The Fifth Mountain Page 0,64

that arose.

The women divided their time between tending to the crops and weaving. During the period of isolation, to recover the small amount of cloth that had remained, they had been obliged to create new patterns of embroidery; when the first merchants arrived in the city, they were enchanted by the designs and placed several orders.

The children too had learned the writing of Byblos; Elijah was certain that one day this would be of help to them.

As was always his wont before the harvest, he strolled through the fields that afternoon, giving thanks to the Lord for the countless blessings bestowed upon him for all these years. He saw people with their baskets filled with grain, and around them children at play. He waved to them, and they returned his greeting.

Smiling, he walked toward the stone where, long ago, he had been given a clay tablet with the word love. It was his custom to visit that spot every day to watch the sunset and recall each instant that they had spent together.

"AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER MANY DAYS, THAT THE WORD OF the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth."

FROM THE STONE WHERE HE SAT, ELIJAH SAW THE world shudder about him. The sky turned black for an instant, but the sun quickly shone again.

He saw the light. An angel of the Lord was before him.

"What has happened?" asked Elijah, startled. "Has the Lord pardoned Israel?"

"No," answered the angel. "He desireth that thou return to liberate thy people. Thy struggle with Him is ended, and - at this moment - he hath blessed thee. He hath given thee leave to continue His work in that land."

Elijah was astonished.

"But, now, just when my heart has again found peace?"

"Recall the lesson once taught thee," said the angel. "And recall the words the Lord spake unto Moses:

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee to humble thee, and to prove thee. To know what was in thine heart.

"Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God."

Elijah turned to the angel. "What about Akbar?" he asked.

"It can live without thee, for thou hast left an heir. It will survive for many years."

The angel of the Lord disappeared.

ELIJAH AND THE BOY ARRIVED AT THE FOOT OF THE Fifth Mountain. Weeds had grown between the stones of the altars; since the high priest's death no one had gone there.

"Let's climb it," he said.

"It's forbidden."

"Yes, it's forbidden. But that doesn't mean it's dangerous."

He took him by both hands, and they began climbing toward the top. They stopped from time to time to gaze at the valley below; the absence of rain had left its mark throughout the countryside, and with the exception of the cultivated fields around Akbar, everything seemed a desert as harsh as those of Egypt.

"I've heard my friends say the Assyrians are coming back," the boy said.

"That could be, but what we have done was worthwhile; it was the way that God chose to teach us."

"I don't know if He bothers much with us," the boy said. "He didn't have to be so severe."

"He must have tried other means before discovering that we were not listening to Him. We were too accustomed to our lives and no longer read His words."

"Where are they written?"

"In the world around us. Merely be attentive to what happens in your life, and you will discover where, every moment of the day, He hides His words and His will. Seek to do as He asks: this alone is the reason you are in the world."

"If I discover it, I'll write it on clay tablets."

"Do so. But write them, above all, in your heart; there they can be neither burned nor destroyed, and you will take them wherever you go."

They walked for some time more. The clouds were now very close.

"I don't want to go there," the boy said, pointing to them.

"They will do you no harm: they're just clouds. Come with me."

He took him by the hands, and they climbed. Little by little, they found themselves entering the fog. The boy clung to him, and although Elijah tried to talk to him now and again, he said not a word. They walked among the naked rocks of the