Death Angel

Chapter 7: Rekindled Fire

"Ema, where is Abba going?" the little girl asked as she intently observed the menfolk continue about their business.

Ema had the candles lit in preparation for supper. They had been carefully conserving the candles, but today was special. The torches burned outside. It was so hard to see in the darkness. The little girl looked out the window. Outside her home's walls, hewn from rough, cut stone she could see everyone was in an uproar. The girl shivered despite the fire in the hearth.

The little girl's mother looked at her with eyes filled with worry. "Nothing, child. Abba has to do this to protect our family," said her mother as she put her hand on the girl's head. "Please, eat."

The little girl look at the bare, wooden table. They had not had much to eat these days. The Pharaoh had taken so much from them. But what was laid out this evening was a feast. There was fresh lamb, roasted over the fire with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. She just wished she could enjoy it without worrying about her father. The little girl took the bread and broke it. The texture was soft, the bread warm to the touch.

"What's wrong child? Has the matzo gone cold?"

The little girl shook her head. "Ema, why is Abba going with all the men? Aaron and Elijah both say there is blood on our doorsteps."

"Eat your lamb Ariel. We do not know when our next feast will be. We must enjoy good things when they come our way."

"Ema, will Yahweh protect us?" the little girl asked, frightened.

Her mother signed. "I do not know, child."

"Yahweh has brought the nine plagues upon the Pharaoh and his people. Even as we speak, the night never ends. We are cast into darkness now, who knows when we shall see the light of day? And yet he still won't let us go. Can Moshe truly deliver us?"

The girl's mother smiled and looked at her. "We must trust Yahweh. He will deliver us from the Pharaoh and slavery and lead us into the promised land."

"Ema, why must we suffer so?"

"You are asking many difficult questions this evening, child. Hush and eat your supper."

"Ema, what is coming tonight? Why is there blood on the doorposts? Why is Abba taking the blood of the spring lamb and marking the sides and tops of our doorframes with it?"  

"Eat fast, Ariel. It is coming."

"Ema, what is coming?"

Her mother sighed. "Deliverance."

Her mother looked out the door at the land filled with darkness. "A never-ending night has cast Egypt into darkness," she continued. "Tonight, comes a plague deadlier than the nine that have come before it. This night, a dreadful power passes over Egypt to smite the firstborn of every man, woman, child and beast."

The little girl rubbed her arms as the goosebumps came. A strange nameless fear bubbled up from within her and got caught in her throat. She wanted to cry out but was unable to speak.

Her mother smiled. "You must not fear, Ariel. We are the chosen people. We will not be harmed."

"But for the Egyptians, the Pharaoh, things will be different. Tonight, the Lord's justice and judgment will be executed upon all the gods of Egypt. We shall remember this night, this Pesach, for all history," her mother took her face in both hands and looked gravely at her.

"Tonight, God unleashes the Angel of Death upon Egypt."  

***

A bad dream. When the dreams came, they lingered; vapory wisps that clutched at the edges of my consciousness.