Hours later, Mari’s melodic voice floated on a gentle breeze. I had fought hard not to fall asleep. I scrambled back to Daniel who lay on the grass half-awake. “Scylla is asleep. We can get Nathan anytime.”
Daniel yawned. “Great. Let’s get a few hours’ rest, and we’ll sneak him out in the morning.”
“No, don’t wait. Who knows how long the sedative will last.”
“You want me to go right now?”
“Yes.”
Daniel reluctantly got up and rubbed his eyes. With his athletic build silhouetted against the moonlight, could anything foil him? He looked too strong.
“I’ll walk over with you and wait,” I offered.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Daniel asked.
“Of course I’m sure.” We had to before he changed his mind. I couldn’t bear that we had come this far and not succeed. Just meeting the king again was enough to compel me not to chicken out.
A few minutes later, Daniel and I stood out front. Daniel nodded—as if asking me to pray for him or wish him luck. I did both. He disappeared into the house, and I crouched down in the leaves, listening for anything, whether good or bad. The time ticked too slowly. I blew on my hands and rubbed them together to keep me awake and shoo away the butterflies in my stomach.
Several minutes later, Nathan and Daniel walked through the front door. I sprang from my hiding place. No one else could have snuck Nathan out so quietly. Daniel had draped his arm on Nathan’s shoulder to guide him as he stumbled in the dark. Soon we made it to the street. I breathed heavily, releasing pent-up tension.
“Ca-Ca. Where are you going, Shale?” Worldly Crow had found us, and as usual, had come at the worst possible moment.
“We’re going to see the king,” I replied. “Shhhh.”
“What?” Daniel asked.
“I’m talking to Worldly Crow.”
“Worldly Crow?” Daniel glanced back at the black bird now following us. He shrugged. “Whatever.”
We headed back to our hiding place and prepared to leave. I sent Much-Afraid to the cave, so it was just Baruch and us.
The first hour passed in silence. Nathan and Daniel walked beside me as I rode. Daniel took a few moments and explained to Nathan about the king and my desire to see him healed. Nathan thanked me with his eyes.
We passed through the region of Tyre and Sidon. We approached the Sea of Galilee at dawn, and a little later entered the Decapolis, where we came upon a throng of people gathered on a hillside. I stood on my tippy toes to get a view, but I couldn’t see towards the front.
“We’ll need to leave Baruch here and walk down,” I told Daniel.
Baruch heehawed. “I want to see the king, too.”
“Sorry, Baruch, not this time. You had lots of time with the king in the garden. This is Nathan’s moment.”
Baruch hung his head, “Yes, Miss Shale. You’re right.”
I patted Baruch on the nose and tethered him underneath a shade tree.
Daniel guided Nathan in front of him, and we squeezed our way in among the crowds. I recognized the fishermen who had been with the king in Gadara when he cast out the demons.
One came up and asked us. “What do you need?”
Daniel replied, “We have a young mute man with us who needs healing.”
The man waved his hand at the crowds amassed on the hill. “The master is busy right now. Can’t you see?”
Sometimes my persistence, though annoying to some, paid off. “Please let us take Nathan to the healer. We have come a long ways.”
I glanced behind him. We had gotten the king’s attention. I pleaded, “If the teacher could touch Nathan, I know he would heal him.”
The man left to speak privately with the king.
A couple of minutes later, the king walked up and greeted us. His eyes showed tenderness and concern. “Follow me.”
The king guided us away from the people to a secluded spot. He showed Nathan where to sit. After praying, the king spat onto his hand and touched Nathan’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he cried, “Ephphatha!”
Nathan opened his mouth wide and moved his tongue for the first time. His eyes grew bright. Laughing, he turned to the king. Speaking plainly, he talked with an exuberance that amazed me.
Nathan bowed on his knees before the healer, uttering praises. “Thank you, my Lord, for healing me.”
Then he turned to the rest of us. “I can speak. I can speak. Hear me.” He reached over to Daniel and shook him. “I can speak. Can you hear me?”
Daniel nodded.
Nathan bowed before the king once more. “Thank you, Lord.”
The king said, “When you leave here, don’t tell anyone what I’ve done.”
By this time, the crowds had followed us. The people looked on in amazement. Many shook their heads in disbelief.
“Who is this man that does such miracles? Where does he come from?” they asked.
“He comes from Nazareth,” one follower responded.
“Nazareth—can anything good come from there?”
The healer had brought division to the people. Daniel watched with interest. I noticed that he and the king exchanged glances. Daniel’s nod towards the king filled me with hope. How long would it be before he understood?
The king’s eyes pierced the darkness of my heart, but I did not feel judged. Goose bumps crept up my arms. Ecstasy overflowed. Joy I had not known flowed through me in a way I didn’t understand. Words weren’t necessary.
The king knew my innermost imperfections but covered my flaws with his perfection. I slipped down and sat at his feet. He placed his hand on my head and prayed, speaking to me softly.
“I love you, Shale, more than you will know. Don’t let anyone steal your joy. There’s no one else like you. Believe.”
I sobbed as I sat in a crumbled heap. I didn’t want what happened between us to end. I was changed, but I didn’t know how or what it meant. One thing I did know—I wanted to be a daughter of the king.
Nathan continued walking among the crowds, sharing his healing. The amazement of the crowds grew. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Daniel kept his eyes on the king. I could perceive the wheels of belief churning in his intellectual mind. He needed more time. The king smiled at me once more as we prepared to leave.
I longed to know him deeply. How could one person be so awesome, so perfect, and so loving? I knew he was more than just an ordinary man. He had to be who he said he was.
We had almost made it back up the hill when I saw the beggar from Dothan. As he raised his hands towards the heavens, joy overflowed. I rushed up to him, and he stopped worshiping to acknowledge me. A questioning look crossed his face.
“You are healed,” I exclaimed.
The man touched his eyes and then thrust his hands into the sky. “The king healed me. I can see!”
“That’s wonderful. Then you know the king, too,” I said excitedly.
The man reached for my hand and squeezed it, as he had done long ago. He smiled broadly. “You gave me a coin once, when I was blind.”
“Yes, I did. And you prayed for me to receive a blessing.”
We stood for a moment, hands locked, and then he let me go. I smiled at him as I walked away.
Daniel called to me, from higher up the hill.
A few minutes later, I climbed on Baruch’s back and readied myself as an ole pro now in donkey riding, but sadness filled my heart. We had to leave too soon. I wanted to savor the memory so it would last forever. And Fifi—I knew he was safe. I had peace. The king’s eyes—they pierced my soul and loved me anyway.
“Shale, are you okay?”
Daniel’s voice jolted me back to reality.
“Yes.” I sat quietly for a minute before continuing. “He’s the king above all kings.”
“You think so?” Daniel was walking alongside Baruch as I sat on the donkey.
“And you don’t?”
Daniel pursed his lips. “I don’t know what to think.”
Worldly Crow landed on a palm tree as we passed by. “That was spectacular. Some kind of magic, uh? How did he learn how to do that?”
“He didn’t learn, Worldly Crow.”
“What’s that?” Daniel glanced at me.
I chuckled. “Oh, Worldly Crow called the healer a magician.”
Daniel grinned. “That’s a thought.”
I turned to Nathan. “What’s the first thing you’re going to say to Scylla when we return?”
Nathan’s eyes were fixated on the ground. He murmured. “I’m not going to say anything.”
“What? Tell me you’re kidding. You’re healed, and you’re not going to share with others what the king did for you?”
“Didn’t he tell me not to tell anyone?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think that’s what he meant, Nathan. Really.”
“Then what did he mean when he told me not to tell anyone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe don’t tell people until they are ready to listen.”
“I’ll reveal what the king has done, but only to my father. I want him to hear me first.”
I stared at Nathan. “You mean we brought you all the way out here, risking the wrath of Scylla sneaking you out, and you aren’t even going to speak to her?”
“Besides,” Nathan continued. “I want Daniel to remain with us and not leave. That won’t happen if Scylla knows I can talk.”
“Nathan,” Daniel scolded, “you can’t manipulate people like that. I go where I want. No one controls me, not even you.”
My heart sank. This was not turning out the way I wanted. Already my joy was evaporating. I was still stuck with an evil stepmother, an absent father, betrothed to a man I hated, and the one I wanted to be with was leaving. Anger crept into my thoughts. My good intentions to heal Nathan had not accomplished everything I had hoped for, and yet, the king’s smile still glowed in my mind, and his voice lingered in my ears, “Don’t let others steal your joy.”
Worldly Crow cackled. “Ca-Ca. I’ve come from Jerusalem. Many religious leaders say that man is a fraud.”
“What do you know about anything, Worldly Crow? Go away. Let me be.”
With that, the crow took off in a huff, leaving me to ponder all these things in my heart.
Chapter 29
SECRETS REVEALED