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Banquet
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Elimilek sat on the edge of his bed, dressed for the banquet, twiddling the gold necklace he bought for Naomi. When the famine hit, for years he had to tighten his pocket and withhold lavishing his bride with honour.
Coming to Moab changed everything.
Yet it was bittersweet, he smiled down at the necklace, eager to show it to her, place it around her neck, see her eyes light up, as well as that smile, that smile that made him feel like it was his job to keep it.
Why did they have to leave Israel forthings to get better for things to get good.
He thought of his people and how they were still suffering through the famine, hungry, grieved, and covered in the ashes of shame.
“I'm not sure about this dress!” Naomi yelled from the inner room.
Elimilek was pulled from his depressing thoughts, and he chuckled, staring at the door, Naomi had been locked up in for hours. He wished he was exaggerating.
“That's what you said about the eighth one!”
She responded with an unintelligible sound that was a mix between a groan, a gurgle, and a sigh of utter frustration.
“Come on, love. You look beautiful in anything you wear!”
Her response faded into his mind, something to do with this being the banquet and first impressions.
Elimilek left the necklace on the bed and stood, unsure of his actions.
He left his room before Naomi stepped out to show him what she'd be dressed in, his chest tightening. Inside his home, the sound of laughter, the presence of joy, echoed and bounced off the walls.
“Achi!” He heard Chillion’s spasmodic laughter. “How could you? I thought we were brothers.”
Elimilek stepped out of the house, into the night, closing the door behind him and locking up all the excitement and joy that no matter how much he tried— couldn't penetrate him. His smile dropped as he let out a breath.
Underneath the constellation of stars, surrounded by the deep blue of the sky, Elimilek walked slowly through his land. The green grass crunched under his shoe, his mind was clear, as the night's breeze blew past him in calming waves.
He stopped, in the center of the land, staring up at the sky, wordless, the unease in his chest unraveled, strengthened, and grew.
“It's just a banquet.” He said to himself and had to hear himself say it, not Benesh, or Naomi of his sons, himself, because that meant he could rest easy.
Unbeknownst to Elimilek, Naomi stepped out of the house, dressed in a royal blue dress, with highlights of white, she searched the land, for the one her heart desired, and when she spotted him in the center of it all, she smiled.
His stance was stiff, his hands shoved into his pockets, and he thought that after all these years, he could hide his unease from her.
Naomi’s heart thrummed alive. All day, she could not keep it tamed. It soared with the excitement she held for the night.
She made her way towards him in slow, gentle steps, walking through the land. The breeze blew past her, in soft waves, making the scent of her perfume reach him before she did.
When he smelt the scent of lavender in the air, with a mix of something else, he was unaware as to how the knots in his stomach and back unraveled. Unaware of how he breathed easier.
YOU ARE READING
Ruth: Reimagined
Romance"I want you to belong to someone Ruth." Adira said, her voice softer. "I want you to be able to breathe in a world where everything is placed on a woman's chest, on her back and tied to her legs and then she's told to be beautiful, to be good enoug...
