Writer’s note: It’s been a while…here’s chapter 5!

“Hadassah!” Meira exclaimed cheerily as I approached her stand in the market. 

“Shalom, Meira. I decided to stop by to say hello,” I replied, smiling. 

An eager look crossed her face and she pulled me down beside her on the long wooden bench where she sat. “Guess what news I just heard from the palace!”

I laughed. “What is it now, Meira? Is the king throwing a feast for all of Susa?”

She shook her head enthusiastically and stared at me, grinning. 

“It is much bigger than that, Hadassah, and much better too!” she gushed. “The king is sending officers throughout all of his kingdom and is gathering every fair young virgin to choose one of them as his new queen!” 

I smiled at her excitement, and shifted painfully on the wooden bench. 

Wow, this seat is so uncomfortable…how does Meira do this all day? 

Meira grinned at me again, and grabbed my hands in hers. “You are so pretty, Hadassah, I am sure you will be taken.” 

She nodded emphatically and squealed with delight. “Imagine. The king might choose you to be the next queen!”

I shook my head, smiling, “No, Meira, not me. Why would I be taken? And even if I were — which is very unlikely — why would I be chosen as queen?”

A group of women paused by Meira’s stall, eyeing the produce packed in jars, and boxes, and laid out on mats on the floor. 

I stood up from the hard bench and stretched. 

“I will be going now, Meira. I have some chores at home to finish,” I said nodding at the women waiting. “I will stop by again soon. Have a blessed day.”

Meira turned to me and flashed that grin that shows all of her teeth. “Alright, Queen Hadassah. See you later, dear.”

I laughed to myself as I walked towards home, processing the news I just heard. There was no way I could be taken away, right? I mean, I was just an ordinary Jewish orphan girl. 

Where did Meira get this news, anyway? She is normally accurate about this sort of thing, but could she be wrong this time?

Sometimes I worry for no good reason at all…

As I entered the silent house, I couldn’t wait for Mordecai to come home from work and interrupt these noisy thoughts. 

I grabbed a large clay jar from the table and headed outside to the well.

What if I have to leave Cousin Mordecai, Dita, Meira, the market, and everything that is home?

Oh stop it, thoughts… 

I kept trying to tell myself that I was safe…

 That there was no need for me to worry…

That a plain orphan girl would be exempt from the king’s decree – if there really is one…

And wouldn’t Cousin Mordecai have said something?

But a seed of worry was planted in my heart, and as it grew it slowly spread across my entire body. 

 I grasped the mouth of the well as tears began to trickle down my face without me really knowing why.

Keep calm, Hadassah.

Placing the jar at my feet, I slumped to the floor beside it, leaning against the side of the well.

My lips moved in a faint whisper. “O Adonai, give me strength.”

That was probably the shortest prayer that I have ever breathed, but I knew it was enough. That Adonai still heard.

Wrapped in my now stormy thoughts, I sat there by the well until my back hurt against the hard stone. 

I sat there, numb, until the sun went down, and I was swallowed up in inky blackness.

I sat there, motionless, until a faint, muffled voice called from somewhere far away, “Hadassah, Hadassah, where are you?”

Soon footsteps approached.

Now I am being lifted off the ground and taken somewhere warm – I recognize that ceiling – Now I am put to lie down on something soft. A voice that is like Cousin Mordecai’s is whispering ‘sleep softly,’ and ‘don’t worry,’ and ‘rest now.’

Another voice. It is of a young girl, and is familiar, but I can’t remember who it is: “Why did Adonai let Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery?”

 I open my mouth to answer, but am not awake enough to speak. 

Then I hear the voice again, so faint, it is softer than a whisper: “He was just where Adonai wanted him.” 

I sigh wearily and slip into a deep sleep.