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Brittling
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Elimilek wiped sweat from his brow, and the strength in his strained bones wavered. The sun beat against his skin while he pulled the weeds from the land. There were still six more acres to go, and then he still had to shear the sheep, as well as feed the camels, all before his boss came back from his journey.
He turned beside him, spotting Benesh only a few feet away, pulling at the weeds, with the same strain conveyed in his face. Benesh looked up at the exact moment and gave him a trying smile. Elimilek grunted and looked away, wiping more sweat from his forehead.
He went back to working, under the scalding heat, pulling, grunting, wiping the sweat that trickled everywhere, looking ahead at the work that still needed to be done.
It was in the next hour, while the heat was at its peak, he stared at the horizon, and a daze fell over his mind . The weight of all his work, the one done, the one he was doing, and the one he still had to do came on him strongly.
Despite his constant will to keep working, he was forced to a standstill, his vision blurred. Turning, he saw Benesh talking, but the words didn't register in his mind.
The last thing he saw was Benesh dropping everything and running to him, then, his vision went black.
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Darkness. Elimilek slipped in and out of consciousness, a severe pain, over his head, and ache in his bones. He felt movement all around him, a number of voices, speaking over each other.
“That's too warm, Benesh. Go, get a cold cloth.” A voice said.
“Father, you still haven't told us, what—”
“Now is not the time for that, Yakira!”
“Here. Is it cold enough?”
“Perfect.”
He felt a cold cloth, cool, on his hot skin, the severe pain, eased for a moment. His eyelids were heavy. He struggled to open them, but when he did, the first thing he saw was Zelda's concerned face.
She held the cloth to his forehead, unaware of his consciousness, eyes tightly shut, praying under her breath.
“What is—” his hoarse voice was surprising, the dryness of his tongue halting his words.
He saw a young woman run into his line of vision, a smile growing on her face. He recognized her as Yakira. “ Father, he's awake!”
Zelda's eyes shot open, her morose expression changing into something more relieved. “Yahweh is Lord.” She breathed.
“Elimelek are you okay?”
“Yes,” he tried sitting up from the bed, his strained bones crying out from the pain, his head spinning, but he was gently pushed back down.
“Wait. You're still hurting.” Zelda said.
“I have…” Elimilek started out, voice still hoarse.
“Go get water, Yonah.”
Yonah, who'd been sitting and watching, left, to fetch water.
“I have to continue…” Elimilek tried again, the moment Yonah came running in with the water.
Zelda took it from her daughter's hands and held it so Elimilek could drink easily. The cool, cold water flushed down his throat.
“Work.” He said, his eyes urgent. “ I have to complete the day's work.”
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...
