Short Stories
'Tal'i'tha,
cu'mi.'
[Mark 5:41]
********************
"Tell US AGAIN,
BUB'BEE*!
TELL US AGAIN!"
"Alright, children!
ALRIGHT!"
(Deborah laughs,
and then smiles,
happily.)
"Now.....SETTLE down....
Abraig'al, go get some
water for little Lev'kah!
And.....Sarah, come sit
over here by me......THERE!"
(Pause.)
"DAVID'LAH! Come OVER
here! Stop playing with
the CRICKET! Pick him,
gently....and, put him
OUTSIDE.....ALRIGHT?"
"YES, BUB'BEE!"
(Pause.)
(Louder, grandmotherly voice.)
"Rachel! RACHEL!
WHERE are you?"
(Muffled twelve-year-old voice.)
"In the KITCHEN.....
BUB'BEE: KNEEDING!
I've HEARD that story.....BEFORE!"
(Chuckle!)
(Yell toward the kitchen.)
"WELL.....YOU'LL JUST
HAVE TO HEAR IT,
ONCE MORE!
I NEED YOU
TO STAY IN HERE,
AND HOLD LITTLE JULIA!
SHE'S JUST
NODDING OFF.....!"
(Silence from the
kitchen.)
(Deborah looks up
toward the ceiling,
and sighs...shaking
her head.)
"PUT THE BREAD DOWN,
RACHEL'LAH!
IT WILL STAY FOR A
FEW MINUTES! AND....
COME IN HERE!"
(Muffled voice from
the kitchen.)
"Oh......ALRIGHT.....
HERE I COME...! DO
YOU ALL WANT SOME
CAKE?"
"No, RACHEL! The
children have had ENOUGH!
They won't be able
to settle down,
for their NAPS!"
(Some banging around
in the kitchen.)
(A pretty, twelve-year-old
girl comes out of the
kitchen. She has a splotch
of flour on her cheek, and
several stains from feeding
little Julia, on her
big white apron.
Her long, dark hair
is covered by a short,
white head-covering;
several strands have
escaped from the stretched
piece of starched cotton,
and are curled from the heat
of the kitchen, about
Rachel's plump, heart-
shaped face. Her dark
eyes are large, and filled
with intelligence....and,
perhaps a little too much
pride. She is walking,
rather slowly...
and reluctantly, from
the entrance of the kitchen.
She speaks again,
to her waiting
grandmother.)
"While the children
are NAPPING.......can I go
and see Letich'cia, next
DOOR?"
(Deborah frowns, with
grandmotherly patience.)
"No, my RACHEL!
You must stay HERE,
while I go to MARKET!
Your PARENTS won't be home...
for another DAY...and,
we still have much to do,
around the HOUSE."
(Rachel leans over to
gentle disentangle little
sleeping Julia, from her
grandmother's plump
arms. Carrying the wee
one, rocking her gently,
she takes her seat
beside little Lev'kah,
and close to her grandmother,
on the wide stool just
beneath the window.)
"Can I...perhaps, go to
see Letich'cia....when
you get HOME....?"
(Deborah sighs; she
couldn't recall herself
being so INDEPENDENT...
at her granddaughter's
age! Oh, the YOUNGER
generation! So many
DIFFERENCES!)
"We'll see, Rachel.
We'll see. Perhaps,
your friend Letich'cia..
could come HERE......
and help you make
the BREAD for
tomorrow's BREAKFAST.."
(Rachel's pretty face falls,
just a little. She shrugs,
lightly.)
"YES......I guess, THAT
would be OKAY........"
(Sigh.)
(Deborah shakes her
head: chuckling. She
knows why her granddaughter
would rather go over to
Letich'cia's house. The
two of them wanted to
discuss the latest news:
Letich'cia's father had
just chosen a betrothal,
for his elder daughter.
Letich'cia was two years
older than Rachel: the
two girls had been friends
since babyhood.)
(A very young voice
interrupts Deborah's
thoughts.)
"BUB'BEE! You were
gonna TELL US THE
STORY!"
"You are RIGHT,
Jonathan! You are
ABSOLUTELY right!
Now.......is everybody
COMFORTABLE.....?"
(A chorus of young
voices answer, happily.)
"YES, BUB'BEE!"
(Smile.)
"Alright. Good."
(Pause, to look about
the cozy room, dramatically.)
"A LONG......LONG TIME,
AGO......"
"HOW OLD WERE
YOU, BUB'BEE?"
(Deborah leans over to
kiss the top of little
Sarah's plump cheek.
Sarah's hair was very curly,
and reddish in color:
much like that of her
grandfather David......
may he rest in peace!)
(Sarah giggled and
squirmed, delightfully,
in Deborah's wide,
comfortable lap.)
"WELL.......I was your
sister RACHEL'S AGE."
"WERE YOU LIKE
RACHEL, BUB'BEE?"
(Chuckle!)
"Oh.........NO!
Not as PRETTY as our
RACHEL! No, no!"
(Rachel, sitting by the
window rocking baby
Julia, smiles teasingly.
Her face tints a pretty
pink, with embarrassment.)
"Oh.....BUB'BEE!"
(Chuckle.)
"Oh......no! And, I was
NEVER as near INDEPENDENT!"
"DID YOU HAVE BROTHERS
AND SISTERS, BUB'BEE?"
"No...no, little Stevie.
I was an ONLY child:
the only daughter of
your Great-Grandpappa
and Grandmamma....."
"Great-Grandpappa was
a RICH man....WASN'T
he, Bub'bee?"
"Hm......perhaps, Rachel....
But, that was not important
to your Great-Grandpappa.....
the most precious TREASURES in the
WORLD to him, were your Great-Grandmamma....
and his little DAUGHTER.
He would do anything for
us: ANYTHING."
(Rachel gazed thoughtfully,
at her wise and lovely
grandmother. She could
only hope that her parents
would choose a wonderful,
WONDERFUL groom.....like,
her OWN Grandpappa: who
had passed away, peacefully,
only three years before.
Grandpappa loved her Bub'bee,
intensely,
until the very
day he died.)
"Even.........?"
(Deborah looked at her
pretty granddaughter,
with tears in her eyes.)
"Yes. Even, to go very far
to look for help....when his
precious daughter was
dying......"
"WERE YOU DYING.....
BUB'BEE? WERE YOU
DYING?"
(Little Abraig'al's voice
was anxious, even though
she had heard the story
many times, before.
Abraig'al was the sensitive one:
always bringing stray little pups
home, or even the odd
goat, or little wild animal. More
times than once, her
exasperated parents had
had to set up a pen for
the motely-looking brood
of creatures, that had
tugged at little Abraig'al's
kind heart.)
"Oh.....YES, Abraig'al!
My PARENTS were GRIEVING,
TERRIBLY!"
(Another young voice
popped up.)
"HOW LONG WERE
YOU SICK, BUB'BEE?
HOW LONG WERE
YOU SICK?"
(Deborah mused, for a
moment, before she
spoke to her ten-year-
old granddaughter, who
was sitting next to
Rachel: her hands busy,
as always, with her needlework.)
"Hm.....not very LONG,
Shar'ron.......not very long!
One day....all I can remember.....
I was outside..
playing with my friends....
when.....SUDDENLY...
I came down with a horrible
PAIN.. in my head...
and my teeth started
CHATTERING!"
"YOU WERE SICK,
BUB'BEE! SICK!"
"Oh....but, YES!
I remember.....
that my hands grew cold,
and yet all the rest of
my skin grew HOT........
very hot....all at the same
time!"
(Rachel's voice: tinged
with the calm knowledge
of the oldest child.)
"You had bad fever,
Bub'bee: very bad fever!"
"OH, BUB'BEE!"
(Abraig'al's soft voice
grew tearful, all of a sudden.)
"It's just a STORY....
ABBIE! NOW.. QUIET
DOWN, WILL YOU?"
(Shar'ron, who hadn't
stopped needle-working
for a moment, glanced
up at her younger sister
and gave her a rueful
look.)
"Alright, children! You
need to RESPECT one
another.......just as you
respect your PARENTS...
hmmm?"
(Chorus of patient,
young voices.)
"YES, BUB'BEE!
YES, BUB'BEE!"
(Rachel, continuing to
rock baby Julia, said
softly.)
"Go on, Bub'bee."
(Deborah nodded.)
(She sighed, thinking
of that terrible time.)
"I collapsed on the
ground.....hearing, like
a distance cry over the
sea.....my little friends
calling out for my Mamma,
and THEIR mamma's, too."
"What happened,
THEN.....BUB'BEE?"
(Little Jonathan, spoke
up; he was biting into
a small piece of fruit
that his older sister had
passed to him. Jonathan
was always eating; he
would be the plump one,
just like his Pappa, Michael.)
"Well.........my Mamma
came running outside....and
she and one of the other
mammas...CARRIED me into
the house. I was very
cold, and hot at the same
time. My teeth were
chattering so much, that
I could barely talk!
I could only nod, this way
or that. I heard one of
our servants running out
the door, for the DOCTOR...."
"WHEN DID YOUR
PAPPA GO FOR JESUS,
BUB'BEE? WHEN DID
HE GO FOR JESUS?"
"OH......not right AWAY,
little Lev'kah!
Not right away! For a DAY or so...
I LAY there: being looked
after by my Mamma and
the servants.....being
prayed over by my Pappa...
and, being talked over
by all the DOCTORS......."
"And.....THEN,
WHAT HAPPENED,
BUB'BEE?"
(Deborah shrugged
her shoulders, sadly.)
"A few days, later.......
I REMEMBER....
it was still in the middle
of the DAY......but,
the room suddenly began
to FADE away.....as if,
a big CURTAIN was being
drawn all AROUND me!"
(Deborah hugged sweet
little Sarah on her lap.
For just a moment, her
strong voice drifted off.)
"DID YOU DIE,
BUB'BEE? DID YOU
DIE?"
(Deborah shook her
head, firmly.)
"No.....not, YET.
I could hear my Mamma,
as if far off....screaming
my NAME....and,
CRYING! But.....I
couldn't even MOVE
my LIPS...to respond!
I was so WEAK...
and, STILL!"
(All of the childrens'
faces around Deborah
were rivoted on her
lovely face: even,
the twelve-year-old
Rachel. All their
hushed mouths were
hanging open, as if
waiting for the rest
of the spooky story.)
"THEN...WHAT HAPPENED, BUB'BEE?"
(Sigh.)
"Well.........after a little
while, even my Mamma's
crying, and screaming faded.
The blackness grew thick
all around me....and, yet
I wasn't afraid! I no
longer felt sick, or even
weak; it was if I were
in a deep, peaceful sleep:
waiting for someone to
wake me up!"
"OHHHHH!"
(All the children said,
in one long, low chorus.)
(Silence.)
(Deborah sat: merely
nodding, and staring
up at the ceiling for one
long moment.)
(Rachel, the oldest,
was the first one to
speak.)
"Then, what happened,
Bub'bee.....tell us,
again!"
(Deborah reached over,
with little Sarah in her
arms, to pick up the
little Lev'kah's cup of
water. After a cool
sip, she spoke again.)
"WELL......of course,
I didn't KNOW about
my dear Pappa's long, lonely walk..
to see JESUS....."
(Deborah paused for
a moment. She took
another sip, and set the
cup down.)
(Sigh.)
"I didn't know ANYTHING......"
(Shrug.)
"I was.......ASLEEP."
(Rachel spoke, softly.)
"But, you WEREN'T
ASLEEP,
Bub'bee.......
WERE YOU?"
"No, my child.
I had died."
(Little Abraig'al moaned.)
"OH, BUB'BEE!"
(Jonathan piped up.)
"HUSH, Ab'ag'al!
LET....Bub'bee FINISH!"
(Deborah looked around,
at all the young beautiful
little faces. She wished
dearly, at this moment,
that her poor David'lah
could SEE them! She
smiled, sadly.)
"THEN......after how
much time I didn't KNOW....
I could hear
a very gentle Voice:
It was Sweet, and Tender,
and Kind......like, the
melody of a sweet SONG...
....or PRAYER....
...and It was
all AROUND me......as if,
It were holding me like
a very precious, fagile
little pearl.....in the
Palm of Its Hand...."
"DID YOU SPEAK
TO IT, BUB'BEE?
DID YOU SPEAK TO IT?"
(Chuckle!)
"Oh.....no! Not...yet!
Not for a little WHILE,
yet, Jonathan!"
(Smile!)
"But, as soon I heard
the Voice.....I could
feel a warm Hand touching
mine.......and the Warmth
began to spread through
my hand....and, through
my cold skin....and, all
through me....it was like
a very warm spark: gentle,
and loving, and kind. I
was not afraid! I just
wanted to BASK in that
WARMTH....forever!"
"DID YOU WAKE UP,
BUB'BEE? DID YOU
WAKE UP?"
"Yes, my little LEV'KAH!
I could hear my Mamma's
cries, and my Pappa's
VOICE.....! But......when
I AWOKE.....all I could
see...at first......was
His kind, sweet FACE......"
"JESUS'S FACE,
BUB'BEE? JESUS'S
FACE?"
(Deborah smiled at
her little grandson,
and leaned over to kiss
the top of his ruffled hair.)
"Yes, little Lev'kah!
Yes!
The Kind..Beautiful Face...
of...
our LORD."
**************************
Little girl,
I say
to you,
arise.
[Mark 5:41]
________________
*Yiddish: 'Grandmama';
'Grandmother'.
In memory:
my grandmother,
Cecilia.
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