or her own twist of pain for Chaya, I couldn’t say.
When we disembarked, Apion hired a flat-roofed litter for the four of us with curtained windows and cushioned seats, pulled by two donkeys. We bobbed along the Canopic Way, the main corridor of the city, a cobblestone street so wide it could’ve fit fifty litters side by side. The street was lined on either side with red-roofed buildings and people milling about—women with uncovered heads, and girls, not just boys, trotting behind their tutors with wooden tablets hitched to their waists on cords. Catching sight of a brilliantly hued Egyptian woman, winged and kneeling, painted inside a portico, I made an exclamation of surprise, and Yaltha leaned to me and said, “Winged Isis. You’ll see her everywhere.” We came upon a line of horse-drawn chariots driven by men in helmets, who, Apion informed us, were on their way to the hippodrome.
A resplendent-looking pediment suddenly protruded in the distance. My heart gave a lurch. I couldn’t see the building’s facade, but the roof seemed to preside over the city. “Is that the great library?” I asked Yaltha.
“It is,” she said. “We will go there, you and I.”
During our voyage my aunt had described how the library’s half million scrolls were meticulously cataloged and arranged, all the texts in existence in the entire world. She’d told me of the scholars who lived there, how they’d determined the earth was round and measured not only its circumference, but its distance to the sun.
And we would go there.
* * *
? ? ?
IT WAS NOT UNTIL our litter arrived at Haran’s house that my excitement turned to apprehension. I had lied to Apion, insisting Haran had sent a letter giving his permission for Yaltha to come. How could my deceit possibly remain undiscovered? What if Haran refused to take us in? I couldn’t be elsewhere—Judas would send his letters to Haran’s house.
Before we’d boarded the ship in Caesarea, I’d made certain that Apion conveyed to my brother exactly how the dispatches should be addressed. “Haran ben Philip Levias, Jewish Quarter, Alexandria,” he’d said.
“Is that all that’s needed?” I asked.
“Your uncle is the wealthiest Jew in Alexandria,” he said. “Everyone knows where he lives.”
At this, Yaltha dispensed a grunt of derision, causing Apion to cut his eyes toward her.
She will have to hide her bitterness better than this, I thought, as we stepped into Haran’s palatial house. How would she find Chaya without Haran’s help?
My uncle looked like my father: lumpy bald head, large ears, thick chest, and beardless. Only his eyes were different—less curious and with a hawkish, preying quality. He met us in the atrium, where an oculus streamed light from the ceiling. He was standing directly beneath it in an unrelenting white shine. I could find no shadow in the room. This struck me as an ominous sign.
Yaltha approached him slowly with her face downcast. I was shocked to see her enact an elaborate bow. “Esteemed brother,” she said. “I’ve come home humbled. I beg you to receive me.” I shouldn’t have worried; she knew very well how to play this game.
He glared at her, arms folded. “You’ve come unbidden, Yaltha. When I sent you to our brother in Galilee, it was with the understanding you would not return.”
Haran turned to Apion then. “I gave you no authority to bring them here.”
The revelation of my deception had come sooner than I’d anticipated.
“Sir, forgive me,” Apion said, his mouth sputtering words. “The younger woman said . . .” He glanced at me, sweat forming on his temples, and I saw his dilemma. He feared that if he accused me, I would expose the bribes he’d taken.
Reading the situation, Haran said, “Is it possible, Apion, that you were bribed? If so, hand the money over to me now and I’ll consider keeping you as my treasurer.”
It came to me that I should save him. It appeared we would be cast out either way, and I decided to risk everything to win Apion’s friendship.
I stepped forward. “I am Ana, the daughter of Matthias. Don’t blame your employee for bringing us here. We gave