brown eyes into his brother’s. “From now on, I killed both of those soldiers! Do you understand? It was I.”
“Well, that’s almost true” Theudas frowned in confusion.
“I’m serious.” Yeshua shook him with covert violence. “If anything happens, if anyone asks us, it was me who killed them both. You had no part in this. Do you understand?”
Theudas looked vacant.
“Do you understand?” he repeated, trying to conceal his alarm from all but his brother.
“Yeshua!” Theudas looked embarrassed, and leaned forward to whisper. “I understand.”
“The next thing we do is dump the swords,” said Yeshua.
“Er—didn’t you want to keep them? Souvenirs of revenge . . .”
“What do you think’ll happen if we’re caught with them here?” The elder brother frowned.
“Fine. Shall we visit the well?” They turned to head back towards the wailing.
“Yeshua? Theudas? . . . Shalom! What brings you this far inland?” The brothers were speechless at being recognized. “Come to see how your cotton is selling? Or have you been murdering soldiers?” A tall, full-bodied, red-faced man clutching a hook full of fish smiled at them quizzically before he laughed and continued. “Not the best welcome to Narbata! Come on, let’s get out of here and celebrate being this far from the coast.”
“Yudah,” said Yeshua, as though he had no care in the world, “it’s great to see you, but . . . what’s all this about?” He gestured towards the sound of wailing? “Is Narbata always like this?”
“Not much trading here this morning. We can talk over breakfast.” The Egyptians looked at each other and shrugged shoulders. “Come on,” said Yudah, already disappearing into the crowd. “Come and see the house your cloth has built me!” They walked together through dusty streets still echoing with grief and distant wailing, towards a large house of grey stone turned into gold by the alchemy of morning sunshine. The dwelling was necklaced by a ring of palm trees that teased with the light above and bestowed gentle shade on the home below.
Yudah entered through his gate and sent his guests to sit in a small courtyard. “I won’t be a minute.” The garden excluded the eastern sunlight, but was designed to offer comfort to all who were invited in. Stone seats were positioned around a cistern containing water brought fresh from the well. This place retained the welcome aroma of the herbs that grew there, imposing a peace that only the most anxious guest could defy.
“Right,” Yeshua whispered hurriedly, “we’re on our way to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices.”
“Oh that’s convincing!” Theudas chuckled.
“So what do we say? Oh, we just popped in to murder some soldiers?” Theudas’ face emptied itself of all expression.
Yeshua’s thought was so frantic it was almost audible. He had failed to concoct an alibi before his host reappeared.
“Breakfast will be here soon,” Yudah called, rubbing his hands on a cloth as he marched briskly across the terrace to take a seat next to his trading partners. “Now, did you see what just happened?”
“The execution?”
“All too common with this idiot as prefect.” There was a warm familiarity to Yudah’s voice. His greying beard and rosy cheeks combined with a body that had enjoyed no shortage of fine food and drink, brought a surprising depth of relief given all that had happened on so young a day. Yudah was a fine host who thrived on the company of others. He perched his excessive body on a low stonewall and leaned towards the brothers.
“Just let me say, I was horrified to hear about your brothers. Please send my sympathy to your Father. That prefect’s determined to cause misery everywhere he goes. Still, at least his toilet will be seeing plenty of traffic this morning! Maybe justice is . . .” Yudah paused, and sent a serious but curious frown at his guests.
“What’s that wrapped up in your cloaks?”
“Oh, it’s . . .” Yeshua knew that there would be no fooling Yudah.
“Swords!” Theudas cut in with a flash of inspiration. Or so he thought. “We took them from the soldiers we killed before dawn,” he laughed.
Yudah also laughed, allowing Yeshua to gather his thoughts as he smiled. “We were on our way to Jerusalem,” he said “but I don’t think we’ll be getting there in a hurry now.”
“How are things with you?” Theudas asked in a manner so far out of character that even a stranger would have noticed. He knew it, and his eyes attempted to chase after his words and stuff them back in his mouth.
You may as well have asked if we could change the subject, thought Yeshua. It was a sentiment carried on a glance that was not missed by their host.
“What were you doing in Narbata this early if you’re traveling to Jerusalem? Have you just left Caesarea?” Yudah frowned. “And . . . what have you got in those packs?” The brothers exchanged another frown that rendered futile any further attempt to conceal the truth. Yeshua lifted his hands to mark the end of the charade.
“Yes, we left Caesarea long before dawn this morning,” Yeshua confessed, leaving Yudah to work the rest out for himself. Every corner of the trader’s friendly face was besieged with a confusion, which eventually gathered at the side of his mouth, where a mild but restrained grin was slowly taking form.
“Please don’t tell me . . .” said Yudah, who paused again before composing himself. “But they were professional soldiers. You boys are traders.”
“Angry traders,” Theudas objected.
“Amateur soldiers,” added Yeshua.
“No . . . Seriously,” Yudah smiled as he shook his head. “You wouldn’t do that.” Yudah laughed. Then he stopped laughing. “You’re not rebels. You’re not violent. You’re not desperate . . .”
“We’re bereaved,” Yeshua interrupted, looking a little offended. “Our brothers have been taken from us. An eye for an eye.”
Yudah continued to shake his head. “This isn’t you,” he said, standing up and looking towards the sky. “You don’t do this,” he said to the brothers but addressed only himself. He turned to look at Theudas, who was losing the battle to contain his pride at the morning’s achievements. “Your father’s a rabbi,” Yudah frowned, “a rabbi who preaches peace . . . He wouldn’t support this.” He looked back to the brothers, expecting their look to confirm his denials. Their demeanor forced him to pause. “You wanted revenge. And you took it.”
Yudah was unable to conceal his admiration, “Mmmarvelous!” he declared with grave sincerity. Immediately the warmth returned to his face, “You’ll be sure to let me know if I start to get on your nerves.”
“We’re on our way to Joppa,” Yeshua explained, “but we weren’t expecting to get trapped here.”
“You really haven’t thought this through have you, boys. Our prefect’s going to be looking for you. He may be an atrocious prefect, but revenge
