CHAPTER 28 SURPRISE MEETING
Several weeks passed since I had arrived in Dothan. The poor and infirm made daily visits to Dr. Luke. Some men and women stopped by just to be encouraged. He worked tirelessly to help everyone. I was surprised I didn’t see Simon, the leper, when I made several deliveries to the leper colony. I feared he had died.
Later, Dr. Luke told me, “The traveling rabbi, Yeshua of Nazareth, healed Simon and nine others.”
“Did you see him do it?” I asked.
Dr. Luke shook his head. “I didn’t see him, but I heard. It was all anyone talked about for a few days. The lepers came from our colony.”
“Do you believe the rabbi healed him?”
Dr. Luke said, “I understand they had to appear before the priests before they could enter the temple. Simon was later seen thanking the rabbi and offering a gift. What is more striking is what the little boy of one of the healed lepers said.”
“What was that?”
Dr. Luke looked at his plate and stirred his food. “He said the rabbi was the long-awaited Messiah.”
I chuckled. “Children are very gullible.”
Dr. Luke furrowed his brow.
Did he really believe it might be possible?
“Suppose he is, Daniel?”
I shrugged. “What are the odds? What is the proof?”
Dr. Luke leaned back in his chair and crossed his leg. “Nevertheless, Simon is healed, as well as the others, and I don’t know how.”
“But you didn’t see Simon yourself, did you?”
Dr. Luke thought for a minute. “No, I didn’t. He began following Yeshua and sharing his healing with others. I expect him to stop by sometime in the future.” Dr. Luke laughed. “A healthy person has no need of a doctor.”
I agreed the rabbi was mysterious, but so was the ventriloquist. Israel had a long history of sorcerers, false prophets, and diviners. Even Israel’s prophets were not very popular with the people, although I never understood why. I suddenly realized how woefully lacking I was in understanding some of my Jewish history.
I leaned towards the doctor. “It’s been four hundred years since God has spoken to us. Why would God send someone now?”
Dr. Luke chewed on my question. “Why not?”
I swallowed hard. I held to my belief that while Yeshua may be a learned rabbi and a good man, that he had to be a false prophet.
“What about the Sanhedrin, Doctor Luke? Is there even one member out of the seventy that takes him seriously?”
Dr. Luke nodded. “Two. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.”
I swallowed hard again. “Oh, I didn’t know. Interesting.” I suddenly lost my appetite. I could debate this all day and come up with reasons to justify my doubt. Dr. Luke didn’t know about the suffering of the Jews for the next two thousand years. Wasn’t the Messiah supposed to restore Israel? And Yeshua seemed to spend most of his time attacking the religious leaders and not Rome.
Dr. Luke changed the subject. “I need to go into town today. Would you like to help me bring back the supplies?”
“Sure.”
“Great. We’ll leave as soon as I check and see what we need.”
An hour later we traveled into town. Dr. Luke was frequently stopped by people and he talked with anyone who passed us. Many were former patients. Some were just old time buddies.
I tapped Dr. Luke on the shoulder. “I’m going to stop by and say ‘hi’ to my sister. I won’t be gone long.”
Dr. Luke waved me on.
Martha’s bright smile greeted me. “Daniel, it’s so good to see you again.”
I leaned over and hugged her. We laughed and chitchatted about the past. Her business had taken off. “Do you know of anyone who would like a job?” she asked.
I thought about the women I knew. I shook my head. “Maybe I could help you out occasionally,” I suggested.
“Like you know anything about women’s clothing and accessories,” she laughed. “When do you start medical school?”
“Soon. I’ve been saving my money.”
Martha smiled. “Good for you.”
She leaned over the counter and whispered to me. “Daniel, I want to tell you something.”
What was all the secrecy? “What’s that?”
“Do you remember Abbey, my good friend, who had been sick for many years?
I searched my memory for a friend of Martha’s from my time, but I couldn’t place her.
“She was healed.”
“That’s great. Is it a secret that you should whisper it?”
“Daniel, have you heard about the rabbi from Nazareth? People are calling him a miracle worker, a great prophet.”
My muscles tensed. “Yes, I’ve heard about him.”
Martha whispered, “He healed her.”
“What was wrong with her?”
Martha looked embarrassed. “She had female issues. Bleeding. That’s why she never married. She couldn’t go to the temple because she was always—unclean. Couldn’t be around men in that condition. She felt ostracized. She might as well have been a leper. Poor woman. She’d been to every doctor and spent all of her money.”
“So what happened?”
“The last time she was in town, I told her to go see Doctor Luke. I knew he wouldn’t charge her. Doctor Luke told her about Yeshua from Nazareth. She went to see him—had to fight the crowds to get near him and managed to touch his robe. That’s all it took, just touching his robe. Can you believe it?”
“Sounds like a miracle,” I heard myself saying.
“Yes.” Martha’s eyes sparkled.
“Who do you believe he is?” I asked.
Martha shook her head. “I don’t know. I want to meet him. Maybe he’ll be in Jerusalem at Passover.”
“Yes, maybe.”
All the talk about the Jewish rabbi and Messianic claims overwhelmed me. “I must be going. It’s good to see you.”
We embraced. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Don’t stay gone so long next time,” Martha chided me.
I found the supplies Dr. Luke wanted and rejoined him a short time later. I hoped I didn’t hear another word about Yeshua from Nazareth for a few days.
We were almost to Jacob’s Inn when I noticed a familiar face.
“Shale!” I rushed over. “I had a strange feeling I would see you again.”
Shale was upbeat, though tired from the journey. Baruch stood behind her. I imagined it was a much quicker journey on a donkey than on foot, but still a long one. I focused my eyes on her face. Did she bring me good news?
Dr. Luke walked up. “Should I know your friend?”
I smiled. “Doctor, this is my friend, Shale, the daughter of Brutus, son of Dirk.”
Dr. Luke tipped his head. “How is your brother?”
Shale pounced on his question. “Oh, Doctor Luke, he needs Daniel to return.”
Dr. Luke looked concerned. “Is he sick?”
Shale shook her head. “No, he’s fine. He misses Daniel terribly.”
Dr. Luke turned to me.
I wasn’t sure what to say.
The doctor reached over and rubbed my shoulder. “The young lady has traveled a long way on behalf of Brutus’s son. You should accompany her back and check on Nathan. The work here will wait until you can return.”
Did I want to go back and deal with Scylla and Judd? Only a couple of months had passed. Shale and Judd would be engaged soon.
I nodded. “Yes, Doctor Luke. Of course.”
“Give my best to Brutus when you see him.”
Shale smiled. “Yes. I will.”
Once Dr. Luke had left, I glared at Shale. Some things weren’t fixable—things that were written and sealed long ago. Could we alter our future? I didn’t want to bargain with fate. I feared I had already bargained with the devil.
Shale interrupted my thoughts. “You can’t leave like that, Daniel. Nathan needs you.”
I snapped. “I was fired. Doctor L
uke doesn’t know it.”
“Who fired you?”
“Shale, you know Scylla fired me. You think I would have left on my own?”
“She can’t fire you,” Shale insisted.
I rocked on my heels. “That woman can do whatever she wants.”
“She’s not my mother.”
“She’s not my mother either, but that doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want.”
By now I was yelling and people were staring. A couple of nosy eavesdroppers were listening.
“Let’s go around to the back. We can sit at the table and talk.” I motioned for Shale to follow me.
A few minutes later we sat across from each other as if we were strangers. I didn’t know how to break the tension. I couldn’t give Shale what she wanted.
“You shouldn’t have come.” I looked away to avoid Shale’s obvious pain. I hated myself for sounding so insensitive.
“You’re treating me rudely.”
She didn’t have to tell me. What was I becoming? I wasn’t being the person I wanted to be. Shale reached over to touch my arm and I flinched.
She bit her lip and tears welled up in her eyes. “Fine. Be that way, while Nathan sits in Nazareth crying his heart out because you’re gone and he has no one who understands him, let alone that he can talk to.”
“I can’t do anything more for Nathan. I taught him how to read and he can write messages.”
Shale shook her head. “Guys are all alike—jerks. I thought you were different. It must be that other woman.”
I laughed. “Woman? What other woman?”
Shale rolled her eyes. “The one I saw you with when I came into town. You know who I’m talking about.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”
Shale scrunched up the cloth of her dress with her hand over her chest. “I bought this from her when I first arrived from the garden. Martha, she sells feminine things—perfume and such. She has her own booth in town.”
I stopped. “You mean my sister?”
Shale stared. “That’s your sister—Martha? The one you were having a lively conversation with earlier today? The one you hugged?”
I chuckled. “That’s my sister. Back home in my dimension, she runs her own apparel store. Here she does the same thing, though on a much smaller scale. She’s my only family here—at least that I have met, except for Mari, though I don’t know what our relationship is.”
Shale repeated herself. “Martha is your sister?”
I nodded. “Seriously.”
Shale’s demeanor changed and her face turned red. “I feel foolish.”
I wished we could start this whole conversation over.
“Shale, the real reason I left isn’t because I’m madly in love with another woman, as you’re supposing. When Scylla told me about the betrothal for you to marry Judd, it got complicated.”
Shale’s eyes searched my face. “How so?”
“You were given to Judd a long time ago. Judd told Scylla I shouldn’t be spending so much time with you, even though we were just friends.”
Shale remained silent.
“I was afraid I would disgrace you. You are to be betrothed to another man. I couldn’t justify it once Scylla told me of the impending marriage.”
Shale’s eyes flashed. “Are you crazy? I hate Judd, and he’s not even from my—world.”
I shrugged. “When you’re with the Romans, you do as the Romans do.”
Shale rolled her eyes. “What’s that’s supposed to mean?”
“It means you need to follow the rules.”
“Daniel—” Shale stopped midsentence.
“What?” I knew where this was going. I pushed my mind reading ability away. I didn’t want it anymore.
“The real reason I came for you is different. It wasn’t because you left me.”
“Why did you come?”
Shale bit her lip. “After you left, I took the animals on a short day trip over the hills. We ran into a man who lived in the cemetery, half-naked, full of demons and…”
“And?” I prompted her.
“Wait, let me back up. The reason we went out for the day was because Judd wasn’t feeding the animals. Lowly said he was starving.”
“Lowly the pig?”
“Yes. He wanted to go to another farm to get some food. There wasn’t any place nearby with pigs.”
I nodded.
“Later, a fishing boat pulled up. Cherios said one of the fishermen was the king that I told you about.”
I couldn’t believe she was telling me another story about the rabbi.
“The lunatic?”
“He’s not a lunatic,” Shale corrected.
I didn’t want to hear anything else about the prophet. “Keep going,” I urged her. “Get to your point.” I checked behind her to see if anyone was coming.
Shale was irritated at my inattention. “You talk about me being impatient. I traveled on the back of a donkey for hours to get here.”
I apologized. “Sorry.”
She continued. “The wild man ran straight towards the king—the fisherman. The look in the king’s eyes stopped him. Demons left the man and went into the pigs. Then the pigs stampeded into the lake and drowned.”
Out of all the stories I had heard, this one was the most bizarre. “You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes,” Shale said. “It’s true.”
I shook my head. “Shale, I’ve heard similar stories. Gossip travels fast here.”
Shale insisted. “It’s true.”
Who was this man? I couldn’t read his mind when I tried. I realized now I feared him. “So what does that have to do with me, or us?”
Shale reached out to me again, placing her hand on my arm. She traced her fingers along the top.
“I want to take Nathan to see the king. If he could heal that cemetery man, he could help Nathan speak.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Look,” she pleaded, “if the king healed Nathan, he could talk and be normal, right? He’s not stupid, is he?”
“No.” I leaned on the table, propping up my chin. I didn’t want to take him—not because I didn’t think he could heal Nathan, but because I was afraid.
“Nothing can heal Nathan. He’s been that way since birth.”
“What makes you think the king can’t heal him?”
“You saw something that you can’t explain, but who knows. Maybe the man wasn’t crazy. It could have been staged.”
Shale frowned. “He tried to attack me on the way over to the farm.”
“Maybe that was his test run.”
Shale bit her lower lip. “Why do you say such things?”
I shook my head that was now pounding. “Shale, that man you call the king, he’s no healer. He’s a charlatan. He’s nothing.”
Shale’s voice quivered. “Suppose you’re wrong? Are you going to abandon Nathan without trying?”
I didn’t know what to do. Even though I didn’t want the ventriloquist’s gift anymore, I didn’t know how to get rid of her influence. Her power was like poison to my soul. After the last encounter I hadn’t tried to read anyone’s mind. I didn’t want to do anything that would make her return.
The power was first given to me by God. Why was I so resistant to the things of God now—or this self-proclaimed rabbi? What if the rabbi could heal Nathan? And I loved Shale, even if I couldn’t marry her. Given the choice, would I do the right thing for her brother?
I stood and paced. I felt very small and alone. If only I could pray to God, but I had given up on prayer. Conflicting emotions made me indecisive. I felt like a man drowning. I cried out in spite of myself, “Please help me, God.”
No sooner had I said those four words than I felt immediate relief. I walked over to the table.
“All right, Shale. I’ll go back with you and find this healer, with one condition.”
Shale’s eyes popped open. “What’s that?”
“No one knows I’m
back. And once we’ve finished our task, proving to you he’s—a fraud, I’m coming back to Doctor Luke’s.”
Shale’s excitement waned now that I had agreed. “Do you hate me for doing this?”
“Do I hate you—for goodness’ sake, Shale, I don’t hate you. You’re—so persistent. Even if Judd hadn’t been chosen for you, I needed to leave.”
“How do you think I felt when I found out you were gone without saying goodbye?”
I met Shale’s eyes. “This was arranged long ago. I wanted to appease Scylla. I wish I knew what to do for Nathan.”
Shale smiled. “You will come back with me?”
“Yes, with the conditions I gave you.”
“Where will you stay?”
I laughed. “Out of sight. You need to find out where that lunatic and his friends are staying. It won’t be easy.”
A question popped into my head. “How did you get here? I mean what did you tell Scylla?”
“Nothing. I promised Judd a golden nugget for his help.”
“With gold? I won’t ask where that came from.”
She laughed. “I thought you could read my mind.”
I shifted my eyes away. I didn’t want to use the power again. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t. “I can, but I have to put effort into it. You didn’t steal it, did you?”
“Of course not,” Shale said indignantly.
If I didn’t tell her, she would question my ability. This would be the last time. I’d focused on her thoughts. Never again, I told myself. Now that Shale knew I was trying, she tried to block me—unsuccessfully.
“So you got it from the garden?”
Shale nodded.
“Kol Hakavod. Well done.” I was thankful that God revealed the answer to me, unexpectedly, but now Shale seemed distracted. “What are you thinking?”
Shale shrugged. “Nothing. I told Judd to tell Scylla I went to Jerusalem to search for my father. She won’t expect me back for a few days.”
I started making a mental checklist. “We’ll need to sneak Nathan out of the house. That won’t be easy. He never goes anywhere.”
“We have time, before Judd wants his golden nugget or thinks I’ve betrayed him.”
Seventh Dimension - The King - Book 2, A Young Adult Fantasy Page 12
