She clapped her hands and squealed animatedly. He laughed. Children are so amused by the littlest things. He had decided to stroll in the garden to clear his head when little Keren also decided she must accompany him.
On occasion, his thoughts travelled back to his visit to Master Solon’s house. It had been three days since that visit and there was still no message from him. Leon was sure of the divine instruction he had received. But he was worried about people’s reactions to it. His wife still had no clue what was going on. He knew following him would be a hard thing to expect from her.
A sound pulled him back from his thoughts. Keren was struggling to imitate the peeping of the little bird. He chuckled and lifted her of her feet and into his arms.
“You’re doing splendid,” A voice sounded from the distance. “Needs more practice.”
It was Master Solon strolling down from the house to meet them in the garden. They exchanged greetings before Leon put Keren back down and instructed her to go meet her mother in the house. Children have a way of repeating what they’ve heard and he did not want to risk Cealia finding out the wrong way. When they were alone, Solon got down to business.
“I’m sorry I didn’t reach you sooner,” he apologized. “I was trying to make sense of it and that was a mistake. But I’ve come to a conclusion.”
“You have?” Leon asked eager to hear what his mentor had to say.
“I should have gotten back to you two days ago. When you told me that you were instructed to go to Mordelan, I was not happy. I wondered why He would take you to a place like that. In my private chamber I asked Him questions. I was pained because you are like a son to me.”
He placed his right hand on Leon’s left shoulder. Leon studied him. The old man’s eyes shone with emotion. This moved Leon and he suddenly realized how important he was to Master Solon.
The old man continued. “I wrestled with this in my private chamber. But He kept whispering to me to let you go. He said I should let you go with my blessing.”
The young man tried to speak but no words came. The old man sighed as he looked Leon in the eye. “So that’s what I am here to do… To let you go with my blessing.”
Leon bowed and Solon suddenly gave him a hug. By the time his master released him, Leon knew it was time to tell his wife. Not wanting to intrude, Solon excused himself and left the young man to sort things out.
When Leon walked into the living room, Cealia sensed that something important was about to happen. She put little Keren down and sent her to play with her older brother and sister. As their daughter scurried excitedly out of the living room, Leon sat heavily on one of the chairs opposite her. This was the most intense she had seen him in a long time. He stared at the floor.
“What’s the matter? What did Master Solon say?” She asked though knowing he fully intended to tell her.
He looked up. “I have a confession to make,” she adjusted in her seat and he continued. “The morning I went to Master Solon’s house, I already knew what the dreams were about. I found out that morning. So I didn’t go there to get an answer. I went to talk to him about it because deep down inside I wasn’t ready to accept it. I needed to talk to him. After all he has been my spiritual father since I was little. You know he’s also the closest thing to a parent I have since I have no parents.”
Cealia watched in silence as he continued to speak. “Our Father wants me to go to Mordelan. He has an assignment for me there. He told me.”
Cealia’s eyes grew and her mouth fell open. “Mordelan?” She managed after a few seconds.
Leon nodded. “That was Master Solon’s first reaction when I told him. But now he says he gives me his blessing. That’s what he came to do this evening.”
His wife sat silently with her hands on her laps for what seemed like an eternity. It was her turn to stare at the floor. She tried to process what she just heard. Her husband stood from his seat and knelt next to her chair. He put his hands on hers. Her eyes stayed on the floor.
“There’s one more thing… I am to go with you and the children,” He added. His wife still faced the floor. “I know this is the hardest thing I’ve ever asked you to do, and that even though He told me to take you along, I can’t force you. You have to do it of your own free will.”
He paused and then added. “I can’t go without you. We have to be in this together for it to work.”
Her mouth began to move but not audibly enough for him to hear what she was saying. He knew she was thinking and communing with Him.
After a little while she raised her head. “Let us do this. He can never be wrong.”
Relief seeped into him as he spread his arms and held her. She put her arms round him and whispered. “We better prepare the children.”
THREE
THE NEXT COUPLE of weeks were a load of drudgery. There was so much work and planning to be done. Leon never knew a time in the past when he experienced so many different emotions at once. He was grateful for Cealia who got right down to the business at hand. The children were confused about the sudden move and upset about leaving the people they knew. Leon knew that he needed to pray for their hearts to be receptive to the whole turn of events. As the week went by and the day of their journey neared, the children seemed more settled with the idea. Though he could tell his son still needed convincing.
Everything had been taken care of by the end of these two weeks. Master Solon had taken Leon’s businesses under his wing and he also promised to take care of the house. The family separated the belongings they wanted to carry along and the ones they would leave behind. An important point of call was to Cealia’s parents. They lived quite a distance away.
“Mordelan. That is outrageous.” Her father burst out upon hearing the news.
“Did you know that no one has stepped in or out of that land in forty something years?” her mother put in.
“I heard the sun doesn’t shine there.” Her father added.
Their daughter smiled. “I’m sure people are just exaggerating.”
Leon explained. “We are not going there blindly. We know all these bad things that people have to say about the place. Apparently, our Father isn’t bothered about that.”
Some people that heard about this mission thought it was simply outlandish. Only a few—even though shocked— understood why they should do it. All through this, Leon reminded himself of who he was really responsible to in the end.
“That’s the last one.” Leon placed a small bag on his dark brown stallion. He thought it fitting to take Everest along. He had practically grown up with the steed at his side. He also took five of his other horses. He knew he would need to do some type of work when he got there, even though he had enough money to last them a while. He patted the mountain of a creature on the side of its head. It responded, turning its nose toward him. It was very early in the morning when dawn was just breaking.
Leon turned and watched his son staring back longingly at Adelon. He felt moved for him because they knew they would not return, except another instruction came.
“Tycho,” he called and the ten year old turned solemnly to his father. “I know this doesn’t feel good but there is something beautiful coming from all this.”
The boy sighed. His dark curly hair covered parts of his forehead. “Anna said that her mother said that we are going to the pit of darkness. She said there is no happiness there.”
Leon squatted in front of his son and held his hand. “Don’t listen to such people, Tycho. They don’t know what they are talking about.”
His son did not seem too convinced. “Is Mordelan really scary?”
“It is just a land with people who need help. If everybody stayed in Adelon, Mordelan may not see help. Our Father is counting on us. And don’t worry. If they don’t have happiness, then we bring happiness to them. If they have darkness, then we bring light.”
Tycho nodded. Just then a little blue bird fluttere
d past them. The stallion released a gentle neigh.
Leon stood back up. “Looks like Everest is ready to go.”
“I hope they have blue birds in Mordelan.” Tycho commented watching the bird as it went on. “Keren will miss them if they don’t.”
His father responded. “If they don’t have blue birds, they probably have other colors of birds.”
Cealia showed up holding Keren. Their eight year old daughter, Irene, trailed confidently behind them. “We’re all set. The rest of the bags are in the carriages.”
Her husband nodded. “Now we wait for our guide.”
Irene came over and tugged on her father’s robe. “Papa, I want to ride on Everest.” He turned to her and smiled. She was bold for a little girl. She was looking up expectantly at him with her big light brown eyes; the wind blew gently on her straight auburn hair. He could see a lot of her mother in her. Irene had always been the adventurous one. He knew they will need to keep their eyes on her especially when she gets older.
“Alright then, you’ll ride with me.”
Irene smiled in approval. She seemed not to be bothered by the journey but only soaked each moment in.
A short while later a man came walking up to them from the distance. He strode purposefully on the rocky ground. He was very bearded and burly and had on a brown short sleeved robe that showed off his worked arm muscles. Around his waist was a cloth belt with small bags and pockets hanging from