Ruth went with them as far as the well on the edge of town. There she said goodbye once more and stood, watching as Mary, Joseph and little Jesus disappeared into the dim light.
When she got home she opened the present Mary had given her. Wrapped in a soft piece of cloth were a few pieces of the frankincense and myrrh brought by the visitors. Ruth wrapped them back up and tucked them away in her belongings.
*****
She was preparing breakfast with her mother when Joshua burst in. “Soldiers heading this way from Jerusalem,” he said abruptly. “Mary and Joseph need to leave now!”
“They’ve gone,” Ruth said. “Left during the night.” She had told her mother that much but not mentioned Joseph’s dream, although she told Joshua later.
“Do you know where?” he asked.
“No.”
“That’s just as well. I only hope they got away in time.”
*****
Before long Herod’s men came into the village, shouting and pushing their way into every home, searching for babies and toddlers. All the boys they could find who were younger than a couple of years old were killed. Ruth felt sick, hearing the crying and screaming coming from every house. She prayed as she had never done before that Mary, Joseph and Jesus had got far enough away and would not be found.
Joshua had stayed with her. Her mother had hurried off to Miriam’s house to make sure that she and little Rachel were safe. “What a mercy she was a girl,” she had said, her wishing for a grandson temporarily forgotten.
Some of the men of the town had tried to fight back when the killing began, but it was no contest. Herod’s soldiers were heavily armed and well trained. One man was killed and several injured, as were some of the women who tried to protect their children. By evening the town was full of families weeping and grieving. Even those who were untouched knew many victims, and gave sober thanks that they had been spared.
*****
That evening, Joshua went with her to the well once again. There was wailing in every street, and Ruth turned her head so Joshua would not see the tears once again creeping from her eyes.
He hesitantly reached out and took her hand. “It’s horrible, I know,” he said. “But at least they got away.”
“But these children didn’t,” Ruth said. “Maybe it would have been better for one person to die than for so many others to suffer.”
“It’s not for us to make that choice,” Joshua said.
They had reached the edge of town. Ruth gazed out onto the fields where sheep grazed. “I wonder where they will go,” she said.
“Mary believed that God had a plan for Jesus,” Joshua said. “One day maybe we’ll find out what happened.”
Joshua said good night to her at the courtyard entrance. Ruth watched as he disappeared into the darkness, and smiled to herself, despite everything. Not everything was bad. There was still hope in the world. She remembered her dream, the night Jesus was born. Sadness and happiness together, joy and pain. Maybe that was what Mary had meant about a sword- the pain when someone you loved went away from you. She was starting to understand how much that might hurt- and yet how much joy came from having someone you loved, and who loved you.
She looked up at the stars far overhead, including the bright star that had led the visitors to Jesus and his parents only a few days ago.
Who was he, this child wise men journeyed far to worship and kings feared, whose birth brought the death of others? What could justify that?
Maybe one day she would understand more. Now, all she knew was that Jesus was someone special. And that she was tired.
