By: Neyda Sandoval

Sweat dripped down his face, frantically trying to button his shirt and zip up his pants, after Elijah realized it was Sunday. Elijah Jones, was late for mass and did not want to be scolded by his girlfriend for being late again. He grabbed his car keys and ran out the door never expecting what that Sunday had in store with him.

Arriving casually late, Elijah sat with his girlfriend and noticed that there was a new person in the crowd of the regulars. Elijah’s girlfriend, Cindy, poked him to pay attention to the Priest who continued on with mass, “ …and so with all the animal on board, Noah and his ark were prepared for the massive flood that no one believed would be of coming.”

After mass, the church offered complimentary breakfast and everyone began to mingle. Then as Elijah finished pouring his apple juice, he turned around and accidently bumped into the new girl he saw inside and spilled his drink all over her. He was so embarrassed, and quickly apologized.

“Oh no! I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t see you there. I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing a little wash can’t fix. I’m Veronica, and you are…?”

“Elijah. Nice to meet you. I haven’t seen you come by this church before. Are you new in town?”

“No I’ve lived here a few years but never had the urge to go to church until now.”

“Oh I see, so did you like the mass? Today’s speal on Noah’s Ark was pretty remarkable, don’t you think?”

“Why of course, indeed it was. You know it actually reminds me of a story I know Elijah. Would you like to hear it?”

“Sure, why not. Go ahead.” exclaimed Elijah with interest. And so Veronica began,

“The sound of grass brushing against their knees as they ran from the blasts blended with the rumble of the buildings crumbling behind them. Panic, fear, desperation filled a father’s face as he carried his infant with one arm and his daughter in the other toward the transport carrier. His feet moved quickly through the grass stumbling upon rocks and twigs. He moved with purpose as he passed families too large to run through the crowd. Dedicated, he moved through the frantic shoves and screams of those around him without a single flinch. He was focused as he approached the transporter, shoving his way to the front entrance. The vehicle was packed tight with bodies. Hands, legs, and faces smashed against the wall with barely enough room to breathe. The father locked eyes with the driver. As if the phrase was robotically implanted in his mind, the driver unsympathetically stated, ‘The transport is full. I’m sorry.’

With tears swelling in his eyes, the father pleaded to find space for his children. ‘Please sir, my baby is only 1. My daughter is 9. They won’t take up much space at all. Please.’
With hesitation, the driver opened the packed transporter. Bodies sprung out of the newly opened door like springs loaded in a box. Within an instant, the surrounding crowd flooded the opened door, shoving and throwing those who were previously in the transporter away from the safe haven. A single gunshot rang through the screams and shouts of the crowd, causing the entirety of the population to back away from the transporter. The driver took the baby from the father’s arms and handed him to a random mother.

‘Please hold him during the transport.’ The driver then closed the door and walked to the driver’s seat.

The father pleaded, ‘My daughter! What about my daughter, sir.’

With little to no emotion, the driver responded, ‘There simply isn’t enough room.’ The father held his daughter in his arms as the tremble of explosions grew closer. The driver began to move the transporter as the shakes grew stronger. Before leaving, the father lifted his daughter as high as he could over a window of the transporter and someone pulled her in.”

“Wow what a story Veronica.” Elijah said with astonishment.

“Yeah, I was told the story not so long ago and I found it so interesting that I began to research more into it, and guess who that father was?”

“Who? Who was this poor man?”

“ Our Father,” Veronica confessed softly.

With confusion, Elijah thought Veronica was joking, but then Veronica started to explain that she found documents of the Exodus in her attic. The Exodus was not biased or discriminatory. It destroyed schools, prisons, homes, anything. It saw no race killing white, black, asian, or hispanics. The Exodus was, in lack of a better word, brutal. Elijah didn’t believe what was happening until she said,

“Hello Shojep, my dear brother. You were right there in the same transporter with me so long ago and within reach but a single stop separated us and I’m so sorry it took this long to find you.”

Elijah was filled with questioned because he was always told by his adoptive parents that his parents information was nowhere to be found. With a whole world of his past being hidden from him for so long, Elijah was curious to see what was in store for him to further discover. With his girlfriend supporting him every step of the way, Elijah was ready to be reunited and join his sister o