The wisemen predicted that she would arrive soon. They even described her physically, said there would be no question that she was the one. And, he wanted to know why, but the others, they accepted it as not to wonder why but to immerse in the experience that undoubtedly would hold an education for them all. “But, why a woman?” He asked them. But their confidence was the wall erected in the spiritual and he wasn’t permitted to scale it any higher. It wasn’t his place to perch on that wall and scout for the appearance of an indication.
On a gray morning as the sun struggled to get a glimpse of only her back, the timid hand that questioned the sliding entrance door was all that he glimpsed of her face. A face whose brow played with mixed feelings as she uncomfortably hesitated in the tips of her shoes. Her misgivings held her arm poised at her side and she half turned to relocate herself in the familiar; the parking lot. The waiting fostered doubt building the slope of this risk even steeper. The unmentionable environment she’d been subjected to was beginning to wrap itself into a warm fuzzy appearance compared to the unknown before her. Choosing not to dare another knock she stepped down off of the step, final decision crunched the gravel under her shoes. Then, a sound, a door gliding smoothly, easing back in its track, stopped her.
“Yes?” He harshly responded as if she had something to sell. Out of curiosity he had answered the knocking on the door that hardly ever admitted anyone. The struggling sun plucked at the gleaming strands in her hair that encircled her hunched shoulders.
Startled at the voice she turned to see what form of a probable welcome or rejection waited for her. The yellow lobby framing the casual attire of, whom was standing before her, looked inviting.
He glanced over her tight jeans and warm sweater and, then, closed the door again.
“But, I…” Her words trailed off into the expectant morning and she readjusted her backpack as if adjusting the burden of the heavy events that were descending upon her life and ambled back toward the parking lot. She was so consumed with her destiny that she didn’t hear the door slide open again. “Wait,” It was announced with almost a plea and came from a different voice than before. Not about to be humiliated by two strangers she kept trudging away as if building the breath it required to endure a climb.
“Wait!” Came the call again.
She gripped the strap of her backpack and the open door allowed her admittance. Clearly as unusual as this all seemed it was better than another night at the car park. Surely here she wouldn’t have to fend off drunks trying to beat in her windows thinking she was the highlight of their imagined party.
Bernard padded on ahead of her leading her through a long corridor and onto an elevator. As she stood there riding next to the strange serene man she panicked momentarily. He reached out and said, “May I be permitted to pat your hand?”
She was so weary she allowed it anyway, what more could be done to her?
He patted it in a brotherly sort of way and then announced, “You need some rest. We have readied a room. Come…” He walked her down another length of hall. Stopping at a door with frosted glass, he inserted an old fashioned key into the lock. The door swung open onto large living quarters but there was a musty scent in the air and the hint of lingering antiseptic. Wallpaper was peeling and exposing the original gray-green walls. “What is this place?” She said, as fear became her companion again.
“It is an old hospital, we’re slowly renovating it.” He asked her to open her palm and placed the key in her palm, then gently closed her fingers over it and patted her fist. “There are clean linens on the dresser, feel free to lock yourself in, although, no one will bother you here unless you inquire about their company. Since you’re unfamiliar with this building I will be back later to escort you to lunch at which time I will introduce you to the others.” He left making hardly a sound.
