The Whistling Galilean

PART I. LIFE BY THE SEA

Chapter 1. Grandfather’s Gift

Shai felt important. His father had given him a task that summer morning. He would be noticed by all the Galilean fishermen.

“Are you ready?”

With a nod from the old fisherman, the tan ten-year-old guided Yona the Elder’s hand to his right shoulder to help the white-haired man balance. The wrinkled man Shai loved was part of an important ceremony. Shai took the old man’s cane to carry in his free hand. The Elder’s walking aide was useless in this environment because it would sink into the sand. The boy was its substitute.

Both of them slowly made their way past several wooden boats lined bow- or front-up and facing the forest. The gathered fishermen awaited their arrival beside the gray-blue Sea of Galilee.

The sun’s warmth and the occasional cool breeze on his face filled Shai with energy. With his entire body, he wanted to romp down the soft, creamy, yellow sand. He knew he dared not do as he desired. Papa was more observant than normal today. Therefore, the obedient boy demonstrated his helpfulness at a snail’s pace.

To Shai, they moved in slower than slow motion. Unfortunately, that gave his older brother time to notice them coming. The younger boy glanced up and tensed when he heard his brother’s impatient stomps approaching. Ezra joined them in several large strides.

“Here, Grandpa, I will help you get there faster. Shai is too slow.” Grabbing hold of the old man’s thin arm, Ezra yanked the Elder’s hand off Shai’s shoulder.

“Not so fast, Ezra. We are almost there,” Shai protested.

Shai tried to grab hold of the Elder, but it was in vain. Events happened too quickly. The boy watched his grandfather try to take a large step forward to catch up to the arm that Ezra had pulled away. He saw the old man tilt too far forward. As Shai guessed what would happen next, he rushed forward to prevent the accident. If only he could get in front of his grandfather in time.

The younger boy flung himself in front of the old man. He noticed that Ezra seemed oblivious of the problem rapidly developing behind him.

Even though Shai tried to prevent the Elder’s precarious forward tilt, he was neither big nor strong enough to shore up the man he loved. First, the wrinkled man sank to his knees. Then he collapsed. Shai was squished, pinned beneath his grandfather and nose-down in the soft sand.

As the pile of bones on top of him soon unraveled. His father’s voice, asking if the Elder was alright, sounded far away through the sand packed in his right ear. The felt his grandfather being lifted upward.

Then Shai heard Ezra’s muffled voice, “But he was right with me, Papa. I don’t know what happened. It must have been Shai’s fault.”

Papa yanked Shai up by his sandy robe and shook him, “I told you to help my father to the beach, to get him there safely and on time. I am disappointed in you. You failed me.”

In shock, Shai watched his father and brother bracket and guide his grandfather toward the fishing boats at the water’s edge. As they walked, they wiped sand off everywhere they could reach using their free hands.

Discovering a mouth full of sand, Shai realized that he could not protest. Instead of following, he walked directly to the surf line. He used both hands to toss water onto his face and clear sandy grit from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Once sufficiently clean, he returned to the sandy beach and shook sand from his clothing. As he cleaned himself up as best he could, he watched the group of fishermen form a small ring. It was only now that they paid attention to the old man. Several men beside the Elder carefully wiped sand out of his robe, hair, ears, and eyes.

The boy noticed also that no one walked over to check on him. He heard no words from anyone asking, “Are you all right, Shai?” or, “Are you hurt?” No one, especially not his father, said, “Thanks for your help.” All he heard in his head was the remaining echo of disappointment and disgust in his father’s tone.

Snorting, the tan-haired boy dislodged the last of the sandy snot from his nose before joining the group. His wormed his small frame into a position beside his grandfather. Looking around, he noticed that the circle contained all the active fishermen on this part of the Galilean coast and many of their sons. That in itself was impressive. That told him that his father was respected. He also noticed that many of them shook their heads in disgust when they looked toward him.

When the white-haired man cleared his throat, Shai’s attention turned to his grandfather beside him. The old man acknowledged him with a wink of his pale blue eyes and a nod. Those small motions told Shai everything without words. The Elder was smart and noticed things. The Elder knew exactly what had happened.

The Elder took hold of Shai’s hand, giving it a loving squeeze. “Here, Shai, stand by me. I may need your shoulder again.”

That small act of inclusion made up for everything else that had happened earlier. The Elder nodded to his son, Yona the Younger, who in turn nodded to their current guild leader, and the proceedings started.