The ghost of Sarah Aaronsohn
“Testing, testing, 1 2 3. Can you hear me?”
Ariyah tried out her headpiece for her 10 am tour group. As always, she is more than 30 minutes early but she likes to be ready and prepared with all of the items on her checklist checked off.
And also, she had to escape the disapproval on her parents’ faces when they saw her wearing her tour guide dress again this morning. They had argued the same arguments over and over the last six months and a mere look from her parents will start the same script running through her head.
“You were an officer in the air force Ariyah, don’t you think that it is time to start your future?”
“Honey, WHAT are you waiting for?”
“I cannot believe that I spent all that money and effort raising a daughter who became a tour guide!”
“Come on, sis, don’t you think that a 23 year old women should sort have a clue what she wants in life? “
“I am ashamed that a granddaughter of mine, from the MOST important founding family of Zichron, is guiding gaping tourists around like a herd of sheep. Do you really think that they are listening to a word you say? They are just trying to stare down that red dress of yours!”
Ariyah shook her head firmly to try and clear her family’s voices from her head. And she adjusted the neckline of her red dress by trying to pull it a bit higher.. As a tour guide she has to stand out in a crowd but maybe granny was right, the dress is cut a bit on the low side….
She looked down at her checklist to see what still needs to be done.
“Helloooo, can you hear me?” she asks again in her earpiece to check that is working.
“Yes my dear, I can hear you nice and clear.”
Ariyah startled at the unexpected answer and then slowly turned around to see who was talking. A young woman, no a young lady, dressed in the period costume of the 1900’s was sitting on a bench behind her. She wore a snow white blouse decorated in intricate detail with a row of pearl buttons down the front. The shirt was buttoned tightly, right up to her neck. Her royal blue skirt was voluminous and on her a head she wore a strange cap at a rakish angle. It was however her boots that really captivated Ariyah, she had never seen such cool vintage style footwear made with such a high level of craftsmanship.
“Wow” Ariyah said to the lady, “you look SO authentic!”
“Thank you” the lady smiled and acknowledged the compliment with a nod of her head, “you look very authentic yourself. Your dress is very..um..It is so red!”
Ariyah self-consciously adjusted the neckline of her dress again. “Oh, this old thing. It is just to keep the tourists attention. My family hates it.”
The young lady’s chocolate-brown eyes twinkled and it looked as if she wanted to laugh but then she just nodded her head in understanding.
Ariyah wondered if the lady was also a tour guide. Some of the guides here in Zichron liked to wear period costumes during the tours. She had however never seen anyone wore a costume made with such intricate detail. And those boots. Those boots were totally to die for!
“May I ask you where you got those awesome boots from?”
Just then a couple walked past Ariyah and the lady and gave them a strange look. They whispered something to each and then quickly hurried away from them. Ariyah walked over to the lady’s bench and sat down next to her.
“Did you see how they stared? That was kinda weird.”
“Oh don’t worry about it Ariyah”, said the young lady “they probably just thought that it is strange that you are talking to someone that they cannot see.”
“Uhmmm. Ok-aaay. If you say so. But why cannot they see you?”
“Because I am a ghost.”
Ariyah just sat quietly for a few seconds and then she said, “A ah ah a ghost..? Are you sure? You look so real to me! Aren’t ghosts supposed to be transparent or float a meter above the ground r something?!”
Some more people walked passed and also looked askance at them. The ghost lady stood up and reached out a hand to Ariyah. She hesitated for a few seconds but then she placed her hand into the outstretched one. With a strong grip that definitely felt very human-like and not at all ghostly, Ariyah was pulled up from the bench and pulled along down the street..
“Come, I know a place where we can talk privately. Regarding your previous question, I am not here to scare people like some other ghosts like to do. My entire living life I have tried to help the people of this town and I have continued to do so in my death. It is a bit difficult to convince a person that you want to help her if you first gave her the fright of her life!” The ghost smiled again at Ariyah, her eyes twinkling again with laughter.
“Ah here we go. We can talk here in private. But we do not have much time. I believe that your tour group will arrive soon.” The ghost had led Ariyah to a hidden corner behind the public library that she did not even knew existed. She had totally forgotten about her tourists. There are just so many questions she had for the ghost lady.
“How..um who..” she liked her dry lips and tried again. “Who are you.?”
“I am Sarah Aaronsohn..or actually, the ghost of Sarah Aaronsohn. Have you heard of me?”
Ariyah’s eyes widened and then she blurted out: “Heard of you! Of course I have heard of you! Every fourth grader in Zichron and every tourist who ever stepped here has heard of Sarah Aaronsohn! I even show the tourists where you have, you know…” Ariyah lowered her voice and whispered “where you have shot yourself.”
Sarah did not look at all offended or hurt. “Oh yes, my very famous suicide. You do not have to whisper about it Ariyah. It has happened nearly a hundred years ago already. It is actually also the reason why I am here today with you.”
“The reason why you are now here with me? I do not understand..?”
“Well, you know my story and why I committed suicide, right?” Ariyah nodded and Sarah the ghost continued. “And you know that it is actually a big no-no for Jews to commit suicide.”
Again Ariyah nodded. Sarah Aaronsohn’s fenced-in grave in the cemetery was actually the first stop in her guided tours. The fence was placed there to symbolically separate her from the rest of the graves.
“As penance for taking my life, I had to dedicate 100 years of my afterlife to help the people of Zichron Yaakov.”
“So you have been helping the people of this town for what” Ariyah quickly did the maths in her head, “about 83 years now?”
Sarah the ghost nodded. “Yes, that is right. Mostly I have acted as a muse, quietly whispering advice and inspiration in their ears. Others I have warned of danger and potential accidents by blowing cold air down their backs to give them a good scare. And in a few rare cases I have showed up in person to point people into new directions.”
“Do they listen to your advice?”
“Some do, some don’t. I am just the messenger. In the end everyone has to take their own path in life. Just as I had done that day that I decided to shoot myself instead of betraying my friends.”
Ariyah nodded her head in understanding and then asked quietly. “And for me? Did you came here today to show me a new direction?”
“Yes Ariyah, I have. Deep down in your heart you know that you are not supposed to be a tour guide for the rest of your life.”
Sudden tears filled Ariyah’s eyes. “I DO know that!” she cried in frustration,” I just do not know what else I should with my life! You sound just like my family!! Aren’t you supposed to tell me what I should do?”
“Hush dear, do not cry.” Sarah pressed a hand-embroidered handkerchief made of the softest lined into the crying woman’s hands.”Dry your eyes, you need to see what I want to show you. And hurry, we do not have much time.”
Ariyah quickly dried her tears with the soft hankie and then looked expectantly at the Sarah. She had started to become transparent and to look more and more like a real ghost.
“Look down at your feet, Ariyah.”
She obediently looked down and suddenly noticed a dirtied pamphlet lying on the ground next to her that she had not noticed before. She bent down and picked it up. It was an invitation for a open day at the Tel Chai university.
She frowned and showed the pamphlet to Sarah who has become barely visible by now. “This? This cannot be the message?”
“My brother always said that this town that is surrounded by farmlands and overlooks the sea is bound to inspire more people to become biologists. I have to go now. I am not supposed to show myself again to you, but please try and meet me here again in exactly one year.”
And with that Sarah the ghost was gone.
‘Well that was really weird’ Ariyah thought to herself ‘extremely weird and not helpful at all.’ But she placed the pamphlet carefully in her handbag before she hurried back to meet her tour group.
— — -
Exactly one year later.
Ariyah waited at the secret place that Sarah had shown her the previous year. She was early (as always) and quite nervous that the ghost would not be able to show up again. She hoped though with all her heart that Sarah would come. There is just so much to tell her.
And then, as if an entire year had not passed, Sarah Aaronsohn’ ghost was sitting again next to her wearing the same clothes that she had on the previous year. The two women hugged warmly though Sarah felt a bit less solid than she did the previous year when she pulled Ariyah through the street.
“Tell me everything that happened. We only have five minutes.”
“I went to Tel Hai and enrolled in the botany classes and I really like it and I am the best student in the class and my family are really happy with me and my granny even bought me a car and thank you so much, this is the best thing that happened to me.
“And the red dress?”
Ariyah laughed, “I still have it but I only wear it to parties now.”
Sarah smiled and her lovely brown eyes twinkled. “I am so happy to hear that you have found your path. I am sorry that I cannot stay any longer. I will try and meet you again in a year’s time but I probably will not be able to see you again.” And then, as suddenly as she had arrived, she was gone again.
— — — -
It is the fourth year that Ariyah is waiting again for Sarah in their secret place. All the other years the ghost did not show up even though Ariyah waited for nearly two hours every time.
She was an MA candidate now, specializing in plant genetics. Her father, one of the well-known wine growers of the area wants her to work on new vineyard cultivars but she has always been fascinated with the ancient wheat species of the Middle East. Just like Sarah’s brother Aaron Aaronsohn.
After an hour she gave up hope meeting Sarah again this year but stood up to leave, the ghost suddenly sat next to her. She was barely visible but still grabbed both of Ariyah’s hands in hers.
“Please tell me that you are happy Ariyah?”
“I AM happy Sarah, thank you so much. I have learned so much and I really think that I can make a difference in the world now.”
“I am so glad to hear that. I often wonder if the messages that I pass along are really meant to be. So often people choose not to listen to my words.”
“Well, I for one, am really glad that you have done so. Will I ever see you again?”
“No, Ariyah, this is our last in-flesh meeting.”
Ariyah looked at her sadly.
Sarah sighed and said, “Yes, I know. I love seeing you also but I have already broken too many of the rules.” The two did not say anything for a moment but then Sarah sat upright and grabbed Ariyah by the shoulder.
“I am not allowed to see or to contact you again, but you can contact me!”
“Eh…that is great! But how will I do that?”
“You can leave photos and short messages for me here. Here in our secret place. Once a year. Oh please say that you will do that for me Ariyah. I really want to see what is going on with your live. The messengers are not usually told the outcome of these meetings.”
Ariyah nodded even as she noticed that Sarah is slowly starting to fray away from her feet up.
“Goodbye my friend, we will not meet again in your living lifetime. Oh, and one more thing, Aaron asks why are the modern wheat is causing so many gluten allergies.” and then she was gone.
Ariyah walked slowly to her parked car, her head filled with Sarah’s words. She unlocked the car door, got in and started to drive to her parents’ house for a visit. She lived now in Rehovot, near the Weizmann institute but took the time to see her family whenever she came to Zichron.
Every year, on the very same date that she first met Sarah, she started to leave her notes and photos about the milestones of her life on their bench. She left her a copy of her PhD thesis and other wheat genetics papers that she has written over the years, photos of her marriage, the birth of her children and holiday photos.
Ariyah would leave these little mementoes on their bench for a day or two and then collect them again. They were not moved in any way but she still got a strong feeling that Sarah studied them carefully and was happy to see each and every one of them.
In 2017 Ariyah received the Israel prize for her work on the genetics of the ancient wheat of the Middle East and how their gluten genes can be re-modified to prevent obesity and gluten sensitivity. She left a short newspaper clipping of the event for Sarah on their secret bench. The next day when she came to collect the clipping, it was gone but in its place was a small old-fashioned shoe button. Ariyah picked up the button and smiled sadly.
She knew that she would not have to leave any more messages for Sarah. The hundred years were over.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Links to my other Zichron Yaakov stories:
1885: The Rescue
1900: The Girl who could Fly
1940: The Yemen cobbler’s son
1980: Simson and the sheep
