TABIA

Empty.

That’s how I feel right now. Empty.

My heart is empty. My soul is empty. Everything in me is just…

… empty.

I’ve lost everything. Everything.

My husband. My firstborn son. My livestock. Everything I own. They’re all gone.

It was bad enough that I had to lose so many dear ones already. But this…

I don’t even know what to say.

After my husband walked out that door to join the army go after the Hebrews, I just knew it wasn’t going to end well. I could feel it in the pits of my belly.

But I could only hope for the best and make prayers for my husband, asking that he would return safely, at the very least.

Days passed, and nothing was heard of anyone among the army. Nothing about the soldiers, the captains, advisors of the Pharaoh, or the Pharaoh himself. So some servants at the palace went out to try and trace their path or something.

They came with some dark news.

Dead bodies lying all around the shores of the Red Sea. Corpses of Egyptians.

Those that were found were brought back. The Pharaoh’s body was recovered, many men I knew quite well were also recovered…

… and my husband’s dead body was also recovered.

Not a single man was found alive; each and every man who left on that mission to recapture the Hebrews lost his life.

I honestly have no idea what happened. I don’t know how it happened. All I know is that it was definitely the doing of the Hebrew God.

And as I sit here, drenched in sorrow, there’s a tint of anger somewhere in the corner of my heart.

Anger at the man who instigated this whole thing. The one supposed to protect this nation.

The Pharaoh.

Seriously, what was he thinking? I mean, I understand that he probably felt a little slighted at the beginning that a God of another set of people was telling him what to do. But with everything that followed, why couldn’t he just accept the fact that this was a power higher than him and just relent? Why?

Why did he hold so tightly to his pride through it all, even when he could see what it was costing us? Was his pride really worth us losing all we lost? Was it worth the pestilence that killed off all our livestock? Was it worth those horrible boils we suddenly developed and spent days in pain over? Was it worth that terrible hailstorm that virtually destroyed our farms? Was it?

Even after his foolish pride cost us our sons and brothers and fathers and friends, he still decided to go back and recapture them. For goodness sake, how did he think that would end? It was glaringly obvious that he didn’t stand a chance against the God of the Hebrews. It was like an ant trying to battle an elephant, how else do you think it’s gonna end?

I’m just so hurt, so broken… and quite angry with my late ruler. Whatever happened to him and my husband and all the others wouldn’t have happened if he had just humbled himself and let go. My husband would still be here with me and we’d have figured a way to rebuild what we have.

But no, he just had to show this God that he’s as powerful as Him, even though we all saw that that clearly was not true.

Now look. He’s dead. His advisors are dead. Most of his servants are dead. Every single captain and member of our army is dead. My husband is dead.

And the rest of us here have to go another phase of grief and anguish. As if the first one we went through wasn’t scarring enough.

This was so avoidable. That’s what makes it hurt even more. We could have just moved on with our lives and made something out of what was left. But now, we’re a wreck.

I’m a wreck. An absolute wreck.

And it’s all because of Pharaoh’s folly.

I remember how it is said that kings act foolishly, and it is the people that suffer for it.

That couldn’t be any truer than it is at this point. It really couldn’t be truer.

I’m so empty right now. So empty…

THE END

Sigh, poor Tabia. She really suffered, didn’t she? Well, I guess she said it perfectly with the ‘kings act foolishly’ statement, which is the meaning of this story’s title.

Thanks for reading, and of course, continue to enjoy yourself around the State!