[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

He nodded, and she thrust her cupped hands into the water, bringing them up to
just under his chin. "Hurry," she said, laughing. "My hands are not
watertight."
He lowered his face into her hands and took a huge gulp. His throat had been
more parched than he knew, and though the water could have been only a few
degrees cooler than the air, it felt almost icy. He coughed and laughed and
said, "More."
He drank from her hands again, and she said, "My turn."
Chang made a bowl of his palms and let her drink. "Enough?" he said, when his
hands were empty. She nodded, and he cupped her face and wiped the dust from
under her shining eyes. He spread his fingers and extended his hands, brushing
through her hair.
Naomi closed her eyes and lifted her face to the setting sun, spreading her
arms and holding her hands palms up. "Here it comes, Chang. Receive your daily
bread from the God of heaven."
Chang stepped back, looked up, and extended his arms as the skies seemed to
snow bits of soft bread that covered the entire area. Below, the million
Page 48
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
strong emerged from their quarters with jars and baskets, and gathered what
they needed for dinner.
"Just like in the Bible," Naomi said, "we are to take what we need but not
store any. It will spoil and we will have shown our lack of faith in God to
provide every day."
Chang sat beside her and scooped manna into his hand. "Do you ask God to bless
food that he has just personally delivered?" he said.
She laughed. "Would you like me to?"
"Please." He quickly removed his cap as she began.
"To the great God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to the Father of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we offer our humble thanks for everything you
provide."
Her young voice was so pure and sweet and her words so perfect, Chang found
his face contorting as tears welled.
"Thank you for safety for our mission today and for allowing us to bring
Chang here. May he find refreshing peace and rest in you. In the name of Jesus
we ask you to bless to our nourishment this gift you have given. Amen."
With tears streaming, Chang turned away and tugged his cap back on. He sat
with the warm manna in his hand, unable to eat for crying. He felt Naomi
caressing his shoulder. "God bless you, Chang," she said. "Bless you."
He gathered himself and wiped his face with his free hand. "Don't wait for
me," he managed. "Go ahead."
"I just might," she said lightly. "I never grow tired of this."
"What does it taste like?" he said.
"Oh no, that is not for me to tell you. I know only what it tastes like to
me."
Chang picked two of the small, white disks from his hand and laid them on his
tongue. "Well?" she said.
It was as if he had been struck dumb. "Oh," he said. "Oh."
"That's all you can say?"
He took several more at once. "Oh!"
"I'm guessing you approve."
"I taste honey. Honey for sure." "Yes."
"Almost like cookies, those sweet wafer things. And they're so filling. I want
more and yet I've had enough."
"Imagine," Naomi said. "Everything we need for twenty-four hours comes in
three helpings of this."
"Miraculous."
"Exodus 16:31 says, `And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was
like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with
honey."'
"I'm impressed," he said. "What, you have the whole Old Testament memorized?"
She laughed. "Hardly, but you know for all of my childhood, I didn't call it
the Old Testament. It was my Bible. I studied it every day. I still do, but
it's a whole different thing now, now that I really know God."
"I memorize Scripture too," Chang said. "But I've never owned a Bible. I
was raised an atheist, so I have to memorize off the Internet."
"But you do memorize?"
"Doesn't everybody? I mean, Dr. Ben-Judah only reminds us to about five times
with every daily message."
"What are you memorizing?"
"New Testament. John. I'm up to chapter three. I'm slow."
"But you have it memorized up to there?" she said. "That's good."
"Well, yeah, I think. But don't test me. I mean, you could test me on chapter
three, because that's right where I am, but. .."
His voice trailed off. Chang could have sat there next to Naomi all night, but
Page 49
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
she stood and took another drink from the spring. "Let me show you something,"
she said, reaching for him. He offered his hand and she pulled him up. "You
see my garment?"
He shrugged and nodded. Did he see her garment? He had been stealing glances
all day. He wouldn't have known what to call it. It was more robe than dress,
like something he imagined women wearing in Bible times.
"It is the only thing I have ever worn here. I had it on when we arrived."
"It looks brand-new."
"I wash it out every night, and it is new every morn-ing, like the Lord's
compassion."
"Another memorized passage?"
"Yes. Only that was one my father led me to after we survived the bombs."
"You were here for that?"
"We were among the first."
"What was that like?"
"Like a dream, Chang. Sometimes I cannot imagine it really happened."
"What was the passage?"
"Lamentations 3:22-24: `Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your
faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in
Him!""'
"That's beautiful."
"Isn't it? Well, I promised my father we would be back at the tech center at
least by sundown. It's near the amphi-theater, so we'll have to hurry."
"Am I going to get to hear your story?" he said.
"Of course. And I want to hear yours. Maybe after breakfast tomorrow."
Chang found the tech center much as he might have expected, except that it was
so incongruous to see the massive network of computers in a building cut from
rock. By that time, however, he was much more impressed with Naomi than with
hardware and soft-ware.
"Can you find your way to your quarters?" she said. "We retire early here and
rise with the sun."
"I can, but I'd rather not," he said. "I think I need a guide just one more
time, you know, being my first night here."
"I can find you one. Hold on."
"Naomi!" he said. "I'm kidding. Of course I can find it. I'd just rather you
walked me there."
"In my cul-"
"Inappropriate, of course. How about my walking you home?"
"That would be acceptable and even chivalrous. My father is waiting for me,
and it will be dark by the time I arrive. He will appreciate that I had an
escort."
Like Abdullah, Naomi's father tended a small fire out-side their place. He was
a tall, rotund man with a thick, curly beard. Chang approached shyly, took off
his cap in the darkness, and bowed. "Chang Wong," he said.
Naomi's father grasped him by the shoulders and pressed his right cheek to
Chang's, then his left. "Eleazar Tiberias," he said with a great, deep voice.
"Perhaps you know my lake."
Chang scratched his head and looked at Naomi, which seemed to bring no end of
mirth to her and her father.
"I have heard so much about you, young man," the elder said. "I am grateful to
you for looking after my daughter, and I look forward with great anticipation
to getting to know you better."
Chang breathed deeply of the crisp night air on his way to his quarters.
Abdullah's fire was just smoldering now, and the smoke permeated Chang's
clothes. He felt so free, so happy, and so enamored that he was sure he would
not be able to sleep. He knelt by his bed, hardly knowing what to pray. He
tried to remember the verse Naomi quoted, but all he could come up with was
Page 50
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Great is Your faithfulness," so he repeated that over and over as he climbed
into the cot. Through the open window he stared at skies so clear he felt as
if he could see every star in the universe. But after fewer than sixty seconds
he saw nothing but Naomi in his dreams.
Mac studied Rayford's scribblings. "You copied every last word of this
conversation, didn't you?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]