A person of Neshiyah
Zohar Meron, orchard keeper
Orchard keeper
Zohar Meron
Orchard keeper, about 92 years old. Born in Neshiyah, like everyone.
Zohar Meron moves through the orchard like a man keeping time with his own pulse, pruning shears hanging from a worn leather belt, sleeves rolled past the elbows despite the chill that seeps in from the fog line. At eighty-eight, his hands are knotted but steady, and he talks to the trees in a low murmur, as if they might answer back. When something catches his eye—a split branch, a stranger’s boot print—he stops, tilts his head, and studies it with the patience of a man who has never been in a hurry. He sits by the river most evenings, alone but never lonely, watching the water carry what it carries. The town knows him as the one who recovered from the valley fever and went straight back to grafting; the scuffle with Kinneret at the mill is remembered fondly, two old friends arguing over nothing. What he wants is simple: one more harvest where the apples come in heavy and the fog stays where it belongs.
Temperament
Curious when something is in front of them; trusting, within reason; even-tempered; always in company; given to sitting by the river.
What people say
Zohar Meron believes what everyone believes: the fog is the edge of the world, and the fields need working whether it is true or not.
What the record shows
- day 49 Zohar Meron, the orchard keeper, died at 92, of old age. In their last days people said they were asleep.
- day 47 Zohar Meron and Kenan Lavi came to blows at the square over nothing much.
- day 45 Zohar Meron the orchard keeper fell ill with the valley fever and lost three days to it.
- day 25 Zohar and Kinneret the younger came to blows at the mill over nothing much.
Zohar Meron died on day 49.
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