Seeker and Beautiful began preparing to leave at once. When he asked about the house, she said, “Leave it. I don’t want to spend one more minute than we must in this accursed town.”
Between their savings, Seeker and Beautiful had enough to buy a donkey to carry their belongings, and provisions for their journey.
Three large canvas bags. One for Seeker’s books, another for their dishes and Beautiful’s keepsakes, and the last for Bright’s books and toys.
“What’cha doing, Daddy?” Bright asked.
“Me and Mama are packing, Bright.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to live somewhere else,” Seeker said, tussling Bright’s hair.
“Where?” Bright’s eyes lit with excitement.
“Well, Bright, first we have to climb a big mountain. Then we’ll visit Palace Beautiful.”
“Daddy, did you know… did you know that’s Mama’s other name?”
Seeker laughed. “Of course I know, Bright.”
“Does Mama really have a palace?”
Beautiful walked into the room, “Nobody knows, Bright.” Her eyes danced.
“Will I have friends there?” Bright asked.
“Lots and lots of them,” Seeker said. “Are you going to miss your friends here?”
Bright frowned and shook his head. “People here are too mean.”
“Enough questions now, Bright. Go help your mama pack your toys, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy!”
***
It was still dark when Seeker loaded their burdens onto the donkey. As the sun rose, he led it through the village streets, Beautiful following with Bright’s hand in hers.
In the early morning light Delight took on a sinister new shape—Deceit. Seven years he had toiled here and never made the connections. This was where Adam-the-First had tried to enslave Faithful. Seven years—wasted, he thought bitterly.
“Seeker!” The voice cut through the morning quiet as they started across the bridge spanning the ravine. Jabal strode up to them. He bowed low. “Beautiful.” Impeccably dressed, as always—no hint of sleep left in his face.
“I didn’t believe the rumors, so I had to come myself. Didn’t I just give you a promotion? Name your price, Seeker—you’re like a son to me.”
“There’s nothing can keep us here,” Beautiful said.
“I see,” said Jabal. “Seeker?”
“Yes, Jabal. We’ve made up our minds.”
Jabal nodded, then snapped his fingers. A serving-man stepped from the shadows. “Bring his payment.”
The man slipped away toward Jabal’s office.
“I told you in Delight—”
“Deceit,” Beautiful corrected.
“In Desire… um, Delight,” he continued, thrown off beat, “all are rewarded for their hard work. I wish you’d come to me yesterday.”
The man reappeared, a folio in one hand and a bag of coins heavy in the other.
“Twenty gold down on your house, purchased at one hundred twenty. Current value—two hundred. Twenty for my commission. That leaves one hundred,” Jabal’s voice was businesslike.
Beautiful’s eyes went wide. He opened the folio, revealing a note: Debt paid in full. Claim to house relinquished. “Sign here.”
The serving-man handed him a pen and a bottle of ink. Seeker dipped the nib and scrawled his name. Then the man passed him the bag of gold.
“I trust you don’t feel the need to count it?” His voice was flat.
Seeker hefted the bag’s weight. “No, Jabal. No need.”
“Oh, and one other minor thing, remaining, in the terms of your service,” Jabal said.
Seeker frowned. Charm stepped from the shadows, her green eyes downcast, her movements quiet.
“My daughters will travel with you.”
Beautiful exploded. “That… that…” She trembled with rage. “That whore won’t be part of my life—or my son’s.” She stepped in front of Bright, one hand thrust out in refusal.
Charm stepped back.
“Very well,” Jabal said.
Comfort emerged, tears streaming down her face, and fell to her knees. “Take me with you, Beautiful.” Her eyes pleaded. “Please?”
Beautiful hesitated.
“She,” Comfort spat, “isn’t my sister.”
“Comfort!” Charm exclaimed. Jabal frowned and shifted his stance.
“Haven’t I served you well all these years? I’ve been faithful—I would never betray you.” She shot Charm a look of disdain.
“Very well,” Beautiful said. She started to rub her belly, then quickly let her hand fall. “I’m sure you’ll be a help—especially now.”
“You are always welcome here in Delight,” Jabal said. He smiled, but the warmth never reached his eyes.
–
Seeker loaded the gold onto the donkey. They set out without looking back. Beautiful walked at Seeker’s side, Bright’s hand in hers, with Comfort trailing behind.
The sun stood overhead when they reached the spring at the crossroads. It lay at the base of the Hill of Difficulty. Seeker unstrapped their burdens from the donkey and let it wander to graze before the climb ahead.
Seeker hoped to reach the Arbor before sundown and rest there for the night. With Beautiful and Bright’s pace, he wouldn’t attempt the summit. Taking the paths around the mountain—through the Crags of Destruction or the Forest of Danger—was never an option.
Beautiful spread a cloth and set out bread and cheese. She dipped Seeker’s tin cup into the cool water of the bubbling spring and handed it to Bright.
While they ate, four men emerged from the Crags of Destruction—rough-bearded, hard-eyed. Seeker reached for his staff.
The leader pointed at the donkey. “Take it,” he barked.
Seeker stepped in front of Beautiful and Bright. One robber moved toward the donkey. The others closed in on their belongings. He swung hard. His staff cracked against a man’s ribs, the sound of wood on bone ringing sharp. A club struck him from behind. He staggered. The staff slipped from his hands as he fell. A boot slammed into his side and drove the breath from his chest.
Beautiful cried out, clutching Bright in her arms. Comfort stepped between them and the men, wrapping her arms protectively around them both.
“Looky what we have here,” one of the robbers called, holding up the bag of gold.
Another slit the canvas with his knife. Seeker’s books spilled onto the ground. “Books,” he scoffed.
A third ripped open the other bags. Their contents scattered across the dirt. A plate clattered on the stones and cracked in two.
Seeker pushed up on his elbow, rage burning through the ache. He lunged again, but a blow sent him sprawling face-first in the dirt.
Moments later they were gone—leading the donkey away with their gold and provisions. Their footsteps faded, leaving only the bubbling of the spring and Bright’s frightened sobs.
Beautiful rushed to Seeker’s side. Shards of their dishes lay scattered on the ground. One of Bright’s toys, a small wooden soldier, lay on its side with an arm broken.
Seeker reached for his staff, chest heaving, eyes burning with fury. “They’ll pay for this,” he growled. He started toward Destruction, but Beautiful caught his hand and held him back.
“Stop, Seeker,” she begged. “It’s only things. We can’t lose you too.”
Seeker drew a long breath and let it out slowly. His heart still raced. He sank onto the grass, fighting to steady himself. His breath came ragged and uneven.
“Okay,” he whispered.
***
Beautiful stitched together the torn canvas the robbers had left, fashioning a pack with straps for Seeker. She quickly made two smaller bags for herself and Comfort. Bright put on a brave face and insisted on carrying one too, though Seeker tucked only a few of his toys inside.
Seeker carved a small sign: Beware of robbers from Destruction. He fixed it to a branch and drove it into the ground, laying their broken dishes at its base.
Beautiful and Comfort helped him shoulder his great burden and slung their own bags across their backs. Together, they began their ascent.
Years at the tread-wheel had not prepared him for this. Within a dozen steps his chest was burning. His heart pounded, and he could not catch his breath. The path was rocky. Sharp stones pressing through his boots. More than once he slipped on loose gravel, and at last he fell to his hands and knees and needed help to rise.
The sun beat down on them, and sweat ran freely, soaking his clothes. His mouth tasted of iron from a split lip in the fall.
Up the path he heard Bright wailing, “I’m dying, I’m dying!”
Beautiful, panting, snapped at him, “You’re not dying, Bright. Just… breathing… hard. Like Mama.”
Beautiful turned to Seeker. “Let’s… take a break.”
Seeker agreed, thankful though he hid it. He leaned forward, easing the weight of his burden from his shoulder. Beautiful and Bright sat on a rock, drinking from his canteen. He didn’t dare sit. If he did, he knew he’d never get back up.
The irony wasn’t lost on him. He had started his journey more than ten years before, and yet here he was—clothes worn thin and torn, a huge burden on his back. Just like Christian at the start of his journey. Only unlike Christian, he thought bitterly, he was climbing the Hill of Difficulty.
Hours passed. The sun slipped behind the peak, and a soothing breeze stirred the air. Seeker paused, panting for breath.
Beautiful sighed. “We must be near the top.”
Seeker gave a wry laugh. “Not even halfway. But the Arbor shouldn’t be far. We’ll rest there tonight.”
Bright sprawled in the middle of the path, eyes squeezed shut.
“Get up, Bright,” Beautiful scolded. “Don’t lie in the dirt like that.”
He only moaned in reply.
“Honey,” she said, “Put your burden down. Rest a few minutes.”
Seeker nodded and started to slip his arms from the straps—when a boulder thundered past.
Seeker’s eyes darted upward. Had it fallen from the outcropping ahead? He scanned the rocks, tracing higher—then froze. Too far. Too large. No ordinary man could stand at that distance. A giant loomed, grotesque in form, clad only in a ragged loincloth, a boulder raised high above his head.
Beautiful gasped and yanked Bright to his feet.
The giant hurled the boulder. It slammed into the path, missing Seeker by a breath, then careened down the slope.
“Run!” he shouted.
Beautiful froze, clutching Bright’s hand. She spun toward the path behind them.
“Up! Up!” Seeker gasped.
Bright burst forward, scrambling up the path, with Beautiful close behind. Seeker’s chest heaved, vision blurring as he fought for breath—but he didn’t slow, driving himself after them.
“The giant can’t see us here,” Beautiful gasped as they paused in the shadow of the overhang.
From above came low, angry growls.
Just ahead lay the Arbor, resting place for pilgrims. Beautiful pointed, but Seeker shook his head—just as a boulder smashed into the Arbor.
Comfort came running and stopped beside them, panting and trembling. A rock crashed at her feet.
Seeker dropped his burden and seized Bright’s shoulders. “Run—and don’t stop. Not until you reach the top.” He motioned to Beautiful. “Go! I’m right behind you. If I have to slow him down…” He raised his staff. “Don’t look back.”
Beautiful shook her head. “No!” she cried.
Another rock slammed into the path. They didn’t hesitate—they ran, scrambling up the steep incline.
The path leveled as they neared the Arbor, but they didn’t slow. Seeker’s vision flared red as pain exploded in his temple. He sprawled forward, crashing into Beautiful and Bright knocking them tumbling to the ground with him.
He curled on the ground, crying from the pain, unable to stand, unable even to sit up. Beautiful and Bright sobbed beside him.
A voice boomed across the mountain. “I am Wrath—bane of your father, and your father’s father. You cannot defeat me, and you cannot hide. Wherever you go, I will find you!”
Silence. The boulders ceased. Seeker’s vision cleared. Beautiful lay on the ground, clutching Bright in her arms, both of them shivering in terror. Beside them rested the boulder that had struck him.
They couldn’t stay here. They couldn’t go back. Their only hope lay ahead—at the summit, in the safety of Palace Beautiful.
He pushed himself to his feet and reached out—one hand for Beautiful, one for Bright—then touched her belly.
“Is she… is she okay?” he asked.
Beautiful nodded, tears streaking her cheeks. She touched his forehead. Pain shot through his skull, nearly doubling him over.
“We can’t stay here,” he said. “He’ll be back.” He took their hands, and together they climbed upward—slow but steady.
The ground shook. Behind them, footsteps echoed—Giant Wrath. Fear gripped him. His staff—he’d left it where it fell at the Arbor. They couldn’t go back now.
Bright dropped to the ground.
“Get up!” Seeker barked. Bright refused. Seeker scooped him into his arms, and together he and Beautiful ran as fast as they could.
Then they saw it—a narrow cave mouth just off the path. Seeker, Bright in his arms, dove inside with Beautiful and Comfort close behind—just as Giant Wrath loomed into view, a massive club sweeping through the air.
Giant Wrath thrust his club into the cave, but the entrance was too narrow for him to follow. They groped forward, stumbling through the dark.
A faint glimmer shone ahead. They could just make out a doorway—too clean, too well-formed to be natural.
When they stepped through, they entered a chamber carved from limestone, narrow shafts in the ceiling letting in a soft, steady light.
By the door stood a great round stone with handholds carved into it. Seeker strained against it until it rolled into place, sealing the entrance.
Then they collapsed onto the floor, breathless with relief.
The edges of the chamber dissolved into shadow in the fading light, leaving the space at once cavernous and secure. One wall held a hollowed hearth, and a narrow flue carved upward like a chimney, the stone above streaked black with old smoke. In a side alcove, branches lay stacked in neat order, cut and ready. Seeker crossed two sticks, tucked kindling between, and struck steel to flint. Sparks caught, and soon a flame licked upward. Fire pushed back the darkness, casting the room in a shifting, golden glow.
On the opposite wall, a thin thread of water trickled into a carved stone basin—broad and low, its rim worn smooth by years of use.
Along the chamber’s edges, benches and low seats had been hewn from the rock itself, their surfaces worn smooth by centuries of weary pilgrims leaning here.
They sat in silence, watching until the fire sank low. Then moonbeams spilled through the skylights, flooding the chamber with light almost as bright as day.
Seeker set his hands to the stone, ready to roll it back. Beautiful touched him lightly, her hand soft against his. “Don’t,” she whispered. “He might still be out there.”
Seeker nodded and let his hand fall. “All right. Our things can wait until morning.”
In the silver glow filtering through the shafts, he followed the narrow steps downward to a lower level, where smaller chambers had been cut into granite. Each held a stone slab for a bed and an alcove stacked with folded woolen blankets. Seeker, Beautiful, and Bright would share one room, and Comfort would take another.
***
Morning seeped into the cave in muted light. Seeker slipped outside to recover his burden and staff. Beautiful brushed her lips against the dark bruise across his forehead and urged him to tread softly, to keep a watchful eye for Wrath.
After he left, she began to explore. The water in the basin shimmered cool and clear—pure enough to drink.
Beside the hearth stood a wide-mouthed clay jar she hadn’t noticed before—worn and chipped, holding only a few handfuls of meal—and a small clay cruse with a narrow neck, filled with golden oil. Just enough for several small loaves of bread. The hearth itself was small and plain, yet large enough to bake them. With their provisions stolen, this would sustain them only for a day, and they would need to continue on.
–
Seeker staggered into the doorway, dropped his burden and staff onto the floor, and sank onto a stone seat, chest heaving, sweat streaming down his face. Beautiful dipped his tin cup into the basin and handed it to him.
He drank slowly. “I thought he was gone… until I returned. He was waiting for me.” A long breath shuddered from him.
***
From the chamber where they sat, a stairway climbed deeper into the mountain, ending at a locked door. Seeker slipped his clasp-knife between the door and jamb and lifted the latch, just as he had done many times at the Interpreter’s tower.
Inside lay a chamber of pure alabaster, its walls etched with stories of antiquity. Sunlight poured through the skylights, setting the stone aglow. Seeker paused before the first relief: two brothers, two altars—one piled with fruit of the field, the other with a lamb.
“What’s that, Daddy?” Bright asked, pressing close beside him, eyes fixed on the carving.
“That’s Cain and Abel, Bright.”
“Mama read me about them,” he said. “I like the fruit better.”
Seeker only nodded.
Bright pointed at the next carving—the ark that Noah had built. “He… he brought two of each animal. One chimpanzee, and one bonobo. The bonobo was the mama.”
“Is that so?” Seeker asked.
Bright nodded, eyes shining with certainty.
The walls showed Enoch, who walked with the King, and Abraham setting out with Sarah and Isaac.
“Just like us, right?” Bright said.
And Jacob with his sons—the twelve brothers. Joseph leading them into Egypt, and Moses bringing them out again. All around the alabaster chamber more scenes unfolded. Joshua and Rahab, Gideon, Barak, and Samson; Jephthah, David and Samuel.
One by one they studied the carvings, Bright’s eyes shining, until they had seen them all. Then Seeker took his hand and led him back down the stairs to Beautiful.
“Mama, Mama! Daddy read me a story.”
Beautiful glanced at Seeker, puzzled.
“No,” Seeker said. “You read him the stories. I only showed him the pictures.”
***
Now I saw in my dream that Beautiful baked four loaves, and they ate and were satisfied.
But when the morning came and Seeker went to the entrance, he saw that Giant Wrath had pitched a camp and kept watch, waiting for them to continue their journey.
When Beautiful checked the clay jar, she found just enough flour for that day’s need. The next morning Giant Wrath still waited. Yet to her surprise, the jar held enough again.
Days turned into months, yet the giant lingered at the cave’s mouth. And still the flour never ran out, and the oil never ran dry. So they remained in the Cave of Resolution until the time came for Beautiful to give birth to Wonderful.
One spring morning Seeker woke to sunlight streaming into their chamber. Beautiful touched his shoulder and shook him gently. “It’s time,” she whispered.
“I’ll go get Comfort,” he said, easing her onto the stone slab. Bright trailed him up the stairs to the main room.
“Play with your toys. Are you excited to meet your new sister?”
Bright blinked at him, puzzled.
Just then Comfort entered, met Seeker’s eyes, and gave a quick nod. “Boil some water,” she said, already moving down the stairs.
Within minutes Seeker had a fire roaring. He filled the kettle from the basin with his tin cup and set it in the hearth.
When the kettle began to whistle, Seeker rested a hand on Bright’s shoulder. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Bright looked up from his book. “Okay, Daddy.”
Seeker took up the kettle and hurried back down the stairs.
“Push!” Comfort’s voice rang down the passage. Beautiful cried out in pain.
Then came the sharp cry of a newborn. Seeker blinked. Already? He had braced himself for a long night of struggle.
He stepped into the doorway, and Comfort lifted the child for him to see. His heart skipped a beat. Wonderful. She was so small, her head perfectly round, her skin flushed red as a beet. He had never seen a more beautiful sight in all his life.
“Hello, Wonderful,” he whispered, eyes filling with tears. She reached out and wrapped her tiny hand around his finger, holding fast.
Comfort laid Wonderful on a towel, poured water into a basin, and dipped a strip of linen to wash her gently.
Seeker took Beautiful’s hand. Her skin glowed, her eyes soft. “How’s my Beautiful?” he asked.
She smiled.
Comfort wrapped Wonderful in a swaddling cloth and placed her in Seeker’s arms. She gave a small curtsey, then slipped quietly away.
“Here’s our daughter, Wonderful,” he said, and gently laid her in Beautiful’s arms.
Beautiful gazed down at her. At last, she whispered, “She looks just like you—only prettier.” She smiled, and the whole room seemed to brighten.
Comfort reappeared, leading Bright by the hand.
Bright stopped, stared, and pointed. “Ahahahaha—it’s a baby!” He paused, frowning. “Where did… she… come from?”
Beautiful laughed. “She came from my belly. She’s your sister—Wonderful.”
“From your belly?” Bright giggled. “Don’t be silly, Mama.”
He crept closer, touched her with one tentative finger, then laughed again. Leaning over, he planted a quick kiss on her head.
“You love your baby sister, don’t you?” Seeker asked.
Bright nodded, then his face fell. Sadness crept in, and he lowered his head.
Beautiful held Wonderful out. “Go to Daddy, Wonderful.” Then she drew Bright onto the bed. He snuggled against her, and she rocked him gently.
“Don’t be sad, Bright,” she whispered. “You’re still my baby too. You’ll always be my baby.”
Seeker cradled Wonderful against his chest and sang softly:
Wonderful—
Born in adversity,
Strong and true,
You shine like a priceless gem,
Bringing redemption with you