by The Awethors
Chapter 6
Paul awoke in his room. The lightning flashes from outside flickering on the walls, and he remembered he and Caryn had talked for many hours. He had never enjoyed a conversation so much in his life. She was so wonderful and beautiful, her personality so sparkling and her company so pleasurable. He did not know how it was possible, but he felt he must be in love with her. He missed her presence even now.
After a time, they had decided it was time to sleep, and she had gone to her room and he to his. Time did not seem to be standing still anymore. They grew hungry, thirsty, and tired as time passed. He felt his face. He still did not need to shave, and he still did not seem to need to shower and put on clean clothes, as his clothes felt fresh though he had evidently slept in them a whole night.
These thoughts brought him back to the mystery of the tower. He realized there were clues he had not seen at first. It seemed when he felt he had a need, something happened and the need was met. He had needed assurance he was alive, then food and drink, and finally someone to talk to. It had all appeared, right on time. Even when he was needing to get over his initial fear, the passage from the Bible had relaxed him, allowing him to sleep.
The Bible! He remembered Caryn’s words from before, “I didn’t think...” What had she been about to say? The thought occurred to him that maybe she was the one behind all this, that somehow this was all her doing. If so, who was she? Was she even human? She had said the tapestries had appeared when she thought of her drawings. His mind raced over these thoughts, but after their long talk, he felt in his heart she was indeed human. The feelings he sensed from her were real, and she had not been untruthful to him.
He went to the desk and pulled out the Bible again. Were the answers in here? Was it God who had brought him here? He sat on the chair at the desk and opened the Bible and looked. He had once again opened to Proverbs, this time 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” This is more than coincidence. Maybe God was trying to lead him somewhere.
Paul closed the book and prayed — something he was not used to doing. “Lord, I have no idea what is happening to me. I have tried to figure it out, but logic does not seem to help. Logic is all I have trusted before. I want to trust in you now. Please help me to understand. Amen.” Was it a good prayer? He didn’t know. He spoke what he felt. His logical thinking was not getting him anywhere. Maybe it was time to turn to God.
He remembered his friends telling him once that a good place to begin reading the Bible and studying was the Book of John, so he opened the Bible to the specified book and began to read in earnest for the first time in his life.
