Chapter 15

“Wow! Were these us?”

“Indeed, we were there.”

“I have no desire to go back. Down there.”

“And what do you feel?”

“I feel nothing.”

“And what do you desire?”

“I desire for you to remember me.”

“I do. And even more than this, I ask you to keep me company. Will you?”

“I will.”

“Now, give me your hand.”

“Here. Oh, what– what is happening. Are we falling?”

“Diving.”

“Crashing?”

“Passing through. Do you feel the earth? The rocks?”

“I feel nothing.”

“You told me this.”

“As you have asked me before.”

“Do you feel the grip of my hand?”

“That I do, yes.”

“See?”

“I feel something, yes. I feel the grip of your hand.”

“What can you see?”

“Nothing. Er, black. I see only darkness in front of my eyes.”

“You hear this?”

“Can’t– Oh, wait. I can hear the sea.”

“The breeze?”

“No breeze. Just breaking waves. And I can distinguish their white crests, through darkness.”

“Hold my hand tighter. And fear not!”

“Tighter. We’re plunging in?”

“In and throughout. Like we did to the earth. Now we do to the waters.”

“We’re ascending now.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it.”

“So you feel something.”

“Something more than the grip of your hand. I feel the ocean, which was cold but is warming up. As we ascend.”

“Close your eyes. Now!”

“The light is too bright. It burns.”

“Keep tight. You’ll get accustomed shortly.”

“What is this light?”

“A reflection.”

“And what is this?”

“The ocean behind or the lands ahead?”

“The ocean behind?”

“That was the Styx.”

“And the lands ahead?”

“These belong to the realm of Hades.”

“No sun shines–”

“No sun, indeed.”

“How about the brightening light?”

“Told you, that light is a reflection.”

“From the sun?”

“No sun here.”

“From where then?”

“From my place.”

“Is this your place?”

“No. This is not my place.”

“What is this then?”

“Told you, the place of the dead. Sheol in Hebrew. Hades in Greek.”

“Why the light then?”

“The light comes with me.”

“You bring the light to this place.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Look! The inhabitants.”

“How do you know?”

“I can see their faces. Like shadows.”

“Shadows in this brightness?”

“You tell me, Lord.”

“The dead die and keep dying. This is what they do and nothing else.”

“How could one keep dying all the time?”

“There is no time here. So they can die. Nothing interrupts their dying.”

“Endless dying?”

“Indeed.”

“But the brightness?”

“I bring it to end it. Now, with you along, holding my hand tight.”

“We brought the light?”

“I bring the light. You can see.”

“I can also see the shadows.”

“They drink from the brightness.”

“Like water?”

“Like drinking water. The dead die no more. Because they drink now.”

“Drinking makes the shadows?”

“A funnel for each thirsty face.”

“Shadows begin to fade. I guess.”

“You guess right. Shadows wane as life returns. The dead come to life.”

“To breathe the brightness.”

“Hey, You!”

“Who? Me?”

“Not you, shut up and keep a firm grip on my hand, will you?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“You, tell me your name.”

“My name is Adam.”

“Give me your hand, Adam!”

“Here.”

“You two, brace up!”

“Are you taking us through that tiny point?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Can we fit in there. All the three of us?”

“We can fit through there. Anyone can. Yes.”

“What is that point? Brighter than its surroundings.”

“The tip of a needle.”

“Don’t understand.”

“Call it an anode if you wish.”

“You lost me.”

“Keep tight.”