Chapter 190
©
Jeannie St. John Taylor
At the top of the ladder, Atarah
wrapped her fingers around the pitch-blackened frame of the gopher-wood window
and stuck her head partially through the hole. Warm sunlight bathed her face. A
gentle breeze carried the smell of fish and water. “There’s a warm wind,” she
called down to the family who had gathered at the base of the ladder. She
breathed deeply, briefly enjoying the moment before scanning the horizon. Sure
enough, a few rocky peaks poked out of the water. “I see them,” she exclaimed
before hurrying down so others could take a turn.
“Do you think I could safely stroll
in and pet the lions?” Atarah asked as she shoved a portion of dried venison
through the iron bars of the lion’s cage. The big cats pounced on the meat and
she withdrew her hand quickly.
“Smart girl.” Her husband flashed a
grin from outside the no-longer-hibernating bears’ room. “I’m afraid we’ll
never be certain of the answer to that question.”
“But they might be tame. For now.”
“All we know is, they don’t eat
pretty little lambs.”
“But they will again as soon as
they leave the ark?”
“Almost certainly.” Shem stared intently into
the bears’ room. “Hey look at that! Two more mouths to feed.”
Atarah hastened over to admire the
cubs and nearly stepped on one of the hundreds of mice that scurried about
these days. The whole ark bustled with new life. They’d moved many of the
growing families up to the second floor to recently-emptied storage rooms, but
the mice couldn’t be contained. And the sight of the rodents often transported
her back to the cave and memories of Gadreel. She stood silently beside her
husband admiring the mother bear with her cubs.
“Why so quiet?” Shem asked. Concern
etched his features.
“I think I’m quiet because I’m so
happy.”
“Why happy?” He slipped an arm
around her waist.
“Happy because I no longer feel as
sad when I think about Gadreel.” She kissed the dimple in his cheek. “Happy
because God is helping me remember good things about my father and I seldom
think about the bad ones.” She pulled down his head and kissed the furrows in
his forehead. “Happy because we’re going to have children who love and obey the
One True God.” She kissed an eyebrow.
“What!?” He tickled her in the
ribs. “Not happy because I’m your husband?”
She giggled. “Happiest because you’re my husband and I love you.” She kissed the
tip of his nose. “So happy I don’t care if I ever leave this musty place filled
with manure and ferocious animals that may or may not be tame — as long as
you’re here with me.”
Shem cupped her face in his hands,
but pulled back before his lips touched hers. “What would you say if I told you
the last dove hasn’t returned?”
“The one that showed up with a
fresh olive twig?” Anticipation pulsed in Atarah’s throat. “And your father
sent it back out? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to share the news when we
were alone and I could watch those sapphire eyes light up.” He gazed at her
adoringly and she felt heat rush through her. “Know what that means?”
“That you like my eyes?”
“It means the dove won’t be coming
back here because the earth is dry and
she found a place to nest.”
“And that means we’ll be leaving,
too.” Atarah was so excited she could barely keep from bouncing up and down.
After more than a year on the ark she was ready to start life with her husband
on dry ground. “Soon, I hope.”
“As soon as God says it’s time,” Shem agreed.
Atarah smiled and closed her eyes
as Shem kissed her.
Well,
we’ve ended the fiction story. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you’ll go to
Genesis and read chapters six through nine for a few of the details I didn’t
have time to include in the novel. You’ll learn, for instance, when and why God
drew the first rainbow across the sky. Can you imagine how Atarah and Shem felt
seeing those misty colors for the first time?
If
you keep reading through chapters ten and eleven, you’ll read about Shem’s
descendants and that he and his wife didn’t have children until they’d been off
the ark for two years. Do you think infertility was distressing them? Further,
if you do the math in those chapters, you’ll learn that Shem was still alive
when God sent his descendants into Egypt where it could grow into the nation of
Israel – God’s chosen people.
See
you on my website and blog!
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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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