When Miriam and I were young, Moses had been set adrift in that basket. Mother and I sat by the shore, watching it until it disappeared. Miriam had wandered off. Both of us were too sad to chase after her. You know, I'd had hopes for my little brother too. I wanted to grow up with him. We'd play tag games and, with him at my side, I might have a strategic advantage against Miriam. Even if my strides are bigger than her's now, she'd been the bigger one at that age.

But with a point of the Pharoh's finger, all that was over.

Mother sobbed and sobbed and sobbed some more. "Oh, God, don't let him die!"

I said nothing. Even though I was a little one, I wasn't stupid. I'd seen how the soldiers gripped those babies. So rough. Holing most of them up by just their arms. I'd heard how the tiny things cried out. What was stopping them from doing the same to my brother?

I held my mother and we both cried.

It was a long time before Miriam came back and saw us still on the beach. She looked peacful with just a sliver of joy in her eyes.

"I followed him down the river." She spoke up.

Mother sobbed harder, her entire body shaking. The poor woman was frail enough already. "Did he drown?"

"Mama, no! It's ok! He floated up to the Egyptian queen and she took him out of the basket and brought him into the palace!" She practically jumped up and down as she went along with the story. "She named him Moses and he has an older brother! So he'll survive and we'll be fine!"

Mother's dispair was replaced by rage quick as a wink. She shouted at Miriam, ordering her to stop "telling lies". She said how God will hurt us if we do that before she stormed off. Mother rarely left us out of her sight, but she had to be alone.

There were tears in Miriam's eyes. Turning to me, she asked "You believe me, don't you Aaron?"

I reiterate, I wasn't stupid. I knew she wouldn't lie to me. But what were the chances? 0.00000001%? That might as well be zero. "Does he really have a new brother now?"

"Yeah."

"An older one, though?"

"Yeah."

I let that sink in for a moment, and left her there. Out of all the regrets I carry with me, that was not one of them. I would not have been able to live a life of slavery had I know he was out there. Some priveleged Egyptian palace brat with a family that was not his. So instead I tried my best to pretend he was dead. However now, I thank God for Miriam's honestly.