Recap: Ada decides not to tell Aunt Annabelle about her worry that Galla overheard Mirhan say he was going to have a bris milah.
The next morning, Erev Shabbos, I heard the jangle of horses. Saman and Jenna’s carriage pulled up to the palace. The marble floor sparkled. Aunt Annabelle’s silver candlesticks gleamed. The table was set with a white linen cloth and our best ceramic dishes. The scent of freshly baked challah wafted through the air.
I raced outside. My cousin Saman alighted from the carriage. Then my sister-in-law Jenna stepped out. She wore a long gray gown.
“Jenna!” I flew into her arms. We hugged, and I kissed both her cheeks.
Saman smiled at me. “You’ve grown taller since I last saw you.”
“You haven’t!” I laughed.
The servants carried the sacks of clothing into the house.
Arm in arm, Jenna and I entered the palace.
“Jenna, you should rest,” Saman said.
“I’m fine.”
Jenna smiled at me. “Soon you’ll have a second cousin, Ava.”
“I’m so excited!”
We entered the large dining room, and Mother turned when she saw Saman. “Welcome, dear son and daughter!”
“I see you are praying. I don’t wish to disturb you,” Saman said.
“I prayed for your safe arrival.”
“Mother, there is something I must tell you.”
“There’s something I must tell you, as well,” she said.
Saman glanced at the silver candlesticks. “Mother, Jenna and I – we’ve made a big decision. We’ve decided to convert to Judaism.”
There was a beat.
I felt a sinking feeling. Now everyone but me would be Jewish. But no, I couldn’t – the pageant…
I glanced at my aunt. Tears glistened in her eyes. “That is amazing. I’ve also decided this.”
It was quite amazing. They hugged and all spoke at once about how they came to this decision.
When everyone had quieted, Aunt Annabelle said, “Well then, we must finish our preparations. The Shabbos Queen will be here soon.”
…
After Jenna and Aunt Annabelle lit the Shabbos candles, Jenna and I went for a walk. “I missed you so much!” I said.
“We missed you, too, Ava. You should come visit us when the new cousin comes.”
“Of course.”
“Are you also planning to be Jewish?” she asked me.
“I don’t know. It’s just… Well, I understand how much it would enrich my life, but I’m used to—”
“I understand. You don’t have to make this decision yet. You’ll find your own way with Hashem’s help.”
Just then, Jasmin met us as we walked down the stone alleyway. “Welcome, Jenna.”
Jasmin turned to me. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for the pageant.”
I nodded.
She walked away.
My cheeks felt warm.
Jenna didn’t say anything.
“I feel ashamed, but I can’t miss the pageant.”
Jenna squeezed my hand. “It’s all right, Ava. You can’t take something on like this all at once. Slow steps, if that’s your direction.”
Everyone was being so patient with me. Why couldn’t I just renounce the old religion? I knew it was full of false ideas, but the pageant was so much fun – and my friends… Jasmin would be there, and others. I had to be honest with myself. There was another, more shameful reason. I was afraid to be different. I feared their mean comments. Me and my fears!
…
The next morning, the house was filled with a serene holiness. I felt a moment of regret as I left the Shabbos atmosphere behind.
I wore my new white silk dress with the pale blue sash. My hair was still braided with daisies. I headed downstairs and stepped into the warm fall morning. I planned to meet Jasmin at her house, and then we would walk together to the market square where the pageant was taking place.
Jasmin greeted me at her front door. She wore a long pink gown and a band of white roses in her hair.
She took my hand. “Hurry, it’s starting soon. You look so pretty,” she said.
Again, that word. Someone with a deformed arm could never be called pretty. “You are the one who looks pretty.” I admired her long, wavy hair streaming to her waist.
There were peddlers lining the street with wares to sell. “New ceramic bowls!” “Delicious mango and pomegranate!”
“My parents are coming later,” Jasmin said. “And your family, too?”
I shrugged.
We saw people walking toward the pageant. Travelers came from all over Aurora for the ceremony. Some brought donkeys laden with fruits and meats. Girls sauntered toward the market square dressed in their best gowns. There was music: drummers, reed pipes, lyres, tambourines. The sacrifices to the idols were in the center of the square.
I hadn’t ever noticed some things before. I’d never really thought about some of the practices that I saw: people bowing to a metal statue of a lion. Others bowed to trees and rocks.
How could they think these statues or rocks had the power to create the world or influence it? It made no sense. Judaism said there is one Creator – Hashem – who created the world and everything in it. Aunt Annabelle taught me that Hashem watches over the world and each of us. Could a tree do that?
Many in our country are Zoroastrian, which is considered less of a pagan religion. There was a power of good, but it had no power over evil, and there were angels who weren’t all that good.
Again, this made no sense. Hashem was in charge of both good and evil.
The crowd was thick, and music poured from tambourines, drums, and flutes. People were talking and laughing.
Galla approached.
Jasmin stepped back.
Galla had hurt her feelings before.
Galla’s light-blue silk gown with gold trim swished as she walked. Her Roman gold earrings sparkled in the sunlight. “When will your family be here?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
There was loud chanting accompanied by drums.
Galla turned away to greet a group of girls – her admirers. “Let’s go watch the stone-rolling contest.” Then she turned back and whispered to me, “You can come, but don’t bring that servant girl.”
My neck muscles tightened. Jasmin was my best friend.
“No, thank you,” I whispered, and stepped toward Jasmin.
The ceremony continued.
I sat on the side, listening to the music. I wondered if I should have stayed home with my family.
Just then, there was a trumpet blast and a loud announcement. All chanting and music stopped.
Galla’s father, Omer, stepped onto a stage and began to speak into a megaphone. “I hereby wish to make a proclamation.”
My neck muscles tightened.
“We must keep our customs, like this lovely pageant. We don’t want foreign customs to infiltrate our ways. The Jews are not like us. We must separate…”
I walked away.
People cheered.
I didn’t want to hear any more. I headed back toward home. On my way, a woman stopped me. “Where is your mother and the royal family? Why aren’t they here?”
“They… they had something else. Pressing business,” I said, and hurried away before she could ask me anything else.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of a newly released historical fiction novel, Captured (Menucha Publishers, 2025), as well as historical fiction novels Please Be Patient (Menucha, 2024), Flight of the Doves (Menucha, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha, 2020), Denver Dreams, a novel (Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials, and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, and “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021–2022) and Alaskan Gold (2023–2024).
