Deuteronomy Fiction: Devarim

‘By the hand of a loved one’

“And this land we took in possession at that time; from Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.” Moses to the Children of Israel, Deuteronomy 3:12

“You’re grandmother had the sight, Zondur,” my father often told me.

My father, Parag, was the largest landowner of the tribe of Gad. We owned two hills-worth of land east of the Jordan, on the southern hills of Gilead, outside the city of Yaazer.

The year I turned twelve Joshua died. My father did not mourn him.

Father reminisced most heavily in the spring, when we sheared the flock. The musky smell of their sweaty wool resurfaced his memory. The fluffy wool kept the flock warm throughout our sharp winters. Now it was our turn to benefit from the valuable wool.

“It made her bitter, always knowing, always being right, never able to do anything about it,” father said half to himself, half to me. “The same day…hand of a loved one,” he murmured under his breath. He held the thick wool between his fingers and ran the sharp knife close to the skin without hurting the sheep.

[The rest of this short story is at http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/by-the-hand-of-a-loved-one/]