Samson

Beside The Sorek River

  When I think about it, It was his unusual that caught my eye first. It was braided and tied neatly at the back of his head, contradicting the dirt on his face and the visible scars on his arms. He scrubbed the dirt off and drank more water from the river while I stared in awe.  'This must be the Samson they are talking about'.  I remember telling myself then. He wasn't scary as the rumors said, but then again, this person killed many Philistines in fits of rage and apparently ripped a lion apart with his bare hands. Yet here he was, standing a few feet away from me. It must be the thoughts bugging my mind that I did not realize he was closing the distance between us. I feel myself trembling. Part of me says "run" and a part of me held me back. He bowed low and picked my veil i must have dropped while staring at him and asked

"Is this yours, lady?" He offered me back my veil. I cannot find my words so I grabbed it almost immediately and started walking away. My heart pounding that I did not hear him coming after me until he yanked my arms back. I was startled and faced him a bit braver that I thought. His eyes looked amused and he asked, "May I know your name?" He was blunt and straightforward. I know he can rip me apart but my pride came at the wrong time.

"Why?" I said with a tone more arrogant than i expcted. That one word caused him to laugh and loosen his grip on my arm.

"Do you know who am I?" He asked

"Do I need to?" My knees grew weak. I'm scared but that earned me another laugh from him. I did not know how I started laughing with him, how we end up sitting together beside the river talking about our lives. Him talking about his adventures, and me about my family. How I heard myself laugh again after years of pain and isolation. How I went home with a smile on my face.

As soon as I got home, reality came back. On this old rotting house, I have to feed my family. I have to take care of my mother and my siblings. My mother looked at me with watery eyes and I knew she was in pain. I cannot do anything to stop the pain but I hugged her and cried with her. My siblings trying to rummage the bag I brought expecting to see food. Is this my future? Is this where my life ends and is this how it's supposed to be? I held on to Samson's words. 'let's meet here again tomorrow.' Maybe this would be the start of something new. Maybe there is something for me in the near future. Maybe Samson can help me...