Free On This Foundation by Lynn Austin Page B

thankful that Abba had a crop to harvest, even if it was a meager one. Maybe he and Dan’s father would reap enough grain to repay what they owed the man, with enough left over to feed their families in the coming months. Enough left over so she and Dan could be married.
    The scorching sun rose quickly in the cloudless sky and before long, sweat dampened Nava’s clothing and face. Her family was making good progress, the harvested sheaves were drying in the June sunshine—then she looked up and spotted two figures approaching on donkeys. One of them was the wealthy man in the snow-white turban and linen tunic trimmed with bands of scarlet, the man with the slightly crooked nose who had come three months ago. The other was his son, who had come the following day to take away her herd of goats. Nava dreaded the sight of them. Abba also spotted the men and for a moment he seemed to sway on his feet. “Sit and rest while I talk to them,” he said, wiping his brow with his forearm. Nava watched him walk across the field to meet the men, carrying a sheaf of wheat for them to sample.
    She sat down on the stubbly ground with the others for the first time all morning and took her turn sipping from the water jug. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. They had shared a meager breakfast just before dawn but it hadn’t been enough to silence the ache in her gut. Her mother and older brothers must be hungry, too.
    At first she watched from a distance as the man sampled the kernels and Abba gestured to the section of field they’d already harvested. Would it be enough to repay him? Nava stood up, unable to wait a moment longer. “I’ll go see if they would like a drink or some water for their donkeys.”
    She hurried across the field to fetch the water jar and quickly filled it at the well, then poured it into the trough for the animals. She offered a cup to the strangers but they both declined.The son hadn’t bothered to dismount, and she could tell by the expression on Abba’s face that the discussion wasn’t going well. He looked exasperated, his cheeks flushed with emotion, his voice hoarse with it. “It’s the best we could do in this drought,” he said.
    â€œI know, my friend. But what you need to understand is that I own the mortgage on your vineyard and fields. You borrowed money using them as collateral.”
    â€œAnd now I can repay you with this crop.”
    â€œI’m very sorry, but your wheat harvest won’t be enough to repay your debts because two-thirds of the crop already belongs to me. The loan was an advance against your future crop. The third that belongs to you will help pay back a portion of the second loan I gave you when you borrowed money for food. But not all of it.”
    â€œI gave you my herd of goats in repayment.”
    â€œYes, you did. But the debt still isn’t paid in full. I’m sorry.”
    Nava’s hand shook as she tried to pour more water into the trough, splashing it on her bare feet. It wasn’t fair! After all their hard work, it still wasn’t enough for this greedy man? She wanted to shout at him in outrage.
    â€œPlease forgive me if I failed to explain all of this to you when you asked me for the loans,” the man continued. “And again when you mortgaged your land. Perhaps I wasn’t very clear.”
    â€œYou explained it, but . . . but I hoped this harvest would square things between us, and I would get my wheat field back.”
    â€œI’m sorry, but I can already see that this crop won’t be enough. If only your barley crop hadn’t failed, then you may have been closer to repaying what you owe me. But for whatever reason, the Holy One has withheld rain for a second year.”
    â€œYou say only a third of this wheat is mine?”
    â€œUnfortunately, yes.”
    â€œBut I’ll never get my land back unless I repay you. And if I give you my third to repay the