Keepers of the Covenant Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Come inside my booth and let me clean off the dirt for you.”
    “I told Sayfah to w-wait for me,” Amina said, sobbing, “b-but she didn’t listen!”
    “Is Sayfah your sister?”
    Amina nodded, drying her tears on her sleeve. The woman helped her sit on a low stool inside her booth. She was very pretty for a white-haired grandmother. “My name is Hodaya,” she said as she fetched a clean cloth and a skin of water. “What’s yours?”
    “Amina.”
    “That’s a lovely name.” Hodaya squatted beside her, and as she lifted her hand, Amina flinched and drew back. In her experience, a raised hand was likely to strike her. “I won’t hurt you, Amina. I’m just going to clean off the dirt and blood.” Her hands were gentle as she worked, holding the cloth in place until the bleeding stopped. The cool water soothed Amina’s stinging knees. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had treated her so kindly.
    “Does that feel better?” Hodaya asked. Amina nodded. “I like to watch you and the other children play when you come to the market. I noticed you especially because we have something in common. See?” She stood and lifted her hem to show Amina her left foot, withered and twisted at an odd angle. “I can’t run very fast, either,” she said, smiling.
    “The other girls laugh and make fun of me because I can’t keep up, but I used to run even faster than Sayfah.” Amina wiped another tear as it rolled down her face.
    “What happened?”
    “I got a fever and the sickness made my leg weak. Is that what happened to your foot, too?”
    “No, I was born this way.”
    “Abba is ashamed of me,” Amina said, lowering her voice so no one would hear her. “He won’t even look at me and my ugly leg. Did your father hate you, too?”
    Hodaya took a moment to reply. “I had two fathers. The onewhose blood I share was much like yours. When he saw that I was born crippled, he didn’t want me. But our loving God, who created me this way for a reason, gave me a new father, the man who raised me and loved me. He was a priest in God’s holy temple, and he taught me all about the God who loves you and me.”
    “I wish I had a nice father like that. I try to stay out of Abba’s way because he’ll hit me if I make him lose his temper.” Amina didn’t say so out loud, but she feared her father’s words even more than she feared his blows. They rained on her like stones, saying she was worthless, she would always be a burden to him, she would never marry a husband and be a proper wife.
    “What about your mother?” Hodaya asked.
    “Mama does whatever Abba says so he won’t hit her, too.”
    “You poor child.” Hodaya reached for Amina again, and again Amina instinctively pulled back. When she realized that Hodaya was only trying to put her arm around her, she moved closer to receive the rare embrace. What would it be like to be treated this kindly all the time?
    “Do you have a husband?” she asked Hodaya.
    “He died a few years ago, but Aaron and I were married for many years. My sons have given me seven grandchildren.”
    “Abba says no one will ever marry me unless I stop limping. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t help it. See how weak this leg is?” Amina wasn’t supposed to let anyone see her thin, shriveled leg, but Hodaya had already seen it when she’d washed the dirt off Amina’s knees. Besides, the old woman’s leg was shriveled and crooked, too, and her misshapen foot pointed the wrong way.
    “A husband who loves you won’t care what your leg looks like. A very wise friend once told me that every one of us has something about us that isn’t perfect. For you and me, our differences are just a little more noticeable, that’s all.”
    Could that be true? Were Amina’s sister and older brothers and even her father imperfect in some way? It seemed unlikely. Amina held out her palms to show Hodaya how they’d beenscraped, too. Hodaya poured more water onto the cloth. “Maybe