He had found it!
Chapter 7
Dima’s office was small but today it felt like a prison cell. Ever since she’d begun working on Robert’s mysterious document, she’d battled the overwhelming urge to go off on the sort of adventure she’d fantasized about since she was a child. If this document were the real thing, she might even do it. Leaning in closer to her computer monitor, she typed another term into the search engine.
“My, you look intense. Let me guess, updating your dating profile again?” Addie leaned in to look over Dima’s shoulder. “Noah’s Ark? That’s not going to get you a guy. At least, not a hot guy.”
“What are you talking about? Hot people can’t like ancient mysteries?”
“Please, I’ve seen those shows. That guy with the alien theories? Where did he get that hairstyle?”
“If you say so.” Dima kept her eyes locked on the screen.
What are you working on, exactly?” The perky redhead was Dima’s assistant and the closest thing she had to a friend in Atlanta.
“It’s sort of my hobby. Always has been.” That was imprecise. Her interest lay not only in the Noah tale, but in all the various flood myths and legends throughout history. She’d been fascinated with them since childhood when she watched a rerun of “In Search Of.” She’d only tuned in because Leonard Nimoy, aka Mr. Spock, was the host. By the time the show ended, she was hooked.
“I thought they found the ark years ago.” Addie drew up a chair and sat down beside Dima. “You know, up on a mountain in Turkey? There’s a formation of a fossilized boat, or something. I don’t know. My knowledge of Noah is limited to Sunday School when I was a kid.”
“You are thinking of the Durupinar Structure. It’s probably the best-known site associated with the Noah myth, but it really is just a rock formation that happens to be vaguely shaped like a boat. There’s another, similarly-shaped site on a mountain in the same region, but it’s not the ark either.”
“Bummer.” Addie frowned, but her face brightened almost immediately. “That means it’s still out there, and you could be the one to find it!”
Dima smiled. She had certainly entertained that fantasy enough times in her life. “Maybe.”
“What did you mean by Noah ‘myth’? Why are you looking for it if you don’t think it’s real?”
“A myth isn’t necessarily untrue. It’s what we call a traditional story, usually one about the early history of a people. Sometimes it explains a natural phenomenon, something about their culture, and it typically has a supernatural component.”
Addie pursed her lips. “Okay, I think I remember something about that from high school English. So you think there really was a guy who built a boat during a big flood, but just without the God stuff?”
“I don’t know what I think. I’m trying to have an open mind. I do believe there was some sort of event, and perhaps an individual, that inspired the flood stories, including that of Noah. Maybe it happened exactly like the Bible says, maybe not, but I believe there’s something there worth exploring.”
“So what’s got you barking up the Noah tree today?”
Dima hesitated, but Addie was trustworthy, and she wanted to tell someone about this.
“Have you ever heard of the Book of Noah?”
“Never.”
“It’s a lost book. We know it existed because there are references made to it in extra-biblical texts, and it’s even quoted in some of them.” Dima paused to see if Addie scoffed at this proclamation. When her friend did not, she continued.
“Here,” she clicked on a tab to open a browser screen, “is a passage from the book of Enoch.” She gave her friend a moment to read the passage. “A friend of mine, a guy I used to work with, sent me a fragment from an old manuscript that contains this material, but it also contains a reference to three stones. Aside from not being mentioned in the Bible, there’s no reference to three stones in any of the known surviving bits of the Book of Noah. That tells me that the bit he sent to me pre-dates anything we have from that book.”
“Maybe it’s from the original?” Mischief twinkled in Addie’s big, green eyes. “And then you’d be the most famous Noah researcher in the world. No more teaching history to spoiled college brats. Am I right?”
Dima smiled. She couldn’t deny having entertained that fantasy once or twice since she’d made the connection to the Book of Noah, but what were the odds?
“Why don’t you ask this friend of yours where he got the fragment? That would be a good place to start, wouldn’t it?”
“I can’t get in touch with him. What’s more, the note he attached was…weird.” She made a face, knowing she sounded like a drama queen or conspiracy theorist.
“I’ll work on it for you.” Addie took out her phone and opened the note-taking app. “Look for,” she whispered as she typed, “Noah Stones and Book of Noah.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Dima couldn’t escape the uneasy feeling about the manuscript fragment, but what could the harm be if Addie did a bit of checking? People researched Noah all the time.
“I’m your grad assistant. I’m assisting you with a project related to world history. Besides, if you find anything, you’ll publish, won’t you? That makes it connected to your job.”
“I guess so, just…” Dima was about to tell Addie to be careful, but that seemed a touch too dramatic. “Just don’t feel like you have to make it a priority.”
“No worries. There’s a cute guy in the religious studies department I’ve been wanting to meet. You’ve just given me an excuse.” Addie sprang out of her seat and bounded to the door, her red curls bouncing as she walked.
“Of course I have,” Dima mumbled. She returned to her work, searching through websites dedicated to the Noah legend. The deeper she probed, the crazier the sites became. After thirty minutes of searching culminated with an essay explaining that Noah was an alien and the Great Flood was responsible for the destruction of Atlantis, she decided to take a break. “I have officially entered the sketchy part of the internet.” Staring at the screen as if it had given offense, she picked up her now-cold cup of coffee and took a sip.
A sharp knock at the door startled her, eliciting a yelp and causing her to slosh coffee on her lap. “Oh my…” she growled. “Unbelievable.”
“I’m so sorry,” came a deep voice with a pleasant Caribbean lilt. “I didn’t intend to startle you.”
“Forget about it.” She grabbed a handful of tissues and dabbed at the wet spot on her thigh. At least her cup had been almost empty. “What can I do for you?” She turned and was surprised to see a tall man with a shaved head and umber skin standing in the doorway. He had an athletic build, friendly eyes, and an easy smile. Not bad. “If you’re looking for Addie, she just left.”
“Are you Dima Zafrini?”
Dima blinked twice and nodded. “Yes,” she finally managed, lurching to her feet and rubbing her legs as if smoothing a skirt. Did she always have to make an ass of herself around good-looking guys?
“My name is Tyson.” The man closed the distance between them in two long strides and handed her a business card that read, Daniel Tyson, Purchasing Agent, Trident Antiquities, N’Djamena, Chad.
“I’m Dima, but you already know that.” They shook hands. His grip was strong but not forceful. “How can I help?”
“I’m trying to find someone, and I’m hoping you can assist me. It’s someone you know.”