| SAFE PASSAGE (c) 2003 Joy Harber |
"Has the rain stopped?" "No Jakob, it's still raining," Maria murmured to her husband as she placed a dampened rag upon his burning brow. "I cannot hear the rain," he stated, fearing he was losing touch with reality. He reared from the tangled knot of dingy sheets on the bed and tried to look out the rooming house window. Faded lace curtains blocked his feeble view of the Rotterdam street below. "The wind has merely shifted, my love. The drops aren't hitting the window just now, that's all. You need to rest. Let the raindrops worry after themselves." She ran her sweating hands over her dark brown dress, trying to press out the wrinkles hopelessly embedded there. Her auburn curls had long since worked free of the tight bun at the nape of her neck. He used to love the way her hair would catch the firelight at night when they would retire to their bedroom in Germany. She looked like an angel back then. "The weather must clear by morning if we are to have safe passage to this Pennsylvania," he slowly pronounced. His tongue felt swollen in his burning throat, like some great lump of salt dough. He fought to swallow the now tepid tea Maria gave him. He closed his eyes and tried to relax his muscles that had tensed and rebelled at the infection attacking his every system. At fifty-one, he felt as ancient as the secret texts he had spent his life studying. The room seemed stale, and the darkness of it closed in around him. "Jakob." He awakened with a start. "Funny, I don't remember falling asleep," he slurred, "what time is it?" "Nearly two, I would guess. Your breathing was so faint. I'm sorry to wake you but I was scared," Maria whispered, so their children wouldn't overhear. Four small children lay sleeping on a pallet in the corner of their tiny room. Little Maria slept nestled tightly against her brothers, who were piled one on top of another like a litter of new puppies. The boys; Philip, Matthew and Christopher were no doubt dreaming of the grand voyage they would embark on at dawn. The Zimmermann's had been but one of seventeen families who abandoned their home and most of their belongings to heed the prophesied warnings that came from Jakob himself. He had predicted the end of the world was near. Yes, they had abandoned their prior belief system, but not before the Lutheran orthodoxy had abandoned them. Mathematically it had to be true, he thought. A comet would annihilate the Earth in the fall of 1694. This climax would usher in the return of Christ. He had studied the Scriptures and the stars. This will happen, he had told the followers. These were the same loyal families, forty people in all, who had followed him when he was forced to step down from the Lutheran pulpit in Bietigheim. The mixing of science and religion was dangerous business in the 1690's. Radicals were dealt with quickly and severely. We must go to the wilderness and separate ourselves from the corrupt, to meet our Lord when He returns to us, he told them. They believed him, and he believed it too. The single tallow candle threw garish shadows upon the prophet's tormented face. His eyes had lost all the mischievous sparkle that had been so intriguing to her when they had first met. His black hair was only now graying at the temples. "The ship will not wait until I am well. You and the children must go with the group." "I'll not leave you behind. There are other ships. We can join the others later," she tried to smile. "There is no later, Maria," he all but spat the words from his mouth. "Damn you, Jakob, and your infernal prophesies! It is a curse, not a gift, you have. I hate it, and sometimes I hate you for embracing it so," her voice broke as the truth spilled from her trembling lips. She could feel the cold mist of fear licking at her heels as she clung to her last shred of faith. She laid her head upon his chest, willing him to recover; begging God for a miracle. A silent scream threatened to tear from her heart as she prayed he wouldn't leave her like this. All the while, she could hear his lungs filling with fluid as he labored to catch his breath. "What time is it?" "The constables are just now making their rounds on the street, so it must be near four by now." "It will be dawn soon enough. Can you see the morning star? There are things you must know, Maria. I need to tell you…" "I will not hear it, Jakob. You are coming with us and you will show us what to do. You are our leader. These people are depending upon you! I cannot do this without you. We know nothing of this new world! Hear me, I cannot do this alone," she sobbed. The color was slowly draining from his haggard face. "Oh my God, he's going to die and leave me with four babies and nothing else! Why is this happening now? What have we done, but follow what we thought was God's direction? We don't deserve this." Cont. |
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