The New Invention

“What’s that thing you hold over you called?”

“The dealer called it an Umbrella, it means shade, says it’s a new invention.”

“What’s it for?”

“It shades you from the rocks.”

“Rocks?”

“You aren’t from around here, are you?”

“I’m from the Osterlands. Way north.”

“Figures. This is a stoning and here in Jerusalem it’s the punishment for adulatory. Actually for a lot of other things too, like today the man being stoned stole food.”

“Why did the man steal food?”

“I don’t know. He was hungry I guess.”

“Does he have a family?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes the throwers get carried away and stones hit the audience. You’ve got to keep your eyes open.”

“Like that one?”

“Ooff, thanks, that was a bigger one. See how it hit the cover and bounced off.”

“Yes, but it hit that man next to you after it bounced off.”

“That’s his problem. I can tell him where to get his own.”

“Why don’t you just stand farther away?”

“Farther away you lose all the details.”

“It looks clumsy to carry too.”

“It’s not clumsy, it actually is a help. The arms fold and the cover wraps around and ties, see? Then this handle makes it a walking stick.”

“How convenient. Does it keep the sun off too?”

“Well, Yeah, it does. I’ve never thought about that”

“How about rain?”

“I’ve never thought about that either, we don’t do stoning in the rain. The next rain I’ll give it a try.”

“You could have someone pour water on you from a tall building.”

“That’s an idea, I’ll think about it. ”

“I’m going to take several of them back with me. It rains a lot in the Osterlands. My name’s Ellika, what’s yours?

“Procula. The govener Pontius Pilates wife.”