The Little Maiden is a first-time release by a new author, Regina Myers, that recently came to my attention. This work of historical fiction is set in the time of Ben-Hadad II who was king of Aram, Damascus, from 865 to 842 BC when Ahab was king in Samaria. War between these two states had been ongoing since before Ben-Hadad I. The Arameans hated the Hebrew peoples and even when major battles were not raging, a prosperous slave trade flourished as men filled with rage and greed kidnapped Jewish children from villages across the countryside for profit. Many of these children were under 12 years of age.

In the small village of Yazith, Meira, age 12, awakened from a nightmare to the sounds of her family’s household already at work with early morning chores. Meira’s nightmare had left her trembling from her attempt to escape a large strong man chasing her and then grabbing her by the arm as he looked down on her with an angry face. She moved slowly as she went to help with her chores but was unable to shake the fear and foreboding the nightmare had created. Her brothers were off to work in the fields while her older sister helped her mother in the kitchen with meals. They had all been up earlier than she as she made her way into the kitchen.

Meira was tasked with keeping an eye on her younger brother, 9, and sister,7, and to get water from the well nearby. Suddenly the peaceful morning shattered as she heard piercing cries and the sound of pounding hooves. Even though she could not see the riders she knew they were Aaramean raiders. In her fear she dropped her clay water jar as she scrambled to follow the crying sound. She soon recognized the cry was from her younger sister, Gila.

Meira knew the raiders were trying to kidnap her little sister and ran over the rocky hillside in her bare feet to try to rescue her from the raiders they all feared. She couldn’t wait on her father, brothers, or other men to hear the cries to come and help. Without thought she ran at the horse of the man she saw tossing her sister to another man and demanded he put her down. He laughed at her as they tossed her sister back and forth among the men. Then in that moment the man dropped her sister into the arms of their mother and he grabbed Meira instead as he recognized she could bring a better price than her little sister.

Helplessly her mother watched as Meira fought against these raiders, striking one of them with a shovel on his knee. But before she could strike again her arms were grabbed and held fast and she was thrown across the horse of one of the angry men as he galloped away with his men and the other children being taken (most under the age of 12).

Meira cried out to Jehovah to save her but it was no use, she was taken and helpless to escape. In moments she and the other kidnapped children were held fast by their captors bound for the slave market to see who could bring the highest price. Her fight had the leader of the group’s attention. Despite her slender frame, she was courageous in her fight to get free and he was aware this strong young slender girl was one he wanted for his very own household.

These opening scenes in The Little Maiden set the context for the story that unfolds of Meira’s captivity, the struggle to trust the God of her father who allowed this to happen while unaware of the unseen forces of good and evil at work in everything and everyone around her.

Despite the desperate situation we read in the beginning of the book, the author weaves a fascinating story of how Meira is confronted by trials that mean the faith and stories of her father must now become her own. Some of the characters such as Naaman, the Aram commander in Ben Haddad II’s army who had become a leper, and Elisha, the prophet, will be ones you may recognize. How the author connects these characters and how God uses all this in Meira’s life and the life of others who enter the story over her five-year separation from her family, caused me to keep the pages turning to discover what would happen next.

The uncommon names of men, women, children, towns, angels and demons are worth pushing through for this important story of faith in this writer’s first book that is currently available on Amazon. The author will leave you in suspense until the end of the story that will leave you cheering.