Satan's Idle Stories 11. One House - One Family

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11. One House - One Family

 

Heavenly beings simplistically imagine the life of people on Earth. Sometimes they judge the sins and beneficences of two-legged creatures with a certain lightweight straightforwardness, without taking into account the pressing earthly circumstances. Superficial view of things is characteristic of almost all angels, but in different degrees. For example, the ruler of hell Nasargiel, by nature of service heard a lot about the powerful force of temptation, corroding the souls of his future clients, ready to sometimes show understanding and even leniency. But the chief of Paradise, the angel Michael, who deals with the pure righteous, is excessively strict towards those who break the commandments. No one understands men better than me, Satan, for I often come down to the sinful Earth. Therefore, in Heaven I am rightly considered the chief expert on earthly affairs. 

 

I intend to tell the story of two married couples who consistently overcame one problem after another. They did not wait for advise from their sages, but acted according to their own judgment. However, in overcoming one obstacle, they created another. It was only my competent intervention that removed the barriers to their new happiness.

 

And now I will tell the story in order.

 

Two friends lived in the same town, laughing together and feeling sad together. They prayed fervently and studied side by side. If one didn't understand something, the other one rushed to help. In short, they were inseparable friends, thick as thieves. They were the same age. Their names were Hanoch and Baruch. Both boys of slender build and equal height. Hanoch was black-haired and had dark eyes, and Baruch was white-haired and bright-eyed.

 

The fathers of our heroes were hereditary merchants. Hanoch's family traded in timber, while Baruch's parent favored real estate. Very understandable and completely natural was the wish of the veterans to hand the family business baton to their sons. The importance of continuity is great, for the present is the sprout of the past, and the similarity between the present and the past makes it easier to contemplate the future. When, in the opinion of the older ones, the younger ones had sufficiently learned the Holy Scriptures, the first decided that it was time for the latter to get down to business.

 

Let me point out to the readers that the fact of ceasing to study should not at all be interpreted as a neglect of Divine knowledge. Not at all! The commandments of God were firmly obeyed in both families, but loyalty to the traditions of the family is worth something, is it not? In addition, it is a common belief among those in lucrative professions that there is no more reliable anchor in life than a lot of money.

 

To get into the intricacies of any trade field, it is most useful for a newcomer to start with the service of a traveling salesman - he will study his goods, get acquainted with sellers and buyers, will look around and will show himself. Fathers pointed out to their sons the sphere of independent action, provided them with advises and initial capital.

 

Is it the moment for our heroes to enter the broad road of successes and failures, victories and defeats? Is it time to embark on an independent life journey? There can be only one answer - no! Guys, glory to God, are already eighteen, and maybe even nineteen years old, and they are still not married! Those who do not have a warm home rear - a tender spouse and loving children - will not achieve victories on business fronts. 

 

There will be a day - there will be a bride. A certain wealthy father of a family had twin daughters. Their names were Hana and Braha. The resemblance between them is amazing: one face! Only their mother and father could distinguish where Hana and Braha were. The young girls were sixteen years old, maidens to be given away, there was nothing to delay!  

 

The three fathers met, discussed, got along, and introduced the young ones. Hanoch and Baruch liked the brides very much. This means that both grooms liked both brides equally, which is not surprising. But it is impossible to marry two girls, so the grooms had to choose. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

 

We cannot know which of the boys Hana liked and which Bracha liked, for a woman's heart is unknowable. The father of the brides suggested a reasonable course of action - let the young men marry according to the similarity of the names: Hanoch would marry Hana, and Baruch would take Bracha as his wife. The men liked the idea, so the women agreed.  

 

Two weddings were performed. The parents bought the newly married couples houses in a good city. Not too close to the town, so that the children would less often ask for help and fight their own war in life, and not too far away, so that it would be easy for the parents to visit their grandchildren when the babies would be born.

 

***

 

The newly married couple's houses were located at different ends of the town, but the distance neither embarrassed nor chilled them. Hanoch's friendship with Baruch was not damaged by marriage. Hana and Bracha had spent their entire childhood together and could not be separated for long. Every week the young families met together on the Sabbath. They also got together on holidays. How good it is for people who love each other to sit at the same table, to look at sweet faces, to eat together, to pray, and even to sing a song! A little time passed and the young wives became pregnant. All the best, Hana and Hanoch, Bracha and Baruch!

 

Three or four years passed, and several children were born in each happy home. The mothers are busy with the children, and the fathers are traveling around the cities and towns, gaining experience. The heads of families organize their trips in such a way that if one goes away on business, the other stays in town - after all, male support may be needed by both families.

 

Hanoch and Baruch continue to be friendly. Needless to say, the sisterly feelings of Hana and Bracha have not weakened in the least. All four love each other, three for one, and one for three. As for preferences, the heroes of this story have new emotions. First, now not only the twin sisters' parents know how to distinguish between Hana and Braha, but their husbands have also learned to do so. And, secondly, the inclinations of men were revealed - it turned out that Hanoch likes Bracha better, and Baruch is fascinated by Hana.

 

The new situation could have lasted indefinitely, especially since all four, as I have already mentioned, loved each other. But some circumstance hinted at the need for change. Namely, a blond-haired boy was born to the swarthy Hanoch, and a swarthy girl was born in the house of the fair-haired Baruch. Of course, no one is able to determine the exact cause of this phenomenon. Perhaps the alternate absences of our merchants contributed to it. However, none of the four wanted the neighbors to think so.

 

When life puts a person in an extraordinary, bordering on scandalous, position, the first wish of the person tested by fate is to find a trustworthy adviser. To whom would Hanoch and Baruch have poured out their souls? Certainly they could have directed their footsteps by the centuries-tested path to the house of the sage. But some force kept the prudent men from making a hasty decision. No, they did not doubt the wisdom of the Scripture expert, nor did they doubt his wish to understand the problem. On the contrary, they feared that the extreme delicacy of the case would cause the adviser to take an exaggerated interest in it, and to be overly enthusiastic. 

 

Hanoch and Baruch met on neutral ground away from their wives to discuss the situation. Their hearts suggested a logical and simple solution: all that was required was to swap twin wives. Who will know? No one! The men embraced and shook hands firmly as a sign of friendship.

 

In the dark midnight hour, when the people of the city were sweetly asleep, Hana and Braha, accompanied by their husbands, went out to meet each other. When the exchange was complete, the women went to the matrimonial beds, and the men returned each to his own home and did the same.

 

In the first weeks of the new beginning, Hanoch and Baruch rejoiced like newly married couples and felt as if they had already gone up to Heaven. They even postponed important trips. Unfortunately, with each new day, Hana and Bracha grew gloomier themselves and marred the celebration of Hanoch and Baruch. The women felt exactly the same enthusiasm as the men, but what can you do if the boundaries of women's feelings extend much farther than those of men?

 

Hana and Bracha met in secret so that Hanoch and Baruch would not know anything. Assuring each other that the love between them had not diminished in the slightest since the days of their distant childhood, they rightly described as splendid the consequences of the change devised by the men. But, alas, women's hearts could not bear to part with their own children. To whom to speak, who would help? They could turn to the sage's spouse. She was clever, for she had lived for years side by side with an expert in the Holy Scriptures. But the same considerations that had kept Hanoch and Baruch away stopped Hana and Bracha.

 

A wonderful thought came into the minds of both sisters at once: "Our husbands have exchanged wives, and we will exchange children!" It was said and done. And now the mothers are caressing their own children again - their own blood, their own flesh, how much it means!

 

Time passed, and again clouds appeared in the clear sky of common love. The clouds grew blacker and blacker. What happened in the exemplarily friendly homes? The children grew up, the little ones began to whisper among themselves, saying, "We don't have dads of our own! By this time, the dads started to notice something too.

 

Everyone was friends as before and loved each other as before. But a person can't stop being sad if there's a reason for it. And Hanoch and Baruch, Hana and Bracha, were sad, and they all thought the same thing, and did not know what else they could invent.

 

***

 

Whether I was in Heaven or down on earth, I watched the lives of two families from above and from the outside. When I saw the serious predicament that had grown before them, I decided to intervene and help the good people to keep their love alive.

 

I showed up at Hanoch's house at the end of the Sabbath, when the two families, adults and children, were sitting around the table talking about everyday matters. "Before you is Satan," I introduced myself, "I know your story and your new quandary. I want to help you, and I have an amazing suggestion that will keep your inimitable love alive forever!"

 

After coming to their senses from the surprise, the first thing the adults did was send the offsprings out into the yard - to play ball and jump rope.

 

 - Oh, thank you, Satan! - exclaimed Hanoch.

 

 - We have no prejudice against you," added Baruch.

 

 - If you only knew, Satan, how much we all love each other! - Hana said.

 

 - We want so much to be together always! - supported her sister Bracha.

 

 - My idea is the voice of eternal love! - pronounced I.

 

 - We hope it's not polygamy, God forbid? - both women shouted at once.

 

 - And not polyandry, God forbid? - the men asked fearfully.

 

 - My dears," I exclaimed, "this is neither polygamy nor polyandry. It is polyamory!

 

 - Oh, tell us, Satan, what is it?" they all demanded at once.

 

 - The four of you, and the children with you, will live as one family under one roof. There is no obstacle to this. For the basis of this is polyamory!

 

 - There are so many eyes and ears around," Baruch remarked.

 

 - Sell your houses, and build one big house in another city on the outskirts. You, Baruch, are an expert in these matters. You will all shake off the sorrows of today, keep your old values, and, who knows, life will give you new joys.

 

My protégés followed my wise advise, and happiness in its entirety settled under a common roof. Hanoch and Baruch succeeded in commerce over the years. Hana and Bracha are now venerable matrons. The children have grown up and remember sometimes the days of happy childhood.

 

I once told this story to my fellow angels Michael and Nasargiel. "Happy people are your flock, after all," I winked at the chief of Paradise, "someday they will stand before you!" Michael remained silent and averted the eyes. And Nasargiel, the ruler of Hell, smiled slyly.