Act 4: Exodus
Jeanie Melrose stretched out her arms as she rolled over in her bed and
reached over to turn on her bedside lamp. It was the middle of the night but,
for some reason, she felt restless and unsettled. A mellow glow filled her
room when she flipped on the switch. As her eyes squinted to adjust to
the brightness, she asked, "What is it Lord?"
A burden for Lee and Amanda Stetson burned in her heart. She grabbed her
Bible off the nightstand, slipped out from under the covers and kneeled next
to her bed. "Alright Lord...."
***
"Ah-man-duh", Lee groaned as someone persistently poked his side. "Just give
me five more min...." Lee's voice halted and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh", Lee uttered as he realized where he *wasn't*. He slowly looked up to
determine who had been poking him.
A large stoic man towered over him and grabbed him by the elbow in order
to pull him to his feet. Lee couldn't believe it, his legs felt strengthened
and were pretty much steady underneath him. He stared in amazement as his
bonds fell loosely from his hands and feet.
Lee looked up in time to see the 'big guy' motion for him to walk out the
open cell door. He shrugged his shoulders but obeyed. 'What's going on here?'
The two men walked effortlessly past the cell door and past the motionless
guard who stood as sentinel. Lee ribbed the tall stranger and nodded toward
the gunman, "Fell alseep on his feet! A-heh, huh, oh..." Lee raised his
eyebrows and thought, 'This guy ain't the Good Humor man, is he!'
Lee continued to follow his escort through the labyrinth of corridors until
they came to an exit. As he walked out into the dark chill of the early
morning, Lee turned to ask his captor where they were going. That's when
the stranger suddenly disappeared. Vanished.
"What the?" Lee cautiously looked around. No sign at all of the stranger.
"Oh-kay..." Lee looked back and didn't see any other movement from the
building he had just exited so he started running down a well lit path.
It seemed to lead right into the city.
***
That early morning place where you dwell between dreams and reality. That's
where Amanda was. She rolled over and flopped her arm around to cuddle with
her husband when suddenly it hit her. He wasn't there and had never been
where she was right now.
Amanda shook her head in sorrow and peeked through her sleepy eyes. "Oh yeah",
she sighed with disappointment in her voice. With a glance around the room,
the fact that she wasn't home in Arlington hit her full force. Instead, she
was halfway around the world in Jerusalem and her husband was...She didn't
want to speculate.
Amanda propped herself up on her elbow and flung the covers back. As she
swung her legs over the side of the bed, she looked out the window. Black.
'Must be early' she mused. The sun had not yet risen into the morning sky.
Amanda could see light spilling out into the dark from a window below and
the smell of coffee brewing wafted through the house so she planted her
feet on the cool floor and quickly got dressed. As she headed downstairs
with Bible in hand she considered knocking on Christina's door. 'Nah,
better let her get some more rest.'
***
Aaron looked up from his morning paper and nodded to Amanda as she entered
the kitchen. 'She sure doesn't look like she got much sleep' he determined.
Aaron stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to pour Amanda a cup.
"You're doing a Bible study?" Aaron inquired.
"Oh, no. Just devotions" Amanda stated as she gratefully accepted the warm
cup of java. She followed her host as he led her to a garden patio outside.
Birds chirped in the dark of the pre-dawn stillness.
Amanda sat down in a rattan patio chair and used the light spilling out from the
kitchen to start her study. Well, she *tried* to start studying. It
seemed impossible to concentrate.
'Where's Lee? Where's Harry? How is Christina? What if they *do* find those
bombs?' Amanda's head was swimming with worry when she heard...
"Bums!" Aaron shook his head in disgust.
Amanda looked up at her host who was now standing at the edge of the patio
and watching someone stumble down the street. She stood up and followed
Aaron's gaze. A man in the distance was staggering in their direction.
"Why must they always turn a holy day into a drunken celebration?" Aaron
bemoaned under his breath. He lifted his hands in frustration before
sitting back down.
Amanda continued to peer at the approaching man. Aaron was startled when
she started to run past the yard and down the street. He stood up and
started to run after her.
"Lee!....Lee!" Amanda shouted with joy as she ran toward her husband.
Lee smiled and wondered how in the world this well lit path could lead right
to his wife. He knew she wouldn't be at the hotel but this was one in a
million!
Amanda leaped into her husband's embrace as they met. Lee enfolded his
wife into his arms he kissed her brow but couldn't tell if she was laughing
or crying.
Aaron finally caught up to his guest as she embraced this man and uttered,
"You're, you're not drunk!" Instead of the smell of alcohol, Aaron could see the
large red welts forming on this man's face. Classic trademark of Hezbollah
interrogation. Aaron smiled, this must be at least one missing husband
returned.
Lee looked up as he continued to embrace his wife and nodded his thanks to
Aaron. "My name's Lee."
"I'm Aaron...Bergman." Aaron nodded.
"How did you find me?" Amanda gushed as she looked up and cupped her husband's
face in her hands. She could see he had been beaten very badly. She gazed
into his face and tenderly said, "You're poor nose!"
Lee smiled into his wife's eyes and gestured behind him, "I just followed
those bright lights all the way here."
Aaron looked past Lee and into the dark and just had to ask, "What lights?"
Lee furrowed his brow and stated what he sure must be obvious. "Those...
lights." Lee turned around. "There's no...lights! There's no..."
Aaron shrugged. Of course there were no lights. There had never been many
lights in his neighborhood. 'Must be delerious' Aaron decided as he hooked
his arm under Lee's shoulder and began to help Amanda's husband back to the
house.
Amanda peered over her husband's shoulder and thought, "There are no lights...
hmph..."
Lee *knew* he had followed a very well lit path to this spot so he turned
around one last time as they assisted him to the house. Nothing. No lights.
He just couldn't believe it.
That's when Lee saw a flash from the corner of his eyes. He glanced over
and saw a myriad of huge angels lining the path he had just taken. They
held swords branished and gleaming. *They* had lit his path.
"Oh!" slipped past Lee's lips just before he passed out.
Amanda looked at her husband's limp body and was glad she had been a Bedside
Bluebell all those years ago. 'It's gonna come in handy' she thought as she
tenderly helped Aaron carry her husband into the kitchen.
***
After a restful day, Lee finally made his way downstairs with Amanda's help.
He was still sore from the brutal beatings he had received but decided
that tomorrow would be a good day to get some more work done. Christina had
graciously done some footwork that day but with no real results.
As Lee and Amanda sat down to dinner next to Christina, Aaron's wife looked up
and smiled. She could see the telltale glow on the Stetson's faces. 'Nothing
like that for a speedy recovery!' she mused.
Aaron's family had invited Lee and Amanda and Christina to join them as they
gathered for the traditional Seder meal. Aaron was beginning to explain the
symbolic dishes when a neighbor ran in.
"Didn't you hear?" he yelled as everyone stared at him in wonder.
Aaron shook his head and said, "No Hiram, what is it?"
"Hamas just bombed the Park Hotel in Netenya."
Cries erupted as everyone at the table bowed their head to pray. Aaron
wondered...'Will there ever be peace?'
tbc
Jeanie Melrose stretched out her arms as she rolled over in her bed and
reached over to turn on her bedside lamp. It was the middle of the night but,
for some reason, she felt restless and unsettled. A mellow glow filled her
room when she flipped on the switch. As her eyes squinted to adjust to
the brightness, she asked, "What is it Lord?"
A burden for Lee and Amanda Stetson burned in her heart. She grabbed her
Bible off the nightstand, slipped out from under the covers and kneeled next
to her bed. "Alright Lord...."
***
"Ah-man-duh", Lee groaned as someone persistently poked his side. "Just give
me five more min...." Lee's voice halted and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh", Lee uttered as he realized where he *wasn't*. He slowly looked up to
determine who had been poking him.
A large stoic man towered over him and grabbed him by the elbow in order
to pull him to his feet. Lee couldn't believe it, his legs felt strengthened
and were pretty much steady underneath him. He stared in amazement as his
bonds fell loosely from his hands and feet.
Lee looked up in time to see the 'big guy' motion for him to walk out the
open cell door. He shrugged his shoulders but obeyed. 'What's going on here?'
The two men walked effortlessly past the cell door and past the motionless
guard who stood as sentinel. Lee ribbed the tall stranger and nodded toward
the gunman, "Fell alseep on his feet! A-heh, huh, oh..." Lee raised his
eyebrows and thought, 'This guy ain't the Good Humor man, is he!'
Lee continued to follow his escort through the labyrinth of corridors until
they came to an exit. As he walked out into the dark chill of the early
morning, Lee turned to ask his captor where they were going. That's when
the stranger suddenly disappeared. Vanished.
"What the?" Lee cautiously looked around. No sign at all of the stranger.
"Oh-kay..." Lee looked back and didn't see any other movement from the
building he had just exited so he started running down a well lit path.
It seemed to lead right into the city.
***
That early morning place where you dwell between dreams and reality. That's
where Amanda was. She rolled over and flopped her arm around to cuddle with
her husband when suddenly it hit her. He wasn't there and had never been
where she was right now.
Amanda shook her head in sorrow and peeked through her sleepy eyes. "Oh yeah",
she sighed with disappointment in her voice. With a glance around the room,
the fact that she wasn't home in Arlington hit her full force. Instead, she
was halfway around the world in Jerusalem and her husband was...She didn't
want to speculate.
Amanda propped herself up on her elbow and flung the covers back. As she
swung her legs over the side of the bed, she looked out the window. Black.
'Must be early' she mused. The sun had not yet risen into the morning sky.
Amanda could see light spilling out into the dark from a window below and
the smell of coffee brewing wafted through the house so she planted her
feet on the cool floor and quickly got dressed. As she headed downstairs
with Bible in hand she considered knocking on Christina's door. 'Nah,
better let her get some more rest.'
***
Aaron looked up from his morning paper and nodded to Amanda as she entered
the kitchen. 'She sure doesn't look like she got much sleep' he determined.
Aaron stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to pour Amanda a cup.
"You're doing a Bible study?" Aaron inquired.
"Oh, no. Just devotions" Amanda stated as she gratefully accepted the warm
cup of java. She followed her host as he led her to a garden patio outside.
Birds chirped in the dark of the pre-dawn stillness.
Amanda sat down in a rattan patio chair and used the light spilling out from the
kitchen to start her study. Well, she *tried* to start studying. It
seemed impossible to concentrate.
'Where's Lee? Where's Harry? How is Christina? What if they *do* find those
bombs?' Amanda's head was swimming with worry when she heard...
"Bums!" Aaron shook his head in disgust.
Amanda looked up at her host who was now standing at the edge of the patio
and watching someone stumble down the street. She stood up and followed
Aaron's gaze. A man in the distance was staggering in their direction.
"Why must they always turn a holy day into a drunken celebration?" Aaron
bemoaned under his breath. He lifted his hands in frustration before
sitting back down.
Amanda continued to peer at the approaching man. Aaron was startled when
she started to run past the yard and down the street. He stood up and
started to run after her.
"Lee!....Lee!" Amanda shouted with joy as she ran toward her husband.
Lee smiled and wondered how in the world this well lit path could lead right
to his wife. He knew she wouldn't be at the hotel but this was one in a
million!
Amanda leaped into her husband's embrace as they met. Lee enfolded his
wife into his arms he kissed her brow but couldn't tell if she was laughing
or crying.
Aaron finally caught up to his guest as she embraced this man and uttered,
"You're, you're not drunk!" Instead of the smell of alcohol, Aaron could see the
large red welts forming on this man's face. Classic trademark of Hezbollah
interrogation. Aaron smiled, this must be at least one missing husband
returned.
Lee looked up as he continued to embrace his wife and nodded his thanks to
Aaron. "My name's Lee."
"I'm Aaron...Bergman." Aaron nodded.
"How did you find me?" Amanda gushed as she looked up and cupped her husband's
face in her hands. She could see he had been beaten very badly. She gazed
into his face and tenderly said, "You're poor nose!"
Lee smiled into his wife's eyes and gestured behind him, "I just followed
those bright lights all the way here."
Aaron looked past Lee and into the dark and just had to ask, "What lights?"
Lee furrowed his brow and stated what he sure must be obvious. "Those...
lights." Lee turned around. "There's no...lights! There's no..."
Aaron shrugged. Of course there were no lights. There had never been many
lights in his neighborhood. 'Must be delerious' Aaron decided as he hooked
his arm under Lee's shoulder and began to help Amanda's husband back to the
house.
Amanda peered over her husband's shoulder and thought, "There are no lights...
hmph..."
Lee *knew* he had followed a very well lit path to this spot so he turned
around one last time as they assisted him to the house. Nothing. No lights.
He just couldn't believe it.
That's when Lee saw a flash from the corner of his eyes. He glanced over
and saw a myriad of huge angels lining the path he had just taken. They
held swords branished and gleaming. *They* had lit his path.
"Oh!" slipped past Lee's lips just before he passed out.
Amanda looked at her husband's limp body and was glad she had been a Bedside
Bluebell all those years ago. 'It's gonna come in handy' she thought as she
tenderly helped Aaron carry her husband into the kitchen.
***
After a restful day, Lee finally made his way downstairs with Amanda's help.
He was still sore from the brutal beatings he had received but decided
that tomorrow would be a good day to get some more work done. Christina had
graciously done some footwork that day but with no real results.
As Lee and Amanda sat down to dinner next to Christina, Aaron's wife looked up
and smiled. She could see the telltale glow on the Stetson's faces. 'Nothing
like that for a speedy recovery!' she mused.
Aaron's family had invited Lee and Amanda and Christina to join them as they
gathered for the traditional Seder meal. Aaron was beginning to explain the
symbolic dishes when a neighbor ran in.
"Didn't you hear?" he yelled as everyone stared at him in wonder.
Aaron shook his head and said, "No Hiram, what is it?"
"Hamas just bombed the Park Hotel in Netenya."
Cries erupted as everyone at the table bowed their head to pray. Aaron
wondered...'Will there ever be peace?'
tbc