Read an Excerpt
Once to Every Man
A Novel
By Elizabeth Cain
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Elizabeth Cain
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-3246-1
Chapter One
White
I knew at dawn that Huzuni was crumbling at last under seasons of war. I rose with the coming light and rushed out along the shadowy paths of the village, restraining a cry. The straw-yellow huts still huddled in the dusty clearing, fat earthen pots rested in their dark doorways, and scattered fires smoldered in their shallow pits. The village remained. And yet, it had gone from its accustomed place in the serenity of tribal life to this new and inharmonious break of day.
A dim horizon surged through curtains of flaming orange, its stark silhouette black instead of green, burned and charred against the scarlet sky. The heat spiraled ominously from earth to treetops to high winds, although the sun was yet an hour away. The sleepers did not wake with soft laughter or the cheerful clanging of pans. The livestock did not clamor for their feed or morning trek to the water hole. They turned, almost soundlessly, pacing, then waiting, pacing, then waiting. The birds did not sing their familiar greeting to the day but called fearfully from nest to nest with hoarse cries and confused flapping of their wings. The whole forest seemed alive ... with death.
Odd—to think of life and death in the same moment. But that was the way it had always been. We struggled from day to day with forces and dreams we didn't understand and were never ready for the change from light to dark ... or the heartbreak.
I waited in that place between life and death on the edge of an isolated village in the green hills of the great continent of Africa. It was my fourth summer in the land, a land that was constantly changing. The people that had known peace now faced restlessness and fear, things beyond their tribal world, faces that were not black. I had one of those faces. I had come with books and prayers and dreams for them that were not their dreams. Others came to destroy their dreams, stayed long enough to leave their senseless imprint on the land, and went away again. Some of us stayed ... to heal the wounds, to give hope to those who might still trust the words of strangers.
And yet, I was no stranger in the valley of Huzuni, no less guilty for my part in the upheaval of their old ways, their old beliefs, their acceptance of a white woman's tale of blood and redemption of sin, for which they had no name. I, at least, did not tell them lies, did not exploit their childlike faith, did not deceive them for my own sake. Not until today.
But today there were only a handful of natives in the little valley— eight men, thirteen women, and a half-dozen children. They had been afraid to go, and perhaps a few of them too loyal to betray the Master I served and whom they served because of me. A handful for me to love. A handful for me to betray.
There had been more at one time, many more, in this sanctuary called Huzuni, so named after the misery of Christ by some founding missionary long ago, where slowly, suspiciously, black men accepted the end of misery through Him. But they were no longer lured by gifts of medicine or trinkets or tools to visit the white missionary, to listen to her strange, sad story of the One who bore nails in His hands and feet. When it came time to choose sides, color was stronger than creed. One by one, the villagers slipped away, taking food and drugs and clothing. Not one Bible was missing. Even that, the taking of one Bible, would have given me hope. But the Gospel here would die, as surely as those few black believers, whom I must leave in the end.
"Helicopters will come and rescue us!" That is what I told my people, my wary-eyed brothers and sisters in Christ. "We will be safe," I said. But I knew they would send only one of the flying machines. "Let the blacks take care of the blacks," they would say. And the evacuation of one would begin.
I scanned the sky. An hour had passed. A martial eagle sailed by overhead and disappeared into the tangled growth that surrounded us. He seemed forlorn and lost, another homeless creature seeking a safe place. The rising sun blinded me to his flight and to all the secret watchers from the green and to every trusting black at my side. And that is when the drums began ... and the running feet ...
I prayed in the streets of my African home, kneeling in the dirt where pagan feet had fled. And the answer came, faintly at first and then frighteningly loud and real. I was certain now, there was only one! One silver helicopter hovering in the stark sky. I could almost hear the emotionless chatter of the copilot: "British Air Patrol to base, in the air over Huzuni, preparing to set down ... only one person visible, female, Caucasian ... may be hurt or under attack ... going in to attempt rescue ... over."
The copter whirled ever near, swift and powerful and bright. I looked for those shining black faces for whom I had suffered and with whom I had rejoiced, those few who had not abandoned me. Why should I be spared, if not these helpless few? They were my reason for being here after all, and if I were now lifted up, freed from their questioning eyes, from their questionable fate, I could never return. I could never speak the name of the Lord to them again, nor to anyone who knew what I had done.
I ran back toward the village. I did not look at the chopper careening earthward. The children were hurrying out now, when they saw me there. They were twirling with bare black feet and laughing eyes and pointing at the sky. "See! See! Eropleni! Angel with swift wings! Our Father has sent him, and we shall go up with Him and not be afraid anymore!" And I had only one prayer left. Please God, show them your face in the end ... But the drums crashed into my prayer, louder, closer, more final. And then they were silenced by the thrashing whir of the giant blades in the morning air.
* * *
The first thing I saw was a man carrying three cameras and a large notepad. He was rushing toward me, bent over under the force of the whirling rotors. He was trying to tell me something, but the noise devoured his words and only his lips moved as he staggered upon me. I began to back away from him, but he called my name.
"Miss Pavane!" he shouted, moving with me.
He knew who I was!
"Jim Stone ... London Free Press!" he cried into the wind, ignoring the drums and the stares of dismay among the blacks when they saw he was not an angel of the Lord.
"What? ... What did you say?" I shouted back.
But he only took my picture and then began to pan the village with his 16mm. I knew the blacks were more afraid of him than they were of the roaring helicopter. He looked formidable with his bags of film and black boxes and yellow paper. I caught his arm and tugged at him. The pilot was loading cartons of medicine and my old CB radio. Behind him lay the rough-hewn altar, smashed by one inhuman wheel of the great eropleni as it came to rest in our place of worship. Nathan, the youngest boy, was trying to put the pieces together, his bronze face wet with tears. I was still holding the reporter's arm.
"What do you think you're doing here!" I yelled.
He started to speak but just then noticed the gaunt black child, sitting under the helicopter, holding the broken cross against his heaving chest.
"Wait! Wait a minute, that's priceless!" he cried.
"No! No!" I screamed as I jerked the camera from his hand, nearly collapsing beside him, and he seemed to really be aware of me for the first time. He leaned closer to me.
"Don't you understand," I said, struggling with the words. "He'll be dead within the hour!"
"Oh, Jesus," he swore, with sudden realization of the violence around us, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the helicopter.
I resisted. I had to, but I knew that finally I would go with him. He gripped my arm so hard I had no time to think. The drums became part of the earth over which we stumbled. I saw the fiery sky, the wild green trees, the blood-brown path to Huzuni, the tortured eyes in the black faces. I must not go!
But I was going, and with this callous man from the London Free Press, who had come into the war-torn tribal land for a rich story, not for this resistant white girl seemingly bent on her own death.
"Nathan! ... Nathan, come with me!" I caught his arm and implored with my eyes. There was a brief hope in that child's face, but the pilot shook his head.
"The white woman only!" he shouted. "Now!"
And I had to let him go, to watch the light drain from his being, the utter disbelief that I would not take him, and he ran.
The reporter half-carried me into the helicopter and slammed the door, and in seconds it seemed my people were tiny specks on the shattered ground—but not before I saw them thrashing their crosses and raising their fists to the sky, my message of the goodness of God a futile myth in those moments. I left them with a story they would never believe again.
"How long?" Stone was asking.
"About an hour," the pilot answered. "We're fighting this damned headwind."
We flew in silence over the death-dark woodland. The sun rose and revealed more devastation, burning huts and families crouched around their wounded and their dead. Jim Stone watched but did not take any pictures. He looked uncomfortable, maybe because of the choppy air or maybe because he had dragged me out of the compound so roughly. There was no way to talk, and so I reached over and put my hand on one of his still clutching a camera, a thing I had never done, touching a stranger like that. He kept his face turned toward the window, but in a few moments, he entwined his fingers in mine and did not let go until we landed in Dares Salaam one hundred miles away.
When the horrendous noise of the engine and rotors had died, he looked at me.
"Maybe we should start over," he said.
"I think we already have," I answered with a quick smile.
Then he was gathering his equipment, and I my small bag of belongings, and it seemed an unlikely moment lost in the tumult of where we were and why we were there.
* * *
I had some misgiving as we stepped out into the brisk forenoon in the busy seaport town. I had only been here once, when I first came to Africa. I was not prepared for the conflicting sounds or the people, black and brown and white faces jumbled together everywhere I looked. In the backcountry, I had almost forgotten that my own skin was white. And then the name Dares Salaam held a sad and undeniable irony, for it meant "haven of peace." Ah, that dark transition from Huzuni to Salaam, from the misery of Christ to the place of peace without Christ. But I could not go back. If Christ was ever in me, then He will be here, too, I thought.
But still I did not move. I did not know where to go. Mr. Stone saw my hesitation and said, "Can I take you someplace?"
When I didn't answer, he said, "Will you stay with me for a while? I have a story to write. Remember?"
"My story?"
"If you'll tell me all of it."
"From the beginning?" I asked.
"I want to know everything," he answered. "Come on," he said quickly. "I know a little place ..."
And before he had finished, he had waved down a rusty yellow taxi with a grim-faced driver who sped off along the narrow, crooked streets. We sat back in the cab, our shoulders almost touching, and I could think of nothing but the warmth of his hand in mine on that turbulent flight out of Huzuni, a white hand trying to ease my mind about what was happening to the only hands I had known for years, black hands. He was smiling, half-amused, half-serious, and I questioned him with my eyes.
"I was just thinking that I don't usually use that line on missionaries."
When I didn't react, he went on. "About the 'little place,'" I mean.
"Oh ..."
"You have been out there a long time, girl!" he teased.
"Not long enough, I guess."
"Listen, Miss Pavane, I don't mean to make light of what happened in your village. I think it's only the beginning. I think we have to brace ourselves for a lot worse. Can you stand being in the city till things settle down?"
"If the Lord can use me here, I will be all right," I replied honestly.
"You are really sold on this Bible business, aren't you?"
"It's all I know, Mr. Stone," I said defensively.
"Journalism is all I know," he said, "but it seems to me much less confining, much less rigid."
"And much less rewarding," I reminded him.
"Maybe," he said. "It depends on what you want out of life."
"And what do you want?"
"I want you to call me Jim."
"Here's your stop," the driver was saying.
Almost the minute we sat down in the dimly lit restaurant, Jim said softly, "I'm sorry about the boy."
"Nathan ... his name is Nathan."
"Well ... it didn't seem right to leave him ... and taking his picture, just a reflex. It seems that I live for the next great shot ... not for life itself."
"Very profound, Mr. Stone ... Jim. Maybe when you start living for life itself, your photos will get better."
"Is that a Christian teaching?" he asked, smiling again.
"No ... but maybe it should be. After today, my Christian teachings don't seem to apply to life."
"I wouldn't go that far, dear girl," he said. "I'm sure you lived your Christian life very well."
"Until the end."
"The end?"
"When I lied to the faithful. I told them we would all be rescued."
"You didn't have much control over that, I'm afraid." He paused, and then asked, "What will you do now?"
"I have no idea. Huzuni was my home."
"Mine is even farther away," he said, "but I don't want to go back. I love this country. I want to tell its story, show the many faces, the people who are—how did you put it? 'Living for life itself.'"
"You may quote me, if you wish," I said.
"Hm, sarcasm in one so young. You'd make a good reporter."
"I am a missionary. I work for God."
"We'd better not talk about God."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to lose you so soon."
"Why would talking about God take me away from you?"
"Because I don't believe in Him," he said simply.
"All the more reason for me to stay and tell you about Him."
"No, thank you. All I want to know is why a beautiful, young woman like you would bury herself in the darkest part of Africa for four years of her life."
"If you want to hear that story, you are going to have to hear about God."
He shrugged and pulled out his frayed yellow notepad.
"You can't leave God out of this, Mr. Stone."
He would have spoken, but a white-aproned, grinning waiter now stood over us with his own small notepad. Suddenly I was very tired, and I let Jim order for me, not listening to what he said, not caring what I ate. I liked him in spite of his sharp edges, but I was afraid of him. Would he tear down with his pen what I had struggled to build in my forgotten corner of this land? Would he ridicule me because I loved God? Surely I could tell my story in such a way that he would soften, that he would at least acknowledge the purpose of my whole life.
"Miss Pavane?"
When I did not answer, he put his hand on my arm, and I shivered. His touch was sympathetic, and I had a new fear. I really didn't want to like him.
"Reena?"
I couldn't look at him.
"The thing is, Reena," he went on, "I am in the habit of pushing people, of getting a story at all costs, of printing the sensational side of human affairs. I don't know how to talk to a missionary."
"My story is not so sensational," I said more calmly now, though my body still trembled under his hand. "Where would you like me to start?"
"At the beginning," he said.
And I gave form, the form of words, to what had only been dreams and memories until now. I spoke swiftly, and he wrote furiously of things of the spirit, of God's will, of suffering and of joy, all with the same hurried scrawl, the same bemused expression. He never said an unkind word as the day wore on.
* * *
I will always remember the moment my father came into the classroom. It was junior history, and I was bored, but I did not appreciate the sight of him striding vainly in, pushing a large white envelope under my teacher's questioning eyes.
"Reena, you may be excused," she said, and I went out into the hall behind my father's stiff back.
"The letter is here," he said, even before the door had closed. "Dr. Reiman is asking for us. It is time, my child. The Lord has called."
"Father, school is almost over ... then I can go."
"You will go now," he said sternly. And then more gently, as he steered me down the hall, "My daughter, do you not wish to serve the Lord?"
"Of course," I answered, wondering if I really meant it.
"We are leaving a week from today," he said. And he would not hear another word.
Thus I found myself stepping out onto African soil and calling it home before my sixteenth birthday. Oh I wanted to be a missionary. I had thought of little else for years. But I wanted to finish high school, to say good-bye to my friends, to my country, in my own way. As it was, it seemed like such a rash decision.
The first year, I was miserable, the name of the village to which we were assigned appropriate to my mood ... Huzuni ... misery. But I finally realized that my misery was so small compared to Christ's. I was humbled and vowed to put my heart into the work we had been commissioned by God to do.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Once to Every Man by Elizabeth Cain Copyright © 2012 by Elizabeth Cain. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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