Anna leaned closer to the young mother, straining to hear her replies.
The week-old baby wailed. The lamb brought for sacrifice kept bleating. On the steps leading up from the Women's Court, Levites sang the Psalms of Ascent, strumming psalteries and harps. "The Lord hath done great things with us," they sang. "We are rejoiced!"
Anna's heart swelled at the familiar hymn. Eighty-four years could not dim the surge of devotion it aroused. And how appropriate the next psalm--
"As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!"
People crowded, noisier than usual. Close behind Anna, a voice rose above the hubbub. "My cousin, a shepherd... singing in the night... yes, just a week ago... angels, he said, can you believe it... born king of the Jews, the angels said... went to see for themselves... in a stable, no, really... simple folk from the country... nothing like a king... lying in a manger, of all places!"
The woman Anna was instructing gave a disdainful sniff. She wore fine-twined linen, dyed in brilliant shades, embroidered at the edges. Her elegant veil wafted in breezes stirred up by the shifting crowd, breezes scented by perfumes, incense and sweat.
"I wait for the Lord," sang the Levites. "My soul waits, and in His word do I hope."
Angels, speaking of a king of the Jews? The very hope Anna herself had been waiting for, all her life -- discovered at last? Her temple duty interrupted, she stammered, astounded at what she'd overheard. She drew breath, resumed her instructions for making the sacrifice to redeem a first-born son. Close by, a priest spoke with the husband.
The priests' trumpets blared. The baby, swaddled in sumptuous linen, bawled counterpoint with the lamb.
Then the noise scattered like chaff on the wind. Not gone. Still there. But Anna could hear through the tumult a soft voice several steps away.
"Two turtledoves for the sacrifice, all we could afford."
Anna broke off, gazed at another young mother, dressed in simple homespun wool. Her husband stood beside her as they spoke with a priest.
Another figure shouldered through the crowd. Anna recognized Simeon, nearly as old as she was. He reached for the new couple's baby, gently took the infant in his arms. Through the clamor, his voice quavered clearly in Anna's ears.
"Lord, now let me depart in peace, for my eyes have seen thy salvation! A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."
Anna's feet, all on their own, swept her to that small gathering, an island of stillness. "Praise God!" she cried, filled with a sudden deep joy.
A hush fell, expanding like rings from a stone dropped in water, broken only by awed whispers. "The prophetess speaks!"
"This child," Anna proclaimed, "come now to be redeemed according to the law -- ere long he will bring about the redemption of all who seek after the Lord!"
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