by Aiden James
“Well, I guess we need to find a way out of here.” I glanced back at the hole in the cave wall across from us. It was still shrinking, and at a rate that was quicker than I thought we could beat. My instincts told me that we’d find a solid wall of rock waiting for us by the time we reached the spot that still allowed the late afternoon sunlight inside this place. “Maybe one of the waterfalls will have an exit behind it that—”
“Oh, my God—watch out!” Amy shrunk back to where Alistair stood.
My son wrapped his arms around her protectively. If not for the knowing, peaceful smile upon Jeremy’s face, I would’ve whirled around defensively, expecting an attack from some new menace. But when I looked over my shoulder, I found Ophanim looking down at me.
Seeing an angel up close has always been a bit intimidating, and I’m sure most folks would feel the same way. Unless, I suppose, one was to hobnob with a creature like this on a daily basis. Standing a dozen feet tall with wings rising another four feet above his shoulders, Ophanim studied me, wearing a curious look upon his face. As I mentioned before, his incredible eyes could easily fool someone into thinking he favored them, and then find out all too late that it wasn’t the case at all. I worried he might fault us for what happened to the Tree of Life. Fortunately, when I glanced at the crystal tree, it was hard to detect where the wound from the rocket had been. The Tree of Life appeared to have healed itself!
“You must all leave here,” said the angel, his voice musical in its timbre. “Very soon, the place where you now stand will be no more. The garden must be protected, as it is Elohim’s will to do so. Jeremy can lead you out of here, as he knows the way. The magi—Zoran, Gaspar, and Balthasar will aid you from there. Go quickly!”
Before any of us could engage him in further conversation, Ophanim suddenly disappeared. It wasn’t until I felt the soft rumbling in the ground beneath my feet that I saw him again, flying toward the swirling sky colors far above us.
“Did you feel that?” Alistair was the first to voice a concern about what was happening beneath our feet. “It feels like the ground is moving. I say we get going now.”
Amy offered an emphatic head nod.
“I feel it too,” I said. “So, Jeremy, is it true what Ophanim just told us?”
“Yes...I know how to get out of here,” he said, pausing until a louder rumble passed. “Follow me!”
We moved back to where we first entered the cave, passing through the lovely gardens and the woods with resolute purpose. I noticed the panther from earlier, high up in another tree. With the ever increasing disturbances in the earth below, if it had any interest in pursuing us earlier, it had none now. In fact, all of the deer-like critters were absent, and other than a few birds that had returned, the area ahead of us was deserted.
“I think we should pick up the pace a bit,” I said, once we reached the meadow.
The ground around us was rising, and I saw cracks in the earth beneath the weird grass. At the same time, small explosions had begun along the stream near the wooded area. Looking over my shoulder, I saw deep orange patches where lava had surfaced from far below the earth. It was just a matter of time before the entire cave floor collapsed into a fiery abyss.
“On second thought, I believe we should skip the lollygagging and start running!”
“I think Pops is right!” said Alistair, anxiously looking around him. More cracks were forming in the ground. “Where is the exit that Ophanim referred to, Jeremy?”
“It’s just up ahead!” He pointed to a clump of trees just past the stone chute we took to get there. “The exit is beyond the trees.... Look for the iron door!”
“What?! You’re saying this place can be accessed by a frigging medieval door?”
I couldn’t believe my ears, though it wasn’t an opportune time to question anything. Especially since another part of the cave floor fell away less than a hundred yards to our right. We wouldn’t have much longer to escape this place before the ground completely gave way beneath us.
“Pops, stop it!” Alistair shouted at me. “Just run!!”
The kid was right. Or, I should say the old kid still had it in him. He gave a hearty push to Amy and Jeremy, and we ran as fast as our legs could carry us to the trees while the earth around us began to give way in huge chunks. The door was there—just as Jeremy said it would be. Not quite medieval, which Alistair was quick to point out later on, once we were safe and sound again.
For a moment, I thought the heavy door might be locked, since it wouldn’t budge. But after Jeremy and I applied all of our might, with Alistair and Amy adding the final pushes to get it to move, we slipped into the passageway behind it.
A slight coolness greeted us, and it felt like a breeze moved through the tunnel—a noticeable contrast to the heated and now fiery world behind us. As we moved down the passageway, a massive crash announced that the entire cave floor behind us collapsed deep into the earth. The disruption almost landed us all on our asses. Keeping our feet became tenuous. If nothing else, the splashing lava behind us provided enough light to see where we were going...at least for a moment.
“How far do we have to go to get out of here?” Amy sounded fearful. New rumbles resounded under our feet, and a sudden turn in the tunnel left us in near darkness. “It can’t be that far away, can it?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re almost there,” said Jeremy, still leading the way.
Amy grabbed onto his shirt, and Alistair held onto her waist as they moved along. Me? I followed close behind, not near as freaked out by the lack of light. I remember chuckling to myself at how spoiled we’d become in modern society, as less than two hundred years ago, dim passageways were the norm. One had no choice but to develop skills to get around in such places.
“Pretty sure?!” retorted Amy. Her fear was escalating, made worse by the tremors in the passageway’s floor, as if it might buckle and collapse at any moment.
“Yes, we should reach the stairs that lead out of here in a moment,” said Jeremy. “They should be—oww!”
“Oww what?!” shrieked Amy.
She had finally reached her breaking point after all she had endured the past few days. Luckily for us all, the cry of pain came from Jeremy hitting his shin against the first step to freedom. Once we realized what had happened, we quickly lined up along the right wall and began our ascent up the spiral staircase in darkness. The earth continued to rumble below us, and for a few minutes, it did seem like we’d never make it to the earth’s surface. Especially when lava seeped through cracks in the floor far below us.
But then the staircase suddenly ended, and we stood in a circular room. Sunlight seeped in through weathered slats in the wooden door to the lone exit to the outside world. I’d never been inside this particular place, yet it seemed familiar.
“Well, what in the hell are we waiting for now?” said Alistair. His irritation was almost as dire as Amy’s. “Let’s get out of here!”
Without waiting, he led the way. The door opened easily. We stepped outside to full daylight. I’m sure it never felt sweeter to my boy and his gal pal. Jeremy seemed hesitant, however, like he never wanted to leave the one place in the entire world that everyone fantasizes about.
All of us recognized the main dirt road we stood upon, as we had returned to the heart of the ‘town with no name’. And as I turned to look behind me, the strange, upside-down flowerpot building began to crumble. It, along with the hillside’s unpretentious gate that also was disintegrating, would soon be dust and rubble. No doubt, if the debris were ever cleared away, there would no longer be a passage that led to the Garden of Eden.
It seemed sadly fitting that the only viable way to reach the most famous earthly paradise was no more.
Chapter 20
As we stood in that dusty little town, I considered all of the folly Alistair and I had gone through since this misguided venture began. Yes, there were the treasures of new experiences to consider, and be thankful for. But, I felt incredibly disa
ppointed that a prime opportunity to collect one of my prized coins would be forsaken. In my mind, I pictured the only resolution that made sense: we needed to return home to America before anything else got jacked up.
Granted, my son had forged a wonderful bond with a gorgeous young woman whose vivacious presence definitely added some spice to his world. The fact that he was getting older only added to the importance of such an enhancement...so this was good. Plus, we had rescued her brother, Jeremy, from his self-imposed solitude in the most glorious place on earth. Yeah, that was me being cynical again.
In all honesty, I believe Jeremy will adapt quickly enough, and rejoining his sister in America appears to be a very good thing. My gut tells me that they’ll be fine.
So, it’s just me with the sour grapes...the regret of still being on the lookout for my silver coin number twenty-two. And, I had no doubt that this failed opportunity would stick with me much longer than I’d like—largely because I will always know that one of my coins is buried in Al-hauron. Of course, I’m sure there is somebody out there who will put the positive, half-glass-full spin on this by saying the damned thing will still be there when I finally get a chance to come back to Iran.
“So, I wonder where Zoran, Gaspar, and Balthazar are?”
Amy shielded her eyes from the sun as she calmly asked this question, while looking in all directions. She’s remarkably resilient, and appeared to have already made a strong recovery from her near-meltdown a short while earlier.
Nothing but dust and dried weeds rolling across the deserted road, the scene reminded me of the ghost towns in Midwestern America, where tumbleweeds and the whistling wind are all that remain of the 1800s gold and silver rushes. But unlike a sightseeing trip, we had two hungry people who hadn’t had anything to drink or eat in nearly eight hours. I hadn’t had anything since yesterday’s breakfast, which isn’t all that unusual for me. As for Jeremy, I couldn’t tell. Something suggested to me that he might’ve been sustained for weeks or even months at a time by the life force flowing through the garden where he had hidden out for much of the past year.
“Maybe we should start walking back to Tehran, relying on our faith to manifest the mule-driven cart I saw yesterday,” I suggested, not immediately realizing the sarcastic context of my statement.
“Pops, you don’t need to be such an ass about it!” Alistair moved over to Amy and affectionately rubbed her shoulder. “It will be dark soon, and I’d hate to have to camp out here in the Alborz wilderness without proper equipment, and without adequate food and supplies!”
Amy’s frown supported my son’s point of view. Only Jeremy seemed indifferent. I imagine he’s had to make do on many occasions before, being the esteemed archaeologist that he is.
“Sorry, kiddo. I’ll see if we can find a McDonalds so we can get you a ‘happy meal’,” I said, snickering wryly. He did have a point, since a glance at my wristwatch revealed the current local time in Tehran was 6:24 p.m. In about an hour, the evening sun would begin to slip behind the taller Alborz peaks. “In the meantime, I think it’s wisest not to hang out here waiting for a taxi to take us back to civilization.”
I didn’t wait for his response, turning my attention in the direction of the main road outside of town that would take us back to the highway. Not that I didn’t trust Ophanim’s advisement, but I held out hope that the Jeep would still be where we left it. Frankly, I was surprised that neither Amy nor Alistair had brought it up.
I heard Amy and Alistair grumbling behind me, which didn’t surprise me. Hearing Jeremy voice a question about Alistair’s and my real relationship did...at least a little. I expected the subject to come up at some point, and in truth, it was as good a time as any for Amy to fill him in on what she learned about me a few days earlier.
As we stepped through the gate that marked the town’s main entrance, she was just finishing the tale about my true identity and I must say she delivered it with aplomb and enthusiasm. Some of her comments were accentuated with cynical exaggeration for my benefit, I’m sure. I admire the lady’s spunk.
“So, you’re Judas Iscariot?” Jeremy’s tone bore a mixture of belief and suspicion. No doubt, the scientist within him pulled skeptically in one direction while the incredible world of angels and the Garden of Eden pulled him in another. “That would make you—”
“Two thousand and thirteen years, two months and twenty-three days young, to be exact,” I said, pretty damned sure that my interruption was spot on. I looked over my shoulder to give him an impish look, since I doubted he’d readily understand the depth of my dry sense of humor just yet. That’s when I noticed a dark vehicle speeding toward us from the other end of the village. “It looks like we’ve finally got some company.”
Everyone else turned to look where I pointed. Indeed, it looked like a black sedan, and I could see the Mercedes emblem glistening in the fading sunlight.
“I hope whoever is coming will be friendly to us,” said Amy, softly. She sounded worried again.
What she had gone through over the past few days would bring some tough moments for her. Despite her remarkable fortitude, no one goes through torture, especially the kind that is of a personal and sexual nature, and remains unscathed. I envisioned the same struggle for my son, despite his advanced age. Yet, for both, I prayed that the healing powers of the magical stream we had immersed ourselves in took care of more than physical ailments and injuries.
“I agree,” said Jeremy, cupping his hands above his eyes to shield his vision from the sun’s glare. “But something seems off about this....”
His words trailed off, and I heard a slight groan escape from Alistair. When I looked back toward the approaching car, all I could do was chuckle at the irony.
“It just figures,” I said, shaking my head, disgusted and at the same time amused. “I do believe this is our ride back to the city.”
Either Ophanim or the magi employed a rascally way of helping out. Before our very eyes, the beautiful black luxury vehicle somehow disappeared, and within the cloud of dust that pulled up in front of us was a beat-up old Volvo truck. I recognized the model from the late 1940s. The finish had long since peeled away, leaving traces of the original red pigment that back then might’ve glistened beautifully under a late afternoon sun—perhaps an even match for the Mercedes mirage from a moment ago. The engine backfired as the truck idled tiredly.
“I understand you need a ride,” said Zoran, lightheartedly through the driver’s side window. The two men from earlier were sitting with him on the front bench seat. At least we were beyond playing language games. “Climb up in the back of the truck and we’ll be on our way!”
It literally took me biting my lip to keep from making another wisecrack. Trust me, the absurdity of our situation and our mode of transportation begged for it. But I urged the others to join me in the back after Zoran and Jeremy traded pleasantries for a couple of minutes. Following what we had experienced during the past twelve hours, no one else broached the subject of how the late model luxury car became a dilapidated grain delivery truck.
“What are these for, I wonder?” Amy pointed to four robes laid out across from the short hay bales placed in the back for us to sit on. “I’m guessing these are for us?”
“Yes,” said Jeremy, picking up a black one that came with a veil. “This one is for you, and the others are for Alistair, Judas, and me.”
He shot me a playful look, and I nodded in kind. Leave it to the young scholar to ignore my alias in favor of my real name. That could make things interesting, and I briefly worried it might get us into trouble someday. But, for now it seemed okay, since everyone traveling in the truck knew who I was—including the mysterious three ‘magi’ riding in the cab.
Jeremy handed Alistair and me each a robe, being careful to follow some predetermined instructions as to who got what.
“Alistair is supposed to get the most colorful robe with the purple ghutra, since he is technically the oldest among us—an honorable achiev
ement among the traditional Persian people,” Jeremy explained. “You, Judas, will wear the dark blue robe with the black ghutra. That leaves the white robe and red ghutra for me.”
Jeremy motioned for us all to get dressed quickly,
“Why are we doing this? It seems like such an extravagance for where we’re going.... Hey, where are we going?”
Alistair sounded panicked as he looked anxiously at both sides of the road we were on. I should’ve noticed we were heading deeper into the mountains instead of back to Tehran, but for some reason I completely missed this. Too distracted, I suppose, by the prospect of dressing in a full robe and ghutra. It would be the first time in, what, fifteen hundred years? Yeah, that would be about right, since I didn’t return to my homeland after the onset of the sixth century A.D. until the crusades were in full swing. Fashion throughout Europe and much of the ‘known world’ was quite a bit different by then. It was especially for those of us with the means to dress ‘fashionably’.
“It’s a secret.” Jeremy placed his forefinger to his lips when his sister indignantly told him to ante up the answer.
“Is this what you and Zoran discussed?” I felt my body heat up a bit under the robe. Grateful the sun was nowhere near its highest point, I could tell my boy felt the same way. “I imagine Ophanim already knew about this change of plans, too, when he mentioned the magi would be coming for us.”
“So, we’re talking about ‘magi’ in the biblical sense?” Amy snickered. “Aren’t they the guys who brought gifts of jewels, frankincense, and myrrh when Jesus was born?”
“Yes, I believe that’s exactly what we have here,” said Alistair, looking over at Jeremy, who smiled and nodded.
“Oh, Christ, you’ve got to be kidding me!” said Amy. Apparently we had just reached the threshold of her bullshit meter. “So, these guys are like the ‘three wise men’ we see in standard nativity depictions?”
“Do you really want to take a chance and insult them?” I interjected. “Regardless of their exact role in all of this, I do believe a bona fide angel counts as a reliable source. So, if Ophanim says they’re magi, then that’s who they are. I think the earlier question of ‘where the hell are we headed?’ is a better one to focus on.”
