THE BANDITS

It was a bright clear sky in Palestine that day. There is not a single cloud in sight. The sun is in mid-rise, the bright shining rays of the sun are projecting to Samaria’s hilly mountains through the vastness of it’s land. Farther away from the east, a streaked line of long grayish cloud shaped like a snake, and it seemed like the exceedingly big head is buried in the big blue sea of Gennesaret, while it’s wrapped around tail is curved around the heavy water of the sea called Mar Muerto. (Dead Sea)
Dimas sadly watched and observed the peaceful and captivating scenery in front of his eyes in the middle of this exuberant day. Once in a while, he would throw a glance at that gloomy and hollowed castle. The closed door, the steeple with no one guarding it, and it’s broken structures of the base, is giving the appearance of a cursed domicile. The rumor of it’s bloody history made the fearful and gullible shepherds avoid the said place.
Dimas is so determined to his goal. He made sure that his dagger is hidden in his crumpled tunic, swathe with dried buli palm leaves. Dimas enfolded his crumpled tunic from his waist and grabbed a flat stone, three hand-spans big; he wrapped the stone around his tunic and throw it as hard as he can like a pinwheel, and it landed in the side of the castle and glided on top of that eerie fort. Then he waited for a while and no one, no one came out to look and see what just happened. He did it again for the second time and then the third time, and the same thing happened. No one came out to look.
—“There’s no one in the castle. It is by itself.” Dimas said to himself.
He smiled and continued to utter more words:
—“It may not be a good idea for an unbearded young man like me to dare and grab these lions. It’s name alone can shake these wicked and weak Romanians in fear, and the deaf cowards Herodians, including these non-competitor businessmen from Nilo, Euphrates and Jordan.
As Dimas talked to himself, he stopped and rubbed his forehead for a little while; he thought of something, an idea triggered in his mind. He quickly pulled his dagger, picked a stone, and spit on it to sharpen his knife. As he sharpened the blade, he thought about that man he killed for disrespecting his father’s corpse.
—“Dimas, you need to be brave.” He said aloud to himself.
—“Death can happen in a second, but life is long and hard when you’re poor and hungry, and your head has nowhere to lay.” Dimas is desperate, he’s got no choice.

After he said these words, he walked continuously to that castle, and with a stone in his hand, he knocked three times to the door, but no answer. Dimas is confident that no one is in the castle. He rigidly searched the surrounding camps, and found a broken panel in one corner. Dimas needs to get into this castle. He thought of this broken panel as his support to climb to get in the court. Dimas then bit his dagger by the mouth and proceed to climb the murals; one misstep can cost him his life, he can fall to his death, his body will roll down to those cliffs and can cut him into pieces by those giant and sharp boulders sticking out, protruded immensely.
He finally reached the top despite the grimness and hard endurance. He bathed in sweat and acquired some cuts from his hands, and it is bleeding. Dimas walked through and started searching those vacant rooms, barren and lonely. There was nothing there. He’s looking for some valuable items and found none.
The one most thing that Dimas desired to find is the treasure. He wished to find a treasure, hoping that this castle’s former inhabitants could’ve hidden and buried their treasures. There must be treasures buried here somewhere. There could be a secret hiding place for these treasures. He is hoping for a miracle, a wishful thinking to find the treasures. He searched for three hours more before he gave up.
—“This only proves that this cavern is nothing but just a dwelling place for the Samarian bandits.” He said to himself.
He went and explore more; room to room. He’d seen some fresh bones scattered on the floor and sticky fresh blood still dripping from that round circular iron.
—“There is no need; I am here to find gold. Since I can’t find one, I’ll wait for their return, and they will surely give me some.” Dimas thought.
—“I am here in need of a place to live, and this castle is a good one for me to stay.” He said to himself while he sat.
Then he stand-up and continued for more walking; as he entered a door, he found that it is partially open space for the kitchen. Across the kitchen in the mid-section is the dinner table. He, then looked around for more other things to find and in the left counter is a sheep leg hanging on a hook made of iron.
He helped himself of what more he can find, and the next thing he discovered was the wide-mouthed jar filled with water, and next to it was wineskin filled with wine and some sacks full of corns. He found their pantry; this is their pantry, their embankment, embankment of food that they protect most.
Dimas found an opportunity and took advantage of it. He was adamant about waiting for these bandits, so he decided to help himself while waiting and start to cook food. In the middle of this kitchen is the cooking furnace, a Hebrew custom where their cooking furnace is set in the middle of the kitchen. He was glad to see that there is still some glowing coals ready to give a flame. At the end of the room were some dried woods. He immediately gathered those woods and started a fire from that coal; he blew some air to that coal with those dried woods and started a fire for cooking. It was getting dark outside and the flame had given some light to this darkening kitchen.

The sheep leg is an excellent meal for his dinner. He then took the sheep leg and started to grill, and while grilling, he began to mashed-up the yellowish flour mixed with water to make bread. After half an hour, this adventurous orphan was quietly eating his dinner and drinking wine at the dinner table of that castle.
He was enjoying his meal when all of a sudden, he heard a soft rustling sound underground. He stopped eating for a second to make sure he hears some sound, but he ignored it and continue eating. The noise was getting nearer and nearer. The sounds were like several people talking, pulling some heavy objects. Then he heard a screeching sound like pulling a rusty iron from a wooden board.
The eating continues like he hears nothing, but Dimas was very cautious. He immediately grabbed his knife beside his food for his protection and began to stab the dinner table several times. But to his amazement, a floor opening, a passage, small square submerged down, and two hands came up, then the head, then followed by the whole body. This person came up from that square opening and stooped down immediately to help more people come up. Four in all, fourteen bandits came up from that little square, their entrance to the castle. They have this rough-looking faces and dirty clothes like they were spat from the ground.
These fourteen bandits were surprised to see a person quietly eating at the dinner table. After the stunning surprise, they all pulled their long swords and proceeded to attack Dimas. But Dimas grabbed his knife and stood to defend himself, several steps backward, and shouted fearlessly.
—“Hey! My comrades! Wolves are not supposed to bite each other! And besides, not to repay good favors is not good works! For the sake of the altar of the horn of Sion, I prepared dinner for all of you. It was a hard work cooking meal for everyone, and my reward is to kill me?” Dimas was on a roll!
The circumstances were very confusing for the bandits; they looked at each other with meaning, eye to eye, they talked with question, asking each other, “who is this crazy person?”
to be continued……………………………………..












