Dream
The world was going mad around me and I, Judah Ben Hur, was running around in it desperately, unable to recognise my old city no matter how hard I've tried. Everything seemed unfamiliar and strange to the degree that I, the rebel, the proud patriot was happy to see Roman soldiers, for they reminded me of the normal, the ordinary. At least they were alive… Everything seemed to be in decay. The Amphitheatre of Jerusalem, the Hippodrome, our own monuments… even the common houses!
The Sun was shining cruelly and the air was unusually hot and still, even for these parts. I –seeking shelter- stepped inside a deserted building. Had it been a marketplace? Or a council-room? It was impossible to tell. It was simple. Four crumbling walls with large window-like openings and an arcade of thin, hay-sack roof… It was the loneliest site my eyes ever beheld. It had a sad reddish-okker colour; the Sun pierced its roof, rocks, hay and wisps of yellow grass littered the court and the effect was completed by occasional cobwebs.
I sank down onto a low window-sill, deep in my thoughts. I haven't even seen Him coming so I was startled when I felt His hand on my shoulder. He looked at me questioningly. I shifted and gestured at the place beside me. He sat down with a sigh. Clouds were gathering on the delirious midday-sky, and I heard thunder. We sat in silence. The fact that He was supposed to be dead, that I've seen Him die somehow couldn't bother me. Finally He looked up at the –now black- sky and said:
- It's going all wrong, even now. I can feel it.
I nodded. The first drops of rain hit the ground like small hammers. I looked at Him. There were no signs of His so-called death, not a single scar. He looked just like the time we'd first met, only even more human. And sad. Now the rain was falling so hard I couldn't make out the drops only a single curtain. He stood up and held out His hand. In a few seconds a little pool had gathered on his palm. He looked down at me.
- Will you come with me?
I smiled and shook my head.
- There's no way I step out into that rain. – I sighed – There were times when I'd have rushed out there with a sword in my hand… You'd taught me not to.
He nodded and smiled His soft smile.
- Why don't You stay here? – I asked and patted the seat beside me. Now it was His turn to shake His head.
- I must go – He whispered and stepped out into the storm. Somehow I was expecting the grey curtain to part and let Him go, but nothing like had happened. In a moment He was soaked to the bone like any common mortal. Once again He looked back at me, then disappeared behind the curtain of rain.