“When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. And Shem lived after he had Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.” Genesis 11:10,
Atarah shaded her eyes with the flat of her hand and peered into the bright sunlight streaming through the open window overhead, waiting with bated breath. Not even Shem’s fingers intertwined with those of her free hand could draw her attention away from Noah who had his face to the window at the top of the ladder.
The quality of life on the ark vastly improved once the rains stopped and Noah was able to open that window -- which ran all the way around the top of their shelter. In accordance with God’s plan, the window occupied the perfect position for welcoming warmth and light during the day. And all that natural light was wonderful! They no longer needed artificial lights.
She sometimes wished she had time to drink in the azure blue view during the day, but that rarely happened because she spent every moment feeding animals and mucking out cages and stalls. Yet she didn’t mind. The work infused her with a sense of purpose she’d never felt before. The tiredness brought on by a hard day’s work helped her savor treasured times of cuddling with her husband beneath the portion of the window over their bed. They’d gaze at the glittering night sky and whisper about the future and their someday-babies and what the world would be like washed clean of evil.
However, the first forty days and nights on the ark had been anything but idyllic. Rain pounded ceaselessly against the watertight closed-up structure while unidentified explosions crashed in the distance and animals bellowed a cacophony of distress from the decks below. In rhythm with the perpetual noises of rain and thunder, the ark rose to great heights then plummeted downward. Constant nausea plagued Atarah. For an entire week the sharp odor of vomit permeated the family living quarters while Shem, bless his heart, cleaned up everyone’s messes.
Atarah momentarily looked away from Noah to smile gratefully at her husband but, squinting up at his father, he failed to catch the look. Her smile broadened and she rested her head contentedly on his shoulder.
“I see mountain tops,” Shem’s father exclaimed at length. “Several of them! The water is receding just as God said.”
Shem wrapped Atarah in a hug and swung her in a circle. “Ten months exactly!” Two and a half months after the ark had grated to a stop on the mountain his father named Ararat.
“Precisely as God told me,” Noah said as he descended. He nodded at Atarah, his eyes dancing. “Go ahead. Take a peek at the first mountains to lift their rocky peaks from the Flood.”
“Really? Me?” She’d been up the ladder before, but the only things visible then were gently undulating waves with sunlight filtering green through the tops. Breathtaking, but she longed for more.
Shem stepped forward to steady the ladder for her. Without hesitating, she placed one sandaled foot on the rough tread and climbed upward. At the top, she wrapped her fingers around the pitch-blackened frame of the gopher-wood window and stuck her head partially through the hole. Warm sunlight bathed her face. A gentle breeze carried the smell of fish and water. “There’s a warm wind,” she called down to the family who had gathered at the base of the ladder. She breathed deeply, briefly enjoying the moment before scanning the horizon. Sure enough, a few rocky peaks poked out of the water. “I see them,” she exclaimed before hurrying down so others could take a turn.
“Do you think I could safely stroll in and pet the lions?” Atarah asked as she shoved a portion of dried venison through the iron bars of the lion’s cage. The big cats pounced on the meat and she withdrew her hand quickly.
“Smart girl.” Her husband flashed a grin from outside the no-longer-hibernating bears’ room. “I’m afraid we’ll never be certain of the answer to that question.”
“But they might be tame. For now.”
“All we know is, they don’t eat pretty little lambs.”
“But they will again as soon as they leave the ark?”
“Almost certainly.” Shem stared intently into the bears’ room. “Hey look at that! Two more mouths to feed.”
Atarah hastened over to admire the cubs and nearly stepped on one of the hundreds of mice that scurried about these days. The whole ark bustled with new life. They’d moved many of the growing families up to the second floor to recently-emptied storage rooms, but the mice couldn’t be contained. And the sight of the rodents often transported her back to the cave and memories of Gadreel. She stood silently beside her husband admiring the mother bear with her cubs.
“Why so quiet?” Shem asked. Concern etched his features.
“I think I’m quiet because I’m so happy.”
“Why happy?” He slipped an arm around her waist.
“Happy because I no longer feel as sad when I think about Gadreel.” She kissed the dimple in his cheek. “Happy because God is helping me remember good things about my father and I seldom think about the bad ones.” She pulled down his head and kissed the furrows in his forehead. “Happy because we’re going to have children who love and obey the One True God.” She kissed an eyebrow.
“What!?” He tickled her in the ribs. “Not happy because I’m your husband?”
She giggled. “Happiest because you’re my husband and I love you.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “So happy I don’t care if I ever leave this musty place filled with manure and ferocious animals that may or may not be tame -- as long as you’re here with me.”
Shem cupped her face in his hands, but pulled back before his lips touched hers. “What would you say if I told you the last dove hasn’t returned?”
“The one that showed up with a fresh olive twig?” Anticipation pulsed in Atarah’s throat. “And your father sent it back out? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to share the news when we were alone and I could watch those sapphire eyes light up.” He gazed at her adoringly and she felt heat rush through her. “Know what that means?”
“That you like my eyes?”
“It means the dove won’t be coming back here because the earth is dry and
she found a place to nest.”
“And that means we’ll be leaving, too.” Atarah was so excited she could barely keep from bouncing up and down. After more than a year on the ark she was ready to start life with her husband on dry ground. “Soon, I hope.”
“As soon as God says it’s time,” Shem agreed.
Atarah smiled and closed her eyes as Shem kissed her.
I have loved spending these last forty-four weeks with you! Really loved it! I pray for you. Would you please pass the word about the novel around or review it on Amazon so that others will want to read Atarah's story of finding the One True God? And please visit me on my blog at http://blogspot.jeanniestjohntaylor.com/. If you are going through a difficult time and would like prayer, let me know about it on that blog and I will pray for you.
Would you pray for more readers from Muslim-dominated countries?
Check this blog again in the middle of the week for an Appendix to the novel which will help you sort out which parts of the novel are fiction.
