Chapter 6

The rest of the journey to Ninidom was smooth and they arrived without further delay or incident. However upon entry, they found the mayor had decreed the city to fast and pray in sackcloth and ashes for three days by demand of a vagabond prophet who claimed for certain shameless sins they were soon to heap destruction upon their heads. They were on the first day of the fast, Centen would need to fast for a further period with them.

Reila, having little business at Ninidom, mentioned she had a sick relative in a neighbouring city, who although was being looked after by her sister, she felt an urgency to visit them, gave Centen some money to buy food later and get a ride back to where he lived in the wasteland, wished him well, and bid him farewell.

Centen was broken by the loss of his brother in faith, bitterly weeping as he fasted in the city, in the depths of life-darkening grief and depression, more miserable than the memory of gratuitous abuse. So miserable in fact he decided, after fasting with the people in the city he would forsake to eat, hire transport back to his hillside cave (where he could be thoroughly alone and curse the idea of ever having left it) and starve himself to death.

So, the city’s fast over, with the help of a kind stranger to guide him in his blindfolded state, he paid for a carriage ride to take him back to his hillside cave. It was another horrible drizzly day and they were about three quarters of the way there when they were beset by brigands, who robbed them of all their money and valuables, severely beat them, stole the horses, vandalised the carriage, and left them for dead in the wasteland.

The carriage driver was the first to recover, and checking on Centen, thought him dead from the beating he’d received, so left his wrecked carriage to try and find his way back to the city. Centen lay for a long while unmoving on the ground, the drizzle spattering against him, eventually he recovered but too distraught and in despair to move, he figured he could just lay on the ground where he was and wait to die.

A long time of laying there praying, and he heard foot steps. Someone was coming over.

A hand was laid on his shoulder

‘Brother,’ said a voice. He recognised it.

‘Gamallio?’ said Centen.

‘None other.’

‘Heaven and earth be united!’ cried Centen, sitting up, ‘you’re alive! How, who is your saviour, why are you here, you didn’t die! O thank God you didn’t die!’

‘It’s good to see you too, Centen,’ said Gamallio.

‘But how did you escape the mist? What happened?’

‘Some dark chapters are best unspoken of; but, suffice to say, God forgives.’

‘God forgives! Praise be to God!’

The monks hugged. Centen noted there was something more holy, more pure, more light infused about Gamallio than he’d ever sensed about him before. It was as if he’d been through the depths of grimmest isolation, darkest abandonment, blackest prison, and learned the community of his soul, the prayer of his heart, the song of God.

‘How did you come across me here?’ said Centen.

‘I sensed a need be out here looking for you, and lo and behold I found you,’ said Gamallio, ‘now let’s get back to the cave.’

Gamallio still had his blindfold on, but amazingly enough had a sense of direction and where to go, as if he were now led by perfect spiritual eyesight. When Centen questioned him of this, Gamallio simply said, ‘faith.’

‘That a blind old monk should be my saviour,’ said Centen.

‘Heaven saves. We only learn to be kind.’

‘That I were better so inclined.’

 ‘Remember a heart for others proves we’re really brothers, together God lovers.’

‘I’ll remember that.’

Getting back to the cave, they took their blindfolds off, and saw someone had left a package for them inside. They opened it to find it was their food delivery. The deliveryman had obviously been. They found a delivery note as well, noting the date of delivery, it was the day they had left for their journey to Ninidom.

‘I told you we should’ve just had faith,’ said Gamallio.