Following the Footsteps of the Lost Tribes

by Yossi Soika

  “I’m just studying the problem,” he whispered to me mockingly, “and now, follow me. Very soon the ring is going to remove itself from your hand, and then the two of you, including my clingy sister, are going remove yourselves from here and fly away beyond the horizon, because my time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle,

  A short walk brought us to an elevator, which we took to the ninth floor, and straight to a vast and spacious treatment room. After cleaning his hands with disinfectant he drew an electronic appliance out from a table drawer, and in a moment he had started to saw the ring.

  It didn’t take long until he glanced at the ring and muttered, “The hell with this– it’s not working.” Quickly, he put it back in the drawer and pulled out another one, just to carry on with his task. After a while he stopped for a moment and examined the ring from all sides. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with all of these damn tools. Normally they are excellent; they saw through any material – they are extraordinary saws with diamond blades! Come on. We need to take an X-ray so I know what I’m dealing with. You certainly need not worry – very soon it will fly off your hand, because I’m going to cut it so fast that it scatters, and very soon you, together with my dear sister, are going to leave, like a loving pair of butterflies, leaving me in peace. You are wasting my time on nonsense!

  The visit in the X-ray room was short.

  After taking two X-rays I was asked to wait outside in the corridor for the results, and very soon he appeared in the doorway and whispered, “Dan, I am terribly sorry. The X-ray didn’t work. Please come back and we’ll take another one.”

  I smiled at him and said almost laughing, “I hope I’m not wasting your precious time.”

  “Of course not. I really want to help. Please don’t be angry.”

  This time he took six X-rays. “Excellent… very well. I’m sure we are going to have good ones this time. Please wait and in a few minutes I’ll be finished with the work.”

  This time I had to wait longer, and still there was no trace of Joe in the doorway. It was only half an hour later that he appeared in the doorway, and in an apologetic tone he asked me to be patient for a little while longer. “I’ve got a problem here.”

  “What’s the problem? What’s going on?” asked Melanie. “Please tell me what the problem is?”

  “All I’m asking is for a little more patience. There is a problem here, and I must work it out quietly”.” Shortly afterward he approached us again and declared that indeed the problem was more challenging than he had imagined, and that the manager of the radiography unit was going out of his way to understand what was going on in the X-ray room.

  Half an hour passed and Joe appeared in the doorway, this time with the company of the X-ray manager, and both of them acknowledged that the problem was extremely challenging, while the latter added, “I’m afraid that the ring contains some sort of a radioactive matter, which may certainly interfere with the results. In all the X-rays we took we couldn’t see anything: neither the ring nor your finger. Do you understand what this means? It’s an absolute abnormal situation. It is so irrational that I found it appropriate to ask the help of Professor Schwanzino, and he’ll be here in a few minutes.

  “I don’t need Schwanzino. It’s not my problem. Au revoir and catch you later”.”

  Then, standing up immediately, I took Melanie’s hand and dragged her out of there.

  “Dan, Please don’t run away! The professor is on his way here!”

  But I strengthened my grip on Melanie’s hand, and both of us raced out to the descending elevator.

  The Surgery

  I drove slowly along the Hudson, and we were treated to lots of honking from the angry drivers that were mad at our crawling pace, but my ears were numb and heard nothing. Melanie stared at me with her blue eyes, slowly brushed her hair, and did not open her mouth for long time.

  “Do you understand, my darling, what happened at the hospital?” I disrupted the deafening silence. “”Perhaps now you can acknowledge the truth of what I’ve said?” I parked the car on the side of a spacious parking lot, soothingly turning my face toward her., “There are also a few things I want to tell you about the black ring, and after that, I shall add nothing on the topic”. I began my story.

  “”A few years ago I visited the Holy Land. It was such a compelling experience for me, one of a kind. Me and my old friend Sue, acquired a weird booklet, with details of an extraordinary creature that galloped among very distant planets, but, due to a fatal mishap with his spacecraft he was trapped for many years in our Milky Way Galaxy. Can you picture that to yourself right now, that a creature from outer space is wandering around on planet Earth?”

  “Dan, tell me the whole story, but please leave out the weird stuff about an alien who is visiting our planet right now – that all sounds to me like an imaginative, baseless tale.”

  “Melanie, please don’t interrupt me in telling my story: after you laughed at the story of my ring, now you had better listen carefully to what I have to say. My tale is so fascinating that you will be eager to know about it all, but I won’t tell it again.”

  “I really beg your pardon. Please go on with your freakish tale about a creepy alien.”

  I paused and wavered for a moment in the face of her blatant mockery, but I soon continued, “The booklet we bought turned out to be an age-old diary and a technological miracle. It wasn’t long until I realized that you couldn’t cut or burn the ancient booklet. And then, after trying to burn it, the door to my hotel room was blown off with an enormous blast; however I was astonished to discover that the leaflet remained intact—”

  “Dan,” Melanie interrupted, “you cannot continue with this bizarre story; you must tell me the truth.”

  “Melanie, if you wish to not hear the story of the ring, I will stop it on the spot and I will never again bring up the issue.”

  Melanie smiled in embarrassment and promised again to keep her mouth shut like a locked safe, but on the condition that I tell her the truth and not some weird stories. Again I felt empty-handed in the face of her cynicism, and I repeated my threat to stop talking about the ring. She raised her hands and asked for my forgiveness for the last time.

  “Aha,” I exclaimed impatiently, “this is the very last time you interrupt my words. Well, I was slightly injured during the terrible explosion of the diary; after being questioned by the frantic hotel manager, I was thrown out. The strange diary piqued my curiosity and soon afterwards I searched for the peddler who had sold me the booklet, in the lanes of the Old City of Jerusalem. Deep in my heart I had a feeling that something incredible was hidden beyond the shabby-looking diary. And truly, soon after finding the ancient diary, I found myself engaged in some mesmerizing and unbelievable adventures. This ring testifies to the truth of my words.

  “After a long search I found the peddler boy who had sold me the diary, and then I heard from his own mouth the hair-raising story about how the diary had come into his hands. “’A few weeks before your visit to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,’ he said, ‘a strange-looking man was seen strolling around the city streets, holding a black briefcase. He became the focus of the city thieves who plotted to steal the briefcase from his hands because they were dead sure that the briefcase, which was handcuffed to the man’s arm, contained something valuable. “No one would chain himself to a briefcase with handcuffs, if it wasn’t valuable”,” the thieves would whisper about him emphatically.

  “I spied on the thieves for a while and even witnessed them snatching the briefcase from the man’s hand, and saw how they ran like crazy to a hiding place in an abandoned building in the Old City. Unfortunately, the briefcase held nothing but the diary and a poisonous snake that bit to the King of Thieves who died on the spot. The sight of their dead leader made the thieves run away from the abandoned building. I too, from a close distance, was scared to death, but I recovered my
wits and I took advantage of their deranged escape, and cautiously entered their den. I carefully drew the briefcase from where it was, and there I saw the booklet and snake that was still attached to the hand of the King of Thieves. After I crushed the snake’s head, I picked up the strange-looking booklet and hastily left their hiding place. I hid the booklet for days until I sold it to you, sir”.’

  “And so the booklet began a series of adventures that involved the search for the man from whom the black briefcase had been stolen. Two of the questions I had were why the man had chained the briefcase to himself with handcuffs and why he kept a poisonous snake in it? But the really important question was what was he searching for in Jerusalem and what connection did it have to the old diary?

  “Shortly afterward, I was referred to Professor Alon, and I showed him the diary that was written in Biblical Hebrew script. The professor was very excited to see the diary and he quickly translated it into English. His only request was for me to introduce him to the owner of the diary.”” Finally, assisted by a family member of the young peddler, we spotted the man from whom diary had been stolen. The man who had been robbed was an exceptional man named Arthur Da Costa, a descendant of Marrano Jews who had immigrated to Jerusalem from Spain.

  “Arthur Da Costa was overwhelmed with joy to receive his stolen diary, but unfortunately we heard nothing from him about its mysteries. As soon as it was returned to him, Da Costa thanked us for our noble deed and immediately set off on his way. For Professor Alon and I it was a great disappointment.

  “I waited for days to meet the man who had kept this unique diary, but to my great dismay I didn’t learn a thing about it from him. All my questions about the weird diary and its fantastic stories about faraway worlds and about the Son of the Stars’ visit to Earth remained unanswered. However, I was very lucky and ran across Da Costa again during my visit to Masada. I only managed to really meet him after a long chase, and at this meeting he told me, for the first time, what the purpose of his visit to Jerusalem was.

  “After I had heard his marvelous and astonishing secret he put the black ring on my finger and said, “’From this moment on you will be wearing the Ring of the Secret”.’

  “That’s all good and fine, but I still don’t understand what the big secret is all about.”

  “Melanie, it’s clear that I only told you a tiny bit of my long story. I’m sorry but I can’t tell you more. The black ring is the key to the keeping of the secret. And this secret is also kept by Sue, my childhood friend.”

  Suddenly Melanie erupted with anger, “You have an old friend who also knows about your big secret, while I know nothing about it, so I’m not even your friend? Please tell me, where is your old friend now?”

  “Unfortunately, Sue moved to LA with her parents a few years ago, and we lost contact.”

  “Please, don’t take offense, but it all sounds like a fairytale, and I think you’re exaggerating at little. It’s true that your ring is a little bit odd, but that doesn’t mean that I have to buy the whole story. Can I read the translated version of the diary that you probably still have? I also really feel that my brother was exaggerating and built an impressive setting for the ring. I’m sure I’ll soon hear the whole truth about the ring.”

  “You’ll receive the translation of the diary tomorrow morning”.” I gave her my word.

  She was silent for a while and finally she said, “I am very tired. I’ve heard enough about the Ring of Silence, and now it’s time to go home.”

  That night at eleven o’clock Melanie called to inform me in an excited voice, “I must tell you something fantastic – my dear brother just called and asked to meet with you. He and Professor Schwanzino want to see you urgently! If you want, they will pay you. I believe their request means that they are really serious about it, and I am starting to believe that the ring is made of an unknown material.”

  “Melanie, I’m not willing to talk about it again and again – neither the ring nor X-raying it. Please stop all this talk. I’m simply exhausted and tired of all the annoying droning on about the ring, and about medical examinations, et cetera. Good night and see you tomorrow.”

  I was awoken at exactly seven o’clock in the morning by the loud sound of the doorbell.

  “Who is it?” I snarled angrily because my dreams had been abruptly ended. But the ringing didn’t stop.

  “Dan,” I heard Melanie’s voice at my bedroom window, “open the door please.”

  Confused and dazed I got out of bed and opened the door.

  “Good morning,” I heard her voice, and then without warning she pushed into the center of my room.

  “Dan, please don’t be mad at me. My brother, he woke me up early in the morning, and asked again to meet with you, even for a short time. The professor believes that the black ring radiates an extremely strong unknown energy.

  “And I’m only asking you to be kind and go back to the hospital for a short visit. You are a walking mystery to the professor and my brother. My brother will be happy to see you at the hospital at any time that’s good for you.”

  “Melanie, the secret of the ring is something I will never disclose; the ring was given to me after I visited a secret place. The ring ensures that no part of the great secret will ever be leaked.” I paused for a moment and started again, “This is the last time I’m going to let the ring be examined, and you, my dear, don’t ever ask me to do so again.”

  “Clearly understood,” Melanie answered, with a broad smile and a long kiss. After a quick breakfast I left with Melanie to go to the hospital. At eight-thirty we were at the gates, and we immediately called Joe’s office.

  “Mister Duke, I am so glad to see you. Please come up to my room. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

  “Melanie, yesterday your nice brother was going to throw us out and today we are his guests of honor.”

  When the elevator opened on the fifth floor we had a great surprise: Joe and the professor were waiting at the elevator for us, with big smiles all over their faces.

  The professor extended his hand and said, “–I’m pleased to meet such a special man! Naturally I’m anxious to know everything about you. I heard your incredible story, which I hope is true.”

  I glanced over at Melanie and said, “Funny how fast rumors spread.”

  He paused for an instant when I turned my gaze away from him and looked at Melanie, and then he quickly continued, “Mr. Duke, I’m honored to have you in our laboratory, the most advanced in the world, and you are going to be a very famous man. I imagine that we are going to solve the mystery in few weeks, but the challenge we have right now is to crack the secret of the black ring!”

  “I’m sorry professor. I’m not going to be here for weeks. I have many plans of my own, and I’m not going to waste my time here. I am also not very enthusiastic about serving as your guinea pig. So for the time being, sir, please excuse me, let me be on my way. I have no ambition to be famous, I am not sick, and don’t plan to donate myself to science.”

  “That’s just terrible!” the professor yelled vehemently, “You can’t do such an awful thing to us. We really want to remove the ring. Please give me your consent to do some tests, and we would reward you generously for that”.”

  “I will do your tests, but only for few hours. I don’t want any of your money, so please hurry up, before I change my mind again.”

  “Alright then,” the professor stated with obvious disappointment, “so be it. Let’s get to work!” The professor continued, “The man isn’t sick, and he has the full right not to be examined at all.” And after claiming that he gingerly took my arm in his and thus, arm-in-arm, we marched together like a bride and groom on their way down the aisle.

  Near a sizeable desk he stopped to talk to the receptionist, “Ms. Gurnischt, please register this gentleman according to our usual rules”.” The receptionist rushed to pull a tin
y mirror out of her bag, she glimpsed at her bleached hair, and applied a red thick layer of lipstick to her lips.

  “Professor, you’re looking great this morning! What else can I do for you?” she uttered coquettishly in a saccharine voice.

  “Can you see, my friend, the wonders a scalpel can work? Not long ago the lady was transparent, nobody saw her, and now – with only few slight changes she is blossoming and glowing. Strange people live in our world– born in the image of their parents, they die as cheap emulations of mannequins in shop windows. What’ do they find wrong with their parents’ images?” After completing his observation with amusement, he turned and marched quickly straight toward a bed in the corner of the room. “And now my friend, only a small shot, and we shall soon begin the tests.”

  Before I could say anything the professor injected something into my right arm. I wanted to ask what he had injected in me, but I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

  “What’s this? Where am I?” I uttered, rubbing my eyes. “Oh, I’m at the hospital. Where is Melanie? What’s the time? Three in the morning? It’s dark outside… why is this bandage on my finger?” I gently felt my finger. “Thank God, everything is fine. My finger is intact and there isn’t a problem. Lucky me, they didn’t operate on my finger,” I said with relief, and fell into a deep sleep again.

  “Good morning!” I heard Joe’s voice.

  “Morning”…” I muttered, half asleep. “Why is there a bandage on my finger? What have you done to it, exactly?”

  Joe cracked a brief smile and said, “Please don’t barrage me with questions, I’ll tell you exactly what happened. But let me first look at your finger for a bit, and maybe after that you can go home.”

  He carefully removed the bandage from my finger and exclaimed, in surprise, “I can’t believe my eyes! It’s incredible! Amazing! Will you please tell me – the ring – how did it come to be on your hand?”