Mariah wasn’t even sure why the words from the siddur spoke to her so much. She wasn’t Jewish, after all
1500s, Prague
In a crowded room filled with dust, Mariah, a young Christian girl, stood with several other girls her age before the tall lady dressed in black.
“Someone here stole an extra piece of bread from the kitchen!” the lady in black screeched. Her face was red with rage. “In my orphanage, thievery will not be tolerated! I’m going to search each of you and feel inside your little pockets. If I find so much as a crumb, I will take away your Sunday picnic privileges for an entire month!”
The girls held their breaths tightly as the lady in black began inspecting them, swooping down like a vulture to discover any of the missing bread.
“Pssst! Mariah, I took it…”
A little girl in pigtails whispered urgently to an older girl.
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