Chapter 187
©
Jeannie St. John Taylor
With a shock Elika realized that
unless Atarah came out to her mother, Elika would never again look on her face.
She lifted her heads to the roiling clouds, tempted to pray to them. A plump
drop of water splattered on her chin.
“God of Noah,” she prayed
desperately. “Grant me one request. Give me five minutes with my daughter.”
Even as the words left her mouth,
Atarah materialized in the ark’s doorway. A smile lit her face and she ran
weeping into her mother’s arms. They clung to one another. Finally, shouting to
be heard above the howling wind, Elika poured out her heart. She asked for
forgiveness, hoping desperately that Atarah could forgive her.
“I already forgave you.” Atarah
said, taking her mother’s hand. “No more talk out here. I prayed for you to
come. I’d almost given up, but I prayed one final time, looked out the door and
there you were. God’s miracle.” Tears still poured down her cheeks. Or were the
drops lingering on her lashes falling from the sky?
Atarah tugged her mother toward the
door, but Elika set her feet, resisting. “I brought my carpet for you. Please
don’t hang it on a wall. I want you to spread the rug across the floor so that
every time your feet touch the yarn or your children play on the colors you’ll
remember me.”
The man Elika had seen rescue
Atarah at Gadreel’s sacrifice, appeared by her daughter’s side. She guessed him
to be one of Noah’s sons. At Elika’s instruction, he untied the carpet from the
camel and carried her life’s work into the ark.
The ramp began vibrating and the
man rushed back toward them yelling, “You have to come inside now!”
She shook her head. “I’m going
home.”
“No, please!” her daughter clutched her arm.
“The Flood is starting!”
“I’ll be fine. Flood waters can’t
reach our house. I won’t leave your father alone.”
The storm noises increased. Wind
screamed. Wolves howled. Somewhere an elephant trumpeted. “Please come inside
with us,” the man shouted in Elika’s ear. When she again refused, he turned to
Atarah. “You can’t force her! God gave her free will and you have no right to
take that from her.”
Several columns of angry clouds
stretched toward the earth. The man grabbed Atarah’s hand and hastened her,
sobbing hysterically, into the ark. The couple stopped just on the other side
of the door where Elika could see them gesturing and shouting silently for her
to follow. The roaring of earth and sky drowned out their voices.
Jagged regret ripped through
Elika’s soul as the door of the ark slammed shut unassisted by human hand.
Separating mother and daughter for eternity. The ramp dropped away. The sky
burst forth like a waterfall, and the ground opened under her.
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About Jeannie St. John Taylor
Jeannie St. John Taylor, best selling author and two-time Gold Medallion finalist, is the author of five non-fiction books as well as fifteen books for children. She writes and illustrates in the office-studio her husband built on their beef farm ten minutes from the skyscrapers in downtown Portland, Oregon. She and Ray have three grown children. Her books include: Culture-proof Kids, Building Character in Your Children, AMG Publishers, Am I Praying, Kregel and How to Be a Praying Mom, Hendrickson Publishers
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