Baara's Dreams

Chapter 10

As the two girls helped Zipporah to sit, Maacah quietly entered the room.

"What's going on here?" she asked sharply.

Surprised, the two girls let go of Zipporah's hands and turned hastily towards their mistress. As Baara began to stammer out an explanation, Zipporah interrupted.

"You needn't fear, mistress," she said turning her head towards Maacah, but remaining seated on the couch. As she spoke a puzzled look came over her countenance, but she didn't falter in her explanation. "I've not given them a potion or cast a spell. The unity you see here comes from the intervention of Baara's God. During the night I had an encounter with Yahweh that resulted in confession and repentance. I have told Mara and Baara of my experience and sought their forgiveness. I am now ready to pay the penalty for my misdeeds."

"If you are truly repentant and have lost your feeling of superiority, why do you remain sitting while speaking instead of standing and bowing in submission as a penitent slave would?" Maacah questioned.

"It seems I may have been permanently humbled," Zipporah replied in a shaky voice. "My mind has told my legs to move, but they've not complied. I can't get my legs to move at all." As she made this admission, tears began to silently stream down her cheeks as she continued in a faltering voice, "In an attempt to avoid one prison, I have created another. I am trapped in an immobile body. I will be dependent on others for the remainder of my life. Yahweh would have been more gracious to allow me to die," she ended in a wail.

Proceeding to the bedside, Maacah said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Hysterics will not help. Perhaps the paralysis is a temporary side effect of the Mandrake. I will consult with the healer. In the meantime, we must assess the extent of your problem."

Going to the foot of the bed, Maacah instructed Zipporah to wiggle her toes. As everyone watched most of her toes remained completely immobile, but her big toe on her right foot twitched slightly. When asked to repeat the movement, though, nothing happened.

"Don't worry," Maacah encouraged. "Trying too hard will only make things worse. No matter how slight, one movement is a positive sign."

Next, Maacah told her to try lifting herself off the pallet by using her arms. When Zipporah managed to raise her backside a few inches off the mat and then lower herself back, Maacah questioned, "Did you lift with your arms only or were you able to flex the muscles in your buttocks?"

Embarrassed, Zipporah replied, "I think I used the muscles in my buttocks."

"That's a good sign," Maacah indicated. "If you can flex those muscles, then you will probably be able to take care of private functions."

Turning to Mara, Maacah instructed, "Go get a shallow bowl from Timna, one of the long ones that is used to mix dough. She can sit on it and try to urinate and cleanse her bowels. If she is able to perform those functions, she should be able to live a somewhat normal life even if she never regains use of her legs. If she can't, she may soon wish she never regained consciousness. We might have to ask the healer to finish what her poison did not."

While this speech may have appeared harsh, Maacah deliberately spoke in such a manner. She assumed someone with Zipporah's spunk would receive the speech as a dare. She hoped it would cause the girl to look past her misery and determine to show everyone that she could overcome the adversity in which she found herself.

After Mara's hasty exit, Maacah requested that Zipporah recount for her the story she had told the girls of her experience with Baara's God. The telling momentarily took Zipporah's mind off her predicament and reminded her that there were fates worse than paralysis. Just thinking about remaining in the place of fire under the care of the evil being made her shudder. By the time she finished her story, Mara had returned with the bowl. Once it was delivered, Maacah allowed Mara to return to her regular duties, but reminded her she would still have to face justice for her part in the previous day's treachery.