TALITHA (Ongoing)

EP 1

The young slender lady stirred, groaning in protest at being disturbed. She had been resting her head on a wooden bed that was covered with the skin of some unfortunate animal, her left hand laced into that of the sick man lying on the bed.

“Talitha,” a woman’s voice called gently as she tapped the young lady’s shoulder.

Vivid ocean-green eyes opened as Talitha woke to stare up into the face of her human disturbance.

Talitha was a lovely sight to behold. Her waist-length jet black hair cascaded all over her back, and her face was a work of art, sculpted by Adonai Himself…

The alarm that crept into her pretty eyes did very little to mar her beauty, but it was enough to make any admirer worry.

Talitha sat up suddenly on her wooden stool, eyes wide as she scanned her surroundings, alarm oozing off her in waves.

What is going on here? Why…How…?

Talitha could not tell what exactly felt off about her current situation, but she could tell something was very very wrong.

“Talitha?” The woman’s voice came again.

Talitha shied away from her touch.

That is not my name. She thought.

But then, what was her name?

Fear crept into her heart, wrapping its tentacles tight around the poor organ.

She didn’t know her name!

It was odd thinking of it that way since this woman seemed to know her. Why then was she so sure that Talitha wasn’t her name?

Her eyes took in the room frantically.

Candles were stationed on a small roughly-hewn table sitting in a corner, but they weren’t lit since light came in from outside. It seemed to be only a few hours into the day. The sun was shyly peering over the fence of the clouds.

The walls of the room were cracked clay, completely ancient-looking…and then there was the bed, on which lay a sickly man, gaunt from whatever was ailing him.

Talitha quickly detached her hand from that of the man.

Who are these people? Why am I here…?

“Talitha,” the woman spoke her name for the third time, her voice wobbling a little from emotion. “What is wrong, my dear?”

Talitha looked up at the woman, struggling to place a name to the face, but nothing happened. Her panic mounted.

The woman had green eyes and hair that seemed incapable of deciding whether it wanted to be black or brown. She looked to be in her late forties.

“Daughter, are you okay?”

Daughter? This is…

The woman’s green eyes were on the verge of tears, and a sudden feeling of familial affection rushed into the young lady.

I don’t even know this woman! She’s not my mother…!

But Talitha had no idea who her mother was either.

She wanted to scream, but she was scared that it would hurt this woman’s feelings and make her even more sad. For some reason, she couldn’t bear to think of that.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Talitha spoke.

“Who are you?”

The woman’s eyes widened, filling up with moisture. Talitha suddenly felt guilty. She shouldn’t have asked that…

“This isn’t funny, Talitha. Your father is dying. This isn’t the time to make jokes…”

” But I’m not joking. I…”

The woman suddenly grabbed her shoulders.

” Talitha!” She shook the confused maiden. “I need you solid right now, okay? I know this is hard, but we can get through this. You’re all I have left, daughter.” Her voice broke with unleashed emotions.

Tears were slipping uninterrupted down her face, the dam broken.

Talitha felt her heart shred within her.

She hated seeing this woman like this. She hated that she had triggered those tears.

“I’m sorry…mother,” she slipped her arms around the sobbing woman. Her apparent mother felt…right. Why then was she so confused? “I’m just a little disoriented from…lack of sleep, I think. I didn’t mean to make you worried.”

The woman slowly pulled away, staring into Talitha’s eyes.

“You’ve been by his side all night. You should rest a bit before you go to work. I’ll take over from here,” the older woman told her.

Talitha nodded, even though she barely understood what she had been told.

Her heart was racing, her head spinning, nausea dominating her senses.

“I’ll step out for some

fresh air first, mother,” she assured the woman, then rose, stepping out of the room.

EP 2

The room she stepped into left her even more disoriented. Why did everything look so old and…She didn’t know what exactly was wrong with everything.

A part of her was endeared to this place, drawing her in. That part of her belonged here. It knew she was somehow connected to this place, but the dominant rebellious part told her otherwise, yelling it in her face.

Talitha wrapped her arms around her midsection as her nausea skyrocketed. She was going to throw up. Her head was spinning…

She grabbed a nearby straw chair for support, sliding down to the rough, stony ground.

Through eyes blurred by nausea and discomfort, she scanned the room. There were three straw chairs, arranged around a low wooden table. Candlesticks were here too, their candles also put out. There wasn’t much besides that.

A single clay plate sat at the head of the table, flies beginning to feast on the remains of the meal. It seemed to be some sort of wheat meal.

Talitha took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself and reduce her mounting nausea.

About a thousand breaths later, the nausea began to subside.

She would be fine. This would pass. It had to…

Slowly, she let go of the chair, her knees wobbling slightly as she rose to her feet.

She stepped out through the door that was slightly ajar, light filtering in through the small opening.

Talitha squinted at the sudden light that assaulted her eyes. The day hadn’t fully bloomed yet, but the light felt intense compared to the dimness of the house she had just exited.

Not many people roamed the street just outside the low fence around the house. Only a few women lifting filled baskets of fruits and spices under the crooks of their arms and men hurrying with sickles and other farming implements.

Talitha pushed the little gate that stopped just a little above her middle, walking out into the streets.

Her eyes took in everything in a hurry, her brain struggling to remember something… Anything at all. Nothing was forthcoming. All she had was that same feeling of belonging and yet not belonging.

“Talitha,” someone called from behind.

She whirled, turning to find a little boy waving to her from a small stall in front of the clay structure that was most likely his home.

Hesitating, Talitha waved back, forcing a small smile. The boy continued waving energetically, eyes wide with glee and a grin spread across his face.

Instinctively, Talitha knew she was supposed to know this boy…She knew him, but she couldn’t remember who he was. The insane urge to collapse and burst into tears flooded her, but she managed to suppress it.

Maybe this boy could tell her something about where she was. Besides, a child was less likely to think she was insane.

Talitha took a step towards the boy, but then she crashed into someone else. It was a woman she hadn’t seen coming in her preoccupation.

The woman, obviously a trader from the contents of her basket, yelped as the contents of her basket fell to the ground. Spices spilled all over the ground alongside grapes and several other fruits.

Talitha was speechless as she stared at the mess on the ground.

“You! You’ve ruined my goods! My husband worked his back off to cultivate those!” The plump woman began yelling, anger evident in her expression.

“I…I’m so sorry,” Talitha stammered.

How had things escalated so much?

Somebody help…please…

“ You’re sorry?! How will that solve this?” She gestured towards the mess of food items.

” I…I…”

“I don’t need your explanation, woman! You will pay me back according to the law!”

Talitha was speechless.

What have I done?

The woman continued to rant and yell, but Talitha had dissociated from her surroundings, her head pounding painfully. The noise only made it worse. She needed to get out of here.

“ Where do you think you’re going?!”

The woman’s voice was so loud that her headache doubled its intensity. She felt someone lay hold of her clothes, probably the enraged trader, but she pulled away with all her strength and ran.

She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she kept on running. Away from everything, away from all the confusion

…if that was possible.

She somehow found her way to a market, but the hustle and bustle made her condition even worse. As she continued to run, tears ran down her cheeks.

What is happening?!

She wanted to scream, but that would only pass her off as insane.

When her legs couldn’t take it anymore, she stopped, hands placed over her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

She was in what appeared to be a pasture field, and thankfully, there was no one in sight.

She sat on the soft grass, and pulling up her knees to her chest, she sobbed.

“What did I do wrong?!” She yelled into the empty space around her.

Thank God no one was here to see her…

Talitha stopped.

God…? Adonai…Yes, that was the more proper name.

She let out a deep sigh. At least she remembered that a supreme being existed. That was a good discovery. She hadn’t completely lost everything.

“Adonai!” she cried. “ I know I am not worthy to call you, but please, help me…” she sobbed, head bowed on her knees. “Have I sinned? Is this my punishment…? Please have mercy. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared and…”

DO NOT BE AFRAID, THALIA. I AM WITH YOU. I BROUGHT YOU HERE, SO YOU ARE IN SAFE HANDS.

Thalia! Yes! That was her real name!

“L-Lord,” she stuttered, keeping her head low. For some reason, she wasn’t as terrified as she should’ve been. It was like this wasn’t the first time she would be hearing Adonai speak. “What do you want me to do?”

A MAN WILL JOIN YOU SOON. TRUST HIM.

And silence returned.

“Thank you, Adonai,” she whispered beneath her breath.

Slowly, she raised her head.

“Talitha! Talitha!”

She looked up.

It was a man, running across the field towards her.

This had to be who Adonai had sent.

Talitha rose shakily to her feet, waiting till the man arrived, chest heaving.

He was quite an intimidating male, tall and muscular. He looked like he had spent half his life training for who-knew-what. Also, Talitha’s face heated up at the thought, he was a good-looking fellow.

“Where have you been? Your mother has been worried,” he told her, hazel eyes gazing into hers. She was quite sure he was worried too… Why should that matter to her?

Talitha swallowed.

The man tilted his head as he studied her.

“Talitha,” he said, so tenderly that tears welled in her eyes. “What is wrong? Were you crying?”

“I…” she paused to steady her voice. “Can I ask an odd question?”

His eyebrows shot up.

” What is it?” he questioned.

Talitha swallowed again. Adonai ordered her to trust him.

“Who are you?” she paused. “Who am I?”

Confusion crept into his eyes.

“What do you…”

“Just answer the question, please,” she pleaded.

The man’s eyes filled up with even more worry.

“You’re Talitha, the daughter of Jashar of the tribe of Dan,” he told her, then took a step closer. Talitha stepped back. Sure, she was to trust him, but that didn’t mean it was easy.

She saw hurt flash in his eyes at her action.

” I’m Simon, son of Araunah, a Jebusite.” he stared at her intensely. “I am your betrothed.”

To be continued…