“The latter I hope. It depends how many others Samuel finds in Nehardea and at the desert's edge,” he said. “Most merchants prefer a large caravan, since only a few more Saracens are required to guard two hundred camels than one hundred.”

Samuel had no trouble finding merchants who, like us, preferred to risk crossing the desert via the southern Silk Road rather than be delayed on the Euphrates on their way north. The huge camels scared Yehudit at first, and I could see our companions scowling at her cries and hear them muttering that this was no place for women and babies. But she soon calmed, as I knew she would, and by the time we reached the desert she was more fascinated by them than frightened.

The crush of men and camels seemed even larger than at Rakka three months ago. Between the heat, the animal stench, and the din of men shouting over the camels' grunting, I couldn't wait to get away. At least here we weren't forced to wait for returning merchants, so I tried to be patient as the Saracen caravan protectors grouped us according to destination. Finally we were allowed to eat our evening meal, set up our tents, and go to sleep. Yet it seemed as though I had no sooner put my head down than they were yelling at everyone to be ready when the sun rose.

The air shimmered with heat as the day warmed, and between the long column of camels and the dust they kicked up, I could see neither the first one in line nor the last. Our guides led us from one oasis to another, so that some days we stopped well before sunset and others we rode long into the moonlit night. I learned how to doze on camelback without falling off, and since my camel dutifully followed the one in front of it, I often kept my eyes closed to avoid the blinding glare reflecting off the sand.

Thus it took me a little while to fully awaken when, in the middle of the morning, our caravan unexpectedly stopped. I thought nothing of it at first, since the camels tended to pause to relieve themselves, thus temporarily halting those behind them. It was only when I heard a Saracen furiously yelling commands that I opened my eyes.

Tachlifa and Samuel were on the ground, tugging to get things down from our camels. “We need to make camp.” My brother pointed behind us, to the east. “A sandstorm is coming.”

I followed his line of sight and snatched Yehudit tight to my breast in horror. In the distance stood a gigantic wall of sand. It was so wide that I could not see its edges and so tall that it would soon obscure the sun. Within moments, I felt the first stirrings of the dreaded east wind.

I tried to control my panic. “What should I do?”

“Just wait until the tent is ready,” he answered loudly, already needing to raise his voice over the growing noise of the wind. “Then you and the baby stay inside until the storm is over. Your slaves can help bring in food and water.”

The scene soon became one of controlled chaos as men rushed to set up the tents and pound in their pegs. Our caravan protectors could only do so much, and every man became responsible to provide shelter for his people, camels, and merchandise. My heart pounding, I kept my eyes focused on the approaching mountain of sand, trying to gauge its speed, as if knowing this would somehow help us. If only Father were here with his priestly magic to quell the storm.

It seemed like forever until Tachlifa announced, “The tent is secure. Hand down the baby, then follow me.”

Though captivated by the way the wind whipped sand into small twisters, I did as he said. Amazingly he had found a large rock and tied one corner of the tent to it. Samuel was tethering the camels to the rock while one of his slaves was hammering pegs into the dirt nearby for additional anchors.

“What will happen to the camels?” I asked. What was the point of hiding in our tents only to find our camels gone, along with all they carried, when we emerged?

“They'll be fine as long as they stay here,” Tachlifa said. “They've survived plenty of sandstorms before.”

Our tent's entrance faced west. This would best protect us from blowing
sand, but it also meant that we could not see when the storm would arrive.

“May I stay outside for a little while?” Cowering inside in ignorance until the storm suddenly hit would be more frightening than watching as it approached.

He hesitated before replying, “Just stay close by.”

By the time my slaves finished unloading our provisions, Yehudit was crying fearfully. I handed her to Nurse and stepped outside. The wind lashed at my veil and almost tore it off, but I held on and wrapped it tight around my hair and face so only my eyes were exposed. Now I could see that the wall of sand was not stationary but racing toward us. The rising sun was still above it, but the rolling sand would soon blot out the light. The wailing of the wind increased to a roar, and fright overwhelmed my curiosity. Hands covering my ears, I fled into the tent.

It seemed an eternity until Tachlifa and Samuel were inside with us, tying the tent flaps closed.

Now there was nothing to do but wait. And wait.

The tent shook and shimmied, and slowly the din increased as the first grains of sand pelted our shelter's walls. Leuton began to cry and Nurse attempted to comfort her, but the rest of us remained silent. Holding Yehudit tight against my breasts, I grasped my traveler's amulet, closed my eyes, and prayed that our refuge would hold.

When the brunt of the storm hit, my brother's arms encircled us, and I joined him in whispering psalms.

A
person can be paralyzed by fear for only a limited time before the body must move. Eventually Samuel stood up and told the slaves to prepare the midday meal. I was proud that Leuton was too disciplined to let fright prevent her from doing her duty. Soon we were nervously nibbling on cheese, dates, pickled vegetables, and leftover bread as the very earth and air assaulted us.