The Celestial Gate

by Avital Dicker

  “Hang on!” Anise interrupted him impatiently. “You said there are two ways to go through the gate.”

  The Mayan took a deep pull on his pipe. “Patience,” he said. He stood up and motioned them to follow. He led them through rooms and up staircases until they reached the very top of the palace, where he opened a carved wooden door leading outdoors. A dizzy Anise looked at a narrow rope bridge connecting the palace to the mountain across the valley. Far down below, the lost city was spread out in all its glory.

  The old man crossed the bridge with surprising speed. Anise, on the other hand, clung tightly to the ropes, progressing slowly while trying hard not to look down.

  The old Mayan waited patiently at the other end of the bridge. Once they were all across, he opened a narrow white door and welcomed them into a complex hewed out of the mountain. They started climbing several sets of stairs, which got progressively narrower, and kept at it for a full thirty minutes. By the time they reached the top, they were all sweating with effort, even Rae.

  There they found a small door. The old man took out an iron key and opened it, and all of them bent down to be able to enter.

  An enchanted Mor looked around. They were in an observatory. Rae, hypnotized, looked as if she was searching for something. The old man put his hand on Rae’s shoulder. “Look, there’s your planet,” he said, pointing to a low star near the horizon. A blue tear ran down her cheek.

  Anise was astonished by the large wooden boards hanging from the observatory walls. They were covered in signs and symbols similar to those she’d seen earlier on the walls of the cave. She felt for the medallion around her neck. “It’s just like this,” she said.

  “These are the Mayan calendars. They’re our way of calculating the days, months, and years,” the old man explained.

  Mor touched the inscriptions with reverence. “Wait… Didn’t you people prophesize the end of the world? I read about it somewhere on the internet. But you were wrong. The world didn’t end.”

  The old Indian smiled mysteriously and pointed to one of the boards. “Look here, Mor. We left signs on planet Earth and indicated the times when the gate would open this way. But human beings are so busy with wars and hatred that they misread the calendar. They thought the note meant the world was ending. Those who see only the dark cannot see the light.”

  “We’re here,” said Yam.

  The Mayan smiled again, his wise eyes gleaming. “Yes. You’re here.” He picked up a stick and used it to hit a certain spot on the wooden calendar while reciting something in an ancient tongue. Then, the room around them disappeared.

  Chapter 31

  The brigadier general shook his head no. “I can’t allow you to join our force. It’s much too dangerous,” he stated flatly.

  “It’s our only condition. It’s either with us or not at all,” Amalia insisted, her face inscrutable.

  A sergeant entered the room and whispered something to the officer, who immediately stood up and hurried out.

  After the door closed behind him, Yoav looked at Amalia. “The gate is only a legend,” he said to her softly.

  “Exactly. And the children still believe in legends, or at least believe enough to want to try to check it out,” she answered. “Who knows? Maybe the time has come for us to start believing again,” she added.

  The officer came back into the room with a report. “Terrorists from the Jewish underground have taken some hostages and are threatening to blow up the tunnels.” The tension in his voice was unmistakable. “You’ve won,” he now addressed Amalia. “Ido is on his way. You’ll join his unit. You got what you wanted.” He walked out of the room once more.

  Yoav felt his blood rushing to his brain. Ido, “the good friend,” who was always there to comfort Amalia and support her when the two of them fought. Ido, who’d been in love with Amalia since high school and was only waiting to take his place. “I’m coming too. It’s my son out there,” Yoav said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  “But you’re still too weak,” Amalia said with concern.

  “I’m fine,” he answered shortly and followed the sergeant to the equipment store. He wasn’t about to let Ido take the woman he loved or play the hero.

  Ido was getting outfitted when the three walked in. Seeing Amalia, a smile of relief spread across his face. He took some steps toward her, but then noticed Yoav and stopped. “You survived,” he said, respect coloring his voice.

  “Yes,” Amalia smiled warmly, then looked from Ido to Yoav and back with unease.

  Ido was the first to refocus on the here and now. “Nobody has any idea what’s happening,” he said. “Terrorists are perpetrating attacks throughout the country. A few minutes ago, we found out that Arab terrorists kidnapped two Israeli politicians and are threatening to behead them. In response, the Jewish underground burned down a mosque and has kidnapped Sheikh a-Nussar.”

  “Is it because of the Temple Mount?” asked Theo.

  “Yes,” said Ido, putting on a bullet-proof vest.

  “Fighting over rocks again,” said Yoav.

  “It’s all your fault! You and your religious buddies,” Amalia burst out. “You sanctify rocks and reduce human life to nothing. That’s what happens when you follow rabbis blindly.”

  “You’re right. I looked for answers in the wrong place. I get that now,” said Yoav, abashed.

  “You mean to say that you were willing to leave your wife and son to please someone you don’t really know, except that other people call him ‘his honor,’ and let him break up the family because my skirt was too short for that ‘respectable’ rabbi?” Amalia said dryly and turned her back to him.

  The hurt of the last year was still fresh, stinging, but she wasn’t going to let Yoav upset her equilibrium. The most important thing right now was finding Yam. She zipped up her vest, refusing to look at Yoav.

  “The legend says that only believers can find the gate,” Yoav said apologetically. “I think it’s talking about belief in love, not religious belief. The belief in being a good person, having good values.” Helplessly, he looked at Amalia who was now standing close to Ido.

  “What does any of that have to do with the kids?” Theo asked as he cocked his rifle.

  Yoav took a deep breath. “Look, if I understand it correctly, Yam is Jewish, Anise is Muslim, and Mor is Christian. They represent the three religions and are young enough to believe that the world could conceivably be a good place,” he said.

  “Let’s leave legends for later,” Ido interrupted him. “If I have this right, the kids are looking for a gate.”

  “Yes,” Yoav answered. “Next to the Gate of Mercy is another gate called the Gate of Repentance. If they’re following the legend, they’ll get there. And leave my wife alone,” he added, unable to control himself anymore.

  The two men measured one another with their eyes, causing Amalia to lose her patience. “Great timing for a fight. Both of you are, are… absurd,” she concluded, and walked out.

  Chapter 32

  No matter where she looked, she saw clouds. In despair, she sat down on one of them. “I give up,” she said, sinking into the white cloud and helplessly looking at the white cottony expanse spreading as far as the eye could see. “God’s not here.”

  “Maybe there is no God, and nobody is actually steering anything, and that’s why everything’s falling apart,” Yam proposed.

  Far away among the clouds, they saw a familiar figure. Enochio, the angel, waved his wings urgently and waddled over to them as fast as he could. Rae waved back.

  The angel didn’t look very merry at all. He was red-faced with anger. “Do you know what I had to get through to come here?” he yelled, taking out a crumpled hankie to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

  “Tell me the truth, Enochio. Have you actually ever seen God?” Anise asked, ignoring about the angel’s state of mind.
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br />   Enochio looked at her, surprised. “Now that you mention it… I don’t think so,” he answered, and sank into his own thoughts. “Well, He’s always so busy, you know,” he added, apologizing.

  “I think it’s because He doesn’t exist,” Anise burst out, angrily kicking a piece of cloud. She got up and started to run on the billowy surface, wanting to get far, far away from everyone.

  “Wait, I can explain!” Enochio yelled at her receding figure, but Anise was too far away to hear. She ran without stopping, ran until she could no longer breathe. She didn’t know where she was going and didn’t much care. She could no longer bear it, not even for another second.

  “Where are you off to?” Enochio shouted. “I want to try to explain.” But Anise disappeared into the fog.

  “That’s what happens when she gets mad. She needs time to calm down,” Yam tried soothing the angel who was looking more distressed than ever.

  Mor looked at Rae. “Let’s have a look around and see where we are,” he suggested. Rae jumped at the opportunity to get away from the tense atmosphere and leaped high into the air.

  Yam sat down next to the frustrated angel. “Tell me the truth. You’ve never seen Him, right?”

  Enochio nodded without looking in Yam’s eyes.

  “Fine,” Yam sighed. “So maybe it’s time we talked about exiting the gate and going back to that ridiculous planet we call Earth.”

  Anise continued walking in the white cloud wilderness. She didn’t know where she was going and didn’t care. As it was, everything looked the same. She angrily kicked at a large piece of cloud.

  “Ouch!” a voice suddenly yelped. Startled, Anise jumped off to the side.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled into empty space. Confused, she looked around but, except for the clouds, there was nothing there.

  “I understand that you’re angry, but you don’t have to hurt others,” she heard the voice saying. And she froze in place.

  “I didn’t mean to,” she mumbled, not any more enlightened than before.

  “Haha! Gotcha! It didn’t hurt at all,” she heard the voice saying, followed by a peal of merry laughter.

  Anise looked around again. This couldn’t possibly be coming from the cloud, she thought.

  “Actually, it could. And it is,” the cloud said gaily.

  It’s reading my mind and is invisible, she thought. It’s God. How could I have been so foolish?

  “Yes, how can I help? And, by the way, you’re not foolish in the least,” said the voice. “Tell me, what would you like me to look like? I mean, how do you imagine me?” the voice asked, but Anise was still frozen in place, incapable of uttering a word.

  “Do you see me now?” the cloud asked merrily and stretched.

  “She doesn’t like scary stuff,” she heard Him mutter to Himself, looking like a dinosaur now hovering in front of her.

  “Hmm. You’re right. Not appropriate,” she heard Him say again. The dinosaur changed shape and now a black-and-white bear was standing next to her. Anise thought it looked exactly like the teddy bear she slept with at home.

  “Satisfied?” the bear asked sweetly while stretching. “Great. And do me a favor – try not to step on God anymore.”

  Anise was still incapable of speech.

  “I thought you love your teddy bear. You still sleep with it, right?” said God in a hurt tone of voice. “I’m sick of this. No matter what I do, everyone’s afraid of Me.” He sighed in frustration and flipped over on a cloud.

  “Sorry. Can I hug you?” Anise finally managed to whisper.

  God smiled with joy and opened the teddy bear’s furry arms to her. “Sure, I’d love that,” He said and folded her into His arms. Anise wanted to stay exactly like that, embraced by God, forever and ever. A sensation that couldn’t be described in words spread through her body.

  “Thank you,” she whispered into the soft, silky fur.

  “And thank you!” God answered, gently caressing her hair. “I really needed that. Even God needs a good hug every now and then.”

  Anise nodded, still stunned. This was not how she’d imagined her meeting with God. Not as a teddy bear, of all things.

  God held her hand softly. “What do you say? Shall we go meet your friends and have that conversation you so badly want to have with me?” He asked softly.

  Anise nodded again.

  “After all, you’ve come such a long way to see me,” He said with a smile and winked at her.

  A fraction of a second later, she and the teddy bear were standing back with the gang. “Much better than flying, no?” God giggled. “Saves a lot of time and you don’t have to worry about the flight crashing,” reminding Anise again that God could see everything, including her fears.

  Enochio, still grumpy on one of the clouds, raised himself on an elbow and sent her a reprimanding look. “Well thank you so very much for deigning to come back,” he fumed. “And what’s the deal with the teddy bear? Where did you get it?” Anise opened her mouth to answer, but Enochio wasn’t done. “Not that I care. You can’t take it with you in any case. Also, I’m taking you back home right now. This whole farce has gone on for far too long.” He concluded by folding his arms resolutely over his chest.

  God jumped on His furry legs and dropped into a cross-legged position on a cloud. Bits of cloud flew every which way, scattered by His weight. “I’ve noticed you’re always on edge,” he said to Enochio in a friendly fashion.

  Enochio stared back, enraged. “Oh ho! Another one who thinks he’s God,” he muttered.

  The teddy bear laughed. “Please to meet you. I’m God,” He said, holding out His hand to the angel, “and I like to spring surprises. It’s a lot of fun.”

  “God looks nothing like this,” Yam said dismissively.

  “How about this?” God asked and He turned into a giraffe.

  “Yes! I remember that you love giraffes,” said God and laughed seeing Yam’s jaw drop.

  “I don’t understand why I’m always supposed to inspire awe,” He said, once more becoming a cloud. “Awe is in the heart. And, besides, I prefer love,” he laughed.

  Enochio, stunned, sat back down on the cloud. His eyes had never been open that wide. Just then, Rae elegantly landed on a cloud and Mor got off her back, bubbling with enthusiasm. “I have to get my hands on a pair of wings,” he said excitedly.

  “Ow!” the cloud shrank. “You’ve made it a habit to step all over me,” He said, filling out once again.

  “It’s because the clouds are everywhere. Nobody can see You,” Anise explained. She was trying to get used to God’s presence, even though He was different from anything she’d ever imagined.

  “Hmm. You’re right,” God agreed, whereupon a blue head with heavy white hair and a beard appeared before them in the air.

  “Who’s that?” a confused Mor wanted to know.

  “God,” everyone answered together. Except for Rae, who fainted.

  God carefully lifted Rae and cradled her in His arms. “You know, the creatures on Rae’s planet complain far less than they do on yours. I have to say, they also hardly ever hurt one another,” God sighed. “On the other hand, she, too, came with a wish.”

  A large white sofa hovered in the air and landed on a nearby cloud. God gently placed Rae on it. “Hmm. Not enough room,” He muttered. “Please, have a seat,” He said, motioning to the soft armchairs grouped near the just-appeared sofa and taking one Himself.

  God wagged a playful blue finger in front of Mor’s face. “You imagined me looking like a demon,” He laughed out loud.

  “But a good demon!” Mor, seeing Anise’s disapproving look, felt the need to defend himself. “I mean, look at that lovely beard.”

  “Anise, everyone sees me differently. There’s no right or wrong answer. That’s the whole beauty,” God said, resting back in His chair. “All
right, my friends. I have to say that I’m enjoying this break, but I am insanely busy. Handling heaven is way too much for just one God. So let’s get to it,” He said, scratching His forehead. “I really wish I could advertise for another God,” He laughed again. “Tell me – feel like eating something? Because, frankly, I’m hungry.”

  “You eat?” Mor was stunned.

  “Of course,” God answered. “I mean, I don’t have to eat, but it is one of life’s greatest pleasures, isn’t it?”

  From above came a soft rain of sweets. Colorful candies dropped right into a mound of whipped cream and a chocolate fountain spilled into a pool of marshmallows.

  “You’re…” Yam started to speak, but immediately changed his mind and fell silent.

  “Not anything like you imagined,” God completed Yam’s sentence for him, putting a small marshmallow into his mouth. “Yes. The truth is that talk is mostly about how scary I am. Now, tell me, am I scary?” He asked seriously, picking up a chocolate soufflé. “People use my name a whole lot, without – may I add – permission, and describe me in totally false ways,” He said. “I mean, I thought about suing. Imagine all the clerics – rabbis, sheiks, priests, pastors – being sued for slander. And maybe also war crimes,” He thought for a moment. “It drives me out of my mind that they use my name without knowing who I am. And every religion thinks it knows best. I mean, really now,” God ended, suddenly looking sad.

  “Tell me honestly. Do I frighten you?” He asked in all seriousness. “I’ve never punished anyone. I don’t believe in punishment,” He said morosely, putting a handful of popping candy in His mouth.

  “I’m not afraid,” Anise smiled at Him and put her head on His shoulder.

  “The branding was all wrong,” God continued to complain. “And then to try to fix thousands of years of damage caused by the lies spread about me…” Frustrated, He didn’t finish the sentence.

  Anise sat up and looked at Him. “If you don’t mind, I do have some issues with the way you run things,” she said very politely.