4

“Not for a long time,” he said, sounding just as sad. Mary couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t talk to her parents and the neighbours didn’t want to help her, and now she couldn’t see Erik. She felt completely alone and isolated in the world. The tears welled up and began to run down her cheeks. Erik stood on the other side of the courtyard and looked at her unhappily. He didn’t know what to do.

“Dad said the Lady’s coming tonight. Maybe she can help your parents and then maybe we can play again,” he said.

“Who’s the Lady?” asked Mary, sobbing.

“Dad says that before the church existed, it was the Lady who was the church. But when the king’s ancestor founded the church, the Lady left. But now she’s coming back to help us get rid of the sickness.” Mary listened to what he said. She stopped crying and was now wiping her cheeks.

“But how could she be the church?” she asked. “Women can’t be priests.”

“What do I know?” Erik said, shrugging. “I have to go now,” he added, looking at her. She nodded and looked back at him.

“Bye,” she said, waving a little.

“Bye,” he replied, walking toward the gate leading out to the alley. When he closed it behind him, he turned around and looked at her again before running away. Mary stood at the door and looked after him. She was alone now, and apparently, she would be alone until her parents recovered. She stood for a while longer but then got up and picked up the basket she had left on the table in the kitchen and then went out and closed the door carefully behind her. She looked at the two goats. She was going to milk them when she got home. Then she went out into the big city and took small alleys leading up to the main square where the market was located.

It wasn’t that far from their house, and soon she stood on the edge of the open area, looking out over the market. There were very few stalls set up, but at least it filled half the market area. The sound coming from the open space in the middle of the city was almost deafening. There were vendors shouting out their goods, customers and sellers discussing the price, women stood in small groups and talked and here and there, men were exchanging news. All the sound was mixed into a murmur that basically made it impossible to hear the individual conversations unless you were very close. Mary’s nose caught scents as she walked towards the market. It smelled of spices and fried meat, and she could smell fish. She walked slowly between the different stalls. She loved going to the market. There was so much to look at. After walking around the marketplace for most of the morning, she had been able to buy the vegetables and meat that she needed. It had taken all of the skills she had in negotiating to get the meat at a price that still left her with some money. As she was making her way back, she walked past the stall where they sold grilled pieces of meat rolled together with onions in a piece of thin bread. Mary’s stomach growled when she smelled the meat. She shouldn’t be wasting money, she thought. But she was so hungry. In the end, she couldn’t resist and went up to the stall and asked for a roll. She happily placed two vorm in the hand of the woman who gave her the roll. Mary quickly looked around and then decided to walk away to a fence that was on the edge of the market. There was already a group of women talking and she quickly climbed up and sat on the fence after she had placed her basket on the ground below her. Once up, she enjoyed the warm meat. It was cold outside, but the sun was shining and the buildings around the square and all the people crowded around her meant that the wind could not get to Mary where she was eating. The women standing nearby were talking. After a while, Mary began to listen. It wasn’t nice to eavesdrop. But it’d been so long since she’d been around people it felt nice to listen to other people’s conversations for a while.

“The bishop is furious,” said the first woman.

“No wonder,” said the other. “It’s been over a hundred years since a Lady set foot in this city.”

“I don’t know what she’s going to do with her witchcraft,” said a third.

“The king thinks she can cure the sickness,” said the first woman.

“Balderdash,” said the third. “What will she do that the church can’t do?”

“I’ve heard they can do things no one else can, they have knowledge that was forgotten by the rest of the world.”

“Balderdash,” the third woman said again. “The only thing that will cure the sickness is if the people of this city become pious, start going to church like decent people, and live with a good measure of godliness in their hearts.”

“I heard the king is tired of the bishop just promising to do something without anything happening. He is afraid the sickness will soon reach the richer parts of the city, or even the castle,” said the first woman.

“Balderdash,” said the third woman again; it seemed to be her favourite expression. “Who said such nonsense?” she asked.

“My husband’s cousin knows a man who works at court,” replied the first woman defiantly.

“I don’t believe it anyway. The king knows, as well as anyone, that the only one who can save us is the Lord,” said the third woman with a sneer. It seemed to put an end to the conversation and after that they were content to gossip about different common acquaintances. Mary soon got tired of listening and climbed down from the fence and took her basket. The meat and bread eaten, she felt full and satisfied. As she made her way through the sea of people to go home, she thought about what the women had said. Did the King really think that the Lady could cure people from the sickness? Or was the third woman right—was only God able to cure it? She felt uncertain. On the one hand she deeply wished there was someone who could cure her parents, that someone could do something. On the other hand, she grew up putting her faith in God. They were His creation, and it was ultimately He who decided their fate.

Soon she opened the gate to their backyard and heard the goats’ bleats. She had to milk them soon, she thought. But first she wanted to check on her parents. She opened the door and entered the kitchen, where she placed the basket on the table before rushing up to the second floor. Her parents were almost the same way she had left them. She went up to the bed and felt their foreheads. Her mother felt cooler, and her eyes opened quickly as Mary touched her. Mary smiled at her and then felt her father’s forehead. His was really cool and Mary felt the hope grow stronger. He just groaned quietly as she gently patted him on the cheek. Strengthened by new hope, Mary returned down to the kitchen and quickly prepared a large pot of water that she let simmer before adding carrots, onions, pieces of an old turnip, some spices and finally the large piece of meat with bone. When she was sure the pot was softly boiling and the fire in the stove was good, she went out to milk the two goats. She wasn’t as good as her mother and from time to time one of the goats managed to kick the bucket and some milk splashed out. But after a while Mary was ready and she gave the goats a little more hay and removed most of the droppings from their stalls. With the bucket of milk in one hand and the stool in the other, she entered the house. There she drank plenty of milk. It was still lukewarm, and she enjoyed every mouthful. She put away the rest of the milk and thought she could make pancakes if she gathered some eggs. The chickens ran freely in the courtyard and always found new hiding places for their eggs. The idea of pancakes made her mouth water so much she chose to go out instead of checking on her parents.

Mary spent almost an hour looking for eggs. It was a fun job that felt more like a game than work. It’d been so long since she’d been able to play and be carefree that she let herself be engulfed in the hunt for the hidden eggs. But when she noticed it was starting to get dark, she thought the four eggs she had found were enough. She went in and put the eggs in the pantry to go up and check on her parents. The smell that came from the stove made her stomach growl, but she still went up the stairs. She stopped on the top step. Something was wrong; something wasn’t as it should be. Mary didn’t know what it was, but she rushed into the room.