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Yes, it's true, he said. Perhaps the Lord had listened to him and would
help him to save them.
We could take you captive to Sidon and Tyre, the officer continued.
But we still have many battles before us, and you'd be a weight on our
backs. We could demand a ransom for you, but from whom? You're a
foreigner even in your own country.
The officer put his foot on Elijah's face.
You're useless. You're no good to the enemy and no good to friends.
Just like your city; it's not worth leaving part of our army here, to keep it
under our rule. After we conquer the coastal cities Akbar will be ours in
any case.
I have one question, Elijah said. Just one question.
The officer looked at him warily.
Why did you attack at night? Don't you know that wars are fought by
day?
We did not break the law; there is no custom that forbids it, answered
the officer. And we had a long time to become familiar with the terrain.
All of you were so preoccupied with custom that you forgot that times
change.
Without a further word, the group left him. The spy approached and
untied his hands.
I promised myself that I would one day repay your generosity; I have
kept my word. When the Assyrians entered the palace, one of the
servants told them that the man they were looking for had taken refuge
in the widow's house. While they went there, the real governor was able
to flee.
Elijah was not listening. Fire crackled everywhere, and the screams
continued.
In the midst of the confusion, it was evident that one group still
maintained discipline; obeying an invisible order, the Assyrians were
silently withdrawing.
The battle of Akbar was over.
SHE'S DEAD, he told himself. I don't want to go there, for she is dead.
Or she was saved by a miracle and will come looking for me.
His heart nevertheless bade him rise to his feet and go to the house
where they lived. Elijah struggled with himself; at that moment, more
than a woman's love was at stake his entire life, his faith in the Lord's
designs, the departure from the city of his birth, the idea that he had a
mission and was capable of completing it.
He looked about him, searching for a sword with which to take his own
life, but with the Assyrians had gone every weapon in Akbar. He thought
of throwing himself onto the flames of the burning houses, but he feared
the pain.
For some moments he stood paralyzed. Little by little, he began
recovering his awareness of the situation in which he found himself. The
woman and her child must have already left this world, but he must bury
them in accord with custom. At that moment the Lord's work whether or
not He existed was his only succor. After finishing his religious duty, he
would yield to pain and doubt.
Moreover, there was a possibility that they still lived. He could not
remain there, doing nothing.
I don't want to see their burned faces, the skin falling from their flesh.
Their souls are already running free in heaven.
NEVERTHELESS, HE BEGAN walking toward the house, choking and
blinded by the smoke that prevented his finding his way. He gradually
began to comprehend the situation in the city. Although the enemy had
withdrawn, panic was mounting in an alarming manner. People continued
to wander aimlessly, weeping, petitioning the gods on behalf of their
dead.
He looked for someone to help him. A lone man was in sight, in a total
state of shock; his mind seemed distant.
It's best to go straightway and not ask for help. He knew Akbar as if it
were his native city and was able to orient himself, even without
recognizing many of the places that he was accustomed to passing. In
the street the cries he heard were now more coherent. The people were
beginning to understand that a tragedy had taken place and that it was
necessary to react.
There's a wounded man here! said one.
We need more water! We're not going to be able to control the fire!
said another.
Help me! My husband is trapped!
He came to the place where, many months before, he had been received
and given lodging as a friend. An old woman was sitting in the middle of
the street, almost in front of the house, completely naked. Elijah tried to
help her but was pushed away.
She's dying! the old woman cried. Do something! Take that wall off
her!
And she began screaming hysterically. Elijah took her by the arms and
shoved her aside, for the noise she was making prevented his hearing
the widow's moans. Everything around him was total destruction the roof
and walls had collapsed, and it was difficult to recognize where he had
last seen her. The flames had died down but the heat was still
unbearable; he stepped over the rubble covering the floor and went
toward the place where the woman's bedroom had been.
Despite the confusion outside, he was able to make out a moan. It was
her voice.
He instinctively shook the dust from his garments, as if trying to improve
his appearance. He remained silent, trying to concentrate. He heard the
crackling of the fire, the cries for help from people buried in the
neighboring houses, and felt the urge to tell them to be silent because he
must discover where the woman and her son were. After a long time, he
heard the sound again; someone was scratching on the wood beneath his
feet.
He fell to his knees and began digging like one possessed. He removed
the dirt, stones, and wood. Finally, his hand touched something warm: it
was blood.
Please, don't die, he said.
Leave the rubble over me, he heard her voice say. I don't want you to
see my face. Go and help my son.
He continued to dig, and she repeated, Go and find the body of my son.
Please, do as I ask.
Elijah's head fell against his chest, and he began weeping softly.
I don't know where he's buried, he said. Please, don't go; how I long
to have you remain with me. I need you to teach me how to love; my
heart is ready now.
Before you arrived, for so many years I called out to death. It must
have heard and come looking for me.
She moaned. Elijah bit his lips but said nothing. Someone touched his
shoulder.
Startled, he turned and saw the boy. He was covered with dust and soot
but appeared unhurt.
Where is my mother? he asked.
I'm here, my son, answered the voice from beneath the ruins. Are you
injured?
The boy began to cry. Elijah took him in his arms.
You're crying, my son, said the voice, ever weaker. Don't do that. Your
mother took a long time to learn that life has meaning; I hope I have
been able to teach it to you. In what condition is the city where you were
born?
Elijah and the boy remained silent, each clinging to the other.
It's fine, Elijah lied. A few warriors died, but the Assyrians have
withdrawn. They were after the governor, to avenge the death of one of
their generals.
Again, silence. And again her voice, still weaker than before.
Tell me that my city is safe.
He knew that she would be gone at any moment.
The city is whole. And your son is well.
What about you?
I have survived.
He knew that with these words he was liberating her soul and allowing
her to die in peace.
Ask my son to kneel, the woman said after a time. And I want you to
swear to me, in the name of the Lord thy God.
Whatever you want. Anything that you want.
You once told me that the Lord is everywhere, and I believed you. You
said that souls don't go to the top of the Fifth Mountain, and I also
believed what you said. But you didn't explain where they go.
This is the oath: you two will not weep for me, and each will take care
of the other until the Lord allows each of you to follow his path. From
this moment on, my soul will become one with all I have known on this
earth: I am the valley, the mountains that surround it, the city, the
people walking in its streets. I am its wounded and its beggars, its
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