Sands In The Darkest Night

My heart

Aria, her brother, Ahmes and all the other Israeli refugees escaped in the dead of the night by the Nile, Eros having already gathered all their people.

That night, they broke free from their long time chains, and once again, they were a free people.

They had arrived in Israel after a few days of sailing. Throughout those times, Aria had mourned Akhenaten.

She hadn't been able to eat and as a result, she'd lost a lot of weight.

When they got to Israel, it'd been mostly desolate but they'd strengthened themselves in their God and had built the walls that had been destroyed and burnt with fire.

It took them an entire year to settle down, they'd completed the building of the walls in months and the remaining months they'd rebuilt their homes and the people all settled in their respective tribes.

Aria, Eros and surprisingly Ahmes too, belonged to the tribe of the Levites.

The people had asked Eros to rule over them. He hadn't wanted to accept it but Aria had urged him to.

"They look up to you, " he'd told him and Eros had looked at her with concern, partly because he may not see her as often as he would like, and also because he saw the hidden sadness behind those brown orbs.

Eros knew she'd never truly forgotten-and he doubted she ever will.

His sister's love for the Egyptian had puzzled and amazed him at the same time.

Why would she have ever loved a man like Akhenaten?

How could she have ever loved someone like him?

He concluded that she'd done what most people couldn't-she'd looked past his wrongs and had chosen to believe he could be something more.

So when he'd died, it'd torn her heart into two, and he was afraid she might never recover.

Five years had passed swiftly by and Jerusalem thrived. The people of Israel had all humbled themselves and opened their hearts to their God, to serve him and to obey his commandments and statutes.

They'd set up new priests and Levites above the age of twenty to offer the daily sacrifice.

They offered twelve goats for a sin offering to atone for the sins of all of Israel.

Ahmes became a priestess and Eros waxed stronger and the people loved him because he was upright and executed judgement among the people.

He set teachers over the people to teach them the laws of their God and the Lord blessed them abundantly that they lacked nothing because they served the Lord with all their heart and sought their God and they were forgiven of their sins and their sins blotted out.

Aria remained in her brother's house.

Her brother had urged her to get married but each time she would just smile it off.

Aria stayed at home most times knitting scarfs and making veils which she would in turn sell.

Aria sighed as she remembered the time Tarzah had come to see her a few years ago.

She'd been shocked and pleasantly surprised.

•••

She held the firewood she'd been collecting close to her.

"Tarzah." She gasped out in surprise.

Tarzah smiled at her and took it from her.

"You shouldn't be out here alone." Aria smiled back at him.