gate. I was returning from the pasture with the sheep.»
Shimon was struggling to remember who had seen him out on Wednesday when he was leaving Kalba Savua’s house. Then Shimon shuddered and said, «Forget about her!»
«What’s the matter Shimon?» Dvora his wife asked in alarm.
«Forget about her. Don’t even look at her,» Shimon repeated insistently. Then he turned to his anxious wife and said,» Do you realise who he is talking about? He’s referring to Rachel, Kalba Savua’s daughter.»
Shimon’s face was flushed red with concern. Despite all his wife’s efforts to soothe him, Shimon continued to worry.
«If Kalba Savua learns that you like his daughter,» the old man said to Akiva, «or even worse, if he knows that you want to be introduced to her, he will make sure that you will never work anywhere in Jerusalem ever again. Do you want to lose your job and go back to searching for a wage every single day?»
Akiva looked down and said, «I didn’t mean to upset you. It simply never occurred to me that Kalba Savua could have such a young daughter.»
«She is a late child, which is why he loves her so much and takes such good care of her. His daughter is everything to him. Please, Akiva, put her out of your mind,» Shimon said, more calmly now.
Both Akiva and Dvora tried to change the topic of conversation to something more neutral and once Shimon had calmed down, they all retired for the night.
Akiva was filled with sorrow at the news he had heard. It was a long time before he was finally able to sleep. How could a man as poor as he marry Kalba Savua’s daughter? Akiva convinced himself to take Shimon’s advice and put her out of his mind but he couldn’t help himself. Rachel was all he could think about. Now that he knew her name, it seemed to him the most beautiful name in all the world. Akiva tried to weigh everything up a second time and this time was determined to get a grip on himself and forget about the beautiful young woman once and for all to avoid wrecking his own life and threatening the friendship that existed between Mr. Shimon and Kalba Savua.
* * *
Life went on just as before. Akiva’s first winter at Kalba Savua’s estate was particularly cold. He had to work very hard in the severe winter conditions to protect the flock. He looked after the sheep with great care and spend most of his time with them as the work helped him forget about Rachel, at least for some of the time.
Gradually, the spring sun began to warm the people of Jerusalem helping them recover from the cold of winter. The path that lead to the river on the estate dried out and Akiva began driving the flock out towards the banks more regularly. Days of beautiful sunshine were from time to time followed by rainy days but the wet weather was no shadow over Akiva, who received great pleasure from his work. Every year, in the run-up to Pesach16 a census was carried out on Kalba Savua’s estate. Despite the severe cold of the winter months, Akiva had succeeded not only in preserving the head of cattle but in increasing their number.
The farm manager was very pleased with Akiva and promised to speak with Kalba Savua about increasing his wage.
On the Kalba Savua estate, as in all Judea, Pesach was celebrated with great enthusiasm despite all the difficulties of the time. After the celebrations were over, Akiva started driving the sheep down to the river every day, although as soon as the clouds filled the sky and threatened rain he would hurry to drive the herd back to the fold.
One spring day Akiva was caught in a sudden downpour. He struggled to manage the herd who, on hearing the rolls of thunder, scattered in different directions bleating with panic. Akiva was drenched to the skin but did his best to drive all the sheep back into the fold. Having finally closed the door behind them Akiva dreamed of sheltering from the rain and hurricane force winds himself, changing his clothes and warming himself through, when glancing back over towards the pasturelands, he thought he spotted an abandoned lamb. The powerful gusts of wind had blown one of the lambs towards the river. The little animal fought with all its might against being blown into the river until all its strength was spent.
Akiva ran to help the lamb when a surge of wind blew the animal off its feet and into the river. Seeing the current carry the exhausted lamb downstream, Akiva jumped into the water and with swift movements managed to reach the lamb and drag it onto the bank. The lamb was terrified and trembling with cold. Akiva made towards the summer house upwards of the riverbank in the hope of finding shelter from the continuing downpour. The shepherd quickly climbed the incline and ran to the summer house hugging the rescued lamb to his chest. Rachel was standing in the alcove. As soon as he noticed her, Akiva turned to rush out from under the roof back into the rain until the girl’s words reached his ears.
«Where are you going? Please, come back. You need dry clothes. Here, take my cloak.»
Akiva refused the cloak with a slight movement of his head but returned silently and sat on the edge of the bench turning his body towards the river to avoid looking at her. In his anxiety, he hugged the trembling lamb even more tightly.
«When you saved me from the dog, I prayed for a long time that everything would be all right and that you hadn’t suffered on my account. I didn’t tell anyone what happened because I didn’t want the story to reach my father. If he finds out, he’ll forbid me to feed the dogs and horses and won’t let me out of the house. If I had not seen that you were ok the next day, I would have told my father and he would have instantly called the best healers. You are a brave and decent man. Now that I have seen how you saved the lamb, I am convinced of it. Not every shepherd would jump into the river to save a lamb even if it were their own. But you leapt to save an animal that is not even your own property.»
Akiva said nothing. Rachel continued, «Last autumn I often watched you herding the sheep by the river but it was too cold in winter and I rarely came down here. I love to watch the water and the current. I can sit here for hours lost in thought and contemplation. I think about life, not about life itself and why we are born, but about my own role in life, why I am here in the world and my true purpose. I often think about the future. What do you think about when you look at the river?» Asked Rachel.
Just as she finished speaking there was another clap of thunder and the lamb bleated piteously in fear. Rachel took off her shawl and handed it to Akiva.
«Wrap the lamb up in this. It’ll warm him up and he’ll calm down.»
Akiva took the shawl and wrapped it around the lamb’s body. The rain began to subside gradually losing its force. Without stopping to say goodbye, Akiva quickly set off for his room carrying the little rescuee with him. Rachel also made her way home.
That evening, Akiva lay on his bed pressing Rachel’s shawl to his body. He could barely believe that they had met and that rather than laughing at him, she had chatted away so sweetly. It was all a dream. Only the shawl that Rachel had given him to wrap around the lamb proved that it was real. Akiva breathed in the subtle scent of the shawl immersing himself once again in the feeling of the day’s meeting with Rachel. Akiva’s dreams carried him far away but he tried to calm himself and fall asleep after what had been a tiring day. In the morning, he decided to take the shawl with him and give it to Ezra or one of the other employees, so that they could return it to their mistress.
It was a beautiful day with not a single cloud in the sky. Akiva drove the sheep to pasture and then, as usual, sat on a stone by the river from where he could gaze at the water. The lamb he had saved the night before grazed close to him and from time to time he stroked the lamb’s silky coat. Akiva’s soul was in turmoil. On the one hand, he could not wait for Rachel to appear but on the other, he was afraid of seeing her again as he understood that if he did see her again and hear her gentle voice, he would fall in love with her even more deeply and would no longer be capable of living without her. The summerhouse was empty. Eventually the sun started to set on the horizon and it was time to return to the estate. Akiva