Chad Gadya

Exorcise is Good for the Soul

We stopped by a creek. My mother pulled out something from her backpack and handed one to me and one to Kuni. "Your meds," she explained. "Take them."

I was used to popping pills, so I did so. I had to take calcium everyday to strengthen my bones, as well as a multivitamin and some prescription meds with long, complicated names. My mother kept my meds stored in a container that labeled each day of the week, so I wouldn't forget them. I knew that if I didn't take them, I would feel weaker and suffer stomach pains.

"We need to get some food in you kids," my mother said, "but unfortunately we only have a bit of trail mix left."

Marzipan started nibbling grass while Kuni and I decided the little bit of food left. My stomach was still knotted with hunger when I finished. I sighed and thought of challah French toast with my mother's etrog jam. "Snap out of it," Marzipan said, waving a hoof at me. "You'll only make it worse by fixating on it."

"That's easy to say when you're pasture-fed," I replied.

     "You think you have it hard?" Marzipan asked. "The grass here is tough and dry."

"Come on," my mother said, "squabbling won't make manna fall from heaven."

We got up and started walking. Alexandros led the way, striding forward with confidence. It was a chilly morning and my teeth rattled as I walked. Beside me, Kuni's face was pinched and pale from the cold. I really wished we had the clothes we had packed. "Let's talk about my dream," I said.

Moving my mouth temporarily lessened my shivering. Kuni looked up at me and nodded. "Rabbi Amado is in trouble," he said.

"We already knew that," Marzipan said.

I gave her a meaningful look and cleared my throat. "And apparently the demon is nicknamed Debbie, but it hates being called that."

Alexandros nodded. "Knowing a demon's real name can help you overpower them like you did at the gas station."

I smiled. "My proudest moment."

"I thought you were proudest of the time you went a week without kvetching," Marzipan said.

"That was in the past," I said, waving her words away.

Kuni's eyebrows shot upwards. "You went a week without kvetching?"

He spoke incredulously as if asking if I had really won a Nobel Prize in literature. "Oh yeah," I said. "I did that once, but never again."

"Why?" Alexandros said.

"Kvetching is good for the soul," I explained. "How would we make the world a better place if we didn't complain sometimes?"

My mother shook her head, but I could see her smothering her laughter with one hand. "Sometimes I really marvel at you, Breina."

I stuck out my tongue and made the funniest face I could. "As you should."

"The dream?" Kuni prompted.

"Oh, right," I said. "Well, I think we should call the demon Debbie Downer."

"Debbie Donner?" Marzipan asked. "Like the Donner party?"

"The Donner party?" I repeated. "What's that?"

Marzipan's eyes widened. "How do you not know of the Donner party? All goats hear of that tale."

I frowned. "Why what happened?"

"They ate their livestock and then each other!" Marzipan bleated.