When I opened my eyes, I still didn’t see the castle or Daniel. Perhaps I should follow Cherios and Shira. I sensed they were going to the apple tree. I calculated how many apples I could squeeze into my bag—maybe a dozen, though my bag would be quite heavy.
I jogged down the knoll and quickly caught up with them. As I started picking apples, I heard my name echo across the garden. “Shale.”
My heart leaped. “Daniel!”
I dropped my bag and rushed back up the hill. When Daniel saw me, he waved. Within seconds, he had swept me up in his arms. “You won’t believe where I’ve been,” Daniel said “I was gone so long I was afraid you wouldn’t be here when I returned.”
I looked up into the heavens at the position of the sun. “You were only gone a few hours.”
Daniel shook his head. “No, it’s been many, many days.”
Then I remembered what the angel had said—that our time here may seem short, but it would be longer than we thought.
“I saw you on the Mount of Olives.” I lifted his hair off his forehead. “You have the seal—the mark of the one hundred forty-four thousand.”
Daniel’s face turned serious. “I had a scar there before, but now that the time has come, it’s a seal.”
I buried my head in his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I love you.”
Daniel stroked me on the back. “I love you, too.”
I stepped back and admired him. “God truly has chosen you. I’m humbled to play a small part in what God is doing.”
Lifting his eyes, he smiled. “I see Shira and Cherios have become friends.”
I bit my lip. Should I show Daniel the photograph I had found?
Before I could decide, Daniel placed his hand on my shoulder. “I want to tell you some things.”
My thoughts turned to Daniel’s adventure. “Tell me everything, starting from the beginning.”
Daniel pointed. “Let’s sit over there.”
I followed him to a spot where we could keep an eye on Shira and Cherios. I made myself comfortable beside him on the silky grass, leaning my head on his shoulder.
Daniel took my hand in his and began. “I took the same trail as before, passing cascading waterfalls and water gardens. I didn’t see any children this time, though, but at the end of the trail, it opened up to a white sandy beach that bordered a crystal clear river. This time a small boat was on the shore. A guide sat in the back of the boat holding an oar.”
Daniel peered intensely into my eyes. “Last time, you met me on the other side with dry clothes because I had to swim across.”
“I did? How could I have done that when I’ve never been to the castle, and I have no memory of giving you clothes?”
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think we have many futures, and God allows us to choose.”
“What does that mean?”
Daniel smiled. “Remember, when you asked Yeshua if you could marry me? I think you changed your future.”
“How?”
Daniel hesitated before replying. “You missed the rapture.”
“Oh.” Could that be true? “And Shira, too?”
Daniel inched closer. “There are no children on the earth now.”
My mind struggled to embrace Daniel’s revelation. “Did you learn anything else about me?”
“First let me finish this part of the story.”
I glanced up at the sky, hoping to catch another vision, but the heavens were blue. I noticed Shira and Cherios resting. Shira would sleep well tonight.
Daniel continued. “I walked up to the boat, and the man in the boat called out to me. ‘Get in the boat, and I’ll give you a ride.’ I jumped in, and he took me across the river. I wanted to ask him who he was, but I knew, even though he didn’t tell me.”
“Who was it?”
“I knew it was the Lord.”
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “You saw Jesus.”
“When I reached the other side, he told me to make sure I visited the library. I knew then it was the Lord. He had met me in the library when I came to the castle the first time.”
Daniel inclined into me. “When I went inside the castle, the first thing I did was run up the stairs. When I reached the top, I opened the door...”
CHAPTER 37
“AN IMMENSE LIBRARY filled the room, just as before. This time, however, Yeshua was not waiting for me. Neither was there a burning fire or prepared food. Still, books lined the walls as far as I could see.”
Daniel reflected. “I didn’t expect to see my father, but part of me hoped I might.”
I assured him. “I’m sure he’s no longer in the castle.”
Daniel shrugged. “Probably not, but in the garden, anything is possible.”
“What happened next?”
Daniel stretched his legs and leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. “I wasn’t sure what to do. Then I remembered your diary. Why not put it on one of the shelves?”
The thought of my diary being in God’s library thrilled me.
“Did I ever tell you I found a scroll at the temple with my name on it?” Daniel asked.
I shook my head, surprised.
“Well, the strange thing was, I had been unable to open it, but Yeshua unsealed it for me before placing it on a shelf. He said it was my life from beginning to end. I tried to remember where he put it because I wanted to see if it was still there, but the library was so vast, I couldn’t remember.”
“Did you put my diary on a shelf?”
Daniel seemed reluctant to continue. Finally, he said, “When I tried to place your scroll on the shelf, it fell on the floor.”
I placed my hand on my troubled heart. “What do you mean?”
Daniel pulled my scroll out of his bag. “I tried several times, up high, down low, in several places, but as I said, the scroll fell onto the floor.”
Did God not like my diary? Panic filled me. “What’s wrong with my scroll that God would reject it?”
Daniel ran his fingers through his hair. “About that time, an angel entered the room. I knew he was an angel because he was tall, ten feet or more, and similar in appearance to the one that greeted us when we arrived.”
I would have been excited to hear about Daniel’s encounter with an angel if I wasn’t so upset that God had rejected my scroll.
Daniel sat forward, clasping his knees. “I told the angel I was trying to put your scroll on the bookshelf. The angel walked over and opened it.”
My heart lodged in my throat. “And—”
“The angel pointed to the first entry. “The diary is addressed ‘Dear Dog,’ not ‘Dear God.’”
My heart sank. “No.” I covered my eyes, dismayed at how Daniel’s words sounded. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t want Scylla to know who I was writing to because I was afraid. Plus, I was imitating Anne Frank. She addressed her diary, ‘Dear Kitty.’”
Daniel squared his shoulders. “I know, you told me that, and that’s what I told the angel.”
Tears flowed. “What did the angel say when you told him that?”
The angel replied, “Jesus said, ‘Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my father in heaven.’”
I dropped my head. “Oh, Daniel, I’ve made a terrible mistake. Do you think God will forgive me?”
Daniel lifted my face to his. “You know God will forgive you.”
I sat frozen, overwhelmed, thinking about my mistake. “Dear Jesus, please forgive me for my pride. How many things like this have I done? Please forgive me.”
We both remained quiet for a moment, until I softly touched Daniel’s hand. “You know, everyone has wanted my scrolls—my father, the Illuminati, the scientists, Nidal, even the media if they could get their hands on them. What everyone values here means nothing to Jesus. How foolish of me, trying to avoid Scylla’s scorn, pretending to be another Anne Frank—what horrible stinking pride. How wrong I’ve been. I didn’t even know my own sinful heart.�
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Daniel put his arm around me. “You have confessed your sin, Shale. That’s all God requires. He’s already paid the price on the cross.”
I knew that, but guilt shot through me. Why did I not see my own sin? I looked up at Daniel. “Do you have a pen? I want to change those entries.”
Daniel opened his bag to look for one.
Then I remembered I had a pen, but I had left my bag by the apple tree. “I have a pen in my bag. I started a new diary in Dothan. This one is written to God.”
Daniel smiled. “See, you’ve grown in your faith, probably more than you realize.”
I stood. “Can you come with me to get it?”
Daniel followed me down the knoll to the secluded part of the garden. We passed Shira and Cherios who were still sleeping. I was glad Shira was taking a nap.
After opening my bag and finding my pen underneath several apples, I changed the places where I had written “God” backwards as “dog.”
Daniel opened his Bible. “The angel also told me to read Isaiah 5:20.”
“Do you know what it says?”
Daniel shook his head. “I’ll look it up.”
I waited as Daniel turned to the passage and read it out loud. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
My hands trembled. “God doesn’t like for things to be reversed.”
“It’s a form of divination,” Daniel said.
I cried again, bowing my head once more. “Dear heavenly father, please forgive me.”
After several minutes, I felt God’s forgiveness. I was also thankful that Shira had slept through my agonizing confession.
Daniel placed his hand on mine. “I hear the train coming.”
I perked up through my tears. “I do, too.”
I stood and called out to Shira. “Wake up. The train is coming. We need to go.”
Cherios awoke immediately, and Shira stood, still half-asleep. She rubbed her eyes as she ran to me. “I’m so glad I got to play with Cherios. Can we come back to the garden?”
I smiled. “I hope so.” I wanted to see if God would accept my diary.
Daniel carried my bag laden with apples up the hill as I helped Shira to the top. In the distance, an immense angel waited beside the train. Cherios had hopped beside us, and I stopped to pat her on the head. “We’ll come back soon.”
Cherios twitched her nose. “There is no place like home.”
I peered out over the garden where one house was under construction and remembered the photograph. “Yes, there is no place like home.”
CHAPTER 38
ONCE WE REACHED the top of the plateau and approached the train platform, I didn’t see the angel. I saw other things—things I hadn’t noticed before. Perhaps this was a different train. Or perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me. I noticed a swastika on the side of the boxcar. I remembered what Daniel had shared, how Satan perverts things, reverses words, prints backwards, or displays objects upside down. In the swastika I saw a hideous cross.
I picked up Shira and called out to Daniel who was a few steps in front of me. “Daniel, that’s not the same train we rode. And where’s the angel? Maybe that wasn’t an angel we saw.”
Daniel studied the train. “It’s definitely not the same one, but that doesn’t mean anything. Let’s wait for the angel.”
We waited a few minutes. By this time Cherios had arrived and hippity-hopped in front of us to get Shira’s attention. Shira squirmed. I set her down, staring at the train and then at Daniel. Steam poured out the top of the engine.
Soon a man stepped out of one of the dilapidated freight cars and waved. He didn’t look like a Nazi, but he wasn’t the angel we had seen from the bottom of the hill.
“Welcome aboard,” the man shouted.
Daniel and I exchanged glances. I studied the middle-aged man with a receding hairline. He was a little too thick around the middle and wore baggy pants and a stained, long-sleeve shirt.
Daniel hesitated. “I’d rather see the angel to make sure we’re boarding the right train.”
I called out to Cherios to come closer. She hopped up to me, wiggling her nose. Shira was beside her.
I squatted and whispered in her ear. “Cherios, have you ever seen that man before?”
Cherios stood on her hind legs to get a better view. Then she made a shrill squeaking sound, jumping up and down. “Why, that’s Mr. Clover. Best friend animal kind could have.”
I laughed lightly, partly from relief, partly from embarrassment that I had so quickly doubted God. Why would he send a bad man to rescue us from his garden? Still, I’d felt better if the train didn’t have the Nazi symbol on it.
I relayed to Daniel what Cherios had told me. “She said that’s Mr. Clover, the best friend anyone could have.”
Daniel smiled. “Then I guess we better get moving.”
We climbed the platform, and Mr. Clover shook our hands. “We’ll be off in no time.” He beamed. “However, we’ll have to wait a few minutes for some other passengers to arrive.”
I glanced back at the garden. I hadn’t seen any other people. “Oh, so who is coming?” I asked, making conversation.
Mr. Clover wiped his hands on a dirty handkerchief he had pulled out of his pocket. “We have to wait for the sheep and the goats.”
“Oh.” Would we have to share our cabin with a bunch of animals?
Mr. Clover went back into the engine room. Shira, Daniel, and I found our seats and waited for the arrival of the passengers. Several minutes later, a long line of sheep and goats appeared. There weren’t just a few. There were dozens. Were all of these animals coming with us to Caesarea?
Daniel reached over and patted me on the arm. “It looks like we’re going to have lots of company on our trip.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Yeah.”
Soon the animals started entering our rail car. They were dirty and smelled. I held my nose. How long would we have to share our cabin with these odorous creatures? Still, I tried to be patient despite my impatience. I held Shira in my lap so she wouldn’t get soiled.
Once our compartment was full, I expected the door to shut, and we’d be on our way. However, nothing happened. Where was our conductor?
I stared impatiently at Daniel. “How long are we going to be stuck here?”
Daniel’s eyes got wide. “I don’t know.”
We waited, and we waited some more. Where was God, or the angel? Why did he abandon us on this Nazi train with smelly sheep and goats and a conductor who forgot about us?
Daniel stood. “Maybe there is a problem of some sort. Let me go see if I can find the conductor and offer him some help.”
I laughed. “Yeah, like you know anything about Nazi trains.”
Daniel’s eyes grew stern. “Shale, be patient. I’m sure there is an explanation for the delay.”
I puckered my lower lip. “I am being patient.”
Daniel disappeared from view when he entered the compartment in front of us. I focused on Shira.
However, the bleating and baaing and bodily fluids making an appearance on the floor irritated me even more. The train wasn’t even sanitary now, and Daniel was taking far too long talking to Mr. Clover. Why didn’t he come back and tell me what was going on?
After several minutes, Daniel came through the doorway with Mr. Clover trailing him. While Daniel approached me, I noticed the conductor walking around talking to the animals. Mr. Clover’s apparent lack of desire to get the train going and instead worrying about farm animals was so distracting I had a hard time focusing on Daniel.
Daniel sat beside me. I was glad he avoided the urine that was edging closer to us.
I glared at him. “What in the world is going on?”
Daniel squinted. “Why are you so upset? Calm down. It’s not the end of the world.”
“Okay. Tell me, what’s going on?”
“The t
rain coupler is broken. He’s waiting on somebody to deliver the part so he can fix it. It’s a minor delay, maybe an hour.”
I felt my face getting hot. “An hour? Well, can we get off the train and wait outside instead of being stuck with these stinky animals?”
Daniel did a double take. “Animals? I don’t see any animals.”
My voice went up several amps. I pointed. “Are you blind—those sheep and goats.”
Daniel shook his head. “Those aren’t animals, those are people.”
“What?” Ever so slowly, as I allowed my emotions to calm down and my eyes to focus, the animals became clearer to me. In fact, they weren’t animals. They were people.
I started to explain. “Daniel, I know I saw farm animals getting on the train.”
Daniel rubbed his chin. “It was a test.”
I felt my face growing hotter. “What?”
Daniel scooted closer, patting Shira reassuringly on the back. “When you are selfish, only thinking about yourself, people become like animals, nuisances. People are—well, like sheep and goats. You should have listened, and you wouldn’t have heard bleats and baas. You would have heard their stories, their hearts, and their journeys. Every person has value, but when you live in a selfish world, no one has value. Not even yourself.”
Before I could respond, Mr. Clover approached, taking away any opportunity to wallow in self-pity. I glanced at the floor wondering if he had manure or urine on his shoes, and then remembered. It was an illusion. He held out his hand. “Shale, I’m glad to meet you.”
I shook it and smiled meekly, ashamed of my selfish attitude. “I’m glad to meet you, too.”
He handed me a pencil and piece of paper. “Would you mind going around and finding out what our guests would like to eat? We’ll celebrate with a big meal. That way, when we get the coupler fixed, everyone will be full and lacking in nothing.”
I stood, my heart fluttering. Even after all my disasters in one day, I still had a chance to make up for it. “I’d be glad to. Shira can help me.”
After a couple minutes of idle conversation, Daniel and Mr. Clover returned to the engine car to wait for the new coupler. Shira and I went through the various rail cars taking orders of food.
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