As I recited the story, I realized every step of the journey had been etched into my soul.
I cried out as I told Karen the horrible thing I’d done: crushed the teenaged Messiah with a rock, snuffing the life out of him.
I couldn’t help myself as I finished the story of his death. I fell into her, full of shame and horrible guilt, but at the same time knowing I’d been acting with good intentions that were horribly wrong.
Tears fell down my cheeks, and I had to stop talking, while I cried a long time. Nobody in the world knew my story other than Erika, and she only knew because she lived through it, too. I hadn’t mentioned anything to anybody, because there was nobody I could talk to. It occurred to me then that Karen was the only true friend I’d ever had. She was the only person to whom I could tell the truth.
Finally, I lifted my head and was able to finish the story. I told her about coming back to the present day, which was almost the same as the time I’d left but oddly different. There was no Christianity, and now Erika Sabo had returned. Not as the first appearance of the Messiah, but as the second.
“I don’t think the Bible mentioned her second coming,” I finished.
By this time, she’d been listening to my whole story, and she hadn’t said a word, but she’d continued to hold onto my hand the entire time. I was grateful for that.
When she spoke, her voice was soft and tender. “What a horrible thing,” she said. “I can’t imagine holding that inside yourself.”
She pulled me to her and held me close. I closed my eyes and gave thanks to God and Erika, for having Karen listen to my story.
Some time passed. I don’t know how much, even when I think back and try to recreate the discussion in my mind. I remember at some point that I regained some semblance of sanity and locked eyes with Karen. I didn’t know what to expect for the long-term, but for now, she believed me. That was the first thing I needed.
“I’d like you to meet Erika,” I said.
She nodded. “I’d like that very much.”
I took her hand and we walked through the church to the back office, where I suspected we’d find Erika. When we walked in, she looked up from whatever she was working on and smiled. She hurried over to meet us and held out her hand to Karen.
“It’s good to finally meet you,” she said.
If Karen was surprised at the wording, she didn’t show it. She took Erika’s hand and held it. “I can’t believe I’m meeting you.”
Erika shrugged. “I know, but don’t worry. Everything will work out.”
They were still holding hands. Erika finally broke that and hugged Karen. Karen seemed shocked, and I knew she was overwhelmed. How often in your life does something so extraordinary happen as meeting the daughter of the creator of the universe?
“Why are you here?” I could barely hear Karen, her voice almost a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“You were here before.” She looked over at me, as if asking for permission to talk. I nodded. “You were here 2,000 years ago, and you… died.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you back now? Are you here to punish us?”
“Punish? No, quite the opposite. I’m here because humanity is spreading beyond Earth. You are one of the people closest to that. It’s an amazing time for the world, and I want to help everybody gain a stronger tie to the Lord. Everyone needs that, and it’s what my father wants.”
“Are you staying forever?”
Erika pulled back from Karen, and then it was her turn to look over at me. She hesitated. At the time I had no idea why. I found out a month later.
Erika pursed her lips, and for once she seemed reluctant to speak. I’d never seen her challenged to find the right words before.
“Nothing is forever on Earth, only in Heaven.”
“Can I help you?”
“You bet! That’s why you’re here.”
Karen bowed her head. “I actually came because I wanted to warn David to stay away from you. I thought—”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I understand. I forgive you for what you thought.”
Karen raised her face to look at Erika. They stared at each other for an uncomfortably long period of time. It was like they were in telepathic communication.
“You need to know one other thing,” Erika finally said. She looked at me then.
Karen nodded. “What?”
“It’s about the baby you carry.”
“Excuse me?” I couldn’t help interrupting. Baby? What the hell?
I stared at Karen’s belly, but nothing looked unusual. If she was pregnant, she wasn’t far along. I felt a sinking feeling, though.
“How did you know?” asked Karen.
“There’s little I don’t know if I want to. But, in this case, you had a little bit of help.”
Erika turned to speak to me. “You don’t need to be jealous. Karen was not with another man.”
“Then how could she be pregnant?”
“The Holy Spirit visited her.”
She turned back to Karen. “You were not with another man, correct?”
Karen nodded.
“When the baby is born, you must name her Mary. When you get curious enough, you should take a DNA test, and you’ll discover that the baby’s father is David.”
Ha-what?
“How can that be?” I blurted out. “I haven’t seen Karen in a year.”
“Nevertheless, you are the father. Biologically speaking. You can thank God in your prayers tonight.”
I didn’t know how to react. I stared at Karen as if she were some weird animal in an exotic zoo.
Fortunately, she wasn’t as freaked out as I was. She smiled at me, that huge grin I remember so well, and that made me realize how much I loved her.
I always have.
We kissed and hugged and somehow started to laugh.
By the time we separated and looked around, Erika was gone.
But now she had her twelfth disciple. I was pretty sure that would be it. Her circle was complete.
Chapter 36
The summer seemed to go by in a flash. We were all busy doing whatever we could to get Erika’s voice in front of as many people as possible.
As time went on, I began to realize she had a very clear vision with the twelve she chose as her disciples. Every one of us fit a different niche. We had different stories, different audiences, different voices, all which seemed to combine to have the widest possible reach.
In my case, I’d already had an audience of people who liked my photographs. I wouldn’t go as far as to call them fans, but there were certainly thousands of people who looked for my work and sought out magazines with my photos on the cover. Tens of thousands more at least recognized my name.
Karen had a similar following, not just for her recent fame as an astronaut, but she had a reasonable number of people who knew the work she’d done before.
Chris Spinnie may not have had a built-in platform before meeting Erika, but the story she told of her life as a junkie and how she turned her entire purpose around resonated with a group of people none of the rest of us could reach.
Even Colonel Lassiter had an underground fame and people who would listen to him.
The twelve of us were unique but fit together to cover the vast number of people who still hadn’t paid attention to what Erika Sabo had to say.
During that lightning-fast summer, something really unusual happened.
When Karen returned from her flight to the moon, unsuccessful in the goal of seeking out the aliens on the far side, everyone expected NASA to quickly put another mission together to follow in the Luna’s flight path.