Short Stories

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'They
have
no
wine.'
[John 2:3]
***********************
Servant Sech'el is plum-
tuckered-out. His feet are
positively KILLING him.
FINALLY....all the dishes,
and pots and pans
have been put away, and he
has set the last dish towel
out to dry. All the other servants
have gone home; being older
and a widower, Sech'el is the
only one who sleeps in a tiny nook,
off the corner of the big kitchen.
He's just finished washing
his feet, and putting on
his night tunic,
and saying his nightly prayers......
when, all of a sudden, there's a
muffled knock at the back
door.
_____________________________
(Knock! Knock!)

(Sech'el mutters. He
gets out of his small bed,
and steps into his
worn-out sandals. He
picks up the candle plate,
from his little wooden
bed table.)
"What IS it?"
(Mumble.)
"If this is another
drunken GUEST,
....I'm GONNA....!"

(Knock! Knock!)

(Whisper at the door.)
"Who IS IT?"

(Silence.)

(Sech'el frowns,
and squints, curiously.)
"Who IS it?
My MASTER, and his FAMILY
are sleeping....
in the HOUSE!
GO AWAY!"

(Knock!)
(Knock!)

(Sech'el sighs, and
opens the big wooden door,
just a crack. Shocked at
the sight of the visitors,
he just stands, open-mouthed,
for a moment.)
"Why......SIRS....?"

(Standing in the shadowed
doorway, looking as though
they are on a spy-mission
for some foreign army,
are two well-dressed
individuals in dark,
hooded cloaks. They look
like twins, but they're not:
Sech'el recognizes them.)

(Beady-eyed squint.)
(Demanding, gruff voice.)
"LET us IN!"

(For a moment Sech'el
just stares, in shock. Then,
remembering his station
in life, he immediately
becomes the lowly house
servant.)
"Why......YES!
Yes, SIR!
Come IN!
What is the MATTER?
Did my MASTER SEND
for YOU?"

(Pharisee Pun'um grimaces.)
"NO! And.....keep QUIET!"

(His friend, Pharisee Plot'zee,
grimaces also.)
"And...PLEASE! GIVE
US a CHAIR! The WALK
to this COUNTRY house,
is .......
RIDICULOUSLY FAR!"

(Pharisee Pun'um nods.
He grimaces, again.)
"And, some WATER!
A cup of WATER, also!"

(Sech'el, sleepily holding
the small candle plate,
has already begun to look
for chairs, and a fresh
jug of water. His night cap
is falling rather ungracefully,
over his balding forehead.)
"Please! PLEASE!
Sit DOWN!
Would you like some....uh....
of the WINE?"

(Immediate silence.)
(Both visitors turn, and
give one another a look.
Then, they both glare
at the lowly servant.)
"NO!
Absolutely NOT!
WATER ....PLEASE!"

(Sech'el nods, some more.)
"Of course!
Of COURSE!
PLEASE!
Sit.....DOWN!"

(Grim, beady-eyed glares.)
(Beady-eyed squints at the
cups of water.)
"Humph!"
(Pharisee Plot'zee leans
forward, and rubs a long,
skinny finger across the
freshly-scrubbed cup. He
frowns. Then, he shrugs
his skinny shoulders, as if
accepting the less-than-pristine
hospitality-from-a-country-bumpkin,
and lifts the cup to his thin lips.)

(Sech'el stifles a big
yawn. Secretly, he's
hoping his two demanding
callers will state the reason
for their odd, middle-of
the-night visit,
and leave very soon.)
"Please! Would you like
something to EAT?
There's.....STILL...plenty
of FOOD!
What can I DO for YOU?"

(Pharisee Pu'num glances,
suspiciously, toward the
hall to the living quarters;
he leans forward in his chair,
and whispers,
almost conspiratorially.)
"TELL US what HAPPENED,
TODAY....?"

(Sech'el scratches his
rumpled head. He yawns,
again; this time, he doesn't
hide it.)
"Today.........TODAY?"
(Yawn.)
"Uh.....my MASTER'S
SON.....got MARRIED!
BOTH of you.....were THERE!"
(Shrug.)

(Pharisee Plot'zee impatiently
sets his cup, down. Drops
of water slosh onto the
floor.)
"Not THAT, you FOOL!"

(Pharisee Pu'num purses
his thin lips.)
"NO, you IDIOT!"

(Sech'el, used to the
Pharisees' snobby
and condescending attitude
toward everyone in town,
doesn't even flinch. He
looks about for his woolen tunic:
feeling a slight shiver;
he's getting cold in
his thin night-shirt.
Sech'el looks back at his
imperious-looking visitors.
In the dim candle-light,
both of their hooded, long faces
seem to have taken on a strange,
demonic quality.
Sech'el shivers, again.)
"Huh? What .....
what, sirs: are you
TALKING about?"

(Beady-eyed squint.)
"The WINE......you FOOL!"

(Thin-lipped purse.)
"YES! The WINE!"

(Sech'el gazes for a moment,
at the long, unfriendly faces
of his nightly visitors:
neither Plot'zee, nor Pu'num were
very handsome; THAT was for sure.)
"OH!
Oh!
You mean.....the WINE!"
OH........THAT!"
(Nod.)

(The two Pharisees glare
at one another, and then
sigh: as if they were talking
to the town-idiot.)
"WELL?
TELL US about it!"

(Sech'el shrugs.)
"YOU were there, sir....
I mean, sirs!"
(Smile, wonderingly.)
"It was quite ASTOUNDING.....
WASN'T it?"

(Beady-eyed glare.)
(Suspicious voice.)
"Did you KNOW...
the MAN?"

(Sech'el shakes his head,
thoughtfully.)
"No......I never
MET HIM,
before! I think
He was one of the
guests' RELATIVES...."
(Sech'el paused for
a moment: thinking.
All he could remember
of the Man was
His Sympathetic Face,
and....His Gentle,
Commanding Voice:
He spoke to Sech'el
and the other servants
with a kindly respect.)

(Pharisee Plot'zee
sneers. He replies,
with a leering tone.)
"But, weren't YOU
the one who.....
who ......?"

"....Who GAVE
the cup of wine to
the Master of the Feast?"
(Nod.)
(Yawn.)
"Is this all, SIRS?
Because, I really must
be getting some SLEEP!
Some of the GUESTS
are still HERE, and.......!"

(Pharisee Plot'zee purses
his thin lips, again. He
narrows his already-very-narrow-eyelids,
and nods to his Pharisee-friend.)
"We have some MONEY..
here....for you!"

(Sech'el is beginning to
think that he is having a
very bad dream: perhaps,
it was that big bowl of
strange matzo-balls, that one of
the relatives had brought
for the wedding feast. He knew he
shouldn't have tried them;
his stomach was feeling rather awful:
what were IN....those matzo-balls,
anyway?)
"Money?
For the cups of WATER?
Oh, NO....SIRS!
My MASTER would have
INSISTED! He is always
very GRACIOUS!"

"NO!
NO!
You FOOL:
...for not TELLING ANYONE!"

"Telling them....what,
sirs?"

"...ABOUT THAT FELLOW:
with the WINE TRICK!"

(Sech'el is wondering if
the Mistress still kept
some of those special
herbs for her stomach,
in the bottom of the pottery
cupboard. Without thinking,
he puts his hand to his
stomach, grimacing.)
"But, sirs........who would I TELL?
Everyone was THERE!"

(Purse of the lips.)
"Yes, but YOU were
the one...HE SPOKE TO!
YOU WERE the one,
who held that cup of
(Smirk)... WINE!"

(Beady-eyed squint.)
"Yes: when did THAT
SNEAKY FELLOW switch.....
the CUPS?"

(Now, it was Sech'el's
turn to squint.)
"I don't know what
you mean, sir......I
was the one, who poured
the WATER......."

"EXACTLY!
THAT'S why we want
you to TAKE the MONEY!"

(Sech'el's stomach stopped
churning, for a moment. He
suddenly felt a cold finger
of horror slide down his
back, as if a chill wind
had just blown
through the crack under
the big kitchen door...
or a ghost had just
slipped in under the eaves.)
"Sirs.....I think you
better leave. I'm sorry....but,
there's nothing HERE.....for you."

(Both Pharisees stand up,
at the same time. They held
their heads high:
acting profoundly insulted.)
"WELL!
I NEVER!"

(Sech'el also stands up:
he walks over, and
quietly opens the door.)
"Goodnight,
sirs."

(Pharisee Plot'zee whispers
vehemently. His spit lands
on Sech'el's plump face.)
"You should take the
MONEY, you FOOL!
You're nothing but a
poor, slovenly... SERVANT!"

(Pharisee Pu'num pushes
his way to the door; he
knocks the little cup
of water, to the floor. It
splashes onto Sech'el's
bare toes, through his
old, tethered sandals.)
"YES!
YOU IDIOT!"

(Sech'el reaches up to
wipe the spit, from his
cheek. Surprisingly, he
discovers that it was
hot, with anger. But,
he doesn't say a word.
He simply looks
down: reverently, and
humbly, as any good
servant should do.)
"Goodnight,
sirs."
(Quiet voice, filled
with an air of finality,
and a touch of pity.)
"Goodnight."
************************
Jesus said
to them,
'Fill
the waterpots
with water.'
And,
they filled
them up
to
the brim.
[John 2:7]

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