Escape Artists

Cast of Wonders => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Languorous Lass on August 04, 2022, 02:41:48 AM

Title: CoW Ep. 501: Across the River
Post by: Languorous Lass on August 04, 2022, 02:41:48 AM
Cast of Wonders 501: Across the River (https://www.castofwonders.org/2022/07/cast-of-wonders-501-across-the-river/)

• Author: Leah Cypess (https://www.castofwonders.org/people/leah-cypess/)
• Narrator: Elie Hirschman (https://www.castofwonders.org/people/elie-hirschman/)
• Host: Samuel Poots (https://www.castofwonders.org/people/samuel-poots/)
• Audio Producer: Jeremy Carter (http://www.castofwonders.org/people/jeremy-carter/)

"Across the River" was previously published in the anthology The Mythic Dream (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481462389?aff=simonsayscom), Saga Press, September 2019.

Click here to listen to Episode 501 (http://traffic.libsyn.com/castofwonders/Wonders501.mp3)

When the sorcerer walked through the town gates, I was standing with my friends Reuven and Yitzchak in the square, which was not where we were supposed to be. Reuven should have been in the study hall, where his wife had directed him to go. Yitzchak should have been at the market, helping his father. And I should have been resting my voice, since that evening, for the first time, I was going to be allowed to lead the prayers in synagogue—an honor I had been hoping for and practicing for, but that I now, somewhat nervously, wished was not coming so soon.

We were all, mind you, on our way to where we were supposed to be. We were obedient young men, with no inner drive for trouble. Reuven loved his studies, and I loved the taste of prayers in my mouth, the feeling that came when I hit the right accents with the right emotions. Yitzchak, while he did not exactly love trade, certainly appreciated the money he would take home. But we were all still young, and it was a warm lush day with the first hint of summer twining through the breeze. It had been a long time since the three of us had sat together under a teacher’s stern eye, and though we saw each other in passing almost every day, we always had something to catch each other up on.

Tags:  Elie Hirschman, faith, historical fantasy, hope, Jeremy Carter, Judaism, laws, Leah Cypess, magic, mythology, need, prayer, prejudice, religion, river, Samuel Poots, songs, young adult fiction