Her Sister Was Dead
Her sister was dead.
The long and hard battle for the affections of the husband they shared had marked the past 15 years of their lives and relationship. The bright, funny, sometimes annoying little sister had become her greatest enemy, someone who would undermine her and who must be defended against at all costs.
Leah remembered, just barely, her amazement when her mother showed her a brand new baby sister. She saw the baby's wide eyes and little fingers. Leah was only four and was enchanted. As her sister had grown, she was often tasked by her mother to watch and protect her - to keep her away from the fire or other dangers while Mother cooked. She would have defended her with her life.
As they grew, they helped their mother together, learning basic cooking, cleaning, or sewing skills. Rachel always made them laugh while they did their work. Leah sometimes was jealous of the attention Rachel got, but she adored her sister.
Then, HE came.
Leah had often wondered about her aunt. Her father missed his sister and often told the romantic tale of how God had sent someone to choose her to marry a distant kinsman. She had agreed, left her family, and traveled to meet her unknown groom.
One day, a son of that romantic union appeared, on the run from a murderous brother. He was exciting and she found him intriguing. Her heart fell quickly for him, but he only had eyes for Rachel.
Her forbidden love for him grew during the seven years he stayed and worked - his payment to be the hand of her sister. When the time for the wedding came, her father played a trick on him. He showed himself to be the brother of Rebecca, swapping one child for another to give that child a blessing he wished to bestow. Unknowingly, Jacob was married to Leah.
Leah had hoped with all her heart that Jacob would choose to learn to love her and that she would earn his affections, but a week later, he married her sister.
The tension between Leah and Rachel flamed and all sisterly devotion vanished in the fight. Any attachment to their husband was not a sweet thing, but a sign of victory over the other. And now.... Now her sister was gone.
Leah had thought she hated her sister. She had thought she only wanted her gone. She held her new nephew in her arms and wept. "Oh Rachel..."
There would be no healing between them. No peace. No chance to tell her sister one last time that she loved her, to beg her forgiveness for her part in the pain that lay between them. Leah wailed in disbelief and agony.
Her sister was dead.
The long and hard battle for the affections of the husband they shared had marked the past 15 years of their lives and relationship. The bright, funny, sometimes annoying little sister had become her greatest enemy, someone who would undermine her and who must be defended against at all costs.
Leah remembered, just barely, her amazement when her mother showed her a brand new baby sister. She saw the baby's wide eyes and little fingers. Leah was only four and was enchanted. As her sister had grown, she was often tasked by her mother to watch and protect her - to keep her away from the fire or other dangers while Mother cooked. She would have defended her with her life.
As they grew, they helped their mother together, learning basic cooking, cleaning, or sewing skills. Rachel always made them laugh while they did their work. Leah sometimes was jealous of the attention Rachel got, but she adored her sister.
Then, HE came.
Leah had often wondered about her aunt. Her father missed his sister and often told the romantic tale of how God had sent someone to choose her to marry a distant kinsman. She had agreed, left her family, and traveled to meet her unknown groom.
One day, a son of that romantic union appeared, on the run from a murderous brother. He was exciting and she found him intriguing. Her heart fell quickly for him, but he only had eyes for Rachel.
Her forbidden love for him grew during the seven years he stayed and worked - his payment to be the hand of her sister. When the time for the wedding came, her father played a trick on him. He showed himself to be the brother of Rebecca, swapping one child for another to give that child a blessing he wished to bestow. Unknowingly, Jacob was married to Leah.
Leah had hoped with all her heart that Jacob would choose to learn to love her and that she would earn his affections, but a week later, he married her sister.
The tension between Leah and Rachel flamed and all sisterly devotion vanished in the fight. Any attachment to their husband was not a sweet thing, but a sign of victory over the other. And now.... Now her sister was gone.
Leah had thought she hated her sister. She had thought she only wanted her gone. She held her new nephew in her arms and wept. "Oh Rachel..."
There would be no healing between them. No peace. No chance to tell her sister one last time that she loved her, to beg her forgiveness for her part in the pain that lay between them. Leah wailed in disbelief and agony.
Her sister was dead.
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