Worthy of Rain

by Elizaveta Fehr

I flattened myself against the back wall.

  “Yes, their insurance paid for the damages, but Phil, you still have your wife and mine is gone for good. You don’t realize how painful it is.”

  He paused. He lowered his voice. “Several years have not changed me a bit. The fire is still burning.”

  He paused again. “No, she doesn’t know. I never told her.” Another pause.

  “I don’t care if he’s being released early for good behavior. He should serve full time.”

  He cleared his throat after a long pause. “I know.”

  “Thanks Phil. Tell me what you find out. Talk to you later. Bye.” He turned the lights off in the room. The sounds of his footsteps faded into the living room.

  I opened the closet door quietly and crept to my room. I shut the door and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor.

  What was it that he was not telling me?

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “To these four young men God gave knowledge

  and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.”

  Daniel 1:17 NIV

  I couldn’t go to sleep that night. After a half hour of restlessness, I pulled out a flashlight, grabbed the Bible, and tiptoed over to the attic door in the kitchen. In the library upstairs, I stretched out on my stomach and opened to my bookmark.

  My surroundings suddenly came into focus.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?”

  Daniel laid his hands on the thick stone rail. He looked serious for a couple of moments, but the corner of his mouth was upturned in a mischievous smile. “Too bad you won’t be able to stay here long once your brother finds out.”

  He turned around and called to Azariah behind him.

  “Azariah! You’d never guess! I found your sister, Elizabeth!”

  My eyes widened as I finally understood.

  “I’m not—”

  Daniel burst into a teasing laughter, but stopped when he saw Azariah was not laughing.

  “What?” he snorted, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

  “Daniel, that’s not my sister.”

  Daniel squinted and cocked his head to me. “It isn’t?”

  I sighed but couldn’t help but crack a smile as his little joke backfired. I removed my head covering.

  “Not exactly…” I said.

  Daniel put a hand behind his neck. “My apologies. You kind of look like her. I honestly didn’t notice the difference.”

  Azariah shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “If you are not Elizabeth, then who are you?” Daniel stammered.

  “Uh—” I started, but then I was interrupted by Mishael.

  “A runaway servant? A maid? Are you royal?”

  “No, no, and no. My name is Genesis,” I told him.

  “What are you doing here then?” Daniel asked. My throat ran dry and I realized with a sickening feeling I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know why I was here.

  “You won’t be able to stay here long, you know,” Azariah pointed out. “They’ll find out you are a girl. It could get us in trouble.”

  “And would that be the worst thing? They are strict here anyway,” Hananiah said.

  I looked back and forth between them. “I just need to stay here for a little bit. Can you help me?” I pleaded.

  “If you truly are intent on staying…I have an idea on how to, well, disguise you a little better.” Daniel gave Azariah a look.

  “That look again. You are always brewing up something,” Azariah folded his arms.

  Daniel laughed. “Come on. Let’s get to our bedroom quarters.”

  Winding through several hallways, we reached their rooms. I followed after them, keeping close to the group. They opened their bedroom door and shut it behind me.

  The room, to my astonishment, was a lot bigger than I expected. There were three beds near an arched window. A chest lay at the end of each bed with a simple writing desk near one of them. A woven rug covered the floor and tapestries draped over the walls. I walked towards the items on the bed.

  “Here,” Hananiah grabbed a few items from the trunk and dumped them on the bed. I picked up a robe and held it up. “What’s all this for?”

  “We’re going to make you look like one of us,” Hananiah answered, his boyish face lit up with enthusiasm.

  A half hour later, my reflection stared back at me on the surface of a filled clay jar.

  “I look…different.”

  The boys smiled, satisfied with their handiwork. I was wearing a longer tunic with a thicker head covering. They had painted my eyebrows with a light brown color from a paste they made out of soft clay to make them bushier. My hair was tied into a tight bun beneath the covering.

  “Why are you doing this for me?” I asked suddenly. They were silent for a moment.

  “Because I think you have a story and a reason for being here,” Daniel answered.

  “So, what is your story?” Hananiah asked.

  I placed the pitcher back on the shelf and sat on the bed before I spoke. “If I told you the whole story, you wouldn’t believe me, so I can only tell you a little bit.”

  Daniel nodded for me to go on.

  “I’m looking for someone. I have been traveling everywhere to find him. To find some evidence that he is real. I guess this is kind of evidence but it doesn’t seem real yet.”

  “Why are you here, then?” Daniel interrupted.

  “I thought…he might be here,” I said with a resounding sigh.

  “You must be brave to be traveling like this.” He paused again. “I promise, we will do whatever we can to help you.

  “Thanks, but I don’t think it’s possible.”

  “What do you need us to do, then?” Azariah added.

  “Keep my secret and help me around the city,” I answered. “That’s all I need.”

  The three looked at each other.

  “Do you all still want to help me?”

  Daniel glanced at the other two who nodded. “Of course,” Daniel replied. “God brought you here for a reason.”

  I flinched slightly. So they knew about God…but did they know He was the one I was looking for?

  The sun was lower in the sky and the evening was getting cooler by the hour. We made our way back to the banquet hall for the welcome dinner. Ashpenaz appeared just as we sat down.

  “Raise your glasses for a toast. Your stay here will be nothing but comfortable. We set high standards. You are all, in fact, the best and healthiest young men of royalty. For your first day of training, we will go over the guidelines. But for now, enjoy your evening meal,” he said.

  We clinked our goblets together. In a few seconds, the room was echoing with voices and laughter as everyone dug into their meals, everyone except Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel.

  I lowered the slice of bread back to my plate. This was the same thing that happened yesterday.

  “What are you guys doing?” I whispered.

  I felt Ashpenaz’s voice down my back as he stood behind me. “Did you not hear me? Go on. Dig in,” he said, rumbling with a teasing laughter.

  “Can we speak with you for a moment?” Daniel said.

  Ashpenaz seemed surprised, but he regained his composure. “Of course, right this way.”

  Daniel and the others walked into the hallway and disappeared out of sight. I stayed where I was. I couldn’t risk Ashpenaz finding out who I was.

  It was a while before they came back again.

  “What did you say?” I pressed.

  Daniel’s shoulders were tense. “I told him we didn’t need permission. We still weren’t going to eat the king’s food, but we want his blessing at least. He said no. Ashpenaz respects me, but he does not want to risk it.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Two guards walked towards each other in the far corner. They shot glances at me, speaking in low tones.

  Daniel furrowed his brow. “We might have bigger problems.”

  I sank lower in my
chair. “What do I do?” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. “I don’t want them to find out I’m not supposed to be here.”

  “What if we talked to that guard from before that was stationed at our rooms? Do you think…” Daniel trailed off. Suddenly, Daniel bent lower to us, a plan forming in his eyes. “I think I know what to do, but I won’t tell you now. We’ll do it first thing in the morning,” he said.

  After the meal, we went back to our rooms. I rolled out a blanket on the floor. The moon glittered like a silver disc through the window.

  “Daniel?” I whispered, turning my head to his bed.

  “Mm?”

  “How do you do it?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You act so calm and have such strong a faith. How do you stick to your beliefs when you can’t see what you are believing in?”

  “When it comes, you’ll know. When God speaks to us, we know it’s Him.”

  “Does He speak to everyone?”

  “Yes, He does. He sometimes speaks through other people. It’s not always a voice or a feeling.”

  “Then how come I can’t hear Him?” I said.

  “You have to get used to looking for his voice. God answers everything you ask whether it is a no, a yes, a maybe…and it could come right away or much later.”

  “How come it’s so hard to listen?” I asked. “Why does He make it so hard?”

  Daniel gave a little chuckle. “He doesn’t make it impossible. Each hardship lets us grow a little in our relationship with Him. We learn to know Him and depend on Him.”

  Daniel sat up and propped his head on his elbow. “God doesn’t make bad things happen. The devil does that. God loves all of us completely no matter how much we have sinned. God has a plan for all of us even if we don’t understand some things He does. You will hear Him.”

  I was silent for several moments. “You seem pretty confident.”

  “No kidding. Do you know how many times I’ve heard that speech?” I heard Azariah mumble from his bed.

  “It’s the truth,” Daniel answered plainly.

  “Oh yes, rob us of our sleep. Go right ahead,” Hananiah added in dramatically.

  Daniel laughed. “Don’t listen to them,” Daniel assured me. “They’re usually serious during this kind of stuff. We are all strong believers.”

  “Usually. But right now my mind is stuffed with fantasy dreams,” Azariah joked.

  I laughed at them. Some things about boys never changed.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows

  what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”

  Daniel 2:22 NIV

  “It worked!”

  Daniel burst into the doorway.

  My head felt groggy. I peered at him through squinted eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  Azariah yawned. “Are you talking about Ashpenaz? What did you do?”

  “You will see.”

  “That’s not cryptic at all.”

  “Just trust me,” Daniel grinned. “And I fixed the Genesis problem.”

  “I’m a problem?” I sat up quickly.

  “She’s a problem?”

  “Who’s a problem?” Hananiah was awake now.

  “No! I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that now she doesn’t have to pretend to be one of us anymore.”

  “Ohhh,” we all said at the same time.

  Azariah rubbed his eyes. “We have no idea what you are talking about.”

  Mishael nodded.

  “I’m tired,” Hananiah blurted out.

  Azariah grabbed a clay pitcher full of water and poured it onto Hananiah’s head.

  “Feel better?”

  Hananiah glared at him.

  “He’s awake, everybody! It’s a miracle!”

  I snorted and covered my mouth.

  “Can I finish?” Daniel stepped in between us. We nodded.

  “I told the guard that you were a servant from my home who came along. Ashpenaz said you would have to be with the other servants, but otherwise, he will let you serve us personally.”

  I laughed. “Well, aren’t you three lucky ducks.”

  “What kind of duck is that?” Azariah said.

  “It’s a figure of speech. You know, like a phrase. A saying…”

  “A figure of what?”

  I laughed again, really hard this time. I had to stop using twenty-first-century lingo.

  “All jokes aside, it will give you access to the city. That way, you can find whoever you are looking for,” Daniel was serious now.

  “Um, well, Daniel. About that…” I started, but I was cut off by Mishael who was pulling on his sandals.

  “Come on. We are all going to be late for breakfast.”

  I was the first one out of the room since I had slept in my clothes. The three of us planned to meet later. With me as a servant, I didn’t have to be on edge all the time. After a few wrong turns, I eventually found the kitchen. An anxious waitress burst out of the entryway with platters of food. I watched as a man pulled out an entire chicken from the wood-burning stove. The small windows in the room revealed a small courtyard outside where a woman was leading a donkey around an oil press.

  I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, so I just waited. I didn’t have to wait long because a young girl pulled me to a group of plates heaped with food. I grabbed two and hurried out the doorway.

  “Are they going to announce it yet?” I whispered to Daniel. I balanced the tray with one hand.

  “Yes, in a moment.”

  I was about to go back when a servant brought out several plates covered with nothing but fruits and vegetables. I waited at the doorway to watch.

  The rest of the room looked at the officials expectantly to explain what was happening.

  “Everyone, please settle down. I can see why you are confused at the sudden change of diet. On behalf of the young men from Judah, we are going to try a test. For ten days, half of you will eat the king’s food consisting of wine, meat, and bread, and the other half will only have a diet of vegetables, fruit, and water. At the end of ten days, we will see which half is stronger and healthier.”

  There was a little grumbling, but surprisingly, many of them didn’t protest. Daniel turned and winked at me.

  Later that day, I caught up with Daniel and the others after they had finished their daily training.

  “You guys did pretty well convincing him to go along with your experiment,” I said.

  “We were just obeying God,” he answered.

  “How long are you all going to stay here to train?” I asked.

  “Three years,” Mishael said.

  I frowned. “Can’t you just get up and leave when you want to?”

  “No, unfortunately,” Daniel said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because we were sent here by force, not by choice. After Nebuchadnezzar took over the throne from King Jehoiakim, he ordered for the strongest, most educated, and healthiest nobles from the royal family to come and to learn to serve in his palace. I, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah didn’t rebel against Nebuchadnezzar because the Lord brought us here for a reason. It will just take some time,” Daniel explained. He didn’t seem angry or upset, only curious and ready to follow God.

  I was silent for a moment. “So, three years, huh?”

  Daniel laughed. “Yes. All three.”

  “We’re drawing partners today.” Mrs. Whitaker brought out the dreaded cup filled with popsicle sticks. Each popsicle stick had our name on it. Meaning out of the twenty-four other students in the class, one would be picked to be my partner.

  I had twenty-four options, and there was only one out of the twenty-four I couldn’t get.

  Mrs. Whitaker drew out a couple popsicle sticks before she picked my name out of the cup.

  “Genesis Amelyst and . . .” She paused and drew out another name. “Jace Anthony.”

  I clenched my jaw and closed my ey
es.

  Of course.

  Mrs. Whitaker finished picking partners and continued on. “You have two weeks to complete this project. There will be time in class to work on it with your partners, but you have to use your time wisely. Have your ideas planned out by tomorrow. It’ll make the process much easier.”

  Usually, I would be listening, but this time was different. I had to do anything but collapse in absolute despair.

  “On a lighter note…”

  As if.

  “You get to choose the topic as long as it is historical,” she continued. I tried not to glare at Jace’s back. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  I made my way reluctantly to Jace’s desk as everyone around me dispersed to find each other’s partner.

  “Hi,” I mumbled flatly and sat in the seat next to him.

  “Hi,” he answered back with as much enthusiasm. I unzipped my bag and pulled out my notebook and a pencil. I wrote “Brainstorm” at the top and glanced at Jace.

  “So…do you have any topics in mind?” I ventured casually.

  He shrugged. He was sketching a picture on his paper. It didn’t look like anything.

  I eyed him warily. “I’m not sure if that means you have an idea or if you actually don’t know…”

  He looked up from his picture and sighed heavily, rolling his eyes.

  “How about the Mayflower?” I said dryly.

  He made a face.

  “Civil war? The Great Depression?”

  “Not exactly what I was thinking of.” He went back to doodling on his paper. It was starting to look like an elephant.

  “The building of the pyramids? Bubonic plague?” In that moment, the bell rang, sending the rest of the class scrambling for their backpacks.

  “We’ll just figure it out tomorrow,” he said, picking up his paper and his book bag. He merged with the rest of the class spilling out of the door.

  I shoved my stuff back into my backpack and zipped it angrily. The zipper closed its teeth on my hair and accidentally pulled out a piece as I flung the bag over my shoulder. I winced, even more irritated. I sulked all the way to my next class.

  The only bright side to this whole thing was the fact that I could go home and escape into a completely different time period from my own.

  At least I still had that to hold on to.