The Scetis Valley
A short story
Deep in the Scetis Valley lived two sinners, where the demons whispered by night and solitude reigned by day. Their names were Euprepius and Theophilus. They hardly talked to each other and kept silent for days, months, and years, since Euprepius was especially not prone to talk to Theophilus.
Euprepius was looking into the East after the vigil. The mole-sized demons squeaked in their hurried retreat, threatening him that they could always return even during the day. He stepped on the smallest demon who was late to join its rank. It screamed in pain. “O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice,” exclaimed Euprepius.
Euprepius, however, had a strange sensation. All the other demons were laughing at him as they fled to the West. There had often been occasions where the demons would mock him, but this time it felt different. The next moment, Euprepius noticed that the smallest demon, hardly bigger than his big toe, was gone from under his heel. No trace of the demon was seen on the sand, and it was not hiding in Euprepius’ sackcloth either. He passed his hands over his chest, still looking for the demon.
A figure appeared, coming over a dune. It was Theophilus coming back from Ptolemais. Euprepius felt a strong urge to run towards Theophilus, embrace him, and tell him what had just happened so that Theophilus would pray for him. Then he discovered another figure next to Theophilus, slightly shorter than him.
Euprepius closed his eyes. He felt ashamed that he had been troubled and wanted to rely on a man of flesh and blood, though he may be a brother of his. “But I, as a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, have hoped in the mercy of God for ever, yea for ever and ever,” he said. Until Theophilus and the stranger were standing in front of him, he repeated “for ever and ever” so as to avoid seeing the world with both his outer and inner eyes.
“Glory to Jesus Christ,” Theophilus said.
“Glory to Him forever,” answered Euprepius, opening his eyes.
He accidentally made eye contact with a beautiful young girl. She was looking at Euprepius. When he had to go to Ptolemais and sell baskets to earn bread, he always looked down and never dared to see people’s faces. The town was a dangerous place where the world with all its might tried to conquer the soul of a hermit out of his refuge in the desert. Whenever he returned from Ptolemais, the demons would not allow him to pray in peace for days, showing him vivid images of the prostitutes’ ankles with clinking golden bracelets every night.
The scent of the girl’s rose perfume ran through Euprepius’ senses. It reminded him of Ptolemais' prostitutes and his past life of lust. He turned around, showing his back to them.
“Brother, this is Miriam. She needs a place to stay. She suggested that she could pray for us in return,” muttered Theophilus, “And forgive me, for I no longer have the bread. Miriam had to be well fed on the way, unlike us.”
Euprepius pondered for a long time before he could answer him. “Not in bread alone doth man live,” he spoke, prudently.
Euprepius’ words were met with an unexpected sound. It was a giggle from Miriam. He imagined that she would be sneering like other prostitutes when faced with the word of the Lord. Theophilus was too naïve to understand the girl’s intention. She would try to seduce them so that she could later boast about how she managed to lead two hermits astray and build a larger clientele.
“The Lord will provide. Let her leave.”
“But, but, brother, we are His members,” Theophilus stammered.
“Thus, we fly from the pollutions of the world.”
Theophilus hesitated. Euprepius had to present himself more upright.
“If you must stay with the girl, I shall move deeper into the desert alone, to stay closer to our Lord.”
It was then Miriam stood in front of him. She smiled. Euprepius quickly looked away.
“Tell me, Euprepius, do you think one must stay in the desert to get closer to our Lord?”
Euprepius imagined how much idle talks Theophilus must have engaged in with her that she even knew his name. “It was the Lord who called me into the desert,” he said, still looking away at the wilderness.
“Then I will earn the bread for both of you every day. You will not have to cease your prayer and go into the town.”
“You have already eaten all the bread that could last weeks for us, and you say that you can feed us?” Euprepius snapped. He felt as if Miriam had read his mind. What she said was something he longed for, and it was unpleasant that what he wished came out of her mouth. He sensed that he was losing his temper.
“Give me a basket, Euprepius. I will stay over the dune today. Tomorrow, I will bring back the basket with bread in it. If I keep my word, you will let me stay at your cave.”
“No, no! My cave is given to the Theotokos. I gave it to her! I cannot let anything unclean enter her cave!”
Miriam laughed again and turned her steps towards his cave. He tried to stop her, but he could not dare lay his hands on a woman. She gently pushed him aside, entered his cave, and came out with the biggest basket that he had been weaving.
Looking at Miriam becoming smaller as she walked away with the basket, Euprepius felt as if he had been dazed by a demon. He did not even notice that he was looking at her all the time. Her whole body seemed to radiate beauty which attracted his soul. Suddenly, he was scared to go into his cave, where she had been. The entrance of the cave still smelled strongly of roses.
Trembling in terror, he ran towards where thorn bushes grew. He took off his clothes and rolled among the bushes. “O Holy Theotokos, permit not my soul to see the torment of the demons prepared for sinners.” He continued to roll, cry, bleed, and pray.
When he returned, the dim moonlight was enough to let Theophilus notice the scar on his face. “Pray for me, brother, pray for me,” Euprepius panted. Theophilus nodded and hugged him, but a familiar sound grabbed his attention. It was the smallest demon screaming. Euprepius thought it was screaming in joy, as it succeeded in making him rely on a mere man and become attached to a sinful woman. He hurriedly shook off Theophilus’ embrace, and the demon was quiet again.
That night, Euprepius lay down on the sand, out of his cave. He did not see any demon but could feel someone watching him. He even heard two voices murmuring. What he could not see was more terrifying than the demons that he had been seeing at night.
The sun rose. Its scorching rays made Euprepius sweat. His sackcloth clung tight to his scar-ridden body. It burned. He stayed crouched over in pain until he saw two feet in front of his face.
“The Lord has provided,” Miriam said, putting down the basket on the ground. Theophilus was seen coming from the other side. He was holding a jar full of water, too full that he was spilling the water here and there.
“Now that we are three, I thought we would need more water,” Theophilus, sitting down, murmured as if he had to justify himself to Euprepius.
Euprepius watched Theophilus and Miriam share the bread without touching it. Theophilus simply thought that Euprepius was choosing not to break his fast, as was his custom. Euprepius ate only as much as it was necessary, and only when it was necessary.
“I am sorry we have no wine to go with the bread. We drink only water here,” Theophilus told Miriam. Miriam smiled without a word, and after finishing many pieces of bread, she went into Euprepius’ cave. There was no leftover bread in the basket.
Euprepius contemplated for a long time. He crossed himself and went to Theophilus’ cave. He had never entered his place before. It seemed that Theophilus had not been deep in his prayer, as he perceived Euprepius’ entrance right away and greeted him with a warm smile. This observation hardened Euprepius’ determination even more. Without any unnecessary words, Euprepius opened his mouth.
“Theophilus, this Miriam is possessed by a demon. The smallest demon, but a demon nonetheless.”
“My brother, I do not understand your words.”
“How far is Ptolemais from here?”
“A three-day walk away.”
“And she could bring bread to us overnight?”
Theophilus closed his eyes and thought for a while.
“Actually, I asked her the same thing yesterday when you were away. She said the Lord would provide. I believed, and she brought us the bread.”
“The demon has taken advantage of your simple belief, Theophilus!”
Theophilus neither confirmed nor denied what Euprepius said. However, even he was surprised when Miriam brought bread out of Euprepius’ cave the next morning, this time with wine. Both of them did not touch the bread at first, but when Miriam requested them to join in the eating, Theophilus gave in. Euprepius concluded that he had to do something fast.
The sun was sunk. Euprepius decided to stand in front of his cave all night and made Theophilus stay with him. Theophilus kept falling asleep, and Euprepius had to wake him up many times during the night. “Thou who didst show forth the ineffable Light, enlighten my darkness,” chanted Euprepius, fervently praying to the Theotokos that she may show him what he should see.
The night passed in silence. After he had given up keeping Theophilus awake, Euprepius heard two voices murmuring. Miriam came out of the cave with a young man. It was still before the break of dawn, and Euprepius could not see his face well. Nevertheless, even if the sun had been up and high, he would not have been able to look straight into the young man’s face. Men inflamed with lust had been bringing Miriam the bread in exchange for her body, and the abominable fornication had taken place in the very cave given to the Theotokos.
“Away, away you vile creatures!” Euprepius shrieked, shedding tears in anguish. He approached them in anger and grief. The carnal world he had left behind found him again in the middle of the desert.
Miriam looked into his eyes and smiled. She came a few steps forward. Then she laid her hands on Euprepius’ face and gave a kiss on his cheek. He smelled the roses and reeled from the shock.
“My Lord, and my God!” Euprepius turned around to find Theophilus on his knees. In front of him stood the young man, his face shining like the sun. The young man was standing with his back to Euprepius, and Theophilus seemed to dissolve into the bright light.
“My son, do you seek this vile creature?” The girl said. Euprepius recognized the smallest demon under her foot. “It screamed in fear when you asked your brother to pray for you.”
Euprepius fell to his knees. “O Theotokos, I, humbly beg you to pray for me, so that my pride will be crushed.”
The girl raised her head and looked at the young man. The young man turned around. Euprepius felt His meek gaze penetrate him.
Many years later, a rumor spread first in Ptolemais. It went on to reach Alexandria, Ephesus, and Constantinople. The rumor was that deep in the Scetis Valley, where the demons whispered by night and solitude reigned by day, lived two saints, and even the worst sinners would be welcomed and converted by them. There was an absurd part in the rumor, though. The rumor had it that the saints, despite their sinless lives, would always ask sinners to pray for them.
(2003 words)
This is my last story for GWC ‘24, judged by
and . It has been a wonderful journey to go through along with , , , and . I am honored and thankful to have been with them and all the readers. Thank you, everyone.Meanwhile, an expanded version of the 250-word story I had first written for GWC ‘24 was accepted to a magazine. This put me in a unique situation, as I could not expand my original story like others. Accordingly, I had to write a whole new story with an argument scene of 250 words in it. Below is the argument scene:
The scent of the girl’s rose perfume ran through Euprepius’ senses. It reminded him of Ptolemais' prostitutes and his past life of lust. He turned around, showing his back to them.
“Brother, this is Miriam. She needs a place to stay. She suggested that she could pray for us in return,” muttered Theophilus, “And forgive me, for I no longer have the bread. Miriam had to be well fed on the way, unlike us.”
Euprepius pondered for a long time before he could answer him. “Not in bread alone doth man live,” he spoke, prudently.
Euprepius’ words were met with an unexpected sound. It was a giggle from Miriam. He imagined that she would be sneering like other prostitutes when faced with the word of the Lord. Theophilus was too naïve to understand the girl’s intention. She would try to seduce them so that she could later boast about how she managed to lead two hermits astray and build a larger clientele.
“The Lord will provide. Let her leave.”
“But, but, brother, we are His members,” Theophilus stammered.
“Thus, we fly from the pollutions of the world.”
Theophilus hesitated. Euprepius had to present himself more upright.
“If you must stay with the girl, I shall move deeper into the desert alone, to stay closer to our Lord.”
It was then Miriam stood in front of him. She smiled. Euprepius quickly looked away.
“Tell me, Euprepius, do you think one must stay in the desert to get closer to our Lord?”
I feel kind of sad that GWC ‘24 is coming to an end. I wanted to take away the most I could from it, so I chose to write in a style that I seldom try before it ends.
Well, so long! Once again, I send you my affectionate gratitude.
If you enjoyed my work, you can buy me a cup of tea. I am not a coffee person, by the way.
Hyun Woo, your work always makes me sit down and think for a while. I don't think I've ever read fiction about the Desert Fathers, though it reads like a old retelling of an older legend and not modern fiction. This is such a complex and beautiful piece, transporting me not just to the setting but into the character's thoughts without any hesitation; I don't know how you do it.
Excellent. The story felt "prehistoric", or maybe "early historic" is a better term. Like a myth from the Mesopotamian kingdoms. And after seeing Eric's comment and looking up the Scetis Valley myself, I guess that makes sense. There were a few parts in the first third where I lost track of who was talking, but a quick reread solved that.
No idea why, but that bit in the middle about Miriam's radiant beauty reminded me of a line from Seneca: "A woman is not beautiful when her ankle or arm wins compliments, but when her total appearance diverts admiration from the individual parts of her body."