Two days later:
The gates of Jerusalem are in view, and even from the opposite hill I can smell the fragrance of roasting lamb, along with the aromatic spices brought from all over the empire and beyond. It is a hub of activity, and suddenly my heart aches to be within its walls. I get off the cart and hurry forward, but then I realize how it must look to Simeon.
I turn around, a sheepish smile on my face. "I...I have not seen my city in so long."
Simeon has been nothing but kind the past two days. We slept in open fields along the way, never stopping in towns too long for fear of someone recognizing Ephraim' runaway wife. I had found his company somehow easy, and strangely, this Samaritan shepherd had reminded me of my father. But now, entering the gates of Jerusalem, I had unwittingly shown my ungratefulness. For me to be seen entering the city with a Samaritan man, and one who is not my husband, well, I should just hope that no one recognizes me beneath my veil.
Perhaps I am ashamed too, for coming back like a beggar or a servant. Nonetheless, I get back on the cart and we head into the massive throng of people. I pull the veil a little further over my face, shrinking back as a band of Pharisees pass the cart.
YOU ARE READING
I Am Not an Adulteress Anymore
Historical FictionHanna has been married off to a man of the rival Samaritan tribe, forsaking her people and her God. But when he strikes her and she loses her child, things change forever.
