The inspiration for this story may be obvious to some but not to others. It could be the beginning of a longer story, a first chapter.
I have used anglicised versions of ALL the names because I thought it would be less of a distraction or more subtle. The photos were all taken by me in 2011.
As always, constructive feedback is much appreciated.
First Encounter
Salome sat on the earthen floor of the corner room at the
back of the house, feeding a shuttle between the cords on her hand-loom. Light shone in through the window, bringing
with it heat and noise from outside, the latter of which Salome was
successfully ignoring. The thick stone
walls of the house offered some protection from the harsh hot sun outside, but
shuttering the windows to keep the heat out meant no light to work by. Only the richest had glass or, more rarely,
alabaster, to provide protection from the weather.
Salome quite enjoyed the repetitive yet creative action of
weaving. She found the monotony
therapeutic. It was a time of peace for
Salome in a household that was often full of noise and action. It didn’t feel like work her and so she felt
no guilt about her action, despite it being a day of rest.
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| The ruins of Capernaum. |
As she wove, her thoughts turned to her beloved husband, her
rock, Simon. Salome smiled as she
considered his act first think second attitude to life, useful when he was out working
with his fishing boat, but not a recipe for a calm and orderly life at home. In spite of this, Salome knew that he had a
good heart. They had two young boys to add to the chaos, chips off the old
block, and Salome was fairly sure that another child was on the way. They all lived in her mother’s house in a
small town, Capernaum, not far from the lake, Lake Tiberius, which provided
Simon and his brother with their livelihood as fishermen. Today, she was taking
a break from caring for her sick mother, while the boys were out somewhere with
older cousins who lived next door and Simon was at the Synagogue.
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| The synagogue in Capernaum. |
In the distance, but apparently inside, she heard a door bang
followed by a shout. With that, the
peace of the house was replaced by bustle and excitement. Salome calmly left her weaving, stood up and
left the room for the main part of the house, to look for her husband, who she
guessed had returned from the Synagogue with friends in tow, to see if he
wanted a meal.
Salome looked down the corridor to the front door and was
surprised to see a large crowd standing outside near the open front door. Just instead were Simon, who greeted her with
an excited grin, and Andrew, his brother.
With them was a stranger. Hovering
closest to the door, just outside were John and James, friends and fellow
fishermen of her husband.
As she approached, the stranger, a man, looked up at
her. She gasped and stared back at him,
frozen in a moment of awe. It wasn’t
that he was attractive; in fact, she had no real sense of his appearance. It was his eyes. They seemed to pierce her soul to its darkest
depths, exposing every secret. And yet,
there was kindness in his gaze, a look that said, “I know you, I truly and fully
know you, and I will love you anyway.”
Salome felt a wave of peace wash over her. Then the man smiled and the spell was almost
broken. She shook her head, as if trying
to wake up and bring herself back to reality, and turned to Simon.
“What is going on? Who are all these people? Mother is not
well and we are not prepared for guests.” Salome spoke softly and slowly, her
voice revealing curiosity rather than accusation.
“May I see your mother? Perhaps I can do something for her?” The stranger had soft yet deep voice that
seemed to penetrate as deeply into her soul as his eyes. Every word he spoke was like a precious jewel
to treasure.
The man put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Warmth flooded through her and as it reached
her belly, she felt a flutter; the first movement of the child she now knew
with a certainty was growing there. It
was as if the baby recognised the man’s touch.
Then Salome found herself leading the man up the stairs by the door to
her mother’s bedroom.
Her mother, Mary, was asleep but restless and she looked
feverish. Salome could see that her condition had deteriorated since she had
last checked on her. About to rush over
to attend to her mother, Salome was surprised when the man held her back and
walked passed her into the room. He
approached the bed, crouching down beside it, and put his hand on her mother’s
forehead and then took her hand. He
leant over and whispered something in her ear.
The next moment, Salome was stunned to see her mother sitting up and
getting out of the bed as she had never been ill.
“Come downstairs and I will prepare you a meal.” Mary smiled
at the stranger like he was an old friend as she spoke. She then led Salome and the stranger back
downstairs to the fishermen.
Simon showed no surprise at seeing his mother-in-law up and
about, looking to be in perfect health, even though he had seen that she was so
unwell before he went out that morning.
Instead, he followed her through to the dining room, bringing with him
the stranger and Andrew, plus John and James who had joined the group. Salome went to help her mother prepare and
serve the food, leaving the men to talk.
After the meal, the men were getting ready to leave when
Salome realised that she hadn’t been properly introduced to the stranger. As Andrew was closest at that moment, she
turned to him and asked the stranger’s name.
“He is Joshua, from Nazareth.” said Andrew with a hint of
awe.
The name meant nothing to Salome, and yet she could see that
the man was someone special, so she gave her brother-in-law an enquiring look
to elicit more information.
“It is him!” Andrew added, somewhat cryptically.
Simon, overhearing the conversation turned to her and said,
“We are going with him.”
“Where?” As Salome asked the question, she could see the
answer in her husband’s eyes. Simon,
Andrew and the others would follow this man anywhere, absolutely anywhere, to
the ends of the earth or the gates of Hades, without question. Yet, instead of fear or anger, Salome felt
was that she trusted the stranger and that no evil would overtake her husband.
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| The house where Simon (Peter) was said to have lived in Capernaum. |
