The sky over Sychar darkened and thunder shook the air. Chana fell to her knees, hands to her head. Pain coursed through her mind. Voices echoed, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She forced her gaze to the sky trying to locate the source. A large bird cleared the sun and the nagging pain ceased. She squinted at the bright sunlight, before standing and resuming her journey to Jacob’s Well.
A slight tremble remained in her hand, as she neared the well. She struggled to overcome her fear and the pain and finish her chore. She battled to understand what just happened to her. Was she losing her mind, or was another one of her migraines coming on? Was the Satan trying to possess her? She had heard stories of people possessed by demons; they had been sent away, much like lepers. People wanted nothing to do with them.
One of the girls from the village, Sarah, called out, “Chana, why are you so late?”
Chana groaned and took a deep breath before she stepped forward to draw water. “Shalom, Sarah.”
“Shalom.” Sarah smirked as she lowered the bucket into the well.
Another woman approached.
“Oh no, it’s Photini. We need to finish before she gets closer. Hurry get your water,” Sarah said.
Chana sighed and cranked the bucket into the well. Sarah grasped the sleeve on Chana’s robe. “Hurry up! We can’t talk to her or be touched by her.” Sarah paced as Chana raised the bucket and Photini got closer. “What are you doing here, with decent people. You should have waited until later, so you don’t soil us.”
Chana glared at Sarah. “You shouldn’t have said that. She’s allowed to draw water whenever she wishes.” Chana turned to Photini. “Shalom.”
Sarah scowled and grabbed the bucket to dump the water into Chana’s pitcher. “Did you hear? Abel’s third wife died yesterday. I feel sorry for the man. The women he marries must be cursed. I wonder who his next wife will be?” Sarah mused.
Chana shook her head. “No, I hadn’t heard. How can you say those things of the dead? I don’t think he is even considering another wife right now?”
“Why would you imply that the woman was at fault?” Photini interrupted. “I think Abel may be the one responsible for the death of his three wives. And if I were any woman in this village, I would not take the chance on marrying him.”
“I agree. I don’t think those poor women were cursed. I think it is probably Abel,” Chana said as she lifted her pitcher.
Sarah laughed and picked up her pitcher. “You are foolish. Why would you agree with her? What do either of you know about anything.”
Photini shook her head and dropped the bucket into the well. “Maybe you’re the one being foolish.”
Sarah stomped her foot. “How dare you say that. You are nothing more than the town prostitute. Chana, are you coming?”
Chana set her pitcher down. “No, I think I will stay and help Photini.”
“Fine, stay with her. But what will your Abba say? Oh, wait he encouraged you to rebel against our laws about women. Maybe you ARE more like her. I’m not sure what Isaac sees in you. You will never make a good wife. It would be wrong for me to be seen with either of you.” Sarah stomped away from the well heading toward town.
The two remaining women finished getting water and began their journey back to Chana’s house. “Did you hear the thunder on your way to the well?” Chana asked as they neared the spot where the road divided. She shivered as she remembered the voices and the chill she felt. Was it demons? She set her buckets down and sat on a rock while rubbing her forehead trying to ease the remaining pain.
“Chana, what is it? Are you not well?” Photini set her buckets down and put a hand on Chana’s shoulder.
“I’m fine, just a little overheated,” Chana answered as she rose, and a dizzy spell overtook her. All color rushed from her face and her body shook. She stumbled.
Photini helped her sit back down. “I think it is more than overheating. You look as if you have seen someone dead.”
Chana shook her head. “It’s nothing. But did you hear anything?”
“I did. It was odd, since there were no clouds in the sky and no signs of a storm. And then the darkness hiding the sun, all very strange,” Photini said as she looked to the sky. Chana’s gaze followed Photini’s.
“Did you see the large bird? Maybe it had something to do with the darkness.”
“That would have been a pretty large bird to cause that darkness. And it still doesn’t explain the thunder. The only thing I can think of that would cause that kind of darkness is just a myth that is told to children. Tanniym.”
“Yes, I remember hearing those stories, but they were just tales. They couldn’t be real, could they?” Chana asked as tremors ran down her spine.
“Did anything else happen?” Photini asked as a look of concern crossed her face.
Chana nodded. “I heard voices, screaming in my head, and the pain, the pain in my head. I couldn’t’ bear it. But as the sun reappeared the voices went away. Please don’t tell anyone else.”
“Part of the myth says that the tanniym were once messengers from HaShem, but as the years went by more and more of the people became afraid of the tanniym and drove them into hiding or killed them. Some people communicated with the tanniym, and they were shunned by their communities. Soon no tanniym remained.”
“But it’s just a myth, isn’t it? And if it’s true, why couldn’t I understand? Why was it so painful? Wouldn’t a message from HaShem be pleasant?”
“There were also evil tanniym in the legends. They were part of the reason people started to hate tanniym. To those who weren’t as susceptible to the evil message of Satan, the message from one of them would be painful.”
Chana shuddered again. “I hope the tanniym are just legends. I’m not sure I want to encounter any of them, evil or not.” With a little help from Photini she stood and placed the water jug on her head. Her legs still shook as visions of tanniym flooded her mind. No, encountering a tanniym was not something she desired.
Photini laughed. “As I said, just legends. And even if they aren’t legends there are no signs of it now.”

Coming to a store near you, January 1, 2024.