Return, Part II: Chapter 2
“This is it, honey. Time to go.” She sat up and looked around. Where am I? she wondered.
Excitement filled her. Wynn and another man and a woman were scrambling around. Surveying the amount of bags and blankets scattered around the small room, Alexis guessed somebody was going on a monumental journey.
“Time is precious, Alexis,” said Wynn. “Why don’t you get up and meet my friends, your guides. Alexis Ryan Roberts, meet Will and Juli Waypet.” Alexis met the 6’1″ man named Will halfway across the tiny room. She raised her wrist to Will’s. He didn’t put his wrist to hers as was the usual way citizens recognized one another. Instead, he hugged her. Alexis stood back, shocked yet extremely comforted at the same time by the quick gesture. She smiled, looking at the light brown hair on his head. She almost wanted to touch it.
“Hello Alexis. We’ll be taking you to the island where you’ll be safe.” The island? thought Alexis. Is this really happening? Things were quickly changing, but she’d never heard anything about an island. What about my parents? she felt like asking.
“No worries, Alexis,” said Will. “You’re in good hands with us.” Gazing into his clear, blue eyes, Alexis was somehow assured that she was.
Juli finished stuffing containers of food into a big bag, zipped it up and came over to Alexis too. “Hi Alexis. I’m Juli. Very happy to meet you.”
“Thank you, you too. I mean, I am too,” answered Alexis, feeling calmed by her presence. Even in the dim room, Lexy could see the sparkle in Juli’s eyes.
“You can talk to me about anything that’s on your mind,” Juli told her when they were sitting alone together at the table, she with a cup of coffee and Lexy enjoying her new favorite drink–freshly squeezed orange juice. “I know you’re going through a lot, and I’m here for you. Okay?”
“Okay.” Alexis nodded and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She had a lot of questions, but it felt better for her to just trust these people and let them take charge for awhile. Will walked over to the table.
“About ready, ladies?” Juli nodded, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.
“Where’s the island?” Alexis managed to ask.
“It’s about 3,000 miles from here, in the middle of the ocean. And the sooner we can get out of here, the better,” Will told her gently.
“The sooner the better is right,” agreed Wynn, joining them. “Everything’s packed. You should be out of land’s sight before the sun rises,” he said briskly. “I better say goodbye now.” Alexis looked at Wynn.
“Goodbye? You’re not coming too? Don’t you want to go to the beautiful place you were talking about Wynn?”
“I do more than anything, honey, but I have work to do here first.” He paused, looking sad. “I’ll be along though, don’t worry. I’ll surprise you one day.” Will and Juli exchanged solemn glaces. Wynn held her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “Be strong, have faith and trust in God.” With that, they joined hands and became silent. Each one was deep in thought, though conscious of their intertwined roles in each other’s lives. “Dear Heavenly Father, we deliver to your care, Alexis, who, along with Will and Juli, will add to the believers helping to share your love as living testimony to your spirit in the world. Watch over them, Father, on their journey and help us to create a world based on love rather than fear and hate. Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name,” Will and Juli joined voices with Wynn: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” They were quiet for a few moments, and Alexis felt a tingling sensation flood her body.
“I feel tingly,” Alexis told the group, breaking the silence.
Juli smiled. “That’s the anointing of the Holy Spirit. God is with us.” Grabbing the last backpack from the floor, Will climbed the ladder and motioned for the others to follow him up into the impending dawn. A short walk down the hill behind Wynn’s house led to a stream with a waiting canoe hidden in the tall green grass near the water’s edge. They were silent, communicating only with their eyes and hearts. Wynn gave Alexis a tight hug and slipped something into her hand. She turned and Juli helped her into the small vessel, which rocked gently as she sat down on the wooden bench. Will dipped the oar and expertly guided the boat into the river’s current. Juli and Lexy waved to Wynn, who stood beaming an eternal glow in the night’s darkness. Alexis watched as Wynn got smaller and smaller and then disappeared.
Night passed quickly. In what seemed like two hours, the canoe was approaching the river mouth. Thinking about the journey ahead, Alexis didn’t realize they were leaving the river’s calm until a wave spilled into the boat. She screamed.
“Stay calm!” Juli told her. “Just hold on!” Alexis held on and held her breath, watching Will guide them through the waves into the open ocean where he paddled them around a point and into a small cove where a larger boat was anchored. Arriving at the boat, Juli leapt from the canoe onto the front of the boat, and Will threw her a rope which she tied to the larger boat’s railing. She held out her hand for Alexis. Lexy stood up, unsteadily and, clutching Juli’s hand, took a big step onto the boat. Will handed them their backpacks and jumped on too. He took a knife from his pocket and cut the canoe free. They watched it escape out to sea. Alexis was more comfortable on the larger boat and she was grateful when Juli showed her a cabin filled with cushions where she could rest.
“Try to get some sleep. You’ll need all of your strength for this adventure,” Juli advised. Lying on the soft cushions in the cabin, Lexy stretched out and quickly fell asleep. Despite the circumstances, she didn’t feel scared, only confident and joyful. Instinctively, she knew she was heading toward a destiny that she had restlessly waited for throughout her lifetime. Her society was so cold. All people did was work to earn money to buy things or to pay for things they already had. As long as people kept consuming, everything was fine, but if they couldn’t have something, they’d work even more to get it. And there was always something new being invented that everybody had to have. So everyone kept busy earning and spending. Alexis wondered if there had to be more to life. She grew bored of things and so didn’t have the drive to work for objects. Instead, she asked questions that nobody could or would answer. Why can’t we go to other places? Why is there a New World Order? What are its plans and purposes? She was never satisfied with the answers, so she wrote down her suspicions, which she gleaned through listening to conversations–her parents’ and others they knew. While nobody had seen her writing, the penalty for the act itself was harsh and might even mean death for breaking the rules and ruffling the order in society. Maybe she would find some answers on the island.
NaturaLawes 