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Chapter 30 – The Return

     I am writing this at 35,000 feet. I am on my way back to the United States, back home.

     This morning I stood in the ordinary’s kitchen with Mark, Matthew, and Beatrice. I was having the last minute heebie-jeebies about leaving and trying, unsuccessfully, to hide them. I looked at Mark. He bowed his head for a moment then met my eyes. “You have to go back,” he said.

     “I know. It just is…” Mark waited for me to finish, but I either had to say a million things or nothing. He clapped me on the shoulder.

     “I know,” he said. “Are you well?”

     Silence for a moment. “I’m tired,” I said with a small laugh.

     He nodded again. “Go home and rest. You now have a much greater task before you. Learn what you were taught here and you will do well, my friend.”

     Matthew shifted his weight and shouldered his gun. “Are you ready?”

     “I’m ready.” Beatrice came up on my other side and smiled at me. Mark made a last nod of his head and we left the ordinary.

     It was a long walk to the airport. I knew Matthew and Beatrice could not go into the airport with their weapons and would never leave them outside, but I still felt a twinge of disappointment when they stopped before the door. Matthew shuddered a little as a plane passed overhead and Beatrice looked thoughtful. “I flew once,” she said. “A long time ago. During my old life.” She smiled at Matthew and he put an arm around her shoulder, then leaned over and kissed her cheek.

     He turned to me then. “There is one more thing,” he said. He looked at Beatrice. “Do you want to say?” She shook her head no. He turned back to me. “We will have a child soon.” I could scarcely imagine how Beatrice’s face was able to hold her smile.

     I did not know what to say for a long minute. Then I knew I didn’t have to say anything.  I gave Beatrice a hug and kiss on her cheek, grabbed Matthew’s hand with both of mine, then picked up my bag, turned towards the door, and walked in.

 

The End

Chapter 29 – Matthew and Beatrice Return

     Matthew and Beatrice have returned to Anworth. When they first walked into the ordinary this afternoon I was sitting, catching up on some long-neglected reading, and gave a start when they entered. They waved and Matthew said, “Don’t worry, we haven’t come for you this time.” They told Mark they would like to stay with him for a couple days, then leaned towards him and the three had a whispered conversation for several minutes that ended with Mark laughing loudly and saying, “Of course, my friends! Just let me know what I can do!” They had no whispered conversation with me, although we did sit and talk for a long time.

     While we were talking Jenna, Mark’s granddaughter, came into the room and sat on the floor watching us. She kept turning her head from Matthew to Beatrice and back again, always looking at them intently. As we watched her she stood and buried her head in Beatrice’s dress. Matthew laughed and picked her up, setting her on his leg. Beatrice knelt in front of both of them, her eyes level with Jenna’s, and said, “You remind me of my younger sister.”

     “What’s her name?” Jenna asked.

     Beatrice put her hands on her hips. “Oh ratsbane!” she said. “Now I’ve gone and forgotten!” The little girl gave a yelp and covered her eyes with her hands. Beatrice laughed and gently pulled her hands away. “Now, don’t listen to me. Her name’s Hannah.”

     Matthew was smiling and shaking his head. “You’ve got to stop scaring the children like that, joy.”

     “I know, dearly beloved.”

     Matthew put the girl back on the floor. His backpack lay there and she began probing it. He knelt beside her and said, “Hmm, I wonder what we might find in here.” He opened it. Inside were most of his possessions: extra clothing, a book, a blanket, rope, and some ammunition that he quickly took away. Jenna rolled around on the blanket for awhile, then Matthew pulled a long whistle from another bag and played. She sat entranced, looking up at him, slowly swaying with the music. After he finished she got up and ran out of the room, looking for her parents.

     Later I went into the kitchen where Mark was kneading some dough for that evening’s bread. I leaned against the counter and watched the regular rhythm of his motions for awhile, then I said, “Mark, I need to go back to the U.S.”

     The kneading continued for another moment, then Mark said, “I know.”

     “How?”

     “That land is your land. It’s important for you to go back to your own people. Teach them what you’ve learned here.”

     “That’s what I thought, too,” I said.

     Knead, knead, knead. “Yes. We’ll do the same; we’ll teach Jenna, we’ll teach all our children.”

Chapter 28 – Ordinary Life

     Yesterday I returned to Anworth and my home in Mark’s ordinary. When I entered the building he met me and took me to the kitchen. He poured us each a drink and said, “You have seen much, I’ve heard. Please, tell me about it if you wish.” I told him of my journey with Matthew and Beatrice, my time in Berkeley Springs, and the dark turn of events in Balfour. He was as silent as he had been on the trip to Tricket, now so long ago. When I finished we sat in silence for awhile, then he said, “You have had an experience.”

     “Why did you send me out with Matthew and Beatrice?” I asked.

     “Are you sorry I did?”

     “No. I just want to know why.”

     “So you would be able to ask that question.” I must have had a strange expression on my face, because he laughed and continued, “Matthew and Beatrice and their people have chosen a hard life, but in it we are reminded of what we can do, not on our own, but with help, guidance, and faith. We are all caught up in an adventure bigger than us all. I am. You are. And now you’re aware of it.”

     The door opened and three people came in: Sarah (Mark’s daughter), Jenna (his granddaughter), and Sarah’s husband.  Sarah ran up to mark, yelling, “Dada!” Mark laughed, picked her up, and started bouncing her on his knee while humming “The William Tell Overture.” He did this for awhile, then said, “Ooh, my knee. That’s enough for now, Jenna.” The girl slid off his knee and ran back to her parents.

     Mark has recommended that I stay in New Maldon for several more days, pending my return to the United States. I will follow his advice; I need a break.

Chapter 27 – After the Enomier

I am alive.

 

More so than ever.