Shining Bright | ✓

( 04. ) Mary

A weary smile stretched her lips as she saw her final destination ahead. Her feet were aching, begging her to cease her laborious journey, but Mary was resolved to make it.

There was not one second where she didn't ponder over the visit she'd had at night the previous week. Her retinas still burned from Gabriel's powerful beams of light; that, coupled with the fear of an apparition waking her up from her peaceful slumber, had engraved itself inside the adolescent girl's mind and she replayed the scene over and over again as she ascended the hill that lead to Hebron.

Knitting her eyebrows with determination, Mary clutched the lower half of her mid-section. It was a miracle that her parents didn't suspect her of anything when she asked to visit Elisheba. The reason she gave was to check up on Zechariah, but seeking her favorite cousin's wisdom was her real motive. Mary knew that she could not face her father and mother after what the angel Gabriel had told her, so her best luck would be to stay with Elisheba until the child was due.

Suddenly, Mary thought about Joseph; he would be worried sick if she disappeared for nine months, most likely alerting authorities and sending out men to find her. Part of her wanted to go back and tell him everything, how the Lord has chosen her to serve him in the most honorable way. Yet, she knew what awaited her if she was ever to reveal her pregnancy; not only would she destroy her family's reputation, but it would also affect her fiancé. Still, her mind was made up; an extended stay with her cousin was the only foreseeable option for her.

Entering the town with a stubborn donkey that pulled on its leech and threatened to send flying all of her luggage, Mary strutted right up to Zechariah and Elisheba's household. Knocking on its wooden door, she couldn't help but feel guilty about her fertility, for it was a sad known fact that Elisheba, a woman much more advanced in her age, never had the ability to conceive children. But culpability soon gave way to merriment when her cousin opened the door.

With her cheeks flushed in a bright pink and her wrinkles complementing her cheerful smile, Elisheba joyfully greeted Mary with a series of amiable kisses.

"Oh, dear cousin!" the teenaged Hebrew girl exclaimed, taking in her relative's freshly perfumed scent. "You have no idea how—"

Elisheba abruptly silenced her by raising her index finger, inhaling deeply while slightly crouching, her dark eyes slightly bulging. Mary swooped down to catch her before falling, feeling a tingle inside her cousin's lower stomach. Once she came back to her senses, the two women looked at each other with utter disbelief.

Elisheba took Mary's hand and said with glimmering irises: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

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