through slowly the waves. They pulled at it, fighting the waves, and a small boy jumped out of one of the boats and ran to the net, helping them pull it in. As it reached the shore, Caitlin saw they had caught dozens of fish, squirming and flopping. The boy practically squealed in delight, while the old men were somber.
Caitlin and Caleb had snuck up on them so quietly—especially with the sound of the crashing waves—that they still didn’t know they were there. Caitlin cleared her throat so as not to startle them.
They all immediately wheeled and looked her way. She could see the surprise in their eyes. She didn’t blame them: they must have been a shocking sight, the two of them, dressed in all black from head to toe, in modern, leather, battle gear. They must have looked as if they dropped straight down from the sky.
“We are sorry to bother you,” Caitlin began, “but are we in Capernaum?” she asked the nearest fellow.
He looked from her to Caleb, then back to her. He slowly nodded back.
“We are looking for someone,” Caitlin continued.
“And who might that be?” the other fisherman asked.
Caitlin was about to say “my Dad,” but then stopped herself, realizing that wouldn’t do any good. How would she describe him anyway? She didn’t even know who he was, or what he looked like.
So, instead, she said the only person who came to mind, the only person they might recognize: “Jesus.”
She half expected them to mock her, to laugh at her, to look at her as if she were crazy. Or, alternately, to have no idea who Jesus was.
But to her surprise, they didn’t seem surprised by her question. They looked like they took her seriously.
“He left two weeks ago,” one of them said.
Caitlin’s heart skipped a beat. So. It was true. He was really alive. They were really in his time. And he had really been here, to this village.
“And all his followers with him,” said the other. “Only the old folks like us and children stayed behind.”
“So he’s real?” Caitlin asked, in shock. She could still hardly believe it; it was almost too much to comprehend.
The boy stepped up, walking close to Caitlin.
“He fixed my grandpa’s hand,” the boy said. “Look at it. He was a leper. Now he’s healed. Show her, grandpa,” the boy said.
The old man slowly turned and pulled back his sleeve. His hand looked perfectly normal. In fact, as Caitlin looked closely, she saw his hand actually looked much younger than the other. It was uncanny. He had the hand of an 18-year-old boy. Pink, rosy and healthy—as if he’d been given a new hand.
Caitlin couldn’t believe it. Jesus was real. He really healed people.
Caitlin knew something about healing people. She thought back to her own powers, to the time when she healed Scarlet. The thought made Caitlin’s heart break, made her miss her more than ever. She knew that healing was real, and that healers were real. And she had no doubt that Jesus was a great healer.
But seeing this man’s hand, this man who was once a leper, perfectly healed, sent a chill up her spine. It brought it all home. For the first time, she had hope that she might really find him, and really find her Dad, and the Shield. And that they might lead her to Scarlet.
“Do you know where he went?” Caleb asked.
“Jerusalem, is what we hear,” yelled out one of the other fishermen, over the sound of the crashing waves.
Jerusalem, Caitlin thought. It felt so far away. They had flown all the way up here, to Capernaum. And now, it was feeling like a wild goose chase. After all that, they would have to turn around and leave empty-handed.
But she could feel the Star of David burning in her hand, and she felt certain that there had to be a reason they were sent to Capernaum. She felt there was something more, something they needed to find.
“One of his disciples is still here,” a fishermen said. “Paul. You can ask him. He might know exactly where they’re going.”
“Where is he?” Caitlin asked
“Where they all spent their time. The old synagogue,” the man said. He turned and pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb.
Caitlin turned and looked over her shoulder, and there, sitting on a hill, overlooking the ocean, she saw a beautiful, small, limestone temple. Even in this time, it already looked ancient. Bedecked with intricate columns, it looked out over the sea,