by John White
"Aunt Eleanor! Uncle John! You're in Anthropos!" Their niece and nephews ran to meet them. John and Eleanor surveyed the scene like people who return to a house where they once lived. It was all so familiar. It felt like home.
"I'd almost forgotten what it was like," Eleanor said. `John, why couldn't it have been like this forever?"
"It is going to be like this forever," Lisa answered. "And you'll be here with us! Oh, excuse me. This is Betty Riggs. She's our new neighbor. I mean our new neighbor back in Canada. We fixed her a special welcome dinner."
"We saw it," Eleanor said vaguely. As she looked around, her nostalgia grew like a painful lump in her throat.
John could hardly speak either. He said, "I'd forgotten how it feels to be here and to be in Gaal's presence. This used to be so much part of us."
"It was more than part of us; it was in us," Eleanor said. "Why can't we feel like this back in Winnipeg?"
Kurt was frustrated. Didn't they get it? "You don't have to go back to Winnipeg! Gaal has defeated the Mystery of Abomination! We're all going to stay here forever!"
The crowd stirred and parted. Gaal, now with a crown of gold on his white hair, rose from the throne and walked toward them with sure strides. He smiled. His wonderful eyes glowed with warmth. He reached out his hands and said, `John and Eleanor! The final victory is mine. The Changer has now changed all of Anthropos. This is the New Anthropos where the old has passed away. All the enemies of the Emperor are gone forever, and those who are my loyal followers shall enjoy being with me now and without end.
"Once more, for the last time, you see all your friends of Anthropos. But (to not fear. The household of the Sword Bearer shall ever enjoy the gladness of my presence."
Gaal extended his hands. John and Eleanor reached out to him. He was only a step away. And then suddenly, they found themselves looking at the fireplace wall in the living room in the house on Grosvenor Avenue. Near them stood Lisa, Betty, Kurt and Wesley in their normal clothes. The space where the Sword of Geburah should have been was empty, and the house smelled like roast beef.
"But we-we're-" "How did-" "What happened to-" Everyone sputtered something at once, and none of it made sense.
"We're back," Wes said in a dull voice. "I guess that settles it."
"Gaal said, `Once more for the last time,' " said Eleanor. "But maybe he means that for John and me, not for you."
"He mentioned the household of the Sword Bearer," Lisa responded. "I think he means all of us."
"What did he mean about always having the-what was it?" Betty asked.
"The gladness of his presence,"John repeated. He looked at the rest of them. "I have an idea. There's food in there, and we're all hungry. Let's talk about it while we eat."
"It won't be as good as the food in the Bayith of Yayin," Lisa apologized.
For the first time in a long time, Uncle John's eyes twinkled. "Oh, I don't know about that."
Around the table the six of them talked and talked. The four children told all their adventures. John and Eleanor listened. They warned Betty to be careful who she told about Anthropos because most people wouldn't believe her.
Wes said, "Every time I've been to Anthropos, I've learned something and changed in some way. This time Gaal showed me that leadership can go to my head."
"And I found out I shouldn't envy a leader, if leading is what they're supposed to do. Leaders need followers, right?" Kurt asked.
Betty said, "I learned one thing too. I used to be all caught up in what I could do. That was before Gaal showed me his power. His power has kindness behind it."
"Right," Lisa agreed. "I found out a lot along those lines. And if somebody needs help, even it 'l don't particularly like them"she glanced at Betty-"I mean didn't particularly like them, I can help them anyway. But here's what still bothers me. Gaal won it terrific victory. Everything was great. Why couldn't we have stayed there and enjoyed it with him? Why did we have to come back?"
"Is living with its that bad?" Eleanor asked. In the silence that followed, she cast her eyes down onto her plate. "I guess it has been pretty tense around here."
"I think you are right," John said with it gentle smile to his wife. "Now Eleanor and I may be old," he said turning to the rest, "but we are not too old to learn from Gaal ourselves. And I believe his power does reach even to this house on Grosvenor, to this family, to Eleanor and me." And turning to Eleanor again he said, "Will you forgive me? With the strength of the Changer, I will be different."
They hugged and then Eleanor said, "You know I forgive you. Will you do the same?" Uncle John nodded, hugging her it little tighter. Then Eleanor said, "Thank you, children, for going back to Anthropos and reminding us of what we always knew was true. Gaal is good to us."
Kurt sighed, "But Gaal's in Anthropos!" Then lie heard himself, back in the Gaal tree, when Wes asked Gaal to help John and Eleanor: "Wes! They're in Winnipeg! Gaal's not in Winnipeg!" Somehow the words didn't sound so tnie anymore.
"Gaal's in Anthropos," Wes ventured, "but do you think maybe he isn't just in Anthropos?"
"I'd never heard of Gaal before we went to Anthropos," Kurt said.
"Yes, but maybe here he goes by a different name."
"You mean he's here in Canada too?" asked Lisa.
"Don't you remember what he said?" reminded Betty, eyes wide. "The whole world is now his Bayith of Yayin!"
Silence settled over the kitchen. Eleanor looked up at John. After a long moment of hesitation, John reached over and took her hand.
The six of them never returned to Anthropos. But as promised, they continued to enjoy Gaal wherever they were, and they did learn to know him by a different name. The Shepherd kept his promise to the household of the Sword Bearer. As I bring the Archives of Anthropos to a close, my hope is that you, also, will enjoy the presence of the Shepherd forever.
