I hurried through the market, a basket full of onions, garlic, salt, dill, and other ingredients that I would use for dinner tonight, swinging on my arm. The air was filled with the noise of people and animals trampling about me; the shouts and laughter of the bare-footed children running through the streets; the haggling of customers trying to get a good bargain from the farmers and merchants that lined the road; and the hushed whispers from the small clusters of women who paused their bartering for a quick gossip with their neighbors. There was an overwhelming whirl of colors, smells, sounds, and people that made me better appreciate the quiet coziness of my home. 

Finally, I came to the end of the street, and turned the corner to see the friendly brick house that stared back at me. I have lived there for eight years now. Ever since… I paused at the doorway and sighed. How could it still hurt so much after so long? 

Walking into the kitchen, I dropped the basket on the floor, and sank onto a stool next to it. Too well I remember the shocked, frightened, frantic little creature I had been after my parents died. But then Cousin Mordecai came for me, and brought me here, and took care of me, and treated me like his own daughter, and – – the tears glistening in my eyes made their way down my cheeks. “May Adonai always bless him,” I whispered.

Hearing a commotion in the open doorway I looked up to see Dita, my little friend who lives next door. Her dark black hair bounced in waves as she skipped towards me, and her dark brown eyes shone eagerly.

 I quickly swiped my hands across my cheeks and smiled. “Shalom, Dita,” I greeted. 

“Shalom,” she gasped, throwing herself to the ground near my feet. “I heard the most interesting news today.” She beamed, folding her arms on my lap, her shining face gazing up at me. “King Ahasuerus banished Vashti. She’s not the queen anymore!” 

 I gasped.

 “It is true!” she added emphatically, responding to my furrowed brow and questioning glance. “I heard Meira say it in the markets!”

 I leaned back against the wall and thought for a moment. Meira was normally an accurate source of information from the palace. Somehow she knew of everything that went on there including what feasts were taking place and when, who the king had hired, who the king had put in jail, and even what new cloth the queen had purchased for her wardrobe. 

 Curious, I looked back down and opened my mouth to ask something. The spot in front of me was empty.

 “Dita?” 

I turned my head just in time to see her fly out the door.  “I have to tell my Ima!” she called behind her.

I laughed and shook my head in amusement. 

Rising to my feet I reached for my basket. I would have to ask Cousin Mordecai about this when he came home from work. As the king’s gatekeeper, he would know a lot of what was going on in the palace.

As I busied myself in the kitchen making the soup for the evening meal, I found my eyes darting to the door every few minutes. 

Why did he have to take so long today? I have a lot of questions to ask!