We walked from the house, exchanging bits of happenings since the last time we were together. She told me of babies born, those who were sick, the old people who died while I was away. She spoke of young couples who were beginning to have an interest in each other.
With enthusiasm I grabbed Sarah and hugged her as we walked toward the hills. She laughed and before we knew it, we were back to the closeness we always shared.
As we climbed the hills, Sarah said, “We"ve been climbing over these rocks all our lives, haven"t we?”
I nodded. “Remember how we used to have to pull ourselves up to the next rock because our legs were too short to step up?”
We both laughed at the memories which stretched back to our babyhood. “Do you remember how our mothers used to spank us when they discovered we were up here again?” Sarah asked.
“Yes. When I think of it, I still have problems sitting for a while.” We both laughed aloud at the memories.
“These hills never change, do they?”
“Never,” Sarah agreed.
As we climbed the familiar stones to get a little higher, I noticed, probably for the first time, the way the earth was layered between rocks. With a little imagination, one could see that someone placed large rocks on the ground. Mud was slapped on the rocks, then other rocks were placed rather crookedly atop the first ones.
Mud between the rocks became earth where flowers grew to give color to the wrinkled greyness of the boulders.
Then there was another, smaller boulder, ever higher, like they were stairs leading up to touch the clear blue sky.
When we finally stopped for a moment to rest, I looked out over the expanse, so incredibly happy to be home and in the hills I loved so dearly.
Coolness of the night still lingered. We both kept our cloaks on, enjoying the unseasonable weather. The clearness of the sky made us feel we could see forever. In the distance, the stillness of the Sea of Galilee was evident by boats whose white sails were limp. Not one whitecap ruffled its surface.
The sun was now higher, but it produced very little heat. Looking over the hills, we saw a group of men and animals moving on the road, around and down toward Nazareth. Suddenly, Soldiers appeared from behind a large boulder, then marched rapidly around men and animals. The uniformed men moved so rapidly they looked as though they were running.
We sat, enjoying the slight breeze and the clear sky overhead. “Sarah, you would never believe the things I saw.”
She looked at me with an expression that said, “well, tell me, then.”
“Would you believe in my cousin Elizabeth"s house, they actually have glass from which to drink?”
“The Rabbi mentioned it one time but said it was impossible for anyone to have anything like that in a home...maybe in the temples, but never a home.”
“Well, Elizabeth and Zacharias have them.”
“That"s awfully hard to believe.” Sarah shook her head from side to side. “How do they make things like that?”
“I don"t know how they do it. They started making glass in Egypt a number of years ago. Now, there is one man in Jerusalem who makes the container.”
“I wish I could see him do that.”
“I saw him.”
Astonishment filled her voice as she stared at me. “You did?”
“Yes. It was the day I went to Jerusalem. He took some kind of sand, and other ingredients, then heated it in an oven until the fire glowed so hot it was almost a purple color. He placed a little of this mixture from the oven onto the end of a long pole. The pole had a hole in it. I discovered this because he blew into the other end. He kept turning the pole around and around and blowing and shaping the glass. When it gets to be the size and shape he wants, he breaks it from the pole.”
Sarah rose, then stepped up to the next rock. “Mary, you"re teasing me.” She stopped, turned and looked down at me from the rock where she stood.
I moved onto her rock. “Honest.” I said. “I don"t think I would have believed it either, except that"s what we drank from at every meal.” I found myself sighing as I remembered the cool fruit juice we sipped each morning.
“Most of it was a blue color.”
“You"re serious!” she exclaimed.
“I really am. You wouldn"t believe some of the objects I saw. They even make this stuff so thin they put it on windows so you can see outside.”
“Mary, that"s too much to believe.” She laughed. “I suppose you"ll even be telling me it keeps the flies out of the house.”
“It does,” I insisted. “I"ll have to tell you about some of the other things one of these days. Oh, Elizabeth sent a bowl made from glass to my Mother.”
“You mean there"s actually a piece of glass in Nazareth?”
“Yes, there is. You can see it when we go home.”
We found a rock we liked, and sat where we could see everything around us. As we glanced about, we saw the small caves I viewed when we crossed the Plain. There were goats and sheep grazing on the hillside.
“Look!” Sarah exclaimed, as she had been doing all our lives. “There"s a caravan.” It seemed to move at a snail"s pace at the foot of a mountain far away. Some days, when the air was clear enough, we could see snow on the top of Mount Hermon.
Flowers were strewn as though someone stood in the center of a field and tossed handfuls of seed in the air.
White and red and blue and pink flowers as far as the eye could see. I breathed in the scent of flowers and grasses.
The wrinkled canvas of hills and mountains reminded me of the wrinkled skin on the camel"s feet.
“How wonderful to be home!” I exclaimed and picked up a limestone rock and tossed it into the air. Rather than trying to catch it, I let it drop. I listened as it hit a larger rock, then bounced on down. Sarah and I looked farther down the mountain as we had so many times in the past.
Since farming was done on terraces, we saw men plowing their fields. “They look like little toy men with their toy donkeys attached to the plows,” Sarah remarked.
We could even see some of the tall trees that grew in the Plain of Sharon.
I didn"t know how to begin.
“Mary, I"m waiting.” Sarah said, quietly. “You know you can tell me anything. We"ve always trusted each other. We mustn"t stop now.” She placed her hand on mine.
I looked directly at her so I could see her eyes when I told her. “Sarah, an angel visited me...” I began and told her the entire story; my telling my parents, their acceptance; my telling the Rabbi, his unbelief. Then I told her of Joseph, and he not believing. She didn"t interrupt.
“Oh, Mary, it"s so hard to believe. However, I know you would never lie, especially about something as important as this.”
She believed!
“Oh, Sarah!” My breath left my body with a sigh. It was as though I had held it the entire time I was telling my story.
We clasped hands as we did as children when we felt it was she and I against the world. “I can"t believe that brother of mine!” Her irritation was visible. “He is usually so sensible.” “Don"t be too hard on him, Sarah,” I begged. “I was hurt that he could think I could commit such an act.”
I still remembered the brutal pain of his disbelief. “I have to realize it"s very hard for people to believe in miracles. I know I"ll face a lot of gossip and maybe even threats in a few months when my condition becomes clear. I do know God is not going to let anything happen to His Son.” Unconsciously, I placed my hands on my belly, almost like Elizabeth frequently did.
Sarah"s voice was thoughtful as she said, “We Jews have waited for hundreds of years for this event. We thought it would be with trumpets and a crown and everything that goes with a castle.
“But we forgot to believe the scriptures when they plainly stated he would be born of woman. A virgin, at that.
Remember, Mary? When we studied about the Prophet Isaiah. We were too young to understand what a virgin was.” Her face was thoughtful, remembering how we had considered the subject and eventually decided it wasn"t worth discussing.
“I do remember, Sarah. Isaiah said, „Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel."” She turned and looked directly at me, her voice full of wonder.
“I remember it all now. Why shouldn"t it be you? Who"s more qualified?” Sarah answered her own question.
“No one.”
“I don"t know about that.” I slipped my hand from hers and stood. “Enough about me. Now, tell me all about your wedding. When are you going to have a baby, or are you yet?”
She laughed. “Not yet. The wedding would have been wonderful but you weren"t here to take part in it. That was the one missing ingredient.”
“Believe me,” I said. “I thought of you all that day and wanted so very badly to be with you. I wanted to see the beginning of your happiness. I missed so much while I was gone.”
My voice must have held a note of sadness because Sarah took my hand while we stood and looked over the hills and mountains in the distance as we had done a thousand times.
“Look, the wind"s blowing. The sails on the boats are now billowing.” I exclaimed. “Oh, how I missed everything and everyone.”
“Mary,” Sarah said. “You missed very little. The adventures you had, the help you gave your cousin, what you saw and learned must have been God"s plan.” Her voice was positive. “He would not have told you of Elizabeth and her being with child if He had not wanted you to go.
“I did miss you, though.” She grabbed me around the middle. “You aren"t a bit bigger than you were,” she said in astonishment.
“Well, Sarah,” I laughed, “I"m only three months. It usually takes about four or five months to notice when someone is going to have a baby.”
“Then you and Joseph must marry right away,” she stated with conviction. “Come on.” She started down the hill, moving from one rock to another like a gazelle. “We must plan.”
“But I don"t know if...”
“Oh, he"ll do it. He loves you too much. He"s been beating himself to death ever since the day you left.”
I walked a little more gingerly than she. I knew I carried something precious under my heart. I must take care of it. Besides, I was getting very tired. “Sarah, slow down.” I called.
“Oh, I"m sorry.” She twirled around and around, as girlishly happy as a fifteen year old could be, married or single. “We"ll both slow down. We"re old married women now, or you will be soon.”
When we arrived home, Mother placed a meal on the table. She asked Sarah to eat with us, but Sarah stated she must get home. She was making a robe from a piece of the material that was a gift at her betrothal. She wanted to finish it very soon. She gave me a secret look, grinned and left.
Mother and I talked as we ate our meal. “Mother, Joseph is coming over soon after we eat.”
She remarked quietly. “We saw very little of him while you were away. I felt I shouldn"t write anything to you because I knew you two would work out your problems when you returned.”
She bit into her bread as I remarked. “I was hurt when I heard nothing from him. I wondered if he ever realized I was telling the truth.”
“Honey, I don"t know. He nodded when he passed us going to and from the carpentry shop he and his father have. He never stopped to chat.” She sipped her water, then dried her lips. “He did ask your father about you a few times.”
“I would like to have heard from him.” I picked up my cup. She continued as though I hadn"t spoken. “We prayed about the situation a good deal and wondered what God intended to happen. We knew we would always be there for you, but we also knew you needed something or someone else in your life.”
“Oh, Mother,” I said. “You don"t know how good it is to be home ...to be able to talk with you...to see that rascally brother and little sister of mine.” I grinned at her and she gave me one of her sweet smiles. “And it was so wonderful to greet Father when he awoke this morning.”
She took my hand. “He has truly missed you, Mary. You are his sunshine, you know.”
I squeezed her hand, then held on tightly. “I don"t know what Joseph has in mind. I only know he wants to talk with me. Whether he has decided to marry me, I have no idea. At this point, Mother.” I let her hand go, stood and began cleaning the table. “I"m confused, but I"m not afraid I"ll be stoned.”
A pained look crossed her face and she said, “No!”
“Mother,” I placed my hand over hers and gave it a small squeeze, attempting to make her fears vanish. My voice was low and filled with the love I felt for her and the confidence I was trying to nourish. “I am carrying God"s Son, so it is a little difficult to believe He would allow me to be stoned...but it has entered my mind.”
“How very brave you are,” she said, and I wondered if it was awe I heard in her voice.
“Not brave. I had a great deal of time to think about this, and to talk with Elizabeth. Do you know the first words she spoke when she saw me?” I covered the containers that held the cheese, fruit and bread with cloth so the flies could not get to them.
Mother shook her head with a smile. “I never know what Elizabeth is going to say or do.”
“She stated she knew I was the mother of the Son of God. She knew!” I stated with conviction. “And yet Joseph, who has known me all my life refused to believe. I think that bothered me more than anything else. The fact that he knew me and doubted.”
I wiped the last drops of spilled water and bread crumbs from the table, then hung the cloth across a bushel to dry.
Mother stood and put her arm around me.“Mary, whatever happens today, do try not to get too upset.” She reached up and kissed me.
I held her tightly for a few minutes. “I"ll try not to, Mother. I just don"t know what will happen.” I turned.
“Come, let"s get you settled. I must go and meet him and find out what my fate is to be.” I tried to laugh, but it was more a sob, than a laugh.
“My darling girl.” Mother"s voice was filled with pain.
We took the food inside, and I rolled out her pallet. I kissed her, she lay down and closed her eyes. I knew she wouldn"t sleep; she cared too deeply for me.
“God go with you, my child.” Her voice was a whisper.