Alhamdulillah!

Chapter Eight

A Field of Dreams

I

The day had barely begun to break sunlight when Joel walked outside of his home, with his crisp morning cola in his hand as he made his way to his old Chevrolet.

The car wasn’t much to look at, but it was his own. He had worked countless hours flipping burgers and cleaning grease-soaked floormats to save up for her, and he was proud of it.

Joel was just a normal high school senior, trying to figure out how to dream and live life.

He was nice, attractive, funny, and grew up in a well maintained and loving family. He never dated anyone seriously, never broke a girl’s heart, or was heartbroken.

He kissed a girl in sophomore year in the middle of a mall, but their love affair ended as soon as it had begun – ending during a short phone call mid-shift while he was at work.

Joel was a driven teenager. He dedicated his everything to whatever he put his mind towards and placed his hands upon. But through his immense charisma and talents, Joel’ greatest gift and love – was baseball.

Ever since he placed the glove on his left hand, caught the ball, and after he shattered his neighbor’s bathroom window with a homerun smash, he knew the game was his gift.

It enraptured him throughout his childhood and he only grew better, sharper, and more finely tuned to the sport.

Now, he was in his last season, shedding off the old “afterschool activity” skin and coming into his new “this may be my future career” wings. And, as he turned on his car, sipped from his cool cola, and pulled out of his driveway, Joel smiled as he daydreamed of the days he would walk upon the major league field.

II

Shiloh coughed up water and gasped for air as the room quickly drained the saltwater that had previously filled it. She was now seventeen. It had been years since she walked out of the Sanctuary with the ring upon her finger.

She had seen the dream, experienced it, but as soon as it came, it seemed to have left.

She knew what she saw, but when the dust settled and time had passed, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Maybe it was a dream.

Maybe she had made too many mistakes and her calling had moved onto someone else. Maybe everyone saw Yahweh and she was not as special as she had thought.

She remembered having the knowledge of the universe so clearly, but now, it seemed like she couldn’t remember anything of great value.

She grew with the rest of the Moriah children, prepared for Harvest, and became trained for her specific path.

But the night before, suddenly and unexpectantly, Yahweh called upon her and told her, “Your appointed time is now.”

The owl stood above her and without hesitation, she made the jump into her destiny.

Yahweh led her to a small waterfall on the edge of Moriah, the sea crashed upon the shore nearby.

Before the waterfall was a small mass of water. On the edge of the mass was a rope. She looked down at the rope and up to Yahweh. With acceptance, the owl shook its head, and Shiloh grabbed the rope.

It pulled her, for what seemed like an eternity, and when she felt she couldn’t hold her breath a moment longer and her face began to turn blue, the door closed behind her, the room drained, and filled with oxygen.

When she finally came to and could stand and breathe easily, she saw a button that read “PRESS TO DRY” engraved on it.

Shiloh, with water dripping from her body, pressed the button, and the underwater room dried her perfectly. After the drying cycle had been completed, a button illuminated underneath the first, reading, “OPEN.”

When she pressed the button, praying the water wouldn’t rush back in, she heard pressure release and watched as the door before her open.

She saw glistening white tiled walls tunnel down, with dimly lit lights to guide her down the pathway.

The tunnel led her far below the surface and deep into the ocean. Whenever it came to an end, Shiloh walked up to a small vessel.

When the door opened, Yahweh flew out from the vessel. Shiloh stepped back at first, not expecting Him, but a smile came across her face when it landed upon her shoulder.

“What is this, Yahweh?” she asked as she crouched through the small doorway and made her way onto the vessel.

“This is the underwater subway that will bring you to the outside world.”

“Seems like a lot of work just to get pregnant. Did you make one of these for every person entering Harvest?” she asked as she laid upon the large bed inside of the small vessel.

The owl flew and landed upon a gold-plated lamp stand by the bed. “No one ever had the intention of you going through Harvest. You have been set free; you have been chosen to be someone incredibly special.”

Shiloh sat up and scratched her thick curly hair. “Yahweh, I was a child when you showed me Jericho. Do you know how many nights I had to tell myself it was all a dream? If it wasn’t for this ring, then I would have completely forgotten about it!”

“No, you wouldn’t have,” the owl responded.

“Then why would you show what my purpose was then leave me in such silence?” she asked.

“It wasn’t silence, sweetheart. I was watching you closer than ever and preparing you for the days that are ahead of you! Even in your seasons of struggle, you never forgot the purpose that was placed inside of you. Even when you wanted to give it up and reject it – settle and live a life well below the rich blessings that are ahead of you – you still had faith to keep giving yourself a try. You were humbled and brought to a place of personal peace. And even though you thought you were prepared enough for your dreams, you were actually being prepared to be in a place you could never imagine. A place of such increase and overflow. You’ve passed the tests, Shiloh, and now it is time for you to make a difference in the world,” He explained. Yahweh opened the door for her, bringing her to a new level of evolution and existence.

Then the underwater vessel began to move, taking Shiloh to her destiny.

III

The bright lights high above illuminated the baseball field. Joel held his glove over his squinted eyes as he looked upward. Then with calculation and reflex, he moved a little to his side and clutched the glove around the fast-paced ball.

The audience cheered loudly, but Joel was far from over. He hurled the ball to the third baseman, who caught it and tagged the runner then the third baseman sent the ball to second – causing three outs in one play.

They were state champions.

Later, after the initial celebration and intense embrace by his peers, Joel sat in the now quiet locker room, sitting in a mixture of pure ecstasy and nostalgia. He sat on the cool wooden bench without a smile on his face, reminiscing and wondering.

Then a woman from a prestigious college walked up to him, offered him a full scholarship, and handed over a business card. Everything he had ever wanted had finally come. All the hard work, dedication, and the immense work of discipline to be the best he could be was now finally being rewarded.

After the long ride home, as he laid in his own bed, staring at the same ceiling his body evolved under, his mind raced for what seemed an eternity until it came to a crashing halt whenever he realized – his future would have nothing to do with baseball.

And surely enough, when he shattered his right shinbone in a skimboarding accident the summer after his graduation, Joel bit the inside of his cheeks with disappointment and somewhat relief as he laid in his hospital bed alongside the bay.

He looked at the elevated and casted leg as daytime television played against the wall then slowly fell into a deep sleep.

A few hours later, he awoke to a small nudge on his shoulder, he jerked his body and sprang open his eyes.

Before him was a beautiful, young woman with incredibly curly hair and richly tanned skin.

Her smile was the only thing in the room and her voice brought fire through his veins.

“Hi, Joel, my name is Shiloh. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she spoke softly. She wore light blue scrubs and held a clipboard in between her snuggly cuffed arms.

“Hello,” he spoke. He cleared his throat, and said in a louder tone, “Nice to meet you too, Shiloh.”

She smiled, began monitoring his recovery, writing in her clipboard, and handed him his medication. He asked her when she became a nurse, her interests, and whatever he could to get to know her more.

She told him she wasn’t actually a nurse but instead was beginning a health technology company, she liked running in her spare time, and how her favorite books were “Moby Dick,” “The Iliad,” and “The Odyssey.” Shiloh was an inventor, someone with a gifted mind – chosen to correct the mistakes of generations past, and to bring the health of the human race to higher evolutionary echelons.

Joel stared at her in utter amazement, by the grace and shyness behind her extraordinary tales from being a small-town girl to the very well connected and successful businesswoman.

Day after day, Joel would lay in the dreariness of the stale hospital room – completely content with the intensely silent hours until she returned with life and exuberance.

Shiloh’s smile brought a sense of protection and her curly hair played the sun as an angelic harp – softly reverberating through an empty concert hall.

Fall deep into her, young Joel. Be everything you must be for her. Shiloh will be the greatest love of your life. It will take a while before you become romantically involved, but you don’t care about any of that, do you Joel? No. Of course not. She’s a human being, a deep and complex creature. There is more to her than just her soft lips and flowing expression. Whatever may lay ahead, take it in stride. Be respectful and caring. Whenever you see her shortcomings, be humble and lift her back on her feet. You will both need each other, more than you could possibly ever understand. Shiloh will heal your broken body and soul, and you will charge into battle beside her in the fight to save the Earth. Nothing will destroy you again. Ever.

Hold your sword high.

IV

When Joel walked outside of the hospital, he felt like he could run a marathon. He breathed in the clean air, his body came alive with vitality and adrenaline.

To celebrate, his family rented out a side room in a very well-respected local steakhouse.

They talked about his current health status, praised the care of the hospital and Shiloh’s startup medical company whose regimen and products healed Joel in an astonishingly short period of time.

The food tasted delicious, as well as the cool soda water on fresh tap.

Joel found the meal to be quite pleasant, even being in the middle of the family’s conversation about his lost scholarship and him never being able to fully recover.

He thought of Shiloh.

Then he stood up and excused himself.

Without his know-how, he stole a cigarette from his dad’s pack and took a box of matches from the restaurant’s front counter. Joel walked outside of a side door (so his family wouldn’t see) and made his way into the middle of a parking lot.

He lit the cigarette and took a deep inhale – his first smoke-filled breath in months.

He stood there and looked upon the few stars he could see under the bright parking lot lights, surprising undeterred by his shaky future.

He knew he was going to be something great – no matter what setback he would face. For the first time in his life, he was okay if it wasn’t baseball.

Why would something be taken away from him if something better wasn’t on the horizon?

He thought of his unnoticed talents and unspoken dreams and was excited to see whatever was to prosper him.

Something to believe in.

Something that would help people.

Even though he had loved and excelled in baseball, there was something else he was chosen for.

Something that baseball had prepared him for.

Joel exhaled his cigarette, dropped it on the ground, and pressed his sneaker on the ember. Then he heard a noise coming from a vehicle a few spots away.

Out of pure curiosity, Joel decided to quietly walk near the vehicle.

He saw a man forcibly putting his hands on an unconscious woman. She laid upon the cold and wet cement as he was over her, taking things from her pockets, placing them into a bag.

A fire roared through Joel, one he hadn’t known was inside of him. He was angry, terrified for her, and disgusted.

That was when he realized his old Chevrolet was right beside him.

With his baseball bat in arm's reach.

After the police and paramedics came, placing the woman into safe hands and the man into custody, several news vans pulled into the steakhouse lot and placed the spotlight upon Joel.

He was now being called a hero.

Something a thousand home runs could never bring from people’s mouths.

Something he never imagined he would be called.

He looked on the people holding lights, cameras, and microphones, and gave a slight grin.

Hero.

Something.

Someone.

V

Shiloh laid upon the dark green couch in her dark office. Take-out Chinese food boxes covered the black glass table before her, noodles on the thick rug below.

It was another long day building the foundation of her empire and she was in the midst of a great nap.

The television came on the other side of the office.

The volume raised and Shiloh groaned, “Turn it off, Yahweh,.” she said while whirling her hand in the air.

The owl flew and landed upon her wrist, Shiloh lowered her arm and curled the arm near her body.

With her eyes closed, Shiloh listened to the news’ top story and smiled.

“He’s becoming something,” she whispered with the owl’s soft feathers lightly brushing against her cheek.

“Both of you are, my child,” Yahweh responded.

Then they both fell back to sleep and dreamed through the night.