Bahir nodded and set the box on the table next to the coffee cup. “It is rare a man sends a present for himself and arrives the same day to find it waiting for him. You did not tell me what is in the box. If it is a secret, I shall go grind twenty pounds of Ethiopian beans. Only first I find out what coffee your friend would prefer. Alicia, what may I bring you?”
“The Ethiopian sounds exotic.”
Bahir bowed slightly, walked to the counter and filled another cup. He returned.
“Bahir,” Marcus said, glancing around the coffee shop. “Please, sit down. I want to show you something. First, I need to tell you what Alicia and I have been through the last few days.”
The old man waived to his nephew to bring him a coffee, took a sip, and then listened without interruption. When Marcus finished, Bahir said, “I’m fearful that your journey is only beginning. Please, let me see the spear. I have waited all my life for this.”
Surprised by his last comment, Marcus looked at Bahir quizzically for a moment then discreetly opened the box. He lifted out the thick newspaper wrappings that encased the spear to protect it, and carefully uncovered the spiritual artifact. Lying on the seafood cooking section of the Ouest-France newspaper was the Spear of Destiny.
Bahir simply stared at it for a half minute in total silence, his dark eyes unblinking. A fly landed on his coarse hand, crawling to the tip of his thumbnail. Bahir finally waved the fly away. He lifted his eyes to Marcus, tears welling above his lower eyelids. “It is astounding. Here in my little coffee shop, in a corner table, lies the blade that pierced the body of Christ. The event turned a Roman soldier into a believer who achieved sainthood. And the spear, with its inherent power, was left for whoever had the means and presence of mind to acquire it.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, revealing the brown-dotted age spots. Looking at Alicia before shifting his glance back to Marcus, he said, “Billions of people call our earth home. You are the only one who found this…the only one who understood and figured out where to seek it.”
“I don’t know if I had a choice. What do you think the inscription means?”
The old man took a pair of reading glasses from his shirt pocket, held the spear low, using his body to block it from anyone. He turned the spear over and slowly read the language, his lips moving, but with no words coming out of his mouth. Then he cleared his throat. “The city had no need of the sun, neither the moon to shine in it…for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light that will be there.”
Marcus looked around the coffee shop. All patrons seem oblivious to what was going on at the back table. “Bahir, what does it mean?”
“What do you think it might mean?”
“The passage is from Revelation. I’m not sure what it’s referring to, but I feel the reference to the city is right here — the Old City of Jerusalem.”
“Is it a riddle?” Alicia asked.
“No.” Bahir’s unkempt eyebrows arched. “It is not a riddle. It is an answer.”
“What do you mean?” asked Marcus. “An answer to what question?”
“To the one you’ve carried for a long time, Paul. As the whole universe was brought forth from one by the power of one God…so all things are born perpetually from this one force according to the character of nature…of God. We do not come into the world at birth. We come from — from the source of life, like an apple comes from a tree. The miracle of that which is above is moveable to that which is below. It is one. We, all of us, every atom and every cell, are one with God. He is perfection, all above, below and beyond, comes from a single whole, a strength that is the ultimate influence because it is the ultimate love. As invisible as gravity, yet it is the might, the power and mind that placed the entire universe into motion and breathes life into its center…mankind. Your wife and daughter are part of that, loved and well. They are in a dimension that may be not visible to all, yet, but it is not anonymous.”
Marcus said nothing, his chest filling with weight. Alicia looked down at the spear and then into the old man’s face. Bahir touched the spear with his index finger. “You are partially correct in your reasoning of the city as referred to on the spear. But, the city is the new Jerusalem, not the old one, where we are an eternal community made from one designer. That which is above is also below through all, and the universe.”
There was a soft jingle of glassware behind the counter. “What’s that?” asked Alicia. Bahir stared at the coffee in his cup, his aged face reflecting from the dark surface. The reflection broke when the coffee began quivering.
Bahir stood. His customers looked around, some unplugging their laptops, others glancing nervously out the windows. Five seconds later, the buildings of Jerusalem began to tremble and break apart.
EIGHTY-FIVE
“Outside!” shouted Marcus. “Earthquake! Keep away from the buildings.”
“Oh shit!” Alicia said, watching the cups and plates crash from behind the bar. The coffee shop emptied in seconds. People struggled to keep their balance, the earth shaking violently under their feet. Marcus, with the spear secure in his pocket, held Bahir by the back of the old man’s shirt and helped him find the door. Dust billowed from the streets, blowing through the shop like hot ash.
They made it outside, the force of the earthquake knocking Alicia down. Marcus lifted her up. “Get to the center of the street!”
Hundreds of tourists, shop owners, and business people scattered across the streets of the Old City, the earth moving and shaking beneath them. Marcus looked to the west and saw a construction crane topple into a nearby high-rise building, shattering windows and sending a stream of glass and debris to the streets below. Ancient stones rained down from structures and archways that have stood on the same ground for a thousand years.
Large cracks erupted in dozens of spots on the wall that encircled the Old City. Stones dropped from the Western Wall, sending worshipers fleeing. There was nowhere to run as the Old City swayed and bucked, the earth rose and pitched, stretching and shaking its shoulders as if it was coming out of a long slumber. The Dome of the Rock shook and groaned. Lions Gate crumbled, creating an open passageway.
Then it stopped. In less than forty-five seconds, the earthquake ended as abruptly as it had started. Immense dust clouds rose above the city. Marcus looked up and saw the sun turn blood red through the dust. Air-raid sirens and alarms rang out. People cried. Some stumbled around, dazed, going into shock, bleeding, weeping, and calling out names of loved ones.
Marcus turned to Alicia. “Are you hurt?”
“Just bruised. Maybe it’s over.”
“There may be aftershocks. Bahir, are you hurt?”
The old man said nothing. He stood in the center of the street and prayed silently. He glanced up at the red sun, turned to Marcus and said, “It is time.”
“What do you mean, it is time?”
“It is the sign. Come.” He walked toward his coffee shop.
“Don’t!” Marcus shouted. “There may be an aftershock.”
“It is over. Come! Now, Paul!”
“Don’t let him go in there alone!” Alicia yelled.
Marcus ran to the door and put his hand on Bahir’s shoulder. “Let’s stay outside.”
“The earthquake is finished. I have something to show you.” He walked inside his shop. Marcus followed. Alicia hesitated a few seconds, looked at the debris around her, smoke and dust boiling over the city, the blare of air-raid sirens and the cries of injured people. She ran inside the coffee shop. Bahir led them behind the counter, stepping over broken cups, dishes and pots of spilled coffee. He found a large flashlight and walked into the back room.