THE ONLY EASY DAY IS YESTERDAY
"The Journey of Jeremy Keller"
by OldScout
Part 36
The young woman pulled up in front of the abandoned farm.
Tall unkempt grass swayed in the slight breeze. She breathed deeply
and looked out across the empty fields. "It really does look blue." She
thought to herself. A smile crossed her face, she remembered thinking
the same thing the first time she saw this farm, so long ago.
Another vehicle pulled up behind her. The passenger side doors
to the Jeep Grand Cherokee swung open releasing three small children.
A good looking young man got out of the driver's seat, he looked no
older then his mid twenties.
"Miss Ericson?" he asked as he approached, and offered his
hand. Only part of his attention was on her as he kept most of it on the
three little girls he had released from his truck.
"Ophelia." the woman returned. "But my friends call me Lila."
The man grinned. "I'm Jack Walker from the real estate agency.
You know, it's not often we sell a place sight unseen."
Ophelia had strolled up the over grown driveway. "It wasn't
sight unseen." she said. Not admitting she had purchased the place from
her own corporation. "I've driven by here many times, and finally got
around to making the phone call."
Jack laughed. "Well ma'am, I'm sure glad you did. The girls
and I can make good use of the commission, they're growing so fast
these days."
"You have a beautiful family, Mr. Wagner." Ophelia said
sincerely. She noticed he wasn't wearing a wedding band, but appeared
to have it on a chain around his neck. "What's their mother doing on this
beautiful morning?"
A glaze seemed to wash over the Realtor's face. "My wife was
killed in an auto accident about a year ago. Ever since then, it's just
been me and the girls."
"I'm sorry, Jack, I had no idea." Ophelia smiled inwardly. She
took his arm and allowed him to lead her to the main house. "This is
going make such a beautiful horse farm." she said, trying to change the
subject. "I can't wait to get it fixed up."
"I've always wondered what it would look like put back
together." Jack volunteered.
Ophelia looked sweetly at the young man. "Perhaps you would
bring the girls over for dinner sometime." she suggested. "After I have
the house cleaned up a bit."
"I think they'd enjoy that." Jack responded. Then he lead Ophelia
around the property showing her features of the place she had long
forgotten. Ophelia grasped his arm and leaned closer to him then she
needed to.
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Waves of heat rose from the vast empty parking lot. The
relentless Middle Eastern sun bore down from its high noon position.
Jeremy sat on a curb at the far edge of the vast see of black top and
stared at the Grand Mosque. To his right, beyond the bluff that gave the
mosque its view, the waters of the Persian Gulf sat smooth as glass
stretching to the horizon.
It had been just a few years since Jeremy had last been here, but
in some ways it felt like a life time. Then, there was a constant haze in
the air from the fires in Kuwait. Now it was clear and peaceful.
A lone figure emerged from the great sand stone colored
building. The sun shining off the gold and glass from the domes made it
difficult to look directly at the building. Shading his eyes from the glare,
Keller watched the white-robed figure.
Jeremy stood as the man approached, he adjusted his white head
dress away from his face and smiled at Jeremy. "You are American?" he
both asked and stated in perfect English.
"Jeremy Keller." Jeremy said and held out his hand.
"I am Salom Zibram" the man replied and shook hands with the
light grip that was standard for an Arab. "What brings you to visit the
Grand Mosque of Bahrain?"
A smile crossed Jeremy's face. "I thought I recognized you." he
said, "You led tours of your beautiful mosque for us after the war."
The man's face lit up. "Yes, my friend. You were a soldier
during the war? You have returned to our humble country, perhaps on
vacation?" He saw something in Jeremy's eyes. "No, it is more then
that."
Jeremy looked away back out to the Gulf.
"Come my friend, lets talk." Salom urged. "Allah has brought
you to this place for a reason, perhaps I can help you find your path."
"My path has lead full circle." Jeremy said. "I've come in search
of peace to a place that I knew in a time I of war."
"That is good, my friend, Allah is truly a god of peace. This a
good place to start your journey."
A familiar tingle stirred the hairs at the back of Jeremy's neck.
He looked out to the narrow road that lead up to the Mosque's immense
parking lot. Two white cars approached, the lead was a Chevy Caprice,
the second was a stretched Mercedes Benz. Jeremy had contacted no
one since arriving in Bahrain the day before, but knew these cars would
come for him.
"Actually, my journey leads me just a bit further west."
The man smiled. "You head for the Holy Kingdom? It is a holy
land, but there is much unrest there."
Jeremy headed for the cars as they pulled up at a distance. "Yes,
but it is the only place I can find the kind of peace I'm looking for."
A familiar face greeted Jeremy as he reached the cars. Abual
Aziz shook Jeremy's hand and said "Welcome back my son." The old
immortal looked no older then Jeremy. "Your journey has been long, but
I am glad you have chosen to visit with me for awhile."
"It's good to see you again..." Jeremy started then realized there
was a third immortal present. He leaned down and looked into Aziz's
car. A woman sat in back wearing the traditional Saudi abya, a long
back robe that covered her from head to toe.
Aziz Motioned for Jeremy to get into the car. As Jeremy sat
down Aziz said "Allow me to introduce my daughter, Sabrina."
The woman lifted her vail revealing a beautiful face with light
skin topped with long, brown hair. "Hello, missure, Keller." she said
with a detectable French accent. "My father has told me so much about
you."
The Arab smiled at the sight of the beautiful woman. "Sabrina's
parents were killed by raiders when she was very young."
"It's a pleasure, Miss Aziz." Jeremy said and bowed slightly
toward the woman.
Aziz clapped his hands and said "We have so much to do, there
is so much for you to help me with...."
The two cars pulled away from the mosque, and headed back to
the causeway that connected the tiny island country of Bahrain, with the
desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Jeremy Keller finally found what he
was looking for, he was out of the game.
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