The Celestial Gate

by Avital Dicker

  The tiny critter ignored the angel’s grumbling, nipping his right heel lightly. The bogo’s twin tails continued to point insistently to the sea.

  “Fine! Fine,” Enochio grumpily accepted his fate. “Let’s see if these old wings even work.” He spread his wings and flapped them a few times. Slowly, he gathered enough strength to lift himself a few inches off the ground. The bogo barked reassuringly and the angel smiled with pride. Carefully, he rose a bit more in the air. His worried face now showed a huge grin. “I’m flying!” he cried excitedly.

  The bogo barked and furiously wagged its tails, trying to warn Enochio of the tree behind him, but the angel just went on flapping his wings. “Look at me!” he crowed. The bogo covered his eyes with his tails as Enochio collided with the tree and fell onto the sand. The impact separated the angel from his wings and flung them to the side.

  Heavily, Enochio picked himself up, his belly jiggling with insulted pride and his face covered in sand. “I told you I’m no good at it,” he moaned. He picked his wings up from the sand, shook them clean, and put them back on. “You know what? Seeing that you’re such a hero,” he told the bogo, “you’re coming with me.”

  The bogo’s tails suddenly drooped and he vigorously shook his snout no. But Enochio, ignoring his objections, picked the creature up in his arms. “Let’s not forget whose idea this was,” he said. “If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.” He again spread his wings, beat them, and rose in the air. The bogo, hiding his head deep in the angel’s ample belly, howled with fear.

  Except for a few steep skips in the air, Enochio’s take-off was smooth this time. They flew just a few inches above the Orphils, some of which bared their teeth and growled at their passing. “See that?” Enochio asked the bogo. “They know they’re not allowed to growl at angels. But they don’t seem to care, though, do they?”

  This troubled Enochio, who decided to put on some speed. According to the regulations, Orphils were obligated to obey angels. But Enochio sensed that something was wrong. If they dared to bare their teeth, they’ve stopped obeying the regulations, at least in part, he thought. While they hadn’t yet attacked him, who knew what might happen? It looks like God really has to show His presence in these parts, he mused.

  Enochio and the bogo were now flying over the sea. Enochio was afraid of going too high; he didn’t altogether trust his rusty wings. Therefore, wavelets wetted his trousers from time to time. “Just so you know, I’m having no fun at all,” he grumbled to the bogo as he wiped a few salty drops that had splashed into his eyes.

  The bogo cautiously peeked out. The sea was blue and flat, but there was no sign of the children. “Where are they? I don’t see them,” Enochio brooded.

  Inside the submarine, Yam had just freed Rae. “Don’t move until I tell you, you hear?” he said to her sternly. Just then, the submarine started shaking from side to side, causing Anise to stumble. Seconds later, the craft started shuddering uncontrollably.

  “I think we’re going even farther down,” Anise whispered.

  Mor saw a school of seahorses playing hide-and-go-seek through the porthole. “I should really learn scuba-diving,” he said, unconcerned.

  “Me too,” Rae agreed, but seeing the look on Yam’s face, she quickly fell silent.

  Anise looked at the fathometer, which was now showing one hundred and ninety meters. “We have to move,” she said. The three quickly pulled on the wetsuits.

  “Rae, get dressed,” Anise urged her.

  Rae, smiling, just pointed to the gills on her feet. “I’ll be fine,” she said.

  “In my next incarnation, I want her planet,” Mor laughed.

  “We’ve got to go now,” Yam whispered, looking at the fathometer. One ninety-five. “When we hit two hundred, the submarine is going to collapse and everyone on board will drown. The Dakar had no survivors.”

  The cabin door opened, showing a pale Roy. “Now!” Mor yelled. All four leaped, flinging Roy to the floor and rushing to the exit.

  Chapter 26

  A shot was heard and the masked man fell just inches from Sual. Amalia lowered her gun and rolled the man onto his side. “He’s dead,” she said, her face betraying nothing of the storm that raged within. It was the first time she’d ever killed someone.

  Theo saw the blood rush from her face and tried to place a comforting arm around her shoulders, but Amalia sidestepped him. “Let’s keep going. It’s dangerous here. We’re sitting ducks,” she said coolly, and started to walk without waiting for a response.

  Sual was about to follow Amalia when Theo grabbed her arm. It’s possible we’re not walking out of here alive, he thought. He’d never forgive himself if he didn’t tell her what he felt for her. He drew Sual close. “I love you,” he whispered.

  Sual looked at him in utter amazement. Without saying a word, she hurried to catch up to Amalia.

  Yam was the first to break the surface of the sea, followed by Mor, and finally by Anise and Rae. “We did it!” he said, taking off his mask.

  “I saw Ido chasing us,” Anise said.

  “That’s impossible, there were no survivors of the Dakar,” Yam answered.

  “They’re practically our age,” Anise said sadly. Yam looked at the horizon, trying to estimate the distance. Land was too far away; they’d never get there by swimming.

  “Watch out!” Anise suddenly yelped as something fell into the water with a great splash. Waves started forming again.

  “For Pete’s sake,” they heard a familiar voice say as Enochio’s head broke through the surface. “I lost my balance. It’s all your fault!” he snapped at the bogo swimming alongside him.

  “And you!” he turned to look at the group, “I told you not to move from the gate. Look what you’ve done.”

  “I’m really sorry,” said Anise, trying her best not to burst into laughter.

  Just then, they saw a dark cloud moving quickly over the water in their direction. The bogo started barking madly at the strange vessel. The Orphils on board held weapons in their gray arms pointed their way. Anise looked at their hands, each of which had ten fingers ending in sharp, yellow nails. She shuddered with revulsion.

  A bullet hit the water, missing Mor by inches, and detonated below the surface.

  “I don’t believe it!” Enochio mumbled. “They fired at us.”

  “Really? You don’t say,” Mor noted caustically.

  “I think we’ve got to get out of here,” Anise muttered.

  “How interesting, but I don’t see a rescue boat on the horizon,” Enochio retorted with anger.

  “And here I was, thinking that you’d offer us a ride,” Anise said.

  “Oh yeah,” Mor liked the idea, “that would be awesome.”

  “The answer is NO. En-oh. NO,” Enochio was furious.

  “I can take someone with me,” said Rae, showing off her lovely wings.

  Anise looked at Enochio, pleading with her eyes. “Rae can take one of us, maybe two, but not all.”

  “It’s totally out of the question. My wings are cramping and wet. And, in any case, I can’t take more than one.”

  Waves began to swirl around them, and the reason became apparent as the Dakar’s black iron cap burst out of the water. “I was sure the submarine imploded,” Yam muttered shocked, staring at the vessel.

  “How silly,” said Enochio, “based on the regulations that recently went into effect, we’re obligated to see to the mental health of all creatures. Otherwise, they just pass their problems on to future incarnations,” he sighed. “In any case, the soldiers and the submarine are here to end their life’s journey and we’re here to allow them to reach port so they can continue to their next incarnation without any old residue.”

  “What? So the submarine doesn’t sink?” Anise asked.

  “Not exactly. Here, in heaven, it doesn’t sink, but down
there it did,” the angel countered. “In any case, this isn’t the time for long explanations,” he said, looking at Roy’s head peeking out of the turret. One of the cannons started to turn in their direction.

  Yam looked at the Orphils that were quickly closing the distance and then at the submarine on their other side. “I think we have to move,” he said and, without asking for permission, grabbed Enochio by his large waist. “Whenever would be great, but I think this is a really good time to take off,” he politely suggested to the chubby angel.

  “I told you I have no intention of carrying you on my back,” Enochio said bitterly, but another look at the muzzle of the cannon now pointing directly at them convinced him, and he rose into the air.

  Anise and Mor quickly swam to Rae and held her around her midsection. Her takeoff was remarkably light and graceful.

  “Maybe we ought to go a little faster?” Yam tried to urge Enochio on, but the angel insisted on flying annoyingly slowly at almost the same level as the sea.

  “We ought, huh? You ought to be thanking me for taking you in the first place,” the red-faced, sweating angel rasped. But just then, the Orphils started shooting, leaving Enochio no choice. He flapped faster and they rose a bit higher.

  Just when Roy shouted “Fire!” the torpedo exploded in the water and high waves rose up causing the Orphil vessel to wobble wildly. Another shell was fired, casting a heavy smoke screen over the sea.

  Enochio pointed at the bogo. “Are you willing to get him off my trousers?” he asked Yam, who laughed with relief and pulled the strange critter into his arms. Now visible and clear, they continued through the sky slowly and without further interruptions.

  Rae was meanwhile flying with impressive speed, making no sign that the extra weight bothered her. Anise’s eyes were tightly closed; she was busy praying the flight would end soon, as the height was making her dizzy. Mor, on the other hand, was ecstatic. With the wind in his face, he felt weightless and free. The fact that Anise was grasping him tightly made the moment virtually perfect. He couldn’t remember ever having been this happy.

  By now, the submarine was far behind them. They were flying above a small island populated by animal species Mor couldn’t identify. The sight was splendid. Dry land was now coming closer, and Rae lowered altitude.

  “Anise,” Mor shouted, trying to make himself heard over the rush of wings, “look!” He pointed at two horses below that had just emerged from the water and were walking onto the beach. First taking a deep breath, Anise willed her eyes open just in time to see the horses below neighing mightily and shaking their manes dry, splashing shards of water onto the warm sand.

  Anise stared down at the thick jungle reaching down to the beach. Songbirds flew over her almost within touching distance. She was overcome by the beauty. Just then, Rae veered steeply down, shrieking with delight and completely forgetting Mor and Anise. Anise choked back a scream and closed her eyes again. When Rae did a loop in the air, Anise swore she’d never again go flying.

  Enochio, however, continued to make painfully slow progress, buffeted sharply up or down with every little breeze. Yam, suffering acute motion sickness, wondered if angels went to flight school before being awarded their wings. It’s unlikely, he thought, because Enochio would surely have failed.

  By contrast, Rae executed a perfect landing. Anise’s hand had left a red mark on Mor’s shoulder.

  “You can open your eyes now,” Mor laughed, brushing sand off his pants. “And let go of me too, because it’s starting to hurt.” He gently removed her arm and approached the horses merrily neighing their welcome to him.

  Enochio landed several minutes later with a clumsy thump, sending Yam rolling onto the sand. Sitting up, he looked at the two suns starting to set over the sea, the sky above turning pastel shades. A grateful Anise lay spread-eagled on the warm sand, repeating her promise to herself never to fly again.

  Resting on the shore, all were glad to feel the ground under their bodies again. Except for Yam. He couldn’t calm down. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Orphil guard would close the gap. Those guys looked invincible.

  It then occurred to Yam that they may be safer in the jungle, hidden in the thick vegetation, but it seemed unlikely that any of the group, as exhausted as they were, was willing to move. He decided to enter the jungle by himself for a short recon before sunset and find a comfortable place to spend the night in relative safety. He rose and walked toward the wall of green. Anise, sensing his movement, sat up and looked at Mor reprovingly. Mor tried to avoid her stare, but the damage had already been done. After a few breaths, he stood up with a sigh and joined Yam.

  “You owe me big-time,” he said to Anise before disappearing among the trees.

  Chapter 27

  Although the firefight continued, it was quiet in the cemetery. Amalia, leaning against a headstone, tried to mentally reconstruct the path the children must have taken.

  For the umpteenth time, she ran through all the possible scenarios but remained as much in the dark as before. They couldn’t have returned to the embassy because of the explosion. All the exits from the city were blocked. She tried to focus on their goal: of all the places, why had the children chosen the cemetery? There had to be a reason! she thought, her eyes roaming over the graves once again. Why do I feel I know this place, she wondered? She was sure she’d never been here before.

  Meanwhile, Sual was reading the names on the headstones. “My family has a burial plot here,” she muttered to Theo who was sitting next to her.

  “Sual, please look at me,” Theo asked softly, but she stubbornly continued to stare straight ahead.

  “The children are what matters now. Whatever’s going on between us can wait,” she said.

  Sual thought about all the years she’d loved him from afar, yearning to hear him say these words, but now, in the chaos of war, she suddenly felt lost and confused.

  “That’s it!” said Amalia triumphantly. She had suddenly remembered why she knew this place. “Yoav painted this cemetery. He also painted a nearby gate. That’s why this place looks so familiar.”

  “I remember that painting: a gate stopped up with rocks and a hen next to it,” said Theo.

  “It’s Mercy Gate. It’s just a few steps from here,” added Sual.

  “The truth is that a little mercy right now wouldn’t hurt,” Amalia gave a sad smile. “Before the exhibition, Yoav and I had a huge fight. We said awful things and didn’t realize that Yam was standing right there. And now he’s…” she was unable to finish her sentence.

  In sympathy, Sual put her hand on Amalia’s. “And I never told my daughter the truth about her father. Parents are human. We all make mistakes,” she said.

  “Yoav told me the legend about the lost gate that God closed,” Theo remembered.

  “That’s it!” Amalia cried out. “I know where they went. They were looking for the gate.”

  “Which gate?” a confused Sual asked.

  “The eighth gate of the Jerusalem walls. According to legend, that gate leads upwards,” Amalia explained. “They must think there really is such a gate; they still believe in goodness.” A bitter laugh welled out of her. “In any case, it’s worth checking.”

  The greenery was getting thicker the deeper the boys went. The tall tropical jungle trees cast a pleasant shade, birds twittered, and the burbling of waterfalls was heard in the distance.

  Mor was amazed by the juicy fruit hanging provocatively from the trees. He approached a tree and stretched his hand to a purplish fruit looking like a cross between a melon and an eggplant, but the tree hopped backward and pulled in its branches. Mor rubbed his eyes in disbelief and again tried to pluck the fruit. This time, the tree screeched as it withdrew, and Mor thought he could hear it snickering.

  “Be careful,” yelled Yam who was several yards ahead. Mor ignored his friend. Yam always thinks he kno
ws best, Mor thought with anger, and demonstratively pushed himself deeper into the forest.

  For some reason, Mor had the odd sensation that the tree was following him. He whipped around to surprise it, but the tree was standing calmly in place. It’s being cute with me, he thought, and continued ahead. Then, without giving any prior sign, he quickly hopped backward and grabbed hold of a tall branch.

  “I caught you,” he yelled victoriously, but in response the tree started to shake in circles from the bottom of its trunk going up, trying to dislodge Mor. Holding fast, he managed to pick one of the purplish fruits, whereupon he let go of the branch and jumped down. The tree shook with anger and reared back. Mor sat down on a rock at a safe distance from the tree and smiled proudly. He now turned to examine the juicy fruit, licking some of the reddish liquid dripping from it. The flavor sent a tremor of joy through his body. He decided to save some of it so that everyone could have a taste and packed the fruit into his backpack. To his astonishment, he could see the fruit in the backpack but not his hands. He looked down and saw only his shoes: his legs were gone too.

  Yam had no desire to go farther into the jungle and made sure to walk parallel to the shoreline. He stopped in a small clearing. The ground was dotted with striped and spotted mushrooms of all kinds, and Yam, amazed, stared at a blue mushroom whose cap was crossed by broad red stripes, wondering if it was edible.

  After some thought, he decided to pick some of the mushrooms and ask Rae and Enochio about them later. He looked at a small hyrax hopping alongside, sensing the animal wanted him to follow. Yam wasn’t surprised. After all he’s seen, it was pretty clear to him that anything here was possible. He was bending down to pet the animal when he was suddenly struck from behind, causing him to lose his balance and fall.