by Summer Lee
The trek seemed longer than Sam would have anticipated. He assumed that since the old man had trouble moving about, that Noah would be similar. Estimating Noah to now be just a few hundred yards away, he expected to see him soon.
By now, they had been walking for about an hour through the wilderness, where the grass was automatically moist and tall. They slowly approached a mountain that looked familiar. Every time Sam saw something big in the distance, he assumed it would be the ark, but he had been disappointed every time. This one seemed different.
Sam stopped to rest. He sat down on a nearby rock to get something out of his shoe. It was an incredibly hot day and being in that robe didn’t help. He breathed deeply; noticeably, he had trouble catching his breath. He reached under the robe and into his pocket to pull out his asthma dispenser. Achava stopped and waited for him, asking, “You okay?”
“I will be soon,” he said, as he breathed deeply from the inhaler.
Meanwhile, the old man turned and glared at Sam, watching his every move. Sam let out a long, slow sigh, which showed his displeasure in himself for holding up the trek. “Sorry.”
“Do all males from where you hail tire so easily?” the old man asked Achava.
Sam couldn’t understand what the man had said, since Achava wasn’t touching him. She answered, “He has trouble breathing in certain conditions.”
Sam used his inhaler again, to the astonishment of the old man. “What manner of thing does he press to his face?”
“It is needed to replenish breath in his lungs,” she answered with a smile.
The old man looked even more confused. “That would be a wondrous answer I’m sure, if I knew what lungs were.”
She turned pale, as she realized that she gave him a word that wouldn’t exist until around 1300 A.D. She had made a mistake and let her guard down. The old man made her comfortable and she felt she could trust him. After that mistake, she had no choice but tell him who she was.
She gulped. “Let us just say, that the object helps him to breathe better. If he did not have it, he could die.”
The old man stared at Sam. “Interesting. I would not have known that I could still learn new things at my age. You two are truly from a place far away. I think it is a place that I have never heard of.” He smiled.
“Let me explain,” she said.
Sam heard Achava and the man talking. He did his best to pretend they weren’t talking, since he couldn’t understand them anyway. He placed the inhaler back in his pocket. He then removed each shoe and emptied the sandy contents onto the ground. He then put his shoes back on and stood with a smile on his face. He nodded at the old man and waited for him to continue on.
While still staring at Sam, the man said to Achava, “Noah is just on the other side of that mountain. I have taken you as far as I dare go.”
“Is there some danger that we need to be aware of?” she asked, with concern.
He shook his head. “Again, you give me words that are new to me. I understand most of what you have said. Noah is my grandson. He and I are not as close as we once were. You will see what I mean when you go to him. But we both have completed a task ordered by the Lord. May God grant you protection and guidance on your journey.”
Achava wanted to say so many things to the man, but she knew that Noah was the main objective of their trip. “Thank you, sir. We will never forget you and what you have done for us. I know I speak for Sam as well.”
The old man smiled and started to walk away. “Wait a minute. My father’s name was Enoch. He wrote many books on clay tablets. I found some in my home the other day. I wanted to put them on the ark. But I probably don’t have time to get them and come back.”
“I’m sorry for you,” said Achava.
“Oh well.” Methuselah chuckled. “I am happy to have met you both. Who knew that I would learn something new at my advanced age? Almost 1,000 years old and I can still learn. That is truly a lesson worth finding out. No matter how old you get, or how much you have learned, God always has more for you to learn. When you think that you have learned all you can, then you need to think again. Share your knowledge. The world will thank you for it. Never forget that, girl.”
“I won’t,” she replied. Achava embraced the man gently, as one lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I thought I knew a lot, but God has shown me that there is always more to learn as well.”
“It was a great pleasure to meet you.”
The old man tried to laugh, without coughing. “You know of me, don’t you girl?”
“I do, sir,” she answered, as if she had just been reacquainted with a long, lost friend. “I have known of you all my life, Mr. Methuselah.”
“Do you know the meaning of my name? It is, ‘When he dies, it will come.’ He was speaking about the flood. “Noah knows that, because he is my grandson.”
“I will remember.”
“God be with you both!” he said, as he turned away.
Sam wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard the man humming, as he walked away. Sam looked at Achava and studied her expression. She just smiled and wiped her tear away. Sam and Achava continued on their way toward the mountain. “What did he say?” Sam asked, anxiously.
“He wished us well and said he was happy to have known us,” she replied. “He will be someone we will never forget.”
Sam looked back at the man walking away and then back at Achava. “Was that…?”
“… a kind man who I have heard about since I was a little girl?” she interrupted.
“You called him Methuselah. I’ve heard of him. He was Noah’s grandfather.”
“Yes, he is and was. The Bible says that he lived to be nine hundred sixty-nine, the oldest age of any man on earth.”
“His death is to bring on the flood.”
“I learned a song when I was young,” she said. “It went like this: ‘Reeve old Methuselah, I’m coming home. The oldest man that’s ever been known. He lived to be 969. Died and went to heaven in plenty of time.’”
Sam just laughed. “Yes, that was Methuselah.” He then stood and watched the old man walk toward a distant hill. Slowly, he disappeared in the shadows of the trees.
“What matters now is that we get to the other side of that mountain.”
“That’s where we’ll find Noah, right?” Sam asked.
“That is where we will find Noah.” Achava replied, nodding. “Methuselah promised.”
Chapter the Ninth
ACHAVA AND SAM MADE IT TO THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN. They drank the rest of the water and put the empty bottles in the backpack.
Achava sighed, as they continued around the base of the mountain, looking for Noah. It wasn’t as long of a walk as she had anticipated.
They both remained quiet, not knowing what to expect. She felt drops of water on her head. She couldn’t inhale. The knowledge of what the water meant almost paralyzed her. When she looked over to Sam, she knew he felt the same.
“We need to hurry, if we want to find Anthea and Khassima and get the heck out of here before the deluge begins,” he said, in a panic.
She nodded in agreement, as they quickened their pace.
They turned a fast walk into a sprint, as raindrops fell more rapidly. Within moments, they reached the other side of the mountain and both stopped in shock.
They both gasped at the same time, as they looked upon a huge edifice resting near the mountain. It was sitting on several hundred logs and was the most magnificent structure either of them had ever witnessed. Especially since it was built with the crudest of tools.
The wood was cut perfectly and looked to be fitted together by a master builder. Sam couldn’t close his mouth. All he could muster was, “The ark.”
Achava dropped to her knees and clasped her hands in prayer. She didn’t feel worthy of gazing upon the amazing vessel. She had trouble turning her head away from it.
She could see the entrance was only on one side. There was a large makeshift door that had to be abou
t 20 feet square. It was held open like a large canopy, by two pieces of timber that were propped against it from the ground at an angle. The opening faced Achava and Sam.
The rain was slowly increasing, as Achava noticed a small robed figure gathering small pieces of wood from the ground.
She waved for Sam to follow her, as she tried to ignore the giant Biblical artifact right in front of her. She grabbed Sam’s hand and slowly approached the figure.
“Forgive my trespass,” she said in Hebrew, trying to leave out words that hadn’t been thought of as of yet.
The figure looked up in surprise. It was an older woman. She dropped the wood and backed away as she studied Achava and Sam.
“We mean you no harm,” Sam said, in his calmest voice, while clasping Achava’s hand. His Hebrew was weak. “We want to see audience with Noah.”
Achava looked at him and giggled at his choice of words.
The woman squinted her eyes, as she looked closer at Achava. She then put her hand over her mouth and her eyes widened.
“We are sent from Go…” Sam started, before Achava squeezed his hand to get him to stop.
Being sent from God would probably not be believed by someone who had realized that the world was filled with evil. That was, after all, the reason God was destroying the world.
The woman ran into the entrance of the vessel and disappeared inside.
Achava lowered her head. “I can understand her reluctance in welcoming us. Noah has been besieged by doubters and non-believers for the last one hundred and twenty years. Then you and I show up and claim that we mean no harm. She probably thinks that it is a trick. I fear we will somehow be attacked now.”
“Stay positive, Achava,” said Sam. “We’ll reason with whoever she brings out.”
“You do realize who will be coming out next, do you not?” she returned.
“Yeah, I was trying to avoid thinking about that. We need to talk to him, though,” Sam said.
“Who do you wish to speak with?” came a booming voice from just inside the entrance.
“Wow. He’s got some amazing hearing,” Sam said with surprise.
“That I do!” A large older man with a gray beard and mustache thundered out of the entrance. He must have been about six feet tall and was wearing some kind of animal skin top with the matching covering for his buttocks and legs. He also had footwear made of the same material. The skins looked different than the ones Achava and Sam saw earlier with the nomads. This man’s skins appeared to be of a much finer quality. Perhaps wool from a sheep.
He had white bushy eyebrows and a thick face filled with disarray at the moment. He had much more hair on his arms than Achava thought possible on an entire human being.
She stood up straight and tried to keep her confidence level up. “Are you Noah?”
His laugh was rough and deep. “Who else would I be?” He was completely animated and obviously had no desire to mince words. “Who asks?”
“I am Achava,” she responded. “We come in peace and mean you no harm.”
He walked right up to her and gritted his teeth. “What harm could you do to one protected by the Almighty? I have no time for you! Be gone from my sight!” He looked her over from head to foot. “You are rather tall for a woman.” He paused as he studied her golden eyes. “Your eyes look like the brightest day! Just who are you?” he said slowly. “Speak woman! What have you to say?”
“I have told you who I am,” she replied, calmly. “I mean no threat. We have come from far away to seek you out.”
He cocked his head to one side, while trying to figure her out. “You seem to have found me then. Speak! I am a busy man!”
“You must listen. You are a king!” Sam called out.
“Yes,” Noah said, while trying to resist a smile. “I see that stories of me have made their way across many lands. I am a king! A king who has no kingdom! I have ruled the land you see before you! Shuruppak!”
Achava stopped herself, before she said something wrong. She knew that Shuruppak was under Sumerian rule. It did coincide with the time frame. Yet she decided that she could no longer waste time with idle chit chat. Shuruppak was to be destroyed.
“The world will end by flood,” Achava said. She seemed to have instantly caught the big man’s attention. She hoped she had the correct assumption of who he was. “You were to build an ark. You were to get two of every dirty animal and seven of every clean animal to fill the ark. You were to make the ark 300 cubits long. I believe that you might have used gopher wood with pitch smeared inside and out. There are three decks and only one entrance. You were given these instructions by God a century ago. You had only your wife, three sons, and their wives to help you build it, because everyone else laughed at you. Your sons are Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shall I go on or will you help us now?”
Noah appeared to be in complete shock. Achava knew that he had no choice but to look at his visitors as someone on his side. “You… you are an angel?”
Sam smiled. “You got that right.”
Achava raised her brow as she glared at Sam. “I am no more an angel than any other woman here. I do work for the Lord and I have an urgent need to find our friends.”
Noah was still reeling from his surprise that there was anyone who not only believed him, but knew him better than anyone else, except his family. “Yes, I will help you, Angel. Tell me how I can help you find your friends.”
“The name is Achava, not Angel,” she replied softly, with a sigh. “My lost friends are both female. One is taller than I am and covered in drawings. The other is… well… with her.” She found it hard to describe Khassima. In fact, the longer she was away from her, the harder it was to remember her. She had hoped that wasn’t a bad omen. Nevertheless, she needed to find them as fast as possible.
Noah exuded an air of confidence. “I know of these women. They fought with many men from Shuruppak. The women were chased into the woods, near there.” He pointed to a clump of trees that led into a deeper forest. “That is the way to Shuruppak. They are there. I am sure of it.”
The rain continued to come down slowly and soak into the ground. Achava looked at Sam as they both breathed a sigh.
“It appears that the flood will take a while to get here,” Achava said, relieved. She bowed to Noah. “We appreciate the information, Mr. Noah.”
Sam attempted to shake hands and Noah looked surprised. “Forgive me for not introducing you to my companion,” said Achava. “This is Samuel.”
Noah looked confused, as he acknowledged Sam. “Samuel. Do you believe the water from the sky will cause the flood? Ha ha!” His laughter echoed off of the nearby mountain. Noah placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder.
Sam and Achava looked at each other with astonishment. Why would he not shake her hand? Sam looked at Achava and then back at Noah. The Sumerian knew what Sam’s question was, without even asking it.
“It is not my place to put hands on a woman who is not mine,” Noah said, calmly. “You are my friends now.”
“You were saying about the rain… water from the sky,” Achava added, impatiently. She braced herself for his answer, as she mentally went through Bible scripture. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth… and rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Achava turned pale, as her thoughts brought a serious revelation to her. People will be drowning soon.
Noah smiled. “The water from the sky will not be the only reason for the flood. It is the messenger found in the flood. Underground waters will burst forth on the earth. Also, torrents of rain will soon fall, and continue to fall for forty days.”
Sam had a look of panic. “What does that mean?” He showed his impatience by yelling to Achava. “Help me out.”
“Be good to your woman!” Noah said firmly to Sam. “Do not scream at her!”
“My apologies,” Sam said.
Achava looked toward the forest. “Noah. Your family members are all insid
e the ark now. Is that right?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“All of the animals are also in the ark?” she continued.
Noah nodded again. “The animals have been quiet since they entered the ark. God has quieted them for the ride they will be taking soon.” He then lowered his head and looked sad. “I do not have a room for more people. My sons and their wives are already set up in the bedrooms. We could put you in with the animals.”
Achava did her best to smile at Noah. “Thank you, Mr. Noah. We have other means of travel that I can’t explain right now. We will go to get our friends and then return to our home. If we do not see you again, then make sure to keep a watch over Ham and avoid alcohol.”
“If you come back before God closes the door, you can ride with us. We’ll find a way.”
“Thanks.” She hurried toward the forest with Sam in tow. Noah held his hand up to wave as they left.
Sam was trying to fight her grip, without letting Noah see him. “What are you doing? Why can’t the ark be our way out of here? What’s going on?” He had tried to hold in his frustration of just being in that timeline. It restricted everything about him, especially his knowledge. That was about all he could deal with, when Achava pulled him away and said her goodbyes to Noah.
Sternly, she said, “We would never get back home if we go on the ark. We would be locked in that time in history.”
They reached the edge of the forest and she turned him toward her. She was serious. “Now you must trust me more than you ever have before, Sam. Noah kept emphasizing the word friend. He obviously knew what it meant, but the word was new to him.”
“May I ask what that has to do with us not getting on the ark?” he asked, while trying to remain calm.
She sighed. “‘And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.’ And then there’s ‘… and rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.’ I’m sure that just about everyone who read the Bible thought the same thing I did. We need to get to Khassima and Anthea as quickly as possible! Don’t you see? There is no Biblical proof that the rain actually caused the whole world to flood! It may have been a tsunami as well. Even Noah would be surprised by that possibility.”