"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliot
3 days later....
The beach was crowded with villagers who had come to meet their arriving friends and family, and the ferry had just approaching the end of the dock. I felt a knot in my stomach as I prayed quietly that all would go well.
It wasn't the trip I would be taking the next day that bothered me so much. It was Trish.
The passengers seemed to take ages just to make their way to the beach from where they were suspended over the ocean. When they arrived, the villagers were already approaching to welcome them.
Someone from the crowd of newcomers immediately caught my eye. I half expected her to run to meet me. Instead she walked with a surprisingly mature aura, stopping when she was close to smile at me. It was a smile that was strained, maybe from exhaustion.
Neither of us seemed to know what to say. "So," I started awkwardly, "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?"
She tucked her lip in and her eyes suddenly glassed over as if she was about to cry. Throwing down her pack of supplies onto the damp sand, she circled her arms around me. "I'm just glad you're okay."
She drew back with a softer smile. "So you're a Radical now?"
I was kind of caught off guard by the question but nodded. "Guilty," I said with a wink.
She nodded, then turned from me to face the miles of jungle that still lay between us and the village. "So this is home now?"
"Pretty much," I said. Let her settle in first and register everything, I thought. Later I would tell her of my plan to return 'home.'
But it would have to be soon.
****
I watched as enforcers marched past the dark alley where I was hidden. On the sidewalk opposite to my side of the street stood people--people who I knew but somehow sensed didn't have any idea about what Jesus had done for them.
"Don't be afraid," a voice whispered. "Speak the message you've been entrusted with—I am with you."
****
Click!
I woke up to cold metal being pressed against my head.
"Up!" a voice hissed. "Now."
Slowly I sat up. "Who are you?"
Her hands were shaking with the outline of a gun—I could tell that even in the darkness. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be," she ordered, but her voice choked on the words.
"What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Jacob Amotz, you're charged with treason," Trish's quiet voice came. "The sentence for that is death."
A scream interrupted the night silence. "They're here!"
Brightness seeped through the window of my room as porch lights suddenly flashed on from outside. I looked at Trish as I stood. "You know you don't want to do this," I told her, taking the tone of my voice a notch up.
"Shut up!" she screamed, an emotional response that I think surprised her as much as it did me. As her trembling hand quickly began to work itself around the trigger, I ducked to the side and knocked the weapon out of her hand just as bullets whizzed past me and shattered the window.
Footsteps outside my door. As soon as it was open Trish ducked through and ran past the entering shadow, who held a flashlight.
"You alright, son?" he asked me. The light stung my eyes for a second as he beamed it around.
"I'm fine," I answered.
Something went across my mind and, even though I couldn't quite explain how, it was as clear as the voice I'd heard in my dream.....even though I heard nothing: go after her.
Caught up in the moment I suddenly ran from the room. "Trish!" I shouted as I burst out onto the porch. People were scattered around, talking and trying to figure out what was going on.
Immediately several sent curious stares in my direction as I hurried in the direction of the the jungle.
****
I regretted not bringing some kind of flashlight, but it wasn't long before I spotted a shadow passing through the darkness. "Trish!" I yelled. "Wait!"
No answer came, which I kind of expected. The mild light offered by the rising sun helped me keep track of her as she kept running. What now? I wondered. Did she have some way to escape the beach?
Suddenly several silhouettes of machine gun holders emerged from concealment. I dove to the rough jungle floor, ignoring the mild sting from a thorny tangle of vines, just as noisy popping went off. My heart pounded and I knew that I had no way to escape them.
The soldiers ran past me, and I was amazed that they didn't put any effort into searching for where I was hidden. Had I just barely missed them seeing me?
I was torn for a second. Should I keep going after Trish or try to sneak past the soldiers to warn the villagers of the attack?
The voice again. I knew where I needed to go.
I stood, scraping a small thorn out of my elbow as I started running again.
****
I skidded onto the beach. There she was, taking off in the direction of the dock. "Trish!" I hollered as I chased after her. It was fortunate for me that the gun was gone—here there weren't really any places to hide unless I jumped into the water.
Suddenly a swirl of color surrounded me. I found myself being pulled away from the dock as the island disappeared from sight.
YOU ARE READING
The Cost
Espiritual"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller Jacob Amotz has never known a family. From his birth, every step towards adulthood has been carefully guided by the leaders of his community. Religion is a thing of the past, and the job o...
