Red sand

"There is a rumour going around my town, a rumour that tastes like fear. Everyone is saying the centurian's are coming and they have travelled a long way, tired and frustrated punishing anyone who stands in their path. I have seen smoke from villages across the hills, i have been haunted by the screams that echo through the valleys, but yet i am thankful to see a new sunrise after i sleep. They say that this mighty army of roman soldiers are taking children for their own pleasure, burning the homes filled with screaming mothers and taking the weeping men to a place they call Caesarea, but to our little farming community, it is known as hell on earth. King Herod is an evil leader and likes to watch people suffer, he likes to make his army look powerful and they carry iron balls with spikes on them that can kill even the strongest farmer, swords that can cut a horse in two and spears that come flying through the air like eagles diving for fish. We do not know why he persecutes us, we are not a threat to him, we are just farmers trying to make the land provide for our families. So far, the soldiers have not come to my town, but now.....now i have fear that they will. They could come at any time and the only thought of peace i have is when i think of my beautiful wife and our 3 daughters. I could cry when they all come running out to meet me, its a refreshing time after a hard days work in the hot Israeli sun. My skin is dark and my hands are like leather. My back is arched from working the plough for the past 30 years, but the thought of feeding my children is my driving force when the soil is hard and the sun drains me of my energy.
My children are clearly a gift to me, my wife is my best friend and makes me laugh even when i'm tired. My daughters all carry such a beautiful innocence with them and i adore to see them play by the stream catching fish. They are so funny when they loose their balance and fall in. It's like 3 tiny drowned rats coming home for supper."
"we fell in again Dad"
"so i see, but you will soon be dry and you do make me smile"
But i am afraid. I have heard the rumours and seen the remains of the burned villages. I do not know how i can protect my family when the soldiers come. I am a strong man and can fight a few men but to fight an army? i don't know how to do that.
"That was a beautiful dinner dear, thankyou. You work as hard preparing our food as i do walking behind those 2 faithful horses of ours."
"Thankyou for making my life worthwhile all of you, but your father is tired now and needs to sleep so i'm fit for tomorrow."

"Who is that waking me up in the middle of this hot summer night?"
"Please dont touch my girls, please, i beg you...spare my girls."
"SILENCE FARMER BOY, WE WILL DO WHAT WE WANT AND YOU WILL WATCH TOO."
"Over my dead body, don't you touch my family, i'm begging you!"
"I SAID BE QUIET!".........

"My tears are no comfort to me now, my heart has stopped beating, i have lost everything i love, my family has gone, my daughters are not pure anymore, my wife is hidden amongst the ashes of my family home, i am a broken man. the pain is too strong for me to even understand, i have had everything taken from me,
"why? why did they do this to me? what did i do to them, i was no threat to them, all i ever wanted was to be a good husband and father and now.....now i have nothing"
"kill me please, you can have my life, every body i loved you have taken from me , please.....kill me"
"NO! DO NOT THINK YOU ARE ESCAPING THAT EASILY JEW! YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH KING HEROD, HE WANTS TO SEE YOU AT HIS PALACE IN CAESAREA"

"The journey is hard, every step i take i am shaking with pain, my wife, my beautiful daughters and now these men want me to obey them and walk in a line without shouting at them. My heart is broken, the sun has even dried my tears but i am filled with so much anger, i want to kill them, i want to kill them all. Just to drive a sword into one of them would ease the pain, but who am i....i am just one and they are many. But it would be worth it just to kill one of them. My sandels broke two day ago and i have had to continue walking on the bare stones, it hurts my feet, they are cut and bruised. When i left my town they left a trail of blood, but now there is nothing , just pain. The pain is too much for me to carry, i just want to die"

"WHAT DOES THAT SIGNPOST SAY FARMER BOY?"
"Caesarea, do they not teach you to read in the army centurian?"
"What was that for? Why did you punch me? You kill my wife, rape my daughters and you expect me to be quiet and be polite to you....you roman murderer"

The silence became so haunting, i want to die right now, but the look he keeps giving me makes me want to live again , to live for my family and my people"
"YOUR DAUGHTERS WERE SCREAMING FOR YOU WHEN I TOOK THEM, STAY IN LINE, KEEP WALKING AND BE QUIET"

The days past, we made camp at night but when sunrise came we were walking again. Chained together and not allowed to speak, and we were not even in torture town yet.

Eventually we arrived near the sea and the smell of death met us in every corner. We were forced to stand in a small room with our hands tied above our heads. The heat was so intense and after our 20 day walk i just wanted to sleep, but we were not allowed. Every time i close my eyes i get whipped, the guard spits in my face and shouts at me to keep me awake. Their breath smells like dead pigs and their body has a smell of blood which makes me want to vomit. My arms are tired, my shoulders ache, my feet are sore and i am convered in roman spit.
"Just kill me please!"
In this small arched room are the local farmers from my nearby towns.These are strong men, respected men, honest men, but we are being treated likes dogs for no reason. Maybe they like the power, maybe they like the control, but i know they do not like us.

The cheers of the crowd rising up from from the stone seats is drowning out the sound of the waves. The sparkling blue sea crashing against the rocks is like clashes of thunder The smell of rotten flesh is in my lungs and i can taste it. The thunder of the horses on the sand with the rattling of the chariot wheels makes my ears hurt, The way they are treating me makes me want to die but only after i have killed at least one of them.
"What did i ever do to them? Why do they punish us?"

The people are laughing and cheering as one by one the broken farmers are led out into the sun soaked arena. The king sits surrounded by people in rich clothing. His servants look alot like like me, they have dark skin too but yet they are obedient to him. "Would i choose that rather than death?" I am chained up in a corner and i see men bent over walking towards the red coloured sand, tired and barely standing up. Then a cheer comes from the crowd as a giant in armour cuts their throats. These poor people don't stand a chance, we are all tired, angry and all want to die but not like this.
"I wish i was back on my farm with my family"

The roar of the leopards and lions are sending lightning bolts of fear down my back. Held back by silver coloured chains the whipped blood thirsty cats stare and snarl at anyone within their eyesight. The audience in their white gowns cheer as anticipation rises. The snakes in the sand are undisturbed by the pure white horses thundering up and down the sand as the wheels of the chariots spin and show flashes of the blue sea between the spokes,the giants are riding with silver armour and flashes of red across them. In their helmets are red feathers flowing in the breeze."
They all have sandels on. "Do they know what it is like to walk barefoot on this bloodstained hot sand? it hurts, it burns, but we still have to do it, why?"

Two more people then i am at the front of the line, i am afraid. I can not see what is out there but i know its full of more pain. One more man next to me now and my heart is beating faster but i am so tired, my body hurts, my heart hurts and as the next victim walks forward i catch a glimpse of the beautiful blue sea. I stretch my neck to see the enchanting colours of the inviting calmness and ask myself why does it look so beautiful.

My time has come to be pushed into the blood soaked arena. I feel so afraid and alone, why are they doing this to me?


© Travelling Boy content belongs to Philip D Norris