Chapter Seven: Wisdom of the Ages

  

~/*\~ Nomi ~/*\~

Nomi had learned that the downside of being in a superior position was that she had to take responsibility for that power.

So when another parade of animals arrived, these ones bigger and more exotic than ever, a few people came to her for advice on the matter. But she had nothing to tell them. She didn't know how to explain the animals suddenly leaving their territories. She didn't know how to explain their suddenly docile nature towards each other.

"You have to give them something." Her mother had counseled. "Remember, this time isn't just about you and Kainan. He's the Chieftain's firstborn son. You're in training for your role as his partner, when he takes over from his father."

"Except what can I tell them? That the Ark is really being built at the order of the Creator? That Noah's prophecy is happening? They'd surely laugh at me." Nomi returned.

"Tell them to blame Noah. Nobody cares what's happening out past the Territory, Nomi." Nuria reminded her. "They care about what it means for them, and beyond the people who have lost an animal or two, it means nothing."

~/*\~

Nomi was forced to agree that nobody really cared about the Ark, beyond making fun of it. But the arrival of more animals did mean something. It meant disruption. And when they all came to the Chieftain's Lodge, Nomi was seated beside her husband at the main table, while others brought their grievances. For the most part, it was the usual things. A clash over goods, a dispute over services rendered…

But today, the animals were annoying people.

"They walked right over my crops!" Zaccheo shouted. "They tore up the tilled land, and it'll take me days to prepare the soil again. And while they were stomping over everything, they ate my stores. Do you have any idea how large those things are? In one day, they ate weeks worth of our stockpiles! Enough to feed my children. And they didn't even break stride, they just pushed their way through my fences like they weren't even there. It'll take me weeks to-"

"Forget what happens when they eat. The other side of that is far worse!" One of the women shouted over him. "There's dung of seven different animals covering the roads between our town and the quarry. We can't bring in the marble without tracking it all over the street. The horses are unwilling to draw the carts, because they can smell the other animals that have passed that way."

"She's right." One of the animal tenders countered. "My grazing land has been cut in half. My flock won't pass into another animal's territory. The sheep are in complete disarray."

"Well, that sounds like your job, shepherd." The Chieftain returned. "But I take the point. Noah is still a part of this community, and he's not doing his part at all. We've indulged his lunacy this far, but when he had enough lumber to build another lodge, he shared none of it. When the animals came, he traded no furs or leathers. Not even the meat. He doesn't even eat the meat himself, nor anyone in his family. The animals are just… there."

"How is he even keeping them all in line?" Nomi heard her voice ask, loud enough to carry.

Every eye in the room suddenly swiveled to her, and she fought the urge to sink back into herself. Her mother had been right about that: She was in training for her future role.

Even so, when she spoke, there was a sudden chilly silence.

Kainan, as usual, came to her defense. "You heard her! My wife asked a question: Does anyone know how Noah is controlling these animals? Whatever black magic he's got to get so many varied creatures gathered in one place for the first time since Eden, can anyone here replicate it? Because if anyone present can snap their fingers and make them all turn and walk away, preferably after knocking the Ark to pieces, now would be the time."

There was a dead silence that lasted for ten seconds, before everyone started yelling about their own problems again.

~/*\~

"I suddenly understand why the Godsons can be such bullies." Nomi commented to her mother later that day while they ate lunch. "Bellowing over the crowd was the only way the Chief could silence them."

Nuria snorted. "What did they finally settle on?"

"Oh, they didn't." Nomi scoffed, gesturing back at the Lodge. "They're still in 'conference', which is a polite way of saying they're stomping their feet like angry toddlers. Everyone seems to think if they yell loudly enough then the animals will go away and the fences will repair themselves, and the crops will go back the way they were."

Nuria shook her head. "It's human nature. When presented with something you don't understand, you have to act like it's nothing."

Nomi set her cup down hard. "Mother, I don't understand either."

"Yes, but you mustn't show it. You're the leadership."

"No, I mean…" Nomi gestured in the general direction of the Ark. "What is happening? Nobody in the world seems to be asking the real question: How did this happen? Noah's not a breeder, or a trainer. But we have breeders and trainers in the village, and they're more confused than I am."

"What do you mean?"

"Training a horse is totally different from training a hawk." Nomi explained. "They don't think it's possible to train the cats at all, and yet…" She couldn't say it. "Even if he could get so many animals to come when he called, how did he cause them to do so like this? It's not the first time. I've been to the Ark. The first wave of animals are still there, and they're all being quite friendly with each other. How can Noah and his family be doing this? Why aren't people more worried about that?" Nomi asked her mother.

"Because they're worried about the problems that concern them."

"Why aren't they concerned with the whole world?"

"Why should they be? For that matter, why aren't you?" Her mother countered. "Before Kainan, when you had to go to market, you always had to keep your guard up. Why didn't you demand that the world be fixed, instead of dealing with the problems that affected you directly? If the world was safe, surely that would solve your problem."

"Oh, right." Nomi scoffed. "Just snap your fingers and demand everyone be nice to each other. Problem solved."

"You've been Kainan's wife for six months. Have you used your new status to make any efforts towards protecting the other women of the world?"

Nomi hesitated, before she sank into her seat. It was true, she had not.

"The world is a big place, and nobody dares reach any further than they have to, because they're working hard enough to keep their own problems at a distance for another day." Her mother picked up a piece of fruit, examining it for blemishes. "The world will take care of itself, daughter. We just have to take care of our own." She tossed the fruit aside, selected another.

For some reason, Nomi watched the discarded fruit roll off the edge of the table. A year before, they would have had to split it in half, blemishes and all.

"But in any case, it's not your job to understand the animal problem." Her mother got back on topic. "It's your job to be so certain that your husband and his father have the situation under control that nobody will question you, or them."

"To put it mildly." A voice rumbled. For a Godson, Kainan could be quite light on his feet. He came up to their table, put a kiss on top of his wife's head, and helped himself to a drink, his cup easily three times the size of either of theirs. "My father has challenged me and my brothers to… show strength."

"Against who?"

"Noah, in a way." Kainan shrugged. "The Ark is still being built, and most of us figured Noah would have dropped dead of exhaustion before going this long. It's not like he has a lot of help, and the thing is big enough to house hundreds by now."

"You've finally decided to finish them off, then?" Nomi's voice was flat.

"Not them, exactly, but the animals…" Kainan shook his head. "They don't believe Noah could summon so many creatures. And they're right. It's impossible. So, whatever the animals are doing, whatever migration is pulling them through the middle of things, they have to go. Noah isn't feeding all of them. Some of them are just… foraging. Stripping the trees bare, breaking down fences… It's a limited problem for now, since the Ark isn't that close to us, but given how much those animals eat, to say nothing of how many there are…"

"It's going to be a problem." Nuria agreed.

"My father has given me leadership of the hunting parties." Kainan summed up. "My brothers are not pleased with the change."

He has bruises on his arms. Nomi observed distantly. Nobody would fight a Godson, except another. "It is an advantage." She heard herself say. "If they don't want you in charge of their hunting parties, then convince them it will only be until the Ark is dealt with. They'll be motivated to end it quickly."

Kainan smiled. "My father had the same idea." He said approvingly. "My father had to put me in charge of it. He had to show who was in authority. Having me do it is as good as going himself."

"Why didn't he go himself?" Nomi asked automatically.

"Honestly, I think people are less concerned with Noah, and more angry at each other." Kainan admitted. "Everyone was so eager to show how they were more inconvenienced than everyone else, so the meeting changed into dividing up the spoils. The hunting parties will bring back more meat and skins in one day than they have in a month, and everyone wants to balance out their losses from the mess the animals made."

"As I recall, that was the plan last year." Nomi called after him, and her mother kicked her under the table.

"I wasn't in charge of the hunt then." Kainan didn't seem concerned as he collected his hunting bow, slung it over his shoulder and headed out.

Nuria nodded approvingly. "Get his room ready for when he returns. A victory is sure to put him in a good mood, and you'll want to take full advantage of it."

"Mother!" Nomi hissed, scandalized.

"You've been married for half a year, Nomi. People are starting to talk." Her mother gently backhanded Nomi's flat stomach. "The other women will think you're cursed. You're the Chieftain's daughter in law. You have one responsibility above all else. If he can't get a son out of you, his father will demand he take another wife."

Nomi was momentarily stunned into silence. She had thought marrying Kainan would at least give her a reprieve from her mother's cruel demands. She had given in to Nuria on everything… And it bought her six months, before she'd found something else to demand Nomi do better.

Outside, a horn blew.

"The hunting party is ready. They'll probably be back by nightfall." Her mother said shortly. "I'll go now, give you your privacy. Think about what I said, and do the smart thing."

Nomi wanted to throw her mother out violently, but couldn't bring herself to say anything, let alone act. She didn't need her mother to survive anymore, and familial duty was a tenuous connection between them at this point...

She didn't let those thoughts go too far. Such thoughts had slowly become… tempting.

~/*\~

Despite her anger at Nuria, Nomi did in fact prepare for her husband's return. When the horn blew again outside, she poured a large cup of his favored ale-

The door nearly flew back on its hinges when he came in. She could tell instantly that the day's hunting had not gone well. "Kainan?"

The huge man had never seemed more like a wild bear than he did when he was angry. "We were tracking a buck. The tracks were so easy to follow we knew it had to be close. We found it as the sun started to set… and then we were interrupted."

"By who?" She asked automatically.

"Those metalworkers from the City of Enoch? Apparently they never left." He graveled. "They were hunting in our territory!"

"Where does their territory end?" Nomi asked, trying to edge closer to him. He was fairly vibrating with anger, and she was already working the problem, trying to guide him back to peace.

"I don't know. It's never mattered before." Kainan grasped the shaft of his spear. "They were on horseback. We were on foot. So when my brother spooked the Buck into scampering, they were lined up to take the shot; and claim the buck."

"You couldn't share it?"

"SHARE!?" Kainan roared. "They never should have been so close to OUR hunting grounds! It was a perfect hunt! It was the biggest buck I'd seen in ten years! And they Missed! The cursed thing got away!" He gripped his spear angrily, and hurled it at the wall. "It was OURS!"

The spear didn't dig into the wall; the stone spearhead glancing off the lumber, and clattering loudly as it knocked over the water jug.

Nomi scampered back from the throw. The shift was instinctive. Suddenly she was prey again. The same reactions that had kept her safe her whole life before Kainan, the same instincts that told her when she was in the presence of danger.

Kainan saw it. Her reaction had lasted only a second, but he had seen it; and he calmed himself deliberately. "No, I'm sorry. That was not for you." He forced himself to settle down. "Father was wrong. We never should have had dealings with another City. It just gave them an excuse to look around. Our people, our game trails… They're here now."

Nomi took a breath and came over as he slumped into his reclining couch at the table. She slid down next to him, brushing her fingers over his brow, the way she knew he liked. "When you came to the table this morning, there were bruises on your arm. It was before you went hunting." She crooned a little. "There's not many who can fight you, beloved."

He didn't answer directly, but she could infer the truth. He'd had to fight for leadership of the daily hunting party. His brothers wanted to lead the hunt, and gain glory for themselves. The Chieftain had given it to Kainan as firstborn, and Kainan would be blamed for the hunters coming back empty-handed.

"I don't believe I've ever seen you scared, my love." Nomi soothed him. "Tell me. I'm your wife. If you can't be honest with me, who else is there?" She tried not to think about who 'else' there might be.

Kainan forcibly took a breath. "We failed. Godsons aren't meant to fail at things like hunting. We're meant to be the power of angels, made flesh and bone. Holy blood. Supreme beings."

She suddenly understood. "You think that if the animals escaped you, then perhaps that proves you aren't?"

"That's the position my brothers are taking." He agreed. "Some of them are suggesting that if I can't perform a leadership task as simple as hunting, then maybe I shouldn't have Firstborn Privileges."

She felt a thrill of horror go through her. She'd been enjoying her position as a future Chieftain's wife. If a failed hunting party was all it took to shake Kainan's prospects so completely… "Husband…" She heard herself say, and for a split second, it sounded like her mother's voice, even to her own ears. "You can't be expected to take the blame for every shot your brothers missed. And even if you could, you're Godsons. Holy blood. You and the others are giants over the rest of us. Proof of God. Proof of His Power. You are His image. If the animals all escaped your spear, it wasn't because of anything a mere man like Noah could do."

He pulled back to look at her in disbelief. "You believe it. You believe Noah's stories about the Flood."

"My darling, if I had believed the world was coming to an end, I'd have you build an Ark of your own, just for us. And it would be ten times what Noah could scrape together." The quick defense came quickly and easily. She'd rehearsed the answer enough times, waiting for the day when she'd have to defend her old acquaintance with Shem to her new family.

Kainan rumbled a chuckle, accepting her answer. "I'm sorry if I scared you, wife." He snuggled into her, pleased she'd made the effort for his return. "I know I promised to always make you feel safe."

"You always have. I've never felt more secure than I do here with you." She leaned in and kissed him softly. "Besides, your brothers can hunt and drink, and act like spoiled children all they want. You are still the future leader of our people." Her fingers stilled in his hair. "Unless of course, you were serious about your brothers trying to take that from you."

"Oh, I meant it. But they've been trying for years."

"I never knew that."

Kainan growled, low and powerful in his chest. "Because there was no reason to tell you. My father knows better than to take such talk seriously. He's been hearing it most of my life."

Nomi bit her lip, almost grateful for the way the topic had come back around, and cursing her mother for putting the thought in her head. "Well then, which would you prefer?" She heard herself ask. "You could go to your father and take responsibility for a failed hunt… or you could finish your drink, and come to bed." She kissed his jaw. "After all, your father would never take away your Firstborn status, if we gave him a dynasty."

Kainan scoffed, his mood shifting instantly. Nomi let out a breath slowly, watching the last of the frustration and anger leave him. She had successfully defused the temper of the giant for another night.

One day you won't be able to calm him down. She thought darkly to herself.

~/*\~ Eleanor ~/*\~

Del had recognized that Eleanor had found her spiritual need. His opposition to religion had caused a division between them for the first time since they'd met, and letting Eleanor begin volunteering for charity work again had been his compromise. Eleanor had agreed, but she knew the difference now between doing 'good works' and actually having a relationship with God. She wasn't sure she had one, or that she wanted to, but she had learned the difference between the two.

As her pregnancy started to show, Eleanor knew the topic would come up again, sooner or later.

Even so, Eleanor was willing to let some time pass, and let temperatures cool. She hadn't stopped studying the Bible. The website put every Bible lesson, every article, every study guide online, available to the public, along with all their reference materials. Eleanor had been doing her own research for weeks. Without Martine, it was sometimes hard to phrase her questions, but she was still getting answers.

For the most part, volunteering again was exactly like working in the last Shelter. Most of the staff had made the change too, including Elizabeth, Homer and Cyrus. She spent an hour and a half making sandwiches for a steady shuffle of people who had nowhere else to go. The weather was getting colder, which meant there was more demand for the shelters.

"They used to sleep over the heating ducts from the subway, but then the city added sloped covers so that they couldn't settle there without rolling off." Elizabeth told her when she remarked on the crowd. "So they started sleeping under the overpass, but they wanted to put a parking lot there, so they started putting in spiked studs behind the dumpsters…"

"Stop." Eleanor scowled. "Just stop."

"It's the world, sister." Elizabeth was not surprised. "Be glad that this place got a license."

~/*\~

Eleanor had always felt awkward about the kids when she worked at the last Shelter. A surprising percentage of the homeless were children, and now that she was midway through her pregnancy, she couldn't help but fixate on the kids.

She'd thought the mood swings had faded, but the sight of these scared little ones made her want to lose her mind with pity. She knew the stats. These kids would have it so hard as they grew up. Every minute they spent scared and isolated as a kid would reverberate through their adulthood. She was seeing the next generation of the avalanche begin; and she just wanted to hug them all forever.

Stupid hormones. Eleanor thought roughly at herself, and hurried to keep up with the line forming for sandwiches.

~/*\~

The meal rush was over, and Eleanor made the rounds. There were counseling rooms that needed tidying. The Al-Anon meetings always needed the coffee urns refilled. The guests with kids needed babysitters while they went for appointments, job interviews, or even work shifts. Plenty of people had jobs, and nowhere safe to live.

For the most part, her job was to help out, and provide a listening ear. The stories of personal struggle and grief were heart-wrenching. Eleanor was emotionally drained after less than three hours.

She retreated to the kitchens for a break, and found Elizabeth, praying by herself. Eleanor didn't intrude, getting herself some juice. When Elizabeth's eyes opened, Eleanor asked the question. "Does it help?"

"Faith doesn't mean you don't feel it when life hits you. It just means you have a different perspective on it." Elizabeth said, rubbing her eyes. "Prayer helps with endurance, passing off your burdens. Hope is what keeps you going."

"Is it hard, not being able to talk about your faith here?" Eleanor asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth said plainly. "But to be honest, I was glad to get out of the last place. It was… becoming awkward, volunteering at the last Shelter. Funded by the Churches?"

"You wanted to shed the appearance of working for them in any way." Eleanor guessed. "You know that nobody thinks of Shelters and charity stores as an actual religion, right? I mean, nobody in the world really takes it that seriously."

"I know." Elizabeth said with a low smile. "But you never know when… one day... they will."

Cyrus called urgently from the main hall. "Need a hand out here!"

Eleanor and Elizabeth hurried out towards the entrance to see a bedraggled woman limping in, bloodied and hunched over. "I-I need-" She started to say, before she fell over.

Elizabeth caught her. "Alright, let's find her a bed. Ellie, bring blankets and the First Aid."

~/*\~

"Her name was Kit." Eleanor sighed. "She'd been on the streets for a while, no friends to take her in, no safe place to sleep. Lack of food made her dizzy at the wrong moment and she went headfirst down a staircase. She begged the first people who found her not to call an ambulance because she couldn't afford it, so they pointed her to the new Shelter…"

"She alright?" Del asked, concerned.

"She needed sleep and a meal. It's what we provide." Eleanor groaned as he rubbed her shoulders. "We couldn't call an ambulance either. The Shelter just doesn't have the funding for medical examinations." She snuggled into her pillow as his hands worked their way down her back. "Sorry about this. You work a full shift on a construction site and then you have to look after me all night."

"When we started trying, I told myself I'd handle the mood swings, foot rubs and cravings, if you handle the whole 'growing my child inside you' part." He chuckled.

"Ohh, the kids. They were so sweet." Eleanor nearly cried. "A dozen kids at the Shelter, and I got to play 'mom' for all of them while their parents were out scraping up some work." She sniffed. "They've got nothing, Del. The kids? They're making up games with newspaper and crayons I bought at a newsstand on my way to get danish for lunch."

"They've got you." Del promised. "And I know what you're really worried about."

Eleanor laid a hand on her stomach. "A lot of those people were made homeless by things they couldn't control. Rising medical bills, suddenly dangerous spouses; the economy tanking and everyone losing their homes and jobs…"

"It won't happen to us." Del promised her. "I won't let that happen."

Eleanor wanted to believe him, and pulled him down on the couch so she could use her husband as a protective blanket. But she knew it was just words. Everyone in her Shelter had heard those words at one time or another.

The fortunes of the world weren't up to them, which meant they couldn't really be safe.

~/*\~

Eleanor's new Shelter was in a different part of town. Martine's Literature Cart wasn't anywhere close, but there was a decent coffee kiosk within walking distance, like almost everywhere else in the city. Eleanor was making her way there, when she noticed a familiar face. "Kit?"

Kit was at the coffee cart, counting out her coins slowly. The barista looked so sorry for her. Her clothes were shabby, and her face was drawn, eyes red and sunken. She fairly screamed 'homeless junkie'. Eleanor walked over to the kiosk, and put a dollar down. "Here. Keep the change. And I'll have a decaf latte."

Kit looked at Eleanor, surprised. "Oh. Thanks."

Eleanor noticed a familiar shape under Kit's arm. It was a Bible Teach book. The same book that Martine had given her, more than a year before. She smiled a bit. "You got that from Elizabeth."

Kit sipped her drink. "It's hers, actually. I saw her reading it, and we got to talking…" Kit winced. "I should throw it away."

"Why?"

Kit gritted her teeth. "It's not something I like to talk about, but… I've been in shelters before. Not yours, obviously. This was interstate. But while I was there, I was… recruited. It was a $%&# cult. But I was strung out, detoxing, and needed absolutely anyone who would take me in." She held up the book. "They had a lot of Bible quotes to throw at me too."

Eleanor took that in, and squeezed her shoulder. "Well, if you don't want to roll the dice again, I can understand that." She sipped her decaf, resting one hand on her growing stomach automatically. "But I can't speak much more about it, because the Shelter is deliberately non-sectarian. Translation: God is not something we talk about there."

Kit nodded. "To be honest, that's why I came back. Your Shelter is funded by the city, and not a Church. I don't want to get 'recruited' again."

"Mm." Eleanor glanced around as they returned to the Shelter. I've read that book, cover to cover. I've asked a lot of those questions, and I could… She gave herself a quick mental slap. She'd promised Del she wouldn't do this anymore. In fact, taking part in preaching was the exact opposite of what she'd wanted to do when she started asking Martine questions. And yet...

She had resolved to say nothing as they approached their destination. And yet...

"I can't talk about it either, but just so you know, you aren't being 'preyed on'." Eleanor heard her voice say to Kit. "I've known Elizabeth for a while, if not that closely. We know each other through mutual friends. And I studied with the Witnesses for months. They answered every question I had. I didn't see anything cult-like about them." She tapped Kit's elbow gently. "But she can't talk about it in the Shelter. If you have questions, you have to ask them once her shift is over."

"She won't like that."

Eleanor struggled not to laugh. "Oh, she'd make the time. That much I'm certain of."

Kit's head tilted when she heard Eleanor's certainty. She had questions now, that was for sure.

~/*\~

With her shift over, and her back killing her, Eleanor went home. Del had takeout waiting, and she almost fell into his arms, grateful to the universe in general that her husband didn't want her to cook, on top of everything else.

The two of them settled on the couch after eating. It had been their way, while dating, that she had stretched out on the couch with her tablet, laying her head in his lap, while he sat upright, with the remote in one hand, stoking her hair with the other. It had been their way to unwind since before they had married.

For the last month or two, Eleanor had stopped scrolling the news, and started reading the Bible on her app. Snuggling into her husband, she shut her eyes for a moment. O, Lord… She thought, before shaking that off. Martine had started prayers by name. Dear Jehovah God… She prayed. Del wouldn't approve. When I saw Kit today, holding that book, I wanted her to… To get what I got out of it. Kit is like a lot of people who stay in Shelters. Beaten up and beaten down by life. Her eyes were still bloodshot and her hands were still shaking from whatever she was using when she could afford it… I was never like that, but I had that same sense of emptiness. I tried to fill it with volunteer work, she tried her luck getting high. In a hundred years, neither direction will matter… unless You do something. I started studying with Martine because I didn't understand the world any more, and now I believe I do. I see what's going on, and what it means. I've known Kit for three hours, and I wanted her to have that. I vowed I'd never be a preacher, but I was already drawing up a lesson plan for Kit.

She reached up with one hand, and pulled Del's fingers away from her hair, so that she could kiss his hand. He smiled down at her, and went back to stroking her hair, unaware of her whole internal dialogue.

Jehovah God, I want Del to have that too. But if I offered, it would just set him off again. So I don't know what to do.

Help.

Amen.

It was her first prayer, and she didn't even notice that she was praying for a total stranger, and the love of her life alike; to both get the Truth.

~/*\~ Nomi ~/*\~

Nomi always worried when the Hunting Parties went East. Somehow, their hunting grounds had shrunk to almost half their original size. Their lands had been encroached on so gradually that most of their people simply avoided them, just as they avoided all the other places deemed 'too dangerous' to walk alone.

The careful peace they were building with the City of Enoch was well and truly over. The confrontation over hunting had grown into smaller skirmishes with the other town, who always seemed to have a presence in their area now. The Chieftain's sons made sure that one of them always went with the hunting parties, and watchtowers were built in the farmlands, to keep watch over the borders of their territory.

With these concerns growing, Noah was all but forgotten, and life went back to normal. The sounds of animal cries rang out, usually at dawn and dusk, but they were far enough away that nobody bothered to complain, for all the other concerns. The promising hope of trading partners and allies in the East had been replaced with an undercurrent of fear.

Nomi was fast discovering she was not a patient woman. Patience was for poor people. Before her fortunes had turned, Nomi had to be patient, waiting for the safest time to travel, the best times to attend the marketplace, waiting for the others to gather before they left for the waterfalls…

Now, it seemed like time was always against her.

It was probably her imagination, she knew. She could walk alone across the entire town, if she wanted, free from fear. Not that she walked anywhere alone anymore. There were always people vying for her attention, all of them wanting 'just a little favor' or 'just a few moments'.

For the most part, they all wanted the same thing she wanted: Reassurance. Some way to be certain that their lives weren't about to get a lot harder. Nomi had no way to answer such questions, but knew not to say so out loud.

Her mother expected no answers from her, so Nomi found she was looking for Nuria, despite herself. When she returned to her mother's hut, she instead found Shari, doing a few chores. "Nomi!" She gave a welcoming smile. "I'm afraid Nuria is not in. I was about to break for a meal, if you'd like to join me."

It was the first invitation that didn't come with a request for favor in months, and Nomi felt a wave of affection for Shari. They had been friends when so young that Nomi didn't really remember it that well; but Shari had acted as though their friendship had never changed since. With her looking after Nuria, she was the closest thing to having a sister Nomi would ever have, now that Anah was gone. In a world where people routinely had a dozen children, being an only child was a painful reminder that their family had been broken for a long time.

Such thoughts drove her to spend more time with Shari. "You want to get out of here? Away from town for a while? I could use a break."

Shari bit her lip. "Well, I was going to visit an old friend of my father, now that I'm back in the area, and in a more… stable position. But if you wanted-"

"I'll go with you." Nomi said quickly. "After all, it's not safe to go alone. And if they were old friends of your father, then they probably knew mine too." And it'll get me out of town, and away from everyone who's asking impossible questions.

~/*\~

"When you suggested visiting someone, I didn't realize it would be such a journey." Nomi said dryly.

"Considerably faster with your horse." Shari said brightly, arms around Nomi's waist as they rode lightly. They had gone a few hours' ride to the west; away from Town, and away from the disputed areas.

Once they reached a certain distance, Nomi suddenly understood where they were going. "You know Methuselah?"

"Our fathers did." Shari nodded. "And… I want to meet him."

Methuselah was the oldest man alive. In fact, the oldest one in history, as far as anyone knew. He had many grandchildren, and lived apart from the rest of the world, with a few of his descendants always with him, caring for him in turns.

One of those descendants had apparently heard them coming, and intercepted them with a spear in one hand, held as a staff, instead of a weapon. "Close enough." He called to them. "State your business here."

"I am Nomi, wife of Kainan." Nomi called. "We've come to visit Methuselah. He was a friend to our late fathers."

The guard apparently recognized the name, as did everyone else in their world. "You aren't the first to come seeking wisdom… or an endorsement, my lady."

Nomi understood. Kainan's brothers were always seeking a way to seize the rights of Firstborn. Having a well-known name emerge from seclusion to endorse someone's political gain would be a sought prize. "I seek no endorsement. Only that my friend may speak with someone who knew her lost loved one for longer than she did."

He considered them for a moment, then waved them closer.

~/*\~

Methuselah was still when they came into his home. It wasn't much different from the hut Nomi had grown up in, though the fire was built a little higher.

"Young ones always seek advice from older ones." Methuselah said softly as they came in. "But they never take it seriously. The little wisdom I have gained in my life are the sorts of things you will learn for yourself when you've made mistakes and experienced joys and losses. But until you learn them for yourself, you never really appreciate the lessons being offered."

Nomi got the sense that he was tired of answering the same questions. It was a feeling she could now relate to, and as a result, she didn't know what to say.

Shari had no such hesitation, coming over to him at the fire, and settling cross-legged on the floor before him. "It's an honor, my lord." She said respectfully. "But I'm not here for any grand revelations. I was hoping to speak about something more… personal. You knew my father, before his Exile."

Methuselah's head was bare, but for a few grey dreadlocks. His eyes were cataract-white to the point of near blindness, and most of his teeth were missing; but he carried himself with dignity. "His Exile?"

Nomi nodded. "His name was…"

"Shari." Methuselah spoke first. "Your name is Shari."

Shari beamed, actually tearing up a bit. "Yes."

Methuselah looked to Nomi. "Would that make you Nomi? As I recall, both men had daughters."

Nomi felt her heart give a loud beat. "My father did come to you, then?"

"They both did." Methuselah nodded. "Two honest men who saw evil running rampant over the world. They wanted my advice on how to challenge the 'Dominion' ideal." He rasped. "They wanted a world where the strong would defend the weak, and where mercy was better than selfishness."

"A hard sell, given that the strong would be the ones who have to change their ways." Shari said softly. "My mother told me that my father believed humans were meant to care for the world, rather than dominate it."

"Jehovah God told Adam and Eve to fill and possess the Earth." Methuselah said. "Most think that means the Earth is our property; to enjoy and make use of. Your fathers believed it was a gift, given to us by its Creator, so that we could make it all beautiful."

"We haven't done so." Shari admitted. "It's easy to believe we're meant to dominate the world when that's what we've always done."

Methuselah smiled down at her. "Your father said the same thing."

Shari blinked back tears, smiling broadly at just those words.

"Why did they come to you?" Nomi asked, despite herself. "Of all the people in the world, they sought you out; to try and change everything about the world?"

Methuselah sighed. "They weren't the first to suggest there was something wrong with how we treated each other." He looked back to the fire, the light reflecting off his face. "The light never goes out, you see. It can dim, it can be hidden. But it never goes completely. No matter how deep and total the darkness gets, it just makes the tiniest spark more obvious. Noah is the keeper of that light for your generation. Before him came Enoch."

"Enoch?" Shari reacted, and Nomi could hear open dread in her voice. "But not 'The City of Enoch'?"

"No." Methuselah shook his head. "The City of Enoch is named for the son of Cain, in their exile to the East. But Adam's third son Seth had descendants of his own, and from that line came my father, Enoch. And he was a prophet." He looked back at them. "Adam knew of The Promise. My father knew of Judgment that would come in the future, and Noah now carries the burden of walking with the True God."

"We all walk with the Creator." Nomi offered. "I've led the harvest festivals to Him."

Methuselah didn't bother responding to that. Neither did Shari, who clearly had a specific question in mind. "Methuselah: I have to know. Was my father wrong?"

He looked back at her. "Wrong?"

"My father dreamed of a world where the small are more than toys for giants to use up and discard. And they discarded him for it." Shari reasoned. "Adam was given The Promise of a time when Evil would be defeated by someone. Enoch told of a day when evildoers would be punished. Noah says that day has come-"

"You know Enoch's prophecy?" Nomi asked automatically.

"My father told it to me a hundred times during our exile." Shari nodded. "Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way-"

Methuselah took it up, finishing with her, word for word. "-and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him."

"This sounds a lot like Noah speaking." Nomi said softly. He's almost a thousand years old. Can't blame him if he's confused.

"Noah…" Methuselah smiled to himself. He'd been speaking softly, with regal bearing and intelligence, but Nomi realized this was the first thing that brought an actual smile to his face. "Noah understands what my father did. After the Day of Rebellion in Eden, Jehovah would have been within his rights to leave Earth completely. To abandon us to ourselves. But the first thing He did was Promise to put it right. How that will happen, I cannot say."

"God working to a plan of His own is one thing." Nomi said. "But I can't imagine that plan has anything to do with us."

"I said something similar to my father once." The ancient man creaked with a smile. "God remembered His servant Enoch in a particular way, when he was in danger."

Shari was gazing at the old man in something approaching awe. "You knew Adam. The First One. You met him."

Methuselah nodded. "Before Adam died, my father spent some time with him, discussing Eden and The Great Promise."

"Then tell me!" Shari insisted, a little desperate now. "The Great Promise was that evil would be defeated by someone. But in ten generations, we've never had a hope of that happening; and the world has gotten worse and worse. Noah is foretelling that the world must be destroyed. Your own father… if Noah's right and it's a Flood, then what would those Holy Myriads be needed for? And if the Godsons are Angelics, then why would they fight their own?" Shari was almost crying now. "Was my father wrong? Has God forgotten his Promise for the world? Are we doomed to just… more violence and death, forever?"

Methuselah looked down at Shari with kindness. "And if there was a way? How far would you go, to be part of it?"

"As far as is needed!" Shari swore without hesitation.

"You dear thing." Methuselah crooned to her. "You see? There's still a spark of light to be saved."

Shari tried to smile back at his approval, choking on her tears.

"The Promise covers the whole world. In ten generations, it hasn't come true yet, but consider what has happened in the interval." Methuselah explained to them. "The world is now in such a state that anyone who is not actively part of its violence is killed or exiled, as your fathers were. The world is sufficiently corrupted now, that God needs to act directly, to protect his Promise. But when the Flood comes, it won't return us to Eden. Eden is still there, to the northwest. The Flood will wipe it out too. But Noah's family will not become ageless. The Promise isn't broken. This is the time of God's counter-move. It took sixteen centuries to get to this point, it will all be undone in a day." He grinned, toothless. "God doesn't work within our limits."

"Noah's Ark is proof that God hasn't abandoned us?" Shari breathed.

"Because if He had, Noah wouldn't be building at all." The old man nodded.

Nomi looked over sharply. "Is Noah the Promised Offspring?"

Methuselah looked at her, surprised at the question. "What do you think?"

"I think he believes so." Nomi returned shortly.

"He does not." Methuselah promised. "In fact, he and I spoke often on that subject some years ago, when he started work on the Ark. Noah wondered if perhaps it might be possible, but if it was, he would surely be told directly by now."

Shari looked up at him. "Why? Does a holy one need to be told they're holy? Certainly the Godsons never have to ask."

"The Great Promise to Adam and Eve was that there would be a champion to battle the evil one. Noah was instructed to build an Ark. Never was he told to do battle with the Serpent, or with the Godsons, or with anyone else. Noah's assignment is one of rescue, towards creation." Methuselah looked every one of his years. "I have many grandsons and granddaughters. Only Noah intends to board the Ark. My great regret is that my father's love for Jehovah God was not passed on to them all."

"What about you, sir?" Shari asked. "If you believe, shouldn't you be boarding the Ark too?"

Methuselah sighed. "I have outlived my father, and my firstborn son. I have seen the world change from bad to worse. I have spoken with people from every generation, going back to those that walked in Eden itself. Adam was… always aware of the fact that the world his descendants made was not what Jehovah had wanted for us. Adam never forgot why the world was like this." His voice dropped. "The world was already on this course when I was born, now more than nine hundred years ago. It changes you, to be present when God Himself rules that the world you have made can't be allowed to continue. What Noah is attempting, it's a chance for everything in the world to start again. Maybe even become something better. But for something new to begin, the old ways must be…" He scoffed. "Must be washed away. A new world is for the young, my dear."

"That's not what I meant." Shari said respectfully. "If you believe the Ark is real, then why would you be…. Judged? It doesn't seem right that someone who believes and someone who opposes should get the same judgment."

"No." Methuselah said lightly. "It doesn't." He stood, Shari hurrying to help him up. "It was good to have your company, but I am tired now."

"Of course." Shari said immediately. "I'm grateful to you for your time."

(Author's Note: There's no direct word on what Methuselah thought about God or the Ark, but he was a contemporary of Adam, and grandfather of Noah. There's nothing in scripture that says any of them spoke to each other, but Methuselah and Adam were both alive at the same time, so it's possible. Enoch, Methuselah's father, was a Prophet. Jude 14, 15 says: "Yes, the seventh one in line from Adam, Eʹnoch, also prophesied about them." But what Methuselah himself thought is an open question. I elected to take this route, because Noah was a righteous man who served God. He would have needed a teacher from somewhere. Why not his grandfather?)

~/*\~

"You believe in Noah's stories, then?" Nomi asked Shari as they returned to the horse.

Shari bit her lip. "My father would. He was a friend to Methuselah, when I was small. He heard those stories about Enoch's warnings, and must have told them to me a thousand times." She gestured back the way they came. "We've spoken to a man who knew Adam. Noah is not so removed from Eden, if you think he's telling made up stories."

Nomi bit her lip, considering that. "My mother says stories can change completely with every new person who tells them. There have been generations since Eden."

"Only two, for Noah. From Adam to his grandfather. They knew each other." Shari chirped, suddenly full of energy. "Which way to the Ark from here?"

"You're going?" Nomi couldn't believe it.

"Of course I am." Shari nodded. "If Noah was trying to get attention, or make people follow him, he's had fifty years to realize it's not working. If he's just insane, then his grandfather would say so. And I can't explain the animals any other way. I'm almost sure that nobody can. I'm convinced it's real. So why wouldn't I go to the Ark?"

Nomi was stunned into silence for half a minute. It was so… simple for her. The clearest choice in the world. "No disrespect to someone who's been around long enough to know the First Ones." Nomi insisted. "But Noah's warnings are… are…" It seemed so easy to call Noah insane when among people who agreed. Saying it to Methuselah was impossible, and saying it to Shari seemed cruel. Why? Because they don't agree with you?

"Nomi, it doesn't matter if one person or a million agree. Not if it's the truth." Shari said seriously. "The Facts are what they are, even if nobody knows them, or believes them." She spread her hands wide. "And if the Flood is coming, and if The Great Promise is still being kept, and if Jehovah God is real… Then what could possibly matter more?"

"I don't doubt the Creator, but Noah is saying he's the only-"

"We just heard testimony from others. Methuselah is old, but he's not gullible." Shari countered. "He knew Adam. He met prophets. He's saying it's real." Shari bit her lip. "And if Noah's right, then it means our fathers had the right idea, and the world is wrong. Why would I listen to a world that thinks it's madness to not be cruel?"

Nomi was shaking. "I… can't. I have responsibilities here."

Shari nodded. "I imagine you must. But I think we can be honest with each other. If you actually believed Noah's story, you wouldn't care about anything else. You'd be getting all the people you loved onto the Ark as fast as you could."

The people I loved. Nomi thought archly. How many people are on that list, really?

Shari went on, completely unaware that she was hitting so close to the bone. "Besides, there's no guarantee that they'll let me stay with them. And if they didn't, then I wouldn't want to start a family in this world anyway."

Nomi burst into tears. It took her completely by surprise. She thought she had the feeling under control.

Shari froze, coming over. "What? What have I said?"

Nomi wiped her face, getting herself back under control. "Kainan and I… we've been trying since we got married. I knew when I married the Chieftain's firstborn that the first thing his family would want from me is an heir."

Shari understood, and gave her a tight hug.

~/*\~

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