Of Such Is The Kingdom Part I—Discontent and Insurrection

As Manaheem filled his water container, his eyes wandered involuntarily through the crowd of people going in and out of the marketplace.  Suddenly, his eyebrows raised, as he thought he spotted a familiar face.  Could it be?  It had been such a long time.  He decided to go and see.  The closer he got the more certain he was.  It was she indeed.  She failed to notice him, intent on the packages in her hand.  She was starting to make her way out of the crowd, when he caught up with her.  He tapped her gently on the shoulder.  She turned, startled, and dropped two of her packages.  He picked them up for her and smiled.  “It’s been a long time, Claressa”

“Manaheem!”  She sounded surprised, but, her face seemed to light up as she spoke his name.  “Manaheem!  What are you doing here?”

“I had some business to take care of in the city.  And, what are you doing here?”

“I live here now.”

“So, this is where you got to?”

“It is.”

He stroked his mustache. “How do you like it here?”

“Just fine.  It’s a nice town.”

“Seems to be a bit crowded,” he ventured.

“It does at times, but I don’t let that bother me.”

“Well, tell me, how have you been?”

“Just fine, just fine.  And you?”

“Just fine.  Oh, business has fallen off a bit lately, but it’s bound to pick up again soon.”

They stood there for a few minutes in embarrassed silence.  Then she spoke. “It’s no use fooling ourselves, Manaheem.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve been miserable since I’ve been away from you.”

He sighed.  “I’ve been pretty miserable myself, whenever I allowed myself to think about it.”  He paused. “I have missed you, Claressa!”

“And, I’ve missed you, Manaheem!”

He sighed again.  “All those little things which we allowed to come between us—”

“They were really quite silly, weren’t they?”

He chuckled.  “Yeah, when you think about it.”

“I’ve regretted our divorce many times.”  She paused, smiling.  “I’m so glad to see you again.”

He sighed.  “Oh, Claressa, do you think if we tried it again, it just might work?”

Her face brightened even more.  “With what we both have learned from the experience, I’m almost certain that it would.”

“We’d each have to be willing to give in to the other.”

“Oh, Manaheem, I’m willing now to give in to you on anything.”

“O’ Claressa! I know I acted quite childish before and—”

“It wasn’t all your fault, you know.”

He sighed again. “I’m sure I was more to blame than you. But let’s not stand around here all day.  My chariot’s over there by the well.  We can talk about it more on the way to your house.”

“I don’t live very far from here.”

“Good. You can show me the way.  Come on!  I’ll help you with these packages.”

As they rode, Claressa gave directions to her house.  Having understood them, Manaheem resumed the conversation.  “I tried to forget about you– to push you out of my mind by becoming overly busy.  But, I never could forget about you completely.  You were always there, somewhere in the corners of my mind.”

“You’ve been on my mind constantly, and not just in the corners.  Oh, Manaheem, I was foolish to think I could live without you. I’m sure glad we met again.  It must be fate.”

“Perhaps the LORD had something to do with it.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise.  “I didn’t know you believed in God.”

“I’m not sure, really, what I believe.  I’ve been reading some of the Hebrew Scriptures lately, and I find them quite interesting. I need to think it through more, but at this point I do lean towards belief in the LORD, God.”

“Well, I’m sure I could go along with anything you believed. I love you, Manaheem.  I didn’t know how much before. Oh,” she pointed, “there’s my house.”

Arriving at the humble brick structure, he pulled on the reigns, and the horses stopped.  He jumped down and tied the horses to a tree.  Then, he jumped back into the chariot and put his arms around Claressa.  “I love you too, Claressa,” he said.  Their lips met, and for a moment they were lost in each other’s arms.

“I need you, Manaheem.”

“We need each other, Claressa How foolish I was to think I could ever forget you.”  Again their lips met for a moment.  It was Manaheem who broke the embrace.  He wanted to continue it– to hold on to that moment forever.  But, a strong point of practicality forced itself upon his mind and overruled his emotions.  “But, Claressa, what about our finances?  Right now, I’m barely managing to get by.  I’m sure your savings aren’t enough to support both of us.  Anyway, I wouldn’t want it that way.”

The light faded from her eyes, and she slowly nodded her head.  “I guess you’re right there, dear. That could be a problem.”

“It was one of the problems we faced before, remember?”

“We do have to be practical, don’t we?”

He sighed again, this time longer than before.  “Unfortunately.”

“But, somehow, it seems love should be able to triumph above such things.”

She jumped down from the chariot, and he followed.

“You’re right, it should.  But, the question is: ‘Can it?’”

There was a pause, and then Manaheem spoke again. “I’ll tell you what, dear,—it so happens that I am working on something now which has some real potential.  And if that doesn’t work out, I’m sure I’ll think of something else.  I’m sure I’ll be able to get some money somewhere, someway.”

“Let’s hope so.  Just what is it you’re working on?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that just now.  You’ll find out when the time comes.”

“Oh, Manaheem, you always were the secretive one.”

“All I can tell you is that it’s something big.  And now, I really must get back to Tiberius. I’ll see you later.”

As he handed her her packages from the back of the chariot, she asked, “Do you get down here often?”

“Somewhat, as a part of what I’m working on.”  He smiled.  “I’m sure it will be more often now.”

Their lips met again in a final parting gesture.  He untied the horses and jumped in.  The strange looking chariot was on its way once more.