“I have been able to detect what was written… some of it. I am still translating. It is definitely Hebrew, this I know,” Masao said, pausing a moment to sip on his water.
“But it will take much time to make sure everything is true to word; it is like this: words are containers, and when it is a language you do not speak and read every day, that container is like a golem. It is unformed; you must shape it with what knowledge you have. You have to tease the words to come together, to form something truthful and right.”
“Hmmm,” Jason said. “Well, thank you for at least trying; for letting us know how it’s going. I realize it pulls away from your time with other activities.”
He glanced down at his phone, checking the time.
Where’s Edward? He should have been here by now, he thought, holding a finger up to Masao, signaling that he was going to make a call. He pressed the three key and waited for the call to connect, taking a sip of water as it began to ring. By the fourth ring, Edward finally answered.
“I know I’m running late; I realize that. I just looked at the time about twenty minutes ago, and I’m on the way. Give me about…” he paused. “Give me ten more minutes, please. My apologies to you both.”
“No worries; be safe getting here. There’ll still be pizza, and still be conversation,” Jason told him, trying not to chuckle. “I just know you’re so rarely late something had to have happened. Now I know. Must still be on vacation time in your head.”
This time, he did laugh, and Edward laughed with him. Masao smiled as he waited patiently, and soon, he and Jason were conversing once more as they awaited Edward’s arrival.
Their waiter – a somewhat balding older gentleman who looked like he ate a few too many pizzas, himself – approached to fill their water just as Edward slipped into the empty chair that remained.
“So, what all did I miss,” he asked once the waiter – whose tag read “Silas” – walked away again to retrieve some silverware, water, and a plate for him.
Jason and Masao exchanged looks a moment before Jason nodded at Masao, who spoke for them.
“I was telling Jason that the… written artifact in question is definitely Hebrew. It’s not fully deciphered yet, but I’m working on it as I can. The smaller one, I have been able to confirm the wording on. I was about to get to that when Jason called you. It reads, and I quote,” he said, pulling out a small blue-covered notebook from his shirt pocket and leafing through it for a few pages before landing on the page he was seeking. ““Timothy, son of Zorba and Eunice, grandson of Aghazar and Lois, disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, the one true Son of God, speaker of His truth and co-worker in His kingdom, maker of mirrors,”” he read in a low voice, so that he would, hopefully, not be overheard.
Jason bolted upright as Masao read, and Edward seemingly stared off into space.
Was Masao saying what Jason thought he was saying? There was just no way that…. It couldn’t possibly be implying that Timothy, who had worked with Paul and various other apostles, was the one who…?
It was impossible!
But then again, so were many things he’d experienced or encountered, including Edward’s presence, itself.
Edward waited to speak until after his heart calmed down. Had Masao just said that the maker of his mirror was Timothy – THE Timothy – from the Bible? There was no way!
Was there?
As he reached for one of the remaining slices of pineapple, pepperoni and green pepper pizza, Edward thought over his life; flashes of the impossible he had lived through raced like lightning through his mind.
Nothing is impossible… not even this, he thought, if I’ve lived through what I have and am still here to share. But… this is so surreal. This is a lot more than simply stepping through a… but, no, that was just as impossible. But how could…?
As he ate his pizza in silence, thankful that the others were giving him time to process – and were likely still processing, themselves – Edward tried to imagine the life Timothy would have led. There were names now – more names than the Bible itself shared – but other than that, and the admission of being a mirror-maker, what was there that was new? Aside from the thought of someone he’d actually heard of being, quite possibly, the man who had created the very mirror he had stepped through.
But what of that?
How could the mirror be that old, and, if Timothy was the one who had lovingly handcrafted the piece, how was it that there was this mysterious power behind it? Hadn’t the man been, essentially, the equivalent of a pastor or preacher? Possibly an evangelist, as well, in some ways?
Edward had always looked at him through the words of Paul; he’d figured that, as someone that was Paul’s spiritual son, he’d done similar work and may have become a tent-maker in order to stay near the man when God allowed them to speak in the same place. That Timothy made mirrors, instead, would seem to imply that either he stayed longer in one place, or that he didn’t adopt the occupation until he was able to stay with one congregation.
He paused to sip some water, continuing to think.
If he was honest with himself, he would have to say he’d always seen Timothy as an early type of John Wesley meets Billy Sunday. Not that he necessarily shared the same exact theology as either – after all, they were around so much later than he – but the gifts and scopes of their ministries seemed to echo his idea of those Timothy had possessed.
John Wesley, whose lifetime overlapped that of Edward’s own family, and would have, his, had he not stepped through the mirror; Billy Sunday, whose lifetime overlapped with that of Rose… though more so with the family she left behind on the other side of the mirror.
And Timothy… ironic that the same mirror, somehow, connected He, Rose, and Rosemary to him, and thereby to Paul, and thereby to Jesus Himself.
Masao cleared his throat, and Edward brought his attention back to the situation at hand; the conversation in progress.
“Anyway, so far, that is the only thing which is verifiable; as I told Jason before you showed up,” he said, pointing an elbow in the man’s direction, “the other is much longer and I want to make sure it is accurate before I say anything about it. I have a few words throughout understood, for sure, but not the whole. It may take several months to accomplish,” he said.
“So, Edward,” Masao turned directly toward him. “I understand you read the letter from Mary and found some rather… interesting news, as well?”
“I did. And I actually… I brought it; it’s in the car. I don’t know exactly how to handle it all, but it has certainly been… enlightening. I wanted to read it to you guys and see what you thought about it,” he responded as he grabbed a second slice of pizza. “Once we’re through eating, of course,” he said holding up an oily hand. “Sure wouldn’t be advantageous to get grease stains on it.”
Six
“Alright, so here we go…”
Edward popped open the glove box and pulled out the carefully folded bag containing Mary’s letter as he, Jason, and Masao settled into his now-outdated but still quite usable SUV.
“It’s really quite… well, to be honest, it really rocked things for me. I… I waited to read it when we got to our destination, terrified that I wouldn’t leave; I was right. I’d have stayed stuck trying to figure out what she was telling me. I mean, I knew, but I just…” He shrugged his shoulders, even as Jason went to pat him, and it knocked the man’s hand away.
“Want me to read it, or do you-“
“I got it, Jason, thanks,” he interrupted.” I know you can read Italian, but, no offense, your French sucks,” he said, trying to lighten the mood with a few moments of laughter, and Masao and Jason joined in. He carefully opened the bag up and slid the pages out.
With care, he untied the ribbon, placed it back in the bag resting in his lap, and unrolled the stationery. As before, the scent of age and wood wafted toward him as he did.
“Well, here goes… something,” he muttered, more to himself than to them.
Thankfully, there was enough privacy that there shouldn’t be a problem. He’d already turned his phone all the way down to silent and asked his listeners to do the same prior to getting into the vehicle.
Mon Cher Edward,
I pray you are well and still living. And as much as that, I pray you are the one that finds this note… you, or someone who loves you.
We received the packet you – or someone on your behalf, perhaps? – sent to us. By the grace of Mother Mary and her Son, and the Father, I pray you are well. I pray that you made it through your… hmmm. How to put it? Through your time of trial and testing.
I have enclosed proof in another drawer, since I was able to find two. Par conséquent, je prie afin que vous avez trouvé cette... photographie, comme vous l'appelez. It is on the left wing – is it a wing? - toward the middle.
And Edward, oh, Edward, there is so much to say and so little time. The mirror is in the process of being sold to a man who lives in Perpignan; a man who is young and kind and seems to be quite intelligent, if a bit… comment puis-je le dire? – a bit… less mature than his age in some ways. He has a young heart, I think.
But enough of that now, since I have little room to write.
I have learned some things from your Father… some things about your mother, and her family. Things that I believe it is only right for you to know about. And so, I pray that the Blessed Mother and her Son will help you to understand what I unfold for you… as I am not as well with words as I wish to be.
Il m'a dit, avec beaucoup de réticence, que Astrid la grand-mère, Roisin, aurait aimé que vous. Il dit que les deux parents étaient morts avant que vous êtes nés, mais que son beau-père gardait son et remariées. Lorsqu'il est décédé, que les nouveaux parents continuent de s'occuper d'elle. La femme vous aurait connu sous le nom de votre grand-mère ... son nom était de Madame Hulda.
Votre mère l'histoire de la famille est tout aussi compliquée que votre père's. Peut-être même plus. Astrid was the daughter of Sven and Marit. And it is my understanding that Marit died when Astrid was a young child; seven or eight. In order to keep the family together – Astrid, her five brothers, her sister, who was a baby at the time, and their father – Sven remarried within three months of Marit’s passing.
Things were difficult, and times called for a woman to be in the home. Hulda became Astrid’s mother, for the purposes of the eyes of Sweden. But Sven became ill less than two years later… and when he died, it left Hulda with five children she had accepted, but one she was about to bear, as well. She, too, remarried quickly. It was the thing to do. And the man she married was named Randolph.
Vous pouvez donc voir, Edward, vous avez été nommé pour les gens des deux côtés de votre famille, et ce pour une bonne raison. Je ne sais pas autre chose que ce que vous pourriez le faire. Your father believes that Astrid’s siblings’ names were – I do not know who may still be alive, nor did he ever reveal a last name to me – Johan, Henrik, Kevin, Fredrik, Edvin, and Elsa. I know that Hulda’s child was a girl named Agatha… they called her Agda for short.
She, Johan, and Fredrik, along with your mother, worked for Lucy. This part, you already know, oui? That your mother worked for the woman who bore your older brother?
Such is life in these times, though things may be different for you now… wherever you are.
Quelle que soit l'heure et le lieu vous reste votre tête, je prie pour qu'il soit meilleur qu'un autre. Moins sévère; l'un où vos décisions viennent plus facilement et avec plus de liberté qu'elle l'a été pour nous. Il y a tellement plus à dire ... comme, j'aime toujours vous. Comme je suis désolé, mais votre coeur, il se casse sur moi ... mais je vois que vous avez trouvé un autre, et je lui en suis reconnaissant. J'ai cru que vous alliez être déchiré en deux à perpétuité, à cause de mes actions. Je souhaite garder mon voeu pour vous, pour se marier ... et pourtant, je n'ai pas.
It is not for me to pass the blame to anyone else, why I married your father instead of you. It cannot be changed, and I have had a good life, even though a strained marriage at times.
Nous avons tous à en payer, à un moment ou à un autre, pour les décisions que nous avons prises, bonne ou mauvaise ... et je crois que, en dépit de la douleur que je vous ai fait, mon mariage à votre père était censé être. Sinon, James Francis et Louisa Maria serait pas ici, et vos enfants n'y seraient pas, pas de votre mariage.
I do not know what the future holds, Edward, nor do I understand how the mirror became part of the legacy of this family, but I am thankful you have found someone to love. Someone who deserves you more than I ever did. And with that, knowing my paper is now gone, I bid you adieu from here and now to there and then.
Béni soit toujours et n'importe ce que peuvent venir...
Your,
Mary Beatrice
In the silence that followed, Edward rerolled the letter, placed the ribbon around it again, and placed it back in the bag, and into the glove compartment, which was nearly empty.
“And so… there you have it,” he told Masao and Jason, who were now watching him; Jason from the driver’s seat, and Masao in the seat behind him where he could meet his eyes in the mirror.
Were they watching because there were tears in his eyes, or because he was not sobbing and wailing? He knew reading the letter would be difficult, but he had prepared himself… he had sobbed the first time; there was no reason to do so, again.
As he had read, Masao had listened with eyes closed, and Jason, with his eyes off in the distance. This was something he had grown accustomed to from each of them, but rarely was he reading to them together.
“I did not understand it all, but the feeling,” Masao told him, “I believe I grasp. Much sadness as well as joy to be had, yes?”
“Yes. To know, all of a sudden, that I had five uncles and two aunts I had not heard of… and that some of my family was alive, and possibly living close by – not just Astrid’s husband, Rupert, who seems to have killed himself when I was a baby, but this… Roisin, and this… Hulda? That some of these aunts and uncles are people I could have met and never known it? It is… it’s a lot to take in,” Edward confessed. “I mean, there were a Johan and Fredrik in my father’s employ; they were footmen. Are these men I remember actually two of my uncles? Did they actually escort me places as a child?”
He paused, looking down at his hands for a few moments before continuing. How to say the rest of what was on his heart without there being too much tension, he wasn’t sure. Lord, give me the words, he prayed quickly.
“Not to mention Mary bringing up our promises to one another. That was so long ago, in more ways than one. When I read it the first time – even this time - it still jolts me some,” he told them quietly. “Why would she bring up some of this? If she is the second mother I remember, but also the woman I thought I loved – and I believe I did love her, in my own way – why throw in my face once more that she chose my father, unless she was feeling guilty, or as though there was more to explain?”
Jason cleared his throat, and Edward turned toward him. “Might I just…” The man hesitated; ran a hand through his hair and readjusted the glasses he’d recently begun to wear.
“By all means,” Edward said, now tired, exasperated, and feeling out of his element in his own vehicle.
“Do you recall when I said that Malik and I had found a source who had Mary’s journal?”
Edward nodded, his head beginning to pound.
“Well, perhaps I’m wrong, but I believe that when Malik was interpreting it, he read something about how one of her family members insisted she marry James in order to become queen, rather than you, because you would never be king, due to the status of your… well, your birth.”
At this, Edward’s eyes met his brother-in-law’s eyes.
He knew that his birth wasn’t a secret; the status of it… but were people really so fickle? The only person he could think of would have been her father… possibly her mother, but not as likely. B
ut who cares who it was, he thought. It altered both of our lives, and history, to boot.
In the silence, an understanding passed between them. Masao clasped him on the shoulder in solidarity, and it was a done deal.
The sun now setting, the men unfurled themselves from the SUV and said their goodnights. Edward watched as Masao pulled away and then, because he was still having some trouble with his eyesight, he followed Jason as far as the Rutherford house and then the last few blocks home on his own.
As he pulled into the driveway, Edward reflected on the new revelations Masao had brought to light, thanks to his interpretational skills in Hebrew.
Just wait until I tell Paloma, he thought. Gotta remember to make sure she’s sitting down for this one, and the kids are in bed. And then… I just want to sleep, he told himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt and waited a moment to see if his head would stop spinning.
When it didn’t, he simply made his way more carefully inside than usual, thankful to be home.
Seven
Paloma trembled as she waited for Edward to finish his shower and come speak with her about his day.
He looked more excited than she’d seen him in years, and it made her wonder what had happened… what Masao could have revealed that was so altering to his person that he smiled nearly as wide as he had been when they began their honeymoon – and most of the way through it.
She combed through her damp curls, trying to remove the tangles with her fingers and pick before braiding it with care. In the mirror, she paused to ponder her reflection, glad she had decided to buy something special during their vacation. As much as she loved creating clothing and lingerie, sometimes it was simpler to purchase something that fit well and accentuated her assets rather than wearing her own fashions all of the time, and this was one of those times.
Her face, once more of a heart shape, had rounded slightly with children and then, with stress and time. Her figure, while still curvaceous, was twenty pounds plumper than when she had married Edward. And, of course, most of it had gone the one place she hoped it wouldn’t – her hips and thighs – though Edward reassured her when she made the rare comment about it that it just gave him more of her to love and adore.
The Angels' Mirror Pack 2: Books Four through Seven Page 36
