A Short Story: Leora's Gift

Leora Hornbeck was bored. The drip, plop of the rain outside was driving her crazy, yet she was not allowed to stir from her desk until the hourglass was completely empty. Right now, it was only a quarter full. Fifteen more minutes. Leora felt that if she had to wait another fifteen minutes she would scream.

This was punishment for not paying attention during school. She puffed out her cheeks and sighed, laying her hot cheek on the cool wood desk. Why did school have to be so boring and dull? If the teacher wouldn’t use the same, soothing, monotonous tone she might be able to concentrate on the subject at hand more easily.

All of Leora’s sisters had gone home an hour ago. Anna wouldn’t be home, Leora knew. Anna was rarely home. She almost always got to go over to a friend’s house for the night, and she’d come to school the next morning with her friends. But then, Anna was fifteen – almost sixteen.

Mara, Leora’s annoying thirteen-year-old sister would be bossing around all the younger children. Ever since Leora could remember, Mara had been bossy-now she was even more so since Mara had graduated to the much desired class of teens. Leora was glad to miss being bossed into sweeping, polishing, mopping, and washing dishes. This was a chore that Leora detested above all others, and didn’t Mara know it! Mara always kept Leora busy, making sure that Leora did not rest or play until all specks of dust were gone, all food particles washed off the dishes, and the silverware sparkled like crystal. Leora was much exasperated with Mara, especially because it seemed to Leora that Mara did the least work of them all!

Gabrielle would be working at Aunt Caroline’s house for money so that she could buy cloth for new dresses – dance dresses in particular. Gabrielle was a marvelous dancer, and as long as Gabrielle worked hard and earned the money, Mama and Papa were fine with her making her own dresses – even though Gabrielle was only twelve.

Cassidy, who was eleven years old, would be practicing her piano. Cassidy was the most musical of all the girls in the Hornbeck family. Sometimes, though, the piano playing did get annoying, particularly when Cassidy played one song over and over again, like a record player stuck on repeat. The piano was very old and out of tune, because it had been Mama’s grandma’s piano that had been passed down to Mama. Pianos were very expensive now days, and Mama and Papa couldn’t afford to buy a new piano.

Clara was Cassidy’s twin. She would be helping Mama. Clara was very pretty, and Clara knew it. Clara often teased Leora about Leora’s freckles and round face, which contrasted ridiculously with Clara’s heart shaped and freckle-free face. Clara was Mama’s favorite, and Leora felt this sorely. Why should Mama have a favorite? Mama would never acknowledge the fact, but it must be so. Mama always defended Clara against Aunt Ellen, who was extremely critical of the children. Mama never contradicted Aunt Ellen about the rest of them. Clara would always get to skip out of having to polish the furniture or having to do anything that would require Clara to work hard with her hands. After all, didn’t Clara have the most beautiful, delicate hands of anyone who ever lived? Such a fuss over hands! Leora thought scornfully. As if anyone would judge you based on your hands!

Five minutes were left in the glass. Then there was herself at ten years old. She wasn’t particularly good at anything. She could sing, but not as well as Cassidy. She wasn’t as pretty as Clara – not by far. She wasn’t as popular as Anna. She wasn’t good at instructing or leading like Mara. Mara was always chosen for the girl’s team captain. She wasn’t good at dancing or sewing like Gabrielle. She certainly wasn’t good at school. Then there was Lily, the baby of the family. Leora was almost jealous of Lily sometimes, because she got almost all the attention. Leora got very little attention, save when she was scolded by her parents for getting bad grades in school, or for forgetting to do a chore, or for not finishing her food. The list continued on and on. Lily was only eight, but she was very good at school. Mama and Papa hoped to have her become a teacher. Lily was quiet, but she had friends that loved her.

There! The hourglass was finally empty. Leora grabbed her books and dashed out into the rain and back home. Leora burst through the door. “I’m home!”

Mara was instantly examining Leora. “You certainly took a long time, Leora. You’re soaked! Did you walk at a snail’s pace? Mama!” Mara cried. Leora stuck her tongue out at Mara.

“Heavens, Leora, you’re wet all through. You certainly didn’t hurry!” Mama scolded.

Mara smirked.

Leora put down her books. “It wasn’t my fault. The teacher kept me an hour late, and Clara should have told you, but I guess she forgot again, as usual. And I ran all through the rain to get here as fast as I could.”

“You ran in the rain? You’ll get sick! Why didn’t you slow down?” Mara exclaimed.

Leora rolled her eyes. “First you wanted me to hurry, and now you want me to slow down?” 

Mara humphed and flounced away in high dudgeon.

“Don’t be so mean to poor Clara,” Mama scolded Leora. “Clara has a lot of school, and she has to practice her lines for the pageant in a few weeks.”

Leora rolled her eyes again as she turned away from her mother. Defending dear Clara, as usual.

Cassidy was playing a Joplin piece on the piano, and Gabrielle was sitting in a chair sewing. Lily was working on school, and Anna wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Leora crept upstairs to her bed and snuggled under her warm comforter as she listened to the rain outside. Mara wouldn’t find Leora here.

“Dinner!” Mama called what seemed hours later. Leora hastily threw off her comforter and raced downstairs. She slipped into place just as Mama was looking around the table at her daughters. Mara was about to inform Mama of Leora’s sudden reappearance when Papa came and sat down to pray. After grace was said, the family began to eat.

As they ate, Papa began to talk to his daughters – this was a family custom.

“Mara, how were the games today?”

“They were fun, Papa. I was the captain of the girl’s team, and we won Red Rover.”

“Gabrielle, is your dress coming along?”

“Yes, Papa. I’m learning a new routine, too. It’s very tricky.”

“Cassidy, did I hear you learning a new piece?”

“No, Papa! It’s the Joplin piece I’m playing for the concert. Mrs. Hatfield hasn’t given me a new piece yet.”

“Clara, a little bird told me that your name was written up with Charlie Beaumont on the ‘Take Notice’ board. Is that true?”

“Yes, Papa. It isn’t anything, really!”

“Oh – Leora. Well, ah… how was school?”

“School was alright.” Leora tried to eat more in order to avoid elaborating her answer.

“She hasn’t helped around the house at all, Papa.” Mara complained.

“Why not?” Papa raised an eyebrow.

“She got home late because teacher made her stay another hour,” Mara informed Papa smugly.

Leora sighed.

“Leora?” Papa prodded.

“So what if I did?” responded Leora tartly. “If the teacher wasn’t so boring, I could listen better.”

“You need to improve in your studies or else… or else…” Suddenly, Papa realized that, since Leora was not involved in anything, he could not take anything away. He paused, grunted, and finally concluded, “You must improve in your studies.”

“But, why?” Leora finally asked. “I’m not good at anything, so I’ll never be good at anything that people grow up to be – like a singer like Cassidy, or a teacher like Lily. I hate school and I don’t see the use of studying if I’m not good at any subject. I’m not even good at sewing.” 

“Leora!” Mama reprimanded sharply. “Your papa and I pay good money to send all of you to school. You must improve your studies.”

“Or what?” Leora could feel herself growing irritated and frustrated. ”I’ve tried, but I just can’t, Mama. You can’t pull me out of anything because I’m not involved in anything. If you gave me more chores, I wouldn’t be able to complete the schoolwork that I’m assigned.” Leora pushed back her chair and ran up to her room.

Papa sighed. “Lily, what was your favorite part of school?” he asked.

“English. We got to write a composition, and I wrote mine on Ted, the horse. I wish he would let me get close to him.”

“Nobody can get close to Ted. He’s good only as a work horse. I was thinking of selling him,” Papa declared.

Leora heard it all. Sell Ted! He was a pretty horse, and Leora loved him. She would never let Papa sell him! Leora had crept to the edge of the stairs and listened in. Now, she quickly got up and hurried silently back to her room, pulling the covers over her head and burying her face in her pillow.

Papa rose from the table, addressing Mama. “I’ll go hitch up the wagon and go into town for some things. Leora needs a new dress, Nellie.”

Clara pouted slightly. “Why does Leora get a new dress?”

“Because she needs one, Clara.” Mama reproached Clara. “You have many pretty dresses as it is. If you needed a new dress we might make you one. Stop pouting and finish your supper. I’ll need to get ready for the new dress. Henry, make sure the color is a nice shade of blue. You know that’s Leora’s favorite color.”

Papa donned his coat and left to go to town. Mama went upstairs into Cassidy, Clara, Leora, and Lily’s room. She sat down on Leora’s bed.

“Leora, sit up.”

Leora sat up slowly.

Mama began, “It is important that you do well in school in order to get a good education.”

Leora frowned. “I hate school. It’s boring, and dull, and… and I hate it.”

“I’m sorry you hate it, because it’ll help you when you grow up. You are not going to get out of school. We have nothing to motivate you with. We have not put you in piano or dance because –”

“Because I’m not good at anything,” Leora finished dejectedly.

“You don’t have to feel bad.,” Mama comforted Leora. “You simply haven’t found a talent yet.”

“But I do have to feel bad. Clara is pretty, and you love her more than you love me. I know it’s true because you won’t hear anyone speak badly of Clara, and yet everyone speaks bad of me because I don’t do anything well. Mara bosses me dreadfully behind your back, Clara teases me about my looks sometimes, and even Lily and Cassidy don’t want to play with me because they always want to play school, and I hate school.” Leora almost wailed in despair.

“Well, maybe you will feel better when you and Papa go to town. Get your coat and hat, it’s still raining out,” Mama said.

Leora did as told and then got into the wagon with Papa, while her somewhat envious sisters watched from the window as the wagon disappeared. Leora remained silent on the ride down, not wishing to incur the lecture that she knew was coming.

“Leora, what are we going to do?” Papa sighed.

“Pull me out of school and let me stay at home to help,” Leora promptly replied.

Papa laughed. “You sound as if you know what you want.”

“I do. I don’t like school,” Leora repeated. “Besides, you don’t need another school-loving daughter. Lily’s already going to be a teacher.”

“You don’t have to be a teacher just because you go to school.”

“Do we have to talk about this?” Leora slumped slightly in her seat.

“Yes.” Papa’s voice took on a stern tone. “It’s important to your mother and I that you get a good education. You will need to know enough to live. You will use a lot of the things you learn in school out in the world.”

Leora fell silent.

---

A bolt of blue cloth was selected and bought. Soon, Papa and Leora turned the wagon around and headed back home.

The light was steadily fading, and the rain had almost stopped, when Leora pointed to the side of the road. “Look, Papa! What’s that?” A small object lay beside the path. As the wagon approached it, the object moved.

Leora gasped and clutched Papa’s arm. “Papa, stop the wagon! It’s a baby deer!”

She sprang from the cart and knelt next to the quivering baby deer. “Papa, it’s hurt, see? It can’t stand. Can we take it home?” Leora’s eyes pleaded with her father.

Papa shook his head. “No. It would go wild cooped up in our house. Once it got older and grew antlers, what then? It would ruin our home. What if hunters saw the deer? They might try and kill it, and then where would we be? Leave it alone, Leora. Get back in the wagon.”

Leora petted the deer. “Papa, we can’t leave this poor little deer. It can’t move. What if something attacked it? It wouldn’t be able to get away.” Leora slid her arms under the trembling mass and lifted the deer easily. Gently she placed it on the straw in the back of the wagon. She covered it with a thin blanket and petted it.

“Can we at least keep it until its leg gets better?” Leora entreated.

Papa hesitated. “Just until its leg gets better, but then we’ll have to turn it out.”

“Thank you, Papa!” Leora cried. “Don’t you worry, little deer, I’ll take care of you,” Leora whispered to the deer. The fawn stopped trembling and nestled its head in Leora’s lap.

Upon reaching the house, Mama came out and saw Leora in the back of the wagon. With concern in her voice, she asked, “Henry? What’s the matter?” Leora gently carried the fawn inside amongst a clamor.

“Oh, look at the baby deer!”

“What happened to it?”

“Where did you find it?”

“Did Papa say you could keep it?”

“Oh, the poor little thing!”

“Where’s its mama?”

“Can we keep it?”

“Is it a boy or girl?”

Questions peppered Leora from all sides.

“Hush, children. Let Leora through.” Mama quieted the other girls as Leora carried her charge to the fireplace and covered it with a blanket. A small rag dipped in warm milk was placed in the deer’s mouth.

“I’ll call it Brownie,” Leora decided, “because it’s brown.” All the sisters watched in silence as Leora deftly cared for the little deer. Lily sat next to Leora and tried to pet Brownie, but the deer began to quiver. As a matter of fact, Brownie wouldn’t let any of the sisters near, and she would not be fed by anyone but Leora. Mara was jealous, as was every other girl. Clara was attracted by the delicate build. Mara could see that it would be athletic. Cassidy could just picture a piece of music that would describe the elegant deer. Lily thought that a composition on a baby deer would definitely get a good grade.

Leora was proud. She had finally found something that nobody else in her family could do. She could take care of animals and nurse them, too.

Mama smiled as she knelt close to Leora. “I do believe that your sisters are envious of you, Leora.”

Leora laughed. “As if I’ve never been envious of them!”

“She is yours.” Mama replied. “I can see that you will take very good care of her.”

“Thank you Mama!” Leora hugged  her mother.

“My very own pet… my little Brownie,” Leora murmured, cuddling the little deer. Leora smiled triumphantly, burying her face in the soft brown fur, her arms around the slim little body. She could now hold her own amongst her talented sisters.

The Final Chapter: The Bronze Bow

The soldier blinked, confused. “But – but – I’m a Roman! It is against your customs to let a Roman soldier into your house.” Daniel nodded, unable to speak. “Why do you want me in your house?” Marcus challenged. “You hate me.” Daniel cleared his throat and spoke gruffly.

“I know – and – and I was –” Daniel forced himself to finish the sentence in a level tone. “I was wrong. About you, I mean. You have done my sister great kindness.” Daniel could barely speak the words. “Before you leave, I would be very much honored if you would step inside and talk to Leah.” Marcus stood unsure a moment as Daniel opened the door. Then, removing the helmet, Marcus swiftly strode into the house, his eyes searching for Leah.  As Marcus stepped into Leah’s room, she opened her eyes. Daniel, standing behind Marcus, saw a soft light creep into the once sorrowful eyes. The tenderness and emotion that clearly expressed itself hurt Daniel. He caught his breath and went outside. He fought back the rising emotions. “Remember what Jesus would want,” he repeated. A cool hand slipped into his. It was Thacia. “Thace? You’re still here?”

“I’ve been here awhile. I left when I saw Marcus going in, because...” Thacia’s voice trailed off and Daniel finished her sentence. “Because Jewish law declares that you cannot be in the same house as a Roman.” Thacia nodded. “Daniel, what are you going to do?” Daniel sighed. “I suppose I’ll re-open the shop and keep working. There’s not much left for me to do –or work for.” Daniel gave a bitter, short laugh. Thacia shuddered slightly at the sound of it. “I meant about Jesus. He’s gone to Jerusalem. Joel said that some of his disciples said that Jesus talked about being put to death there. Daniel, if he is...” Daniel started. “What? Put to death? Thace, I need to go to Jerusalem. Can you take care of Leah?” Thacia looked reluctant and slightly annoyed. “Daniel, you know the Jewish law. And Marcus will want to see Leah.”

“Leah needs someone better than Marcus to take care of her. You can watch them from the garden – the garden isn’t the same as the house, is it?” Daniel pleaded.

“That’s stretching it, but it will have to do,” Thacia agreed halfheartedly.  Entering the house, Daniel strode into the front room, grabbing a walking stick and a cloak. “Daniel!” a soft voice called from the doorway into the other room. Daniel turned to see Leah. Daniel’s face hardened. “What?” he asked rather harshly.

“I brought you some food for your journey.”

“What?”

“You’re going to Jerusalem, aren’t you? To see the preacher Jesus?”

Daniel strode into the garden. “Thace, why did you tell Leah where I was going?”

“Because she needed to be told. You can’t just leave Leah without her knowing!” Thacia’s voice rose angrily. “She shouldn’t need to be told,” Daniel replied hotly.

“She’s not a child anymore – she needs to know!”

“Adults don’t need to know where other adults are going – only children need to be told,” Daniel replied cuttingly, but, before Thacia could reply, a voice called out from the front. “Is Daniel bar Jamin here?”

Marcus was inside, standing, unsure of what to do. “Slip out into the alley – you may come back tomorrow,” Daniel muttered to Marcus as he went to greet the caller. He stepped out the front door, shutting it carefully behind him. The man was a messenger, from his appearance.

“Is a young woman named Thacia here?” questioned the man. “If she is, what concern of yours is it?” Daniel demanded. “This is for her, if she is here – and I know she is. I was told I would most likely find her at this shack,” the messenger smirked as he handed Daniel a small scroll, shaking his robes as if shaking off some contaminated object as he strode arrogantly through the streets to be pelted with pebbles and names. Thacia came out and took the scroll from Daniel, unrolling it and reading it. She turned pale. “Father says I must return home at once. I am not to come here again. Daniel, I can’t take care of Leah, which means that Marcus must.” Daniel rushed into the alley, where Marcus was still waiting. “Marcus, you must look after Leah. Thacia is leaving and I am going to Jerusalem – no one but you will willingly look after Leah.” Marcus replied slowly. “Of course, you must realize that if I were to help with Leah, it would mean desertion from my legion.” Daniel was desperate. “Please? I’ll only be gone a few days and you’re the only one I can count on – if you leave she will never fully recover.”  

“Very well. I shall do my best to leave unnoticed.” Daniel hurried to the front to say goodbye to Thacia, only to discover that she was gone. Daniel kicked the dust angrily. “I may as well leave now.” Daniel set off for Jerusalem. 

The next day, instead of going around Capernaum, as he usually did, he went right through Capernaum – secretly hoping to bump into Joel – or better, Thacia. Daniel lingered around Joel’s house as long as he dared without making himself conspicuous. After an hour, he gave up and left the town. The landscape melted from city streets to vineyard covered hills. As Daniel was making a shortcut through a vineyard, he heard a shout. “Daniel!” Daniel turned to see Joel leaping like a young goat through the vineyard. The two met, clapping each other on the back. “I heard that you were going to Jerusalem. Thacia told me. I wish to come with you. Usually I wouldn’t be allowed to leave the house, but I told father I was going to the synagogue – Jesus is causing a stir and the Pharisees and Sadducees have been talking to him in the synagogue – perhaps I will see such a meeting.”

“Is Thacia coming?” Daniel inquired eagerly. Joel’s face fell. “No. Father has forbidden her to leave the house without parental supervision. He fears another meeting between you and Thacia.” Daniel shouldered his bag. “He need not fear. Thacia would not marry me – we argued before she left.” Joel began walking ahead. “We shall see what happens.” After a few more days of walking, the boys came to a winding road that led down into the road that led into Jerusalem. Joel pointed. “Look!” The walls of the temple rose, casting a black shadow against the setting sun which painted the sky with radiant reds and golds. “We’re almost there.” As Daniel and Joel approached the entrance to the city, they were stopped by two Roman guards. “Ho, there! What brings two little boys into the big city of Jerusalem?” one questioned with an amused look on his face. Daniel clenched his fists and tried to remember what Jesus told him. “Help me,” Daniel prayed. Joel spoke up. “We came to visit the temple. It is Passover time.”

“I know when the Jewish holidays are – they make enough fuss over them. Jewish, eh? Are you related to the Jesus preacher by any chance?” The first soldier was doing all the talking.

“No.” Joel looked quizzical.

“They’re fine. Let them pass.” The first Roman soldier waved to his companion to let the two boys through. Daniel and Joel hurried through to the outskirts of the city. Daniel looked at the temple looming large and grand, towering over the city, and suddenly felt small and insignificant. He had never been to Jerusalem before. “How do we find Jesus?” he asked.

“Easy. Just head into the temple and there should be some great debate between the leaders of the synagogues and Jesus.” Joel gave a half grin. Making their way to the temple was not as easy as it sounded. The streets were packed with people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover. Joel grabbed Daniel’s arm and pulled him into a side-street which was dark and nearly empty. They caught their breath before Joel tugged Daniel’s arm again and pulled him through a network of dark side-streets and alleyways before Joel stopped again. “Joel, what are you doing?” Joel shushed him and looked around. Daniel glanced to his left and froze. There was a dark shadow looming around the corner. “Joel!” Daniel croaked in a loud whisper, grabbing Joel’s arm.

“What?”

“Over there,” Daniel nodded. The figure walked forward, holding a clay lantern. Daniel squinted through the thickly falling darkness at the face which was covered by a rough hood. A delicate hand pushed back the hood to reveal:

“THACE?” Daniel had never been so surprised – or annoyed. All that worrying for a mere girl: and Thacia at that! Joel laughed at Daniel’s expression. “B-b-ut-but – aren’t you supposed to be at home?”

Thacia grinned as she handed the lantern to Joel. “Yes and no. I’m supposed to be at home but I got permission from Father to come to the temple. Aunt Martha and Aunt Mary live close to here so we can stay at their house. They’re also close friends with Jesus.”

Daniel tried to cover his annoyance by saying gruffly, “Well, that’s all very well, but how are we supposed to find our way back to the outskirts of the city in the dark? Jerusalem isn’t the safest city.”

“Grab my robe. I know the way to Aunt Mary and Martha’s house from here.” Joel offered his sleeve to Thacia. “Daniel, grab Thace’s cloak.” Joel took the lantern and led the way. After a half hour of stumbling through tiny alleyways and dark side-streets, Joel finally turned onto a larger street. Peering at the house fronts, Joel found the one he was looking for and knocked. The door opened a crack. “Who is it?” A hushed voice whispered. “It’s me, Aunt Mary – Joel. Thacia’s with me, and a friend, Daniel.”

The door opened wider. “Joel! Come in, come in – but who is this friend?”

“His name is Daniel. He’s a Jew,” Thacia replied quietly as if to dispel any doubt about Daniel’s character.

“He is welcome here.”

The three were led into a larger room. “Mary? Joel and Thacia are here.”

A woman came out of a smaller room. “Joel! Thacia! How wonderful it is to see you again! This is a pleasant surprise – but we were not expecting you. Your father forgot to send notice again, but that does not matter. Let me get you something to drink. I know it is a long way from Capernaum, and, knowing you two, you must have walked the whole distance in one day! You may have to sleep on the floor, I’m afraid, but we may be leaving this house and going into the country soon. How are your father and mother? I’m surprised that they did not come down here with you. You must read from the Torah on the Sabbath, Joel. Lazarus has gone with the disciples to accompany Jesus to the temple, and I fear he will not be back for some days. Thacia, dear, I hear that your dancing is getting on very nicely. You must dance for us very soon. Tomorrow night, perhaps?” Aunt Martha continued chattering as she set places for Joel, Thacia, and Aunt Mary at the small table.

Joel tried to break in politely. “Aunt Martha? This is our friend Daniel. He will be staying with us, if that is alright with you.”

“Oh! Well why did you not say so sooner? I shall fetch an extra plate.” Aunt Martha bustled off.

“Have you heard anything about Jesus?” Aunt Mary glanced hesitantly at Daniel.

“No, nothing other than that they will be having Passover together in a friend’s house.” Dinner was silent and uncomfortable – for Daniel especially. He rose at the end of the meal. “Thank you very much for the meal, Mrs. Martha, Mrs. Mary –” and strode out of the house, making sure not to slam the door behind him. Thacia excused herself and went out after him. Daniel was sitting on the doorstep. 

“I’m sorry about that Daniel. I did not know that Aunt Martha and Aunt Mary would be so suspicious towards you. Things must have gotten worse in the city.”

Daniel did not look at Thacia. “Why are you here?”

“To come to the temple. I did want to pray – also, I heard that Jesus might be put to death and I wanted to be here.”

“What are you going to do, after this is all over?”

“Return home, I suppose,” Thacia said reluctantly and slowly.

“Then I wish you all the happiness that I can offer.” Daniel replied in a monotone voice, as if rehearsing a script.

“No you don’t!” Daniel turned in surprise at the sharp exclamation.

“You don’t wish me all the happiness you can offer. If you did you’d do what we both know would be the best thing. We keep meeting and the same issue comes up and we never resolve it. Either you love me or you don’t. Choose now so I know how to treat you.”

“Treat me? You want to know how I feel so that you can treat me a certain way?” Daniel asked angrily.

Thacia flushed. “That’s not how I meant it.”

“Every time we meet we seem to argue about something.”

“That’s because you are so sensitive and take everything I say and twist it or misinterpret it.”

“It’s my fault then?”

“Yes! If you would try and be sensible and think about what I’m trying to say, then maybe we wouldn’t argue so much.”

“I think your decision is clear: you may treat me in the way you so long to!”

“And what way is that?”

“Disdain and scorn.”

“And how have you arrived at that conclusion?”

“Is that not always how you have wanted to treat me?

“No! When I first met you, I admit that my only thoughts were of scorn and distaste and disdain. But I’ve changed – as have you. Ever since that night with the Roman soldiers, I haven’t known how to behave around you. Everything about our relationship has been up in the air and tossed back and forth. I don’t know what to do around you: that’s what I meant about treating you.”

“We both know why you went home a couple days ago.”

“You also know what Father has promised.”

“It always comes back to this.”

“So choose. Which do you want: me, or Father’s approval?”

Daniel was silent. “You know I want you. But your father: we must have his blessing, as is tradition.”

“Father will give his blessing, and he must.”

“Then – I choose you, no matter what your father may say, since he has a promise to fulfill.”

Thacia smiled, and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, a man came running up to the house, panting and disheveled.

“Who are you?” Daniel stood up.

“Friend… of Jesus... James son of Zebedee. Who are you?”

“Daniel bar Jamin.”

“The blacksmith? Simon... talked of you.”

“What’s the matter?” Thacia inquired nervously.

“Jesus… arrested… Roman guards... that traitor!”

“Who’s a traitor?” Daniel was confused.

“Judas Iscariot…. He betrayed Jesus and all of us. Jesus is being taken.... to the temple to be questioned... by the Sanhedrin and the... Pharisees.” 

– By Samantha Jennings

An Analysis: Number the Stars

“You shall not lie” (Exodus 20:16). This is an explicit biblical command ordering us to tell the truth always, even under difficult circumstances. It is the Ninth Commandment, and, therefore, we should always obey it. However, Annemarie Johansen and her family go directly against this command and endanger their own lives in order to save their Jewish friends. The setting of the book, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, is in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the second world war. Annemarie, her sister Kirsti, her mother, and her father are confronted with a decision that could change the lives of their best friends, the Rosens. Soldiers are on the prowl, seeking, capturing, and killing Jews. Those that are not killed are exported to Germany. The Rosens are Jews, and they must flee Denmark to escape to Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Rosen are hidden, but they send their daughter Ellen, Annemarie’s best friend, to the Johansens until they can find a way to get Ellen out of Copenhagen. A group of soldiers burst into the Johansens apartment one night, demanding to know where the Johansens are. The children are brought before the soldiers, and Mr. and Mrs. Johansen lie in order to save Ellen and her family. This clearly goes against the Ninth Commandment, along with other explicit biblical commands to tell the truth.

 
Should the Johansens have lied to the soldiers? I believe that they were right for two reasons. The first reason is that they were protecting the innocent. The second reason is that they were also saving several lives.

The first reason the Johansens were right in lying is that they were protecting the innocent. The Rosens had not disobeyed the government, and they had done nothing to anger or provoke the soldiers. The Nazis would have arrested the Rosens simply for adhering to their personal beliefs. Also, God tells us to save the innocent believers who are being martyred. “Rescue those who are being taken to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11). The Jews were those who were being captured and killed, and the Johansens, by their actions, were protecting the innocent people who could not defend themselves. The Rosens had no connections with the Resistance, a group of people who smuggled Jews to safer places, so there was no way that the Rosens could have escaped without help. The Johansens’ uncle was in the Resistance, as well as a young man named Peter, whom the Johansens knew. By sending the Rosens to the uncle, the Johansens were protecting and saving their friends who were being persecuted.

The second reason the Johansens were right in lying is that they were saving several lives. Mrs. Johansen, Annemarie, Kirsti, and Ellen went to Annemarie’s uncle to help the Rosens escape Denmark. The Johansens saved Ellen’s life as well as her parents’ lives. By remaining silent and acting a lie, the Johansens saved the lives of the other Jews who were leaving Denmark with the Rosens. Mrs. Johansen had to lie to the soldier who came to the uncle’s house when all the Jews were gathered there to leave. She had to lie to that soldier, she and Mr. Johansen had to lie to the soldiers in the apartment, and the entire family was acting a lie by not saying anything to the soldiers. In lying to the soldiers, the Johansens saved the lives of the present Jews, of the uncle, of Peter, and also the lives of their own family, for helping the Jews was punishable with death or deportation.

In conclusion, I think that the Johansens were right in lying to the soldiers for two reasons: they were protecting the innocent and they were saving several lives.

– By Samantha Jennings