Free Eve: A Novel by Wm. Paul Young Page B

view. “Was I using the word correctly?”
    “Yes.” She laughed in spite of her lingering nausea.
    The horizon where the ocean kissed the sky was fully in view when John announced that the day had been an unqualified success and it was now time to rest. Within minutes all the noise of activity dissipated, replaced by a refreshing quiet.
    John left her for a brief time, returning with a bowl of broth that smelled wonderful. Lilly’s stomach growled.
    “Soon we’ll have visitors,” John said, sitting next to her. “I’ve put them off as long as possible, but they’re increasingly insistent.”
    “Why are they coming to see you?” Lilly asked.
    “Not me. It’s you they want to meet. When you’re able to sit upright, I’ll allow it. Letty says it has something to do with an ancient prophecy. We’ll learn more when the time comes. But for now”—John spooned some soup out of the bowl—“as a reward for all your hard work, I am going to feed you. The Cooks and Healersconcocted this just for you. Other than medicinal and herbal liquids, it’s the first thing of substance you’ve eaten. Eating and drinking are keys to your healing.”
    He raised a spoon to her mouth. “Here. Try it. I already know it’s quite tasty.” He winked.
    It was warm and savory and delightful, and she could feel its fingers of comfort spreading inside, awakening natural abilities that had lain dormant. At first she choked and sputtered. But she grinned as he wiped bits of broth off his face and again raised the spoon to her lips.
    They did this, carefully, slowly, and methodically for a few minutes, then he leaned back.
    “I know you want more, but that’s enough for now. Don’t want you puking all over, do we?”
    “Not if I have anything to say about it.” She took a deep breath, feeling her lungs rise and fall, enjoying the scents of the sea and flowers as the day began to slowly melt into the horizon. Apart from the fact that she was still mostly immobile, she felt better than she had ever remembered. In her waking hours, anyway.
    “If I knew God, I’d hope he was like you,” she said. John set the bowl aside and stared at her, his eyes welling up. “John, does the God you know have a name?”
    She wondered if a name might open a door between her dreams and this reality: Adonai? Elohim? Eternal Man?
    John blinked several times. “God has many names. Each is a window into facets of God’s character and nature, none sufficientbut each helpful. Some are too deep for words, and by that I mean they cannot be formed in sounds. Others are easily identified. Easily spoken.”
    “You said you think God let you find me because He loves you?”
    “I do. On any given day any person might become a Finder; it is one of the truly wonderful risks of life. When you have lived as long as I, you discover that you can never truly walk away from a find. You can try, but it will seek you out until you care for it, or him, or her. The only thing that changes you more than becoming a Finder is when you yourself are found.”
    “Did someone find you?” she asked, drawn in by his introspection.
    “Again, an entirely different story.” He sighed and gathered himself to stand. “My cousin. It was my cousin who found me.” He laid a steady hand on her brow. “And now you need to sleep, but I will be here when you wake. May your rest be full of sweet dreams, and may only good be in your heart and mind.”
    •  •  •
    L ILLY OPENED HER EYES to see Adam put his finger into Eden’s liquid boundary. Instantly a wave of the energy and water swept through him, lighting up his body as if with living particles. Every time he touched it, he giggled. Eve too was caught up in his delight. This is joy, Lilly thought.
    Adam passed through the boundary and left the garden. He crouched low in the grass like a boy playing a game of hide-and-seek. The two followed, catching his excitement. Eve explained to Lilly that Adam had been tracking a