Brotherhood - #AtoZChallenge

 

Simeon stood, stunned. He felt his jaw drop open as he stared at the backs of his nine brothers being ushered out. One by one, as they crossed out the doors, they each turned to look at him. They all knew they might never see each other again. 

He expected to be returned to the prison where they'd all been held for three days, but after a short consultation with this Egyptian overlord, a different, more finely dressed, steward came toward him. He spoke to the lesser guard who'd bound Simeon's hands, and led them out.

In an airy courtyard of a beautiful house nearby, Simeon was unbound and the minor guard took position by the door while the steward left. No one said anything. He looked around at this clean space decorated with stone seats and potted plants. What was going on? His mind drifted to his brothers. How long would it take for them to return home? Would their father allow their youngest brother to return with them - the condition for Simeon's freedom? And if so, when? There were too many variables. If only they hadn't gotten rid of their brother Joseph so long ago none of this would be happening. 

Eyeing the guard, Simeon slowly backed toward a seat and lowered himself. The guard didn't move. The seat was comfortable enough. This was better than prison, at least. He sat like that, watching the guard, unsure what he could or couldn't do, for hours until a young man brought in a platter covered with steaming bowls and plates of aromatic food. As Simeon filled himself with strange delicacies, another man entered and the two servants set up a cushioned cot in an open side room.

Much better than prison.

...

It had been weeks. Simeon thought of his brothers and tried to imagine their conversation with their father. He looked around. He was being kept in a fine house, ate delicious food, and wasn't chained or harmed. But he was still a prisoner. How long would his brothers take?

...

Two months later, Simeon sat in an inner room, practicing the drums. The steward had been told to keep him happy and he'd been nothing but bored, so last month he began learning music. It was something to do. 

A knock alerted him that the steward called Ix had arrived. "Good evening, sir," said Ix in Simeon's language. Simeon took it as a joke that the overlord's right-hand man called him "sir".

"Any word from my brothers?" It was always his first question. Often his only question. As always, Ix closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Sorry, sir, no. Is everything here to your satisfaction?"

Simeon was a prisoner. What did this man care? "Ix, really, why do you even ask? I can't go anywhere. I can't even see a basic marketplace. What satisfaction is there in sitting around?" He was gratified to see the official's eyebrows lift, but no answer came.

...

A few months after that, Simeon had become a regular in the marketplace. He was laughing over a cup of tea with his favorite linen vendor. "You shouldn't say things like that!" he told his new friend. "I'm a married man." He motioned to a waiter for more of the pastry they were sharing. He'd come to appreciate Egyptian food. When his brothers returned, he'd bring them here for sure.

Phaeton shrugged, "You say that, but I see no evidence of a wife." He cut off the coming objection. "I only tell you what the herbalist told me. She has a healthy income - doesn't require a spouse - but she likes to be accompanied by attractive men. You caught her eye." He lifted his cup to his mouth to hide a smirk.

"Well," Simeon thought a minute. He might never see his wife or his brothers again. As much as he longed for home, it may be time to accept that he was stuck in Egypt. He sighed. "I guess you could bring her to the club tonight. You know I can only come and go when I'm allowed." He played drums with the band, one of the reasons he was allowed out.

Phaeton eyed Simeon's guard, standing at the door to the tea house. "You think like a foreigner. I don't know your country, but here things can be arranged." He was gratified to see Simeon's jaw drop.

... 

Phaeton sat across from Simeon in the courtyard he'd been imprisoned in so many months before. "You can't win," he said. He was teaching Simeon to play Chess, the game of kings. Simeon listened to the incomprehensible chatter of their arriving friends. He'd need to learn their language better.

The exotic herbalist, Tia, emerged from an antechamber, half-clothed, and caressed Simeon's cheek as she passed. "Until tonight," she said. Simeon and Phaeton watched her finish draping herself before the guard opened the door for her to leave. The other guys eyed her as she sashayed out, and Simeon gloated inwardly.

One of them said something in Egyptian that Simeon didn't catch, so Phaeton translated. "You have become very Egyptian, my friend." Simeon gave up the game and greeted the others. He was uncomfortable talking about it, though he knew it was true. He'd accepted that his brothers were gone - a happy memory of an earlier life that was probably over.

Suddenly the door burst open and Ix entered, "Pardon my intrusion, sir," he said. Simeon scoffed. After all this time, it still rankled that he was called "sir" while not being allowed to go home to his brothers, his father, even his wife. "My master requests your presence."

Confusion crossed Simeon's face. Was this it? "My ...brothers?" Ix hadn't mentioned his master since the first few weeks of this endless captivity. 

"I believe so, sir."

Simeon exchanged a look with Phaeton. He had been abandoned for over a year. His brothers. Simeon found his legs, a grin on his face. He put a hand on Phaeton's shoulder, who smiled up at him. "We'll have this party another time," he said.

"Sorry guys, party's over!" he called to his guests. The party hadn't even started, but he didn't know how long this would take.

Ix led him to the door. Finally! Simeon thought of each of his brothers in turn. He'd longed for this day. He thought of Benjamin, the favorite, and the cause of all this trouble. He tried to forget that they had left him to rot for almost two years. 

At the door, Simeon turned back. He looked around at the open space. The furnishings. The remains of food from breakfast and the preparations for the lunch party he'd planned. His captor had made prison seem like a vacation, but his brothers didn't know that. Now, he watched his friends leave. Friends who'd been with him through this imprisonment. After so long wishing for this moment, Simeon almost wished his brothers had just forgotten about him.

Reference: Simeon's captivity is a tiny part of the story of Joseph (of Technicolor Dreamcoat fame). In the book of   Genesis 42:24 we are told he was bound and taken away from his brothers, and in Genesis 43:23 he is returned to them. Nothing is said about his treatment, or how long he was stuck in Egypt. What do you think? If you were stuck in a place for a long time, would you assimilate or no?