“City Bible Church, how may I direct your call?”
“This is Mike Blanchard, may I speak with Pastor Phil, please? It's quite urgent.”
“One moment while I check to see if he's available.” He had only been on hold for a few moments when Pastor Phil came on the line.
“Hi Mike, what's going on?” There was an unmistakeable warmth in his voice that Mike found consolatory.
“Pastor, I really need to see you for about 30 minutes. Could I please come by?”
“You bet, Mike. I assume you're on your way right now?”
“Yes, I'll be there in about 15 minutes.”
Pastor Phil looked at his watch. “No problem, Mike. See you when you get here.”
***
The exhaustion Elijah felt from not sleeping for over 24 hours finally overcame him and he drifted off into a deep, uninterrupted sleep. So deep, in fact, that he didn't feel the first ant crawling and exploring his face and the deep gashes across the side of his head. Not realizing that ferns are home to literally dozens of creepy-crawlies of all types, he was soon completely covered. Drawn by the scent of blood and infected flesh, they swarmed his face; exploring every hole, every scent. Ants, spiders, aphids, and even a few beetles were making themselves busy in his hair, in his nostrils, and even exploring his ear near the wound. A few ants were making their way in and out of his mouth.
Deep in sleep, Elijah was having a nightmare. He was dreaming that he was completely covered in bugs and he couldn't do anything about it. As he started regaining consciousness, his brain started detecting sensations that were alien to anything he'd ever experienced before. His ear tickled. Something was in his mouth. And his nose. His scalp was crawling. Something was terribly wrong. His face was throbbing worse than it ever had. Elijah, though tough in his own respect, always went out of his way to avoid bugs of all kinds, so waking up and finding them swarming all over his face, in his clothes, and in his ears, nose, and mouth was too much for him to handle. He could almost fool himself into believing that he could handle an encounter with a deadly mountain lion, or that he could survive in the wild on his own; but he could not for even a brief moment handle being covered in bugs.
Deep in sleep, Elijah was having a nightmare. He was dreaming that he was completely covered in bugs and he couldn't do anything about it. As he started regaining consciousness, his brain started detecting sensations that were alien to anything he'd ever experienced before. His ear tickled. Something was in his mouth. And his nose. His scalp was crawling. Something was terribly wrong. His face was throbbing worse than it ever had. Elijah, though tough in his own respect, always went out of his way to avoid bugs of all kinds, so waking up and finding them swarming all over his face, in his clothes, and in his ears, nose, and mouth was too much for him to handle. He could almost fool himself into believing that he could handle an encounter with a deadly mountain lion, or that he could survive in the wild on his own; but he could not for even a brief moment handle being covered in bugs.
If he was able to think clearly, he would see them as a gift from God, as all those bugs are edible, except for the spiders. Ants, beetles, aphids, crickets and nearly everything else found among the fronds of ferns are a great source of protein, and may very well hold the balance between life and death for someone in Elijah's condition. He didn't see it that way, however. Screaming and jumping up and down, he lost complete control. He swatted at his face, head and arms, trying to knock off every real and imagined insect. In doing so, he slapped the deep cuts in his face that were, by now, swollen and infected. The combination of no food, sleep, water; loss of blood, the trauma of being covered with bugs, and the inconceivable pain of his bleeding, infected face pushed him over the edge; from sanity to insanity, from tough and confident to broken and despairing.
From consciousness to unconsciousness; Elijah’s world went black.
***
After being helped up from the floor, someone handed him a note that was left for him. It said, "Rabbi Geller, I am so sorry for my complete lack of tact and empathy. Please forgive me. Here are the telephone numbers for my office, home, and cell phone. Call me for anything, especially if you want to go look for Elijah. I know where he is."
Zvi was completely drained. He could process rational thoughts no more than he could sprout wings and fly. Driving home, he screamed at God for allowing such a sick and horrible joke to be played on him. Maybe it wasn't a joke. Maybe Blanchard did know about Elijah. He did, after all, have his prayer shawl. Was Elijah alive? His gut told him that he was. He just knew it. Call it a parent's intuition. Maybe this guy, Blanchard, had good intentions and just felt compelled to share his spiritual convictions with someone who is in need. Rabbi Geller knew all about spiritual passion. All that matters is that he gets his Elijah back, no matter what.
Pulling into his driveway, he sees his beautiful wife staring aimlessly out the window. She had been strangely silent since Elijah left. Normally outgoing and bursting with affection for her family, Rachael had been noticeably cool this last week. Did she somehow blame him? For the last 26 years of marriage, she had met him at the door every time he came home with an affectionate hug and passionate kiss, like she hadn't seen him in months. She hadn't been at the door this last week, and when he reaches for her, she pulls away. She spends most of her day in the window, praying... willing her son back home.
"Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing today?" His heart hurts to see her this way. If only she was the same outgoing, bubbly woman he'd grown so intimately familiar with over the years, this would be more bearable for him, but seeing her hurt silently like this...apart from him, made the burden seem nearly unmanageable. He needed his best friend, his soul-mate; and she was quietly absent, going through her own torment.
"Did you find anything out about Elijah today?"
"A little. Not much. I talked to someone very briefly today who saw Elijah in the Deschutes National Forest. He said that he would be glad to show me where he saw Elijah."
“Really? Honey, that's great news! Let's go right now and look for him!" Seeing Rachael's eyes sparkle for the first time in several days lifted Zvi's heart. No man has ever loved his family as much as he, so he wanted to safeguard his wife's moment of joy. He decided not to show her Elijah's blood drenched prayer shawl.
"I just need to call him and arrange a time with him."
"Who is he? How did he know to get in touch with you?"
"He was hiking with his two children and they and Elijah all kind of ran into each other. He said that Elijah scared the life out of his daughter. I don't know exactly what he meant by that, but I'll give him a call to see when he might be able to go back out there. I need to go back to the office for a couple things, and I'll call him from there. I'll let you know how it goes."
Zvi was completely drained. He could process rational thoughts no more than he could sprout wings and fly. Driving home, he screamed at God for allowing such a sick and horrible joke to be played on him. Maybe it wasn't a joke. Maybe Blanchard did know about Elijah. He did, after all, have his prayer shawl. Was Elijah alive? His gut told him that he was. He just knew it. Call it a parent's intuition. Maybe this guy, Blanchard, had good intentions and just felt compelled to share his spiritual convictions with someone who is in need. Rabbi Geller knew all about spiritual passion. All that matters is that he gets his Elijah back, no matter what.
Pulling into his driveway, he sees his beautiful wife staring aimlessly out the window. She had been strangely silent since Elijah left. Normally outgoing and bursting with affection for her family, Rachael had been noticeably cool this last week. Did she somehow blame him? For the last 26 years of marriage, she had met him at the door every time he came home with an affectionate hug and passionate kiss, like she hadn't seen him in months. She hadn't been at the door this last week, and when he reaches for her, she pulls away. She spends most of her day in the window, praying... willing her son back home.
"Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing today?" His heart hurts to see her this way. If only she was the same outgoing, bubbly woman he'd grown so intimately familiar with over the years, this would be more bearable for him, but seeing her hurt silently like this...apart from him, made the burden seem nearly unmanageable. He needed his best friend, his soul-mate; and she was quietly absent, going through her own torment.
"Did you find anything out about Elijah today?"
"A little. Not much. I talked to someone very briefly today who saw Elijah in the Deschutes National Forest. He said that he would be glad to show me where he saw Elijah."
“Really? Honey, that's great news! Let's go right now and look for him!" Seeing Rachael's eyes sparkle for the first time in several days lifted Zvi's heart. No man has ever loved his family as much as he, so he wanted to safeguard his wife's moment of joy. He decided not to show her Elijah's blood drenched prayer shawl.
"I just need to call him and arrange a time with him."
"Who is he? How did he know to get in touch with you?"
"He was hiking with his two children and they and Elijah all kind of ran into each other. He said that Elijah scared the life out of his daughter. I don't know exactly what he meant by that, but I'll give him a call to see when he might be able to go back out there. I need to go back to the office for a couple things, and I'll call him from there. I'll let you know how it goes."
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