Things were very quiet the next morning. They prepared and ate their food with almost no conversation. Elisha was a shadow at the edge of Elijah’s vision. The boy moved with deliberate quietness, his eyes fixed on his bowl, the donkey’s pack, or anything but Elijah. When their gazes did meet by accident, a flicker of fear crossed Elisha’s face before he looked away.
Elijah looked up at the dull, gray morning sky that hung wet and heavy over them. It did nothing for his mood, and he suspected it soured Elisha’s mood as much as his own. Not even Miriam, who had woken impossibly refreshed after a night on the ground, could break the silence. Her attempts to speak with her brother failed and left only the quiet scrape of utensils as she worked.
As they traveled, Elijah took the lead. He spent the entire morning feeling Elisha’s cold stare on his back and was about fed up with it.
They stopped around noon at a small brook, where Miriam wanted to wash their finest clothes so they would look their best for the king. As she headed for the stream, Elijah took advantage of her absence and confronted her brother.
“All right. She’s gone, so you can tell me whatever the hell it is that’s stuck in your craw.”
Elisha looked both surprised and embarrassed. “Is it that obvious?”
Elijah’s eyes grew wide with exasperation, and he folded his arms across his chest.
“Obvious enough. You’ve been looking at me as if I’d grown horns since sunrise. So why don’t you enlighten me about this sudden change in your feelings? Is it because I asked about the wine, and now you think I am ‘corrupted’? Fine. I like to end the day with a little wine, but I’m hardly...”
“That’s not it at all,” Elisha interrupted. He closed his eyes. “There is something you should know about me. I am...” He paused, struggling for the right word.
“What!” demanded Elijah. “Depressed? Confused? No, an evil twin! That must be it. What did you do with the ‘good’ Elisha?”
Elisha sighed and looked away, embarrassed. “Sensitive.”
“Sensitive!” Unleashed, Elijah’s anger could not be so quickly quelled. “Well, I can be pretty sensitive myself, you know.”
His voice rose, cracking with strain. “In fact, I am feeling pretty damn sensitive at this very moment!”
The sheer absurdity of the argument struck Elisha. He pressed his lips together, but a choked snort escaped. The sound was so unexpected that it made Elijah’s tirade falter. He stared as Elisha’s face contorted, and a reluctant chuckle escaped his own lips, breaking the dam of tension.
Miriam heard the two of them laughing uproariously and smiled to herself as she continued washing.
When they had stopped laughing, Elisha extended his hand. “I am sorry, Elijah.”
Elijah took his hand. “Don’t apologize. Just tell me what is going on. What do you mean when you say you are sensitive?”
Elisha looked away, then up at the sky before looking back at Elijah. “I sense things about people.”
Elijah stared at him blankly. “What sort of things are we talking about?”
“Feelings, emotions, those types of things. It takes time for them to filter through to me, I guess, because most people bury them so deep. At first, I felt a type of strength from you...” Elisha struggled to put his thoughts into words. “Argh, bless me, it is so hard to try to explain. In my mind, I saw an old cart horse still pulling long after the load had been taken off its back, just from the habit of it. It’s like that. Sometimes I even feel like I can hear people’s thoughts.”
Elijah recalled their conversation from last night. “And does something else that you’re sensing from me make you uneasy?”
A wave of relief came over Elisha, and he blurted out, “You have no idea. I have never felt anything like it. I sense frustration and anger, terrible guilt and regret, and...” The boy paused for a moment and searched for the right word. “A sense of terror. What I don’t know is why you carry all this around with you. It was causing me to worry about my sister and me. Honestly, Elijah,” Elisha said, his brow wrinkled in concern, “I don’t know how you manage to get through the day.”
The words struck Elijah like a physical blow. Strength fled his limbs, and the ground seemed to tilt beneath him. Elisha caught his arm and guided him to a rock before he could fall. For a moment, Elijah simply stared as his breath caught. Then a single tear traced a path through the dust on his cheek, followed by another, until his whole body shook with heavy, silent sobs.
Elisha was stunned; he had not expected anything like this. All he could do was look around uncomfortably and pat Elijah’s back. He had no idea what to say to him.
Miriam returned from washing and saw Elijah on his knees, crying. She rushed over and knelt in front of him. Then she looked up at her brother accusingly, as if he were responsible. Elisha lifted both hands and shook his head to indicate that it wasn’t him.
Taking his face in her hands, she gently kissed his forehead. She then began stroking his hair with her right hand. “Tell me what is wrong. I know I can help you.”
Her warm, gentle kiss calmed him. He fought through the sobs to take several deep breaths. Eventually, he was able to speak again. He took Miriam’s hand and kissed it gently. “Thank you. I am all right now.” He got up and walked around, wiping the tears that remained on his face with his sleeve. “I will tell you everything.”
As he opened his mouth to speak, the thunder of horses approaching interrupted him. The three of them turned toward the tumult.
Elisha was frightened. “Are we at war?” Elijah was concerned as well, but he tried to be reassuring. “Surely not. We just settled the last conflict a few months ago. They couldn’t possibly have found another reason to fight so soon.”
As it became clear that they were directly in the path of the oncoming soldiers, Elijah’s concern turned to fear.
Miriam trembled. “Should we run? Elijah, what should we do?”
Elijah was sure of only one thing: running was not an option. If these men were determined to take them, running would not stop them and might infuriate them. “No!” he said in a tone that surprised him. “Come to me, the two of you. We will face them together.” Elijah raised his arms, and the two teens gathered beneath them. He pulled them both close to him and squeezed tightly. “I will protect you.”
The company arrived, consisting of six soldiers, two young girls, and four riderless horses. Their captain dismounted and approached them. “Good afternoon, sir. The king has need of your son and daughter. You have nothing to fear. They will be returned to you shortly.”
Elijah looked closely at the two young girls; their hands had been bound. “First of all, I am not their father, and if there is nothing to worry about, why are those girls bound?” Before he could say another word, a sword point was at his throat.
Other soldiers pulled the siblings away from Elijah and began tying their hands. “I am happy to hear that you are not their father. It makes my job that much easier now that I can drop all this pretense. So, what do you say?” The captain pressed his sword a little harder against Elijah’s throat. “Do I put this away, or do I finish what I started?”
Elijah watched helplessly as the soldiers put the brother and sister on horseback. He closed his eyes and drew a shallow breath. “I will be no trouble.”
The captain withdrew his sword and walked back to his horse. “Can I talk to them before you leave?” Elijah pleaded. “It will only take a moment.” A vein pulsed at the captain’s temple, and his jaw was tight with impatience. “Why?”
“Please, sir. I gave you no trouble.”
“As if you could have,” the captain sniffed sarcastically. “Go ahead, but if you try anything, your head will leave your neck.”
Elijah walked over to them and smiled reassuringly. “Elisha,” he whispered, looking intently into the frightened boy’s eyes. “I am going to the palace. Watch for me there, both of you. I will figure out some way to help, I promise.”
“That’s enough,” barked the captain. “Let’s go.”
Elijah watched as the soldiers tied Miriam's wrists. She didn't struggle; she simply looked at him.
As he watched them ride off, Elijah felt empty and alone. It was a hollow ache in his chest that grew with the distance between them. When the dust from their horses had settled and they were gone from sight, his legs gave out. He fell to the ground and began to pray. “Lord, You tell me I am Your prophet, that I will perform miracles in Your name. Give me that power now so that I can help them.” He cried earnestly as he waited for the Lord’s presence, which he had felt in his shop.
But it did not come.
He spent the better part of an hour beseeching God to help Miriam and Elisha, but there was no answer to his plea. All he could do now was follow the path God had laid out for him that day in his failing store. The only way he could help them was to do what God had commanded of him. He packed up, mounted the donkey, and headed after them.