THE PASSAGE

A New Life

Chapter 29

"Why do I know English—Yes, I suppose I have time to tell you about that now." She sets the rest of the water on the table and rotates the rabbit once more. "It has to do with something that took place long ago. But what's interesting about it is that it happened in my own family."

Solstice and I walk over to her bed and sit as she begins telling me the story.

"Generations ago lived a young maiden, who would later become one of my great grandmothers. One day her father was hunting in the woods near his home when he came across a stranger wandering around. He was a young man, appearing to be in his twenties. My grandfather noticed that he was dressed very oddly and seemed lost. When Grandfather approached him, the stranger was terrified.

"Grandfather tried to talk to him, but the stranger acted as if he didn't understand. It was as if he spoke in some unknown tongue. After seeing this, Grandfather decided to take him back to the village and report this to the village leaders.

"Grandfather and some of the village leaders tried to communicate with this man but were unsuccessful. No one had ever heard of this strange language he spoke. Up until then, everyone in Nod spoke the same language.

"Not knowing what to do with this man, he was held in the local jail for the time being. As the townspeople learned of him, they became curious and wanted to visit with him. Some became fascinated with him because he was different. Some even spent time trying to communicate with him.

"One of whom took a particular interest was Grandfather's daughter. Back then, she was a young maiden of about fifteen. Her name was Elisa.

"As the days after the young man's capture went by, she began spending much of her spare time with him at the jail. She became obsessed with trying to learn his language. After a few days, she was able to communicate with him somewhat. His name was Cain. From what she was able to gather, he said that he was out walking one day and got lost. That was when her father found him wandering in the woods.

"Elisa went home that day and pleaded with her father to ask for the young man's release from jail. The next day, her father requested a meeting with the village leaders. At the meeting, he asked for the young man's freedom. He explained to the leaders that it was not right to keep Cain in jail since he was not a criminal. After the village leaders debated this, they concluded that the young man should be released and asked Elisa's father if he and his family could care for him and communicate with him in time.

"Over the next year, Cain lived and worked with Elisa's family. They learned his language well enough to communicate with him. As they learned more about where he had come from, they determined that he must have entered the Passage from Eden and walked right into Nod. Up until then, the Passage was a myth.

"He was from a country in Eden call the United States. The state that he lived in was called New York. His profession was a teacher of history in a large school called a college."

"Oh my gosh! What an amazing story. I already told you that I am from New York also. New York City; Brooklyn."

"Yes, that is where Cain was from, New York City."

"You know what else is coincidental? I was engaged to a man who is a history professor at Brooklyn College."

"I don't know where that is, but Columbia University is where Cain was a teacher. So, what happened to the man to whom you were engaged? Did you two ever marry?"

"No. I came to realize that I didn't love Adam and called off the wedding. It seems like a lifetime ago when I think back about it now. In reality, it has only been several days. So much has happened here in the past few days, he almost seems like a fading memory. Can you tell me more about the story of Cain?"