By Abby G.
A fictional story based upon the real-life flood that hit the coast of Wales, England, in 1607.
A nauseating feeling swept over Judith as she looked back at the horrible sight. The village, the land, and twenty-six human beings— everything, all under water. The cries of grief-stricken women filled her thoughts. Men and women together, crying for their loved ones swept away from them. Some were digging in the knee deep mud, trying to salvage what they could from places where the water had receded. Others were wading in the foul water, searching for their people, hoping and praying that they were still alive.
Judith felt her feet taking her down to the village from where she stood on an overlooking crag. Her heart felt heavy and a tear trickled down her cheek.
“Dear God, let Peter and Mary be safe!”
She prayed that prayer over and over as she drew near to the wreckage. She joined a group of people that were standing in the deep mud where the water had receded. She could not believe what she saw. Judith hoped that if she shut her eyes it would be normal again, but the whisperings of grieving people trying to comfort each-other reminded her that it would not be normal. It would not be the same village she had known. Once it had boasted of nine simple houses built in a row, connected by a dusty street, but now everything was submerged in over eight feet of water. Wrenching her eyes from the destruction, Judith faced a woman who appeared to be talking to herself.
“Twas a fair day. How could we know of it coming.” The woman's eyes began to fill with tears and her voice choked with emotion. “Richard and me didn't know! Then the wave came... and Edward was running and shouting for us to get to high ground...then the house...”
She then fell to the muddy ground sobbing, crying out the names of her lost husband and son. Judith knelt down and wrapped her arms around the woman, softly reciting the comforting words of John from the Scriptures.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be...” She was cut off with a cry and the woman push her backward.
“How could a loving God care for us if he let this happen?” The woman stood to her feet and fairly shouted at the younger woman still on the ground.
There was a brief pause as the woman threw back her head with a loud moan. Judith choked back a sob and started to rise to her feet, her eyes full of compassion for this poor lady.
“He don't, that's why!” The hysterical woman answered her own question without waiting for the girl to respond.
“But, He does!” Judith found that it was hard to speak from her own sadness and at seeing this woman suffer. “He does care for us! He loved and cared for us so much that He sent His own son to take away our eternal death and punishment! We may have many sorrows here on this earth, but if we believe, we can look forward to eternity with no more sorrows – no more pain! He...”
Judith was broken off again as the woman waved her hands frantically in front of her face and shook her head. She spun around and covered her ears, as if she could not bear to listen to what Judith was saying. Lifting her eyes upward, Judith prayed for the woman who was running away from her and what she was saying.
“You did well, Child, to try,” Judith felt a strong arm around her shoulders and a motherly kind of voice speaking close to her ear. “It will take her some time to heal...as it will the rest of us.”
Judith turned to look at the speaker and saw a silver-haired older woman who wore a wise and composed look on her face. Her eyes were full of sadness and traces of tears were on her cheeks, but she looked as if she wanted to stay strong for the people around her who were hurting inside as much as she was.
She brushed a stray strand of hair from Judith's face as she asked, “Did you loose a loved-one as well, my dear?”
For a moment Judith could only nod, but when she found her voice she answered, “They have not found my brother and his wife … as of yet.”
“Aye,” was her only answer, but Judith felt the woman's arm tighten around her sympathetically.
Judith tilted her head to look at this woman and asked her the same. She had never met her before, but knew that even though they were strangers they could understand and console each-other in their time of grief.
The woman sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, “I was in Bristol when I heard about the flood. When I arrived here, I received word that my son and his family were among those numbered.”
Judith reached over and squeezed her hand. She pursed her lips, fighting back the emotion that welled up in her heart.
The two women prayed together then parted to see what help they could be to the other grieving people around them. Judith walked towards a small gathering of people and saw a man waving his hands around, as if giving directions for things that should be done. As soon as something was said one or two people would nod their head and walk off to complete that assignment. Judith thought that was a good thing to do. Giving them tasks to do would help the time pass while they waited for word of their loved-ones from the men who were still searching in the wreckage.
Judith could see the men from where she stood. They were slowly maneuvering a small rowboat in between the debris of what use to be houses and shops, now only piles of wood or stone that rose up out of the water. Of the nine houses and shops that used to stand now only two remained; one a small forge built from brick tucked into the hillside and the other a dwelling strongly constructed with both wood and brick. Most of the buildings were completely destroyed, but at times there would be a part of the roof or a chimney still standing. The men would closely examine the standing structure, leaning way over the side of the boat, sometimes even climbing onto it to see if anyone was hidden under the mass of boards and brick around it.
Judith knew that many people had already lost hope of them finding those who were missing. Nine days had passed since the flood washed over the village and surrounding country. The next day boats were sent out as soon as the force of the flood had weakened to rescue those who had climbed on roofs or found something to hold onto that could float. Only three people were rescued. They had been searching everyday since, each day finding more villagers who had been killed.
Turning back around, Judith saw that the man and the group he was giving directions to were gone, but only a few steps farther from where they had stood was a little girl not more than six years old, seated on a large chair shaped rock and hugging her knees. Jet black hair hung in front of her eyes, but Judith could see that her eyes looked tired and a scared expression occupied her pale face. Judith started to walk towards her, but suddenly the girl jumped up and raced towards the water line. She didn't stop until she was waist-deep in the foul water. Hearing a commotion behind her, Judith realized that one of the boats had come in. All the people along the shore ran toward the vessel hoping for word that their loved-ones were alive.
“Attention!” A tired looking man stood up in the rowboat so that everyone in the crowd could see and hear him. “You all know that we have been searching for nigh on eight days. I know that you have all been waiting an' hoping an' praying that your family made it out. You all gave us names and descriptions of those missing and we … have identified them.”
Silence hung over the crowd as the words began to sink in.
Judith saw the man's chest heave as he took a deep breath. She saw his brows furrow, as if he knew that the news he must tell would be extremely painful to these people, and watched as he slowly held up a piece of paper.
“Marten Paul Huston …”
Judith saw the other men in the boat stand up and slowly take off their hats. She looked around and saw other men taking off theirs as well. Another name was spoken and a woman's cry followed. Judith's mouth went dry as she watched a weeping lady being led away by her friends. She prayed that everyone would find peace in this difficult time.
“Andrew Timmons with his wife and three children. Mrs. Timmons Senior, we are very sorry for your loss!”
Judith watched her new friend, the woman from Bristol, as she looked up at the man and managed a week smile.
Several more names were called out. The more that were said the smaller the group became. Judith began to count, praying that her brother's name would not be on the list.
“Eighteen … Nineteen … Twenty …” By now Judith's throat was tight and she was finding it hard the breathe. She started to tremble uncontrollably. She knew that twenty-six villagers were missing and that left only six more to be named. She hoped that He and His wife would not be named.
“Maybe they escaped the brunt of the flood.” She told herself, “Maybe they were able to run ahead of it to higher ground … Twenty-two … Twenty-three ...”
“Peter Emerson and Mary, his wife. Miss Judith Emerson, we are so very sorry ...”
Her heart skipped a beat. Judith could feel the blood draining from her face and she knew she needed to sit down. She started to drop to the ground when a hand caught her by the elbow and helped her stay up. Judith didn't even look to see who it was, but let herself be led away from the water's edge and directed towards the same rock the little girl was sitting on just awhile ago. She sat down and rested her face in her hands. She felt cold and clammy all over. Her throat was so tight she thought she would never be able to speak again. A cup was pushed into her hands and a blanket draped over her shoulders. Judith lifted the cup to her lips with shaking hands and felt the cool liquid slowly loosening her tight throat.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Judith looked up and saw Mrs. Timmons. Judith threw her arms around the lady and sobbed. After awhile she let go and stepped back.
Mrs. Timmons smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. “It will take some time for all of us! Remember, He says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' ”
Mrs. Timmons left and Judith started to notice that the other people were starting to make their way up to the crag where it was less muddy and they could sit. Judith stood up as a woman walked past and started to walk alongside her, but then stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, Judith saw the little girl with jet black hair rush back from the water's edge and throw herself on the ground in front of the rock. She rested her bony arms on it and hid her face in her arms. Judith could see that she was crying and her heart went out to the child. “She is so young and to have to go through something so difficult.”
Judith slowly made her way over to the little girl. She didn't want to scare her or intrude on her privacy, but yet she thought she needed some comforting. Kneeling in the mud beside the girl, Judith began to stroke her hair. Before long the sobs ceased and they were replaced with little, tiny, whimpers that sounded like kittens mewing. Suddenly she threw her arms around Judith's neck. Judith bundled her up in her arms and rocked her, humming softly.
As she rocked, words began to fit into the pattern and sound she hummed.
“Fairest lord Jesus! Ruler of all … creation … nature,” She paused and then went on,“Ruler of all nature! O thou of God and man the son! Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor …” She repeated humming the next part, searching for words that would fit, then continued, “Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown!”
She finished singing and just sat rocking the little girl.
“Sing it again!” A silvery voice said then added, “Please!'
Judith smiled down at the girl and sang it again.
“Fairest lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature!
O thou of God and man the son!
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown!”
The little girl settled contentedly in her lap while Judith picked her up and sat them both down on the chair shaped rock, wrapping the blanket Josiah had given her around them.
“What is your name, dear?” Judith asked
“Margret Miller, but Daddy always called me Margie … until he died.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry!”
Margret looked up at Judith and asked, “I saw you cryin' … who was you cryn' for?”
Judith couldn't help but smile at her bluntness, though a wave of sadness washed over her again, “My brother and his wife.”
“Oh …” Margret looked away for a moment then said, “My Momma died too. That man in the boat said so. And Grandma …”
Judith hugged the girl tightly, “Do you have any family, that's still alive?”
The girl thought hard. She closed her eyes and drew her eyebrows together. “Noooo …” She said slowly, “No, I don't.”
“Did your parents have some friends they liked to be around?”
“Most of 'em are dead!” She said simply then spouted off a few names. Judith determined to contact these people and find a good place for Margret to live.
“Can you help me find these people?” She asked the child who nodded and took her hand as they walked away.
“Margret, look!” Judith stopped walking and bent down so she was on the little girl's level. Margret's eyes followed Judith's finger pointing to a sparrow hopping around, plucking worms from the ground still wet with dew.
Margret giggled as she watched the bird fall backward after a tug-o-war with the worm. It was the first Judith had seen the child smile since three days before, when she had met her by the chair shaped rock back in Brean.
After learning about Margret's parents, Judith had asked around to see if she had any relatives. She found that she did have an Aunt in Radstock, which was where Judith lived. So she offered to take Margret with her to Radstock and find the Aunt. Margret was thrilled. She thought of Judith as an older sister and followed her around like a shadow.
They traveled with a larger group of people heading East. Some were returning home from the coast where they went to help the survivors of the flood or to look for members of their family that had lived there. Others were the survivors themselves setting out to start over or to live with family in the east. Today many of them would stop in Radstock while others would travel farther on.
For the first two days everyone was mournful and mostly kept to themselves, but on the third day the mood as well as landscape began to change. They traveled farther to where the flood could not reach and where the land was dry and green. The company began to share meals and conversation.
“Can you sing, please!” Listening to Judith sing was now one of Margret's favorite things to do. At times she would try to sing along, but because Judith composed the songs as she sang, she usually just hummed along.
Judith looked around at the green pastures and felt refreshed. She still missed her brother terribly, but knew that he would want her to smile. “Alright!” She replied.
Judith remembered the first song she had sung to Margret and thought she might work off of that same tune. She began to hum while she played with words in her head.
“Fair are the meadows,” She sang as she watched the tall blades of grass wave gently in the breeze. She thought of the opposite of a meadow, which was is forest. A wooded forest in mid spring, with their leaves showing all shades of vibrant green, and the blossoms of apple and cheery trees filling the air with a sweet fragrance. “Fairer still the woodlands, Robed in the blooming garb of spring.”
Then a thought came to her, “As beautiful as this world is, it is nothing compared to my Savior! How beautiful He is! How fair and pure!”
“I've got it now! Are you ready?” She asked Margret who clapped her hands and nodded.
“Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.”
The two girls sang the verse together again and again so they would remember the words and tune.
They reached Radstock by nightfall. They camped at the edge of town and in the morning split company. Judith and Margret said their farewells and walked into town. Judith was able to locate Margret's Aunt's house, but the Aunt was away and said to return in two days. So Judith took her little friend home with her until the Aunt returned.
The very first thing Judith did when they reached her home was to give Margret a warm bath. She had found some of her old clothes that would just fit the child and picked out a black dress to represent their time of mourning. After the girl was bathed, she was fed a hot meal and tucked into bed.
Margret was given the choice of sleeping in the kitchen by the fire or in the room with Judith. Margret did not hesitate for a moment and picked Judith's room. Truth be told, Judith was glad she didn't have to spend the night alone.
While the little girl slept, Judith cleaned herself up and exchanged her muddy, travel stained dress for a plain black one. “Thank you Lord, for clean clothes!” She prayed then ate her own dinner and plopped on the bed, being careful not to wake Margret.
“Poor little thing!” Judith said to herself, “She has gone through so much … I know the thirty miles of walking to get here just wore her out! … Well, at least she can get some good food and plenty of sleep here …” Judith yawned and closed her eyes.
-------
Judith woke with a start and swung her legs over the side of the bed as she sat up. The room was cold. Judith looked around and was surprised to see that it was dark already. She rubbed her forehead.
“It was only a dream! Or was it?” Judith shook her head at herself, “No, it wasn't only a dream. It was a dream full of things I remember. Things that happened!”
Judith pulled her feet back into the bed to warm them as she thought about the dream. The first thing she had dreamed about was a visit from her neighbor, nearly a week and half ago. He was the first to inform her about the flood. She learned from him that the flood had washed inland as far as Glastonbury, which was fourteen miles from the coast. He also told her that Brean was hit the worst more than any other village along the coast of Wales. He said that he and his wife would be traveling to Barrow as soon as the water receded enough to travel by land and that if she wanted to come, they could make room for her. Judith remembered waiting seven days, before they heard that most of the water had retreated back into the sea allowing them to travel. It took two days to reach Brean where the kind neighbor and his wife said good-bye. Judith thought of what had happened at Brean. She shook her head and wiped a tear from her cheek.
Snatching up a cloak from the foot of the bed, Judith got up and walked over to the window. Silver-white light filled the room as she pulled back the window curtain. Judith gazed up into the dark night sky, glittered with millions of stars. A full moon hung in the sky like a giant lantern, showering the earth with it's soft, white, light. Judith started to sing softly, adding new words to the tune that Margret and she had sung together. “Fair is the sunshine, Fairer still the moonlight, And all the twinkling starry host.”
Judith paused, “As beautiful as the moon is and as bright as the sun is, it cannot even begin to be compared to the purity and brightness of the Lord. The creation shows the handiwork of the creator.”
“Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, Than all the angels heav'n can boast.”
Judith started the tune over again, this time singing, “Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations!” She thought of her Savior, coming to earth in the form of man. The 'Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.', as the Gospel of John said. “Son of God and Son of Man! Glory and honor, praise, adoration, Now and forevermore be Thine!”
“Sing it all, Judith!”
Judith spun around and saw Margret sitting up in the bed. “I'm sorry for waking you!”
“It's okay! I like your song!”
Judith thought a moment and then replied, “Thanks, but it's not my song. It's His! I'm singing about … how wonderful he is. I know I'm not even coming close, but …”
“I think he likes to hear you sing it!” Margret said perfectly understanding who “He” is. “Daddy use to say that God loves to listen to us singing. It doesn't even matter if you don't sound good, just that you are singing to Him.”
“I agree!”
“Can you sing it again?”
Judith smiled at the girl, “Sure!”
“Fairest lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature!
O thou of God and man the son!
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown!”
“Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.”
“Fair is the sunshine, Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels heav'n can boast.”
“Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!”
Epilog:
After Judith's parents returned two weeks later from an extended journey in the north, they were shocked and grieved by the news of the flood and the terrible death toll. Margret's Aunt returned, but had no interests in taking her niece. So after prayerful consideration, Judith's family decided to adopt her. Mrs. Timmons visited their home in Radstock often and soon became an adopted “grandma-ma”.
“Glory and honor, praise, adoration, Now and forevermore be Thine!”
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