"Yeah, but what do you think?"
"He'll talk about himself in a capital letter if you want him to." They all watched the fire in silence for a couple of minutes.
Suddenly Jesus had coughing fit, it sounded as though he tried to cough out his lungs. He leaned over and gasped for breath. Judas bowed immediately towards him, looking anxious. "Jesus? Are you alright? Jesus? Talk to me!"
"I'm fine, Judas. I really am," he smiled.
"You've been doing that for days now. Don't you want to take a rest? Stay on the same spot for a couple of days?" asked Judas, and some apostles nodded in agreement.
"No. Thank you for worrying, though."
"Nobody would mind."
"I'll be fine." May leaned forward, picked up a cup with water and handed it to Jesus. He smiled gratefully and for a moment she thought she saw love in his eyes…
"What's the matter, Mary?" asked Peter. They were the only one still sitting around the fire. For Peter that wasn't surprising, he had guard tonight. The girl at the contrary, had been watching the fire for some time now, lost in thought. Peter watched the girl.
"Why does he like him?"
Peter sighed. He ought to have expected that question. "They're friends. They care for each other."
"I think Judas isn't worth him."
Peter poked in the fire. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, though. They're friends."
"But they are so different."
"That doesn't matter either. They… complete each other, you could say. Without black there is no white. Without evil there's no good."
Mary stared at him, mouth open. "Is Judas evil?"
"You understand me wrong," he smiled. She was sometimes really adorable. "Judas has always been Jesus' closest friend. Closer than Simon, John or me. They can argue about things. Judas always agrees with what Jesus says, but he still asks questions. I think it would be very boring for Jesus if everybody'd just nod when he explains something. And by-the-by, Judas tells wonderful stories, and Jesus loves to listen to him. You really should listen once."
"He hates me," she muttered. "I've done nothing, but he still acts like we're having a contest or something. And I don't even know what the price is!" After a silence, she added: "I'm afraidJesus doesn't like me, Peter. I'm… I think I'm in love with him."
Peter looked at the girl. She almost had tears in her eyes. "He's… He's the first one who didn't condemn me at the first sight." She breathed loud, trying to strain the tears.
"Don't worry, Mary," he said gentle. The girl's under lip started to tremble. "He loves you too."
"How do you know?" said the girl, with quivering voice.
"I've been married too. And it's in everything he does. He loves you, Mary, and if you don't believe me, watch his eyes."
