could no longer control the dark thoughts. He felt hurt. He had always considered himself to be the best friend of Rachel. But now? Rachel had never leaned up against him the way she did with Jesus just now. And Jesus had always stayed away from her before. In this moment, watching the happy and frolicsome circle of girls around Jesus, Joshua felt left out. Suddenly he saw dark creatures that raced toward him on the path and danced about him. A fog enveloped him. His spirit became confused, he felt dizzy. He covered his eyes with his hands. In the end he had to lie down seeking shelter from this tempest of demons. Then he fainted.
Thus Joshua was not aware of how Jesus, who had also seen the creatures, left the circle of girls, came and bent over him, praying for him tearfully.
∞
This was the second time that his son was sick in bed. Samuel sat in front of Joshua’s bedchamber. What had that Jesus done to him? When Ismael had come running earlier and had called on him he had hurried to Joshua quickly. There he saw many children crowding about his son, who was lying on the ground with Jesus next to him on his knees praying with closed eyes. Was he praying to demons? After all one often saw Jesus wandering alone through the hills around Nazareth, and some times he even passed by the cemetery in front of the town, which always made Samuel feel queasy. What was he doing there? And why did that blue-eyed boy always play such dreamy melodies on his damned flute? But right now none of that mattered.
Meanwhile Joshua had already received a bowl of goat milk, and he had a cold cloth on his forehead. He still looked weak and drained, but one was able to speak with him again and he could even smile a little
“Father, what happened?”
“You fainted, my son. Can’t you remember anything?”
“I only know that it got darker and darker. Then everything started spinning, I saw demons and after a while it got lighter about me. Eventually I awoke, here.”
“Joshua“, Samuel was very strict, “I want you to stay away from Jesus. He is not good for you. Have you understood?”
Only a whispering croak came from Joshua.
“I will assume that was your agreement. Furthermore I want you to do your writing exercises at home.”
“Father, is that really necessary?”
“Yes, that is really necessary.” Samuel’s voice became louder. He did not tolerate any objections. “I know that you are talented, and the ability to write will aid you in the future. I only want the best for you. You will also pray to our Lord more often. You will put on your prayer straps regularly in the morning just as I do. I know that you have been neglecting that. And I mean both, for the arm and for the brow. Did you hear me?”
Joshua nodded.
“Excuse me, I did not hear a reply.”
“Yes.”
“Aside from that, I will read to you from the torah every evening from now on. You will concentrate more on your torah studies.”
“But why, father?” , Samuel noticed that Joshua no longer sounded stubborn but rather desperate. But that did not matter now.
“Joshua, you are talented. Even the children two, three or four years older at school do not know as much as you, and hardly any know Hebrew. And only two or three can write. Yet therein lies the future my son.”
“But...”
“Shut up!”, Samuel yelled. Maybe he should add some pressure so that Joshua would understand his words better? “If you do not do that, Joshua, then you can find another place to call home. “
“But father…“ Joshua’s eyes were wide open. He seemed to have gotten the message.
“If you heed my words, then you can take two more days. But after the Sabbath you will have to return to the synagogue.”
Samuel left Joshua by himself for now. He truly was a good tactician. The way he had managed that with his son again! Samuel had to smile. A nice walk would be good for him now. He still had to sort out some thoughts. And he was best able to concentrate while walking.
Samuel was just as shocked as at the evening of the celebration which had been hosted in honor of Joseph, Miriam and Jesus. So he had been right. Yeshua that damned lout did in fact pray to demons. The sparse recollections Joshua had, spoke volumes. He knew it. Now he decided that he had to do something about it. But no one in the village was allowed to know about it. First of all no one would understand him, for most of the villagers including Jacob and Jeroham would not understand him and were lacking deep faith and an understanding of their history. And second of all it would cause a panic. And that would not help anyone in the village. He, the rabbi and the one responsible for the faith desperately had to make some decisions. But how to make the right ones?
So there was a boy in the village who had contact to demons. This was the biggest test that God had confronted him with since becoming a rabbi. Why here in Nazareth? Why had Joseph and his family returned? Should he tell the Romans that they should take Jesus away? No, then the whole village would be against him and no one would attend his services. After all Jesus had meanwhile become very popular with most people. They liked his flute playing and his friendly manner. Fortunately no one considered him to be the Messiah because no one in Nazareth believed in the Messiah. And since more and more Greeks came to Nazareth since Sepphoris had begun being rebuilt, he, the rabbi, the guardian of the laws of God stood there almost all alone. So he had to watch out now.
Besides he still wanted to sow seeds. Most of the inhabitants of Nazareth were superficial and dumb, but they were good people. But another question bothered him: should he banish Jesus from the synagogue? Or should he take him to task more often, which would mean testing him more frequently? Yes, he should do the later. He had to bring Jesus back to the faith. He had to get rid of the demons that were all around Jesus. He would pray for him more often. He would take care of the demons. He would curse them. That was supposed to help. Samuel’s posture improved.
Without noticing it Samuel had come by the cemetery and heard a quiet flute playing once again. He looked around and spotted Jesus sitting on a rock that jutted out above the cemetery. He had closed his eyes and continued playing. A small doubt arose in Samuel, whether this weak boy had the ability to speak to demons. It really did not fit somehow he had to admit to himself. No, no, especially the weak, those on the edges of society were the ones who sought the company of demons and prayed to heathen Gods. After all Jesus was half Greek. And the Greeks are known for their Polytheism. They even had a forest demon as a God. He was called satyr, had a horse tail and horse ears. Yes, probably Jesus had learned to pray to demons in Egypt. That is what must have happened.
Samuel immediately started to pray for Jesus right then and there. That was the only way to save his soul. He would deal with the demons later on.
∞
What had happened with him today? Joshua was lying awake in his bedchamber and thinking about the early afternoon. The whole time he had the little cross in his hand that Jesus had carved for him. He could not even recall taking it from the stool next to his bed. He only recalled what he had already told his father.
He had become dizzy, and then he had seen many ugly, grotesque faces which had seized upon him. That was strange.
He wondered whether those were the faces that Jesus had told him about. Were those the faces that Jesus
