A Prophecy in a Desert

CHAPTER ONE

Translated by: Reem Salem

    It is to live the adventure of life what

                         really matters

not to be the strongest adventurer

-1-

  The sunrise at "annabek" desert is a renewal witness on the magnificence of nature, and the generosity of heaven..

The mixture of the golden sun with the bloody night slips like a copious stream that springs out of the hand of morn, and outflows on the rocks standing there like eternity..

Spreading like destiny..

Broken though its solidity, to give a way to anemone and wild herbs that diffuses spring perfumes, to come through..

The sky there is bluer than any other sky..

And pure just as infants' eyes,

And vast just as human history

Moreover, unrestrained in her love for birds, pigeons, sparrows and butterflies..

The sky there is a house of sanctity..

And where earth mixes with heaven, a new love is born,

and an old one is renewed.. and there, in the hearts of those who are forgotten, God smiles..

The earth is dry like wood..but alive like fire..

There, no one knows where life comes from.. How could such aridity create a flow of spirit, joy and peace?!, And how could these rocks be closer to heaven than all those human hand made domes!!

The sunrise there is something between reality and fantasy..

So when life yawns in its bed and gets ready to wake up.. voices of cocks mix with the silence of rocks.. And the colors of the light coming from the east wave with those of the spring that spreads along the mountains stretching towards all directions..

The truth is just behind..

Twenty kilometers to the west.. In a town, that lives the reality.. the human being reality,

and the fantasy is just forward..

 Hundreds kilometers to the east..

In a desert, that lives the dreams.. Dreams of Saints..

Moreover, who delves into the desert at time of the tangible and the palpable?!!!

Who moves from the town's reality towards the desert's fantasy!!

From reality's prosperity towards dream's aridity..

From taste's pleasure towards deprivation's asceticism.. From the abundance of life to the tightness of death!!

..

.

-2-

It is the warm sun of May, and it has just started to climb the ladder of heaven, and to penetrate into the pleats of the humid wooden doors and windows that are full of dewdrops. It gets into the small rooms that spread in the core of rocks, and built in the lap of the big cave that lies in between the northern mountain.. 

This sun with its innocent beams, pleasant touches and sweet tickles, never forgets to cover the small barn down the room.. And to throw morn's activity with life's vigor upon the animals living there.. So cocks start crowing..Sheep and goats start murmuring .. The only horse starts to neigh kicking the rocky ground with his hooves. And the two dogs start barking with every single move coming on from here or there..

"Ra'afat" wakes up before anyone else does, he knees down on his knees, lifting his hands up and prays..He presents his day  to God, and thanks Him in advance, for every grace given to him..

Grace of joy, pain, fatigue, anxiety and peace..

Then he stands up.. puts on his khaki rough linen suit, and a rigid sandal, which was given to him by a shepherd to help him in climbing up the mountains..

He gets out of his room.. Smiles to the sky ,to the sun , to the animals, and to the rocks while he moves his sight around..

He steps down the wooden ladder, causing the woods down his feet to creak. Then he walks towards the water tap, and washes his face. After that, he lifts towards the sun so the water drops on his face shines as if it were pearls..He leaves it to slip down gathering at his thick black beard, while the voice of the running water over the rocks towards the valley is clearly heard..

The animals call him each in its own voice..So, his big black eyes shine and thus do the features of his face, then he rushes to them, opens the barn's door while they are watching him..

Here, every creature, animate or inanimate, has a hidden contact with one another..It is something that no one can understand unless he sees "Ra'afat" hugging the animals one after another, and touching  rocks, soil and stones as if he was talking to them ..

"Ra'afat" fills the water pond ,and the animals rush to drink, then he prepares food for each one of them..

He shows a smile of satisfaction while he watches them eating their food in a hurry. The two dogs approach him just as close friends do, and accompany him through the rugged zigzag short road to the entrance of the abbey .. The two dogs stop there, yet he bows his head and his back so that he can enter through the small door..

There comes a small dark space, opened on a big square..To the right, appears  a big jar for drinkable water, which is collected from the deep well that is sunk in the small dark space..Whereas to the left, there is an iron door which leads to a very ancient church, in which one finds monuments for wall drawings made on three layers that go back to the eleventh century!!

 In front of the church, there lies a stony altar covered with an embroidered cloth made by a woman from  the city. Upon this cloth, there are candles on both sides. Daily,  "Ra'afat" contemplates in the beauty of the wall drawings on the dome up the altar, even though they are now less in number and deformed by nature and by ruining hands , which had been taking place since years ago..

Then he turns back ,to the back wall, to see the largest wall tableau; the one of The Great Judgment..He also contemplates in the balance that intermediate the portrait, then his eyes shine while he notices the preponderance of God's scale..

"because His love is much bigger than our justice, and His mercy is much greater than our weakness"…

In the morning, the few inhabitants and visitors of the abbey come to join "Ra'afat" in the prayer..Voices of carols and invocations are heard here and there..

Less talk..

More silence..

      Much presence  of the spirit.. and much peace..

There ends the prayer…or it might start by then..

 People get out to the large court. Some of them approach the stony wall to take a look at the long deep valley that expands forward, to the east, and sinks in the sand of the vast desert. Whereas others prepare breakfast which consists of bread, thyme, olive, goat-cheese and hot tea.

 Meanwhile, two or three people who could not get up early for prayer, join the delicious simple breakfast. Quiet voices start rising up talking and so time goes on, and the sun becomes more intensive..

"Ra'afat" suggests a program for the day; such as a work to be done in the new field that they have started to plant..Alternatively, something should be done in a place else where that is in need for repair or construction..Moreover, he suggests some girls and women to prepare lunch..

Then he earnestly starts moving from one place to another..Once between the barn and the valley, and another time between the mountain and the abbey..Sometimes, his voice rises angrily, and other times, he laughs just like babies..

When the sun centers in the middle of the sky, he stops for seconds to have a cup of tea with the others, so they will refuel their energy to continue their works..One can hear women singing and laughing while preparing food. In most cases, food consists of the available vegetables and legumes, therefore it is called "everything you've got "soup.

Time goes on rapidly, and the people of the abbey gather as the iron bell, which is hanged in the kitchen, announces lunchtime. The sun now is intensely hot, and they have to sit under the umbrellas at the big court. And when they finish eating,talking,laughing, and joking as well, most of them take rest in the rooms, which spread in the three floor ancient stony abbey, or in the newly built rooms in the big cave outside the abbey.

At about five o'clock, Ra'afat resumes his vitality once again..He goes out with the others for a walk in the mountains. Mostly, they go to a place they used to call as "the theatre" where nature has been working for thousands years, making rocks of  semicircular gradual height.

They sit there, and Ra'afat starts telling them about life and God..about what he understands and what he wonders..about his faith and his doubts.. his joy and his pain.. about the meaning beyond everything and in the heart of each person..

Evening prevails, and silence predominates.

A silver peace resides in the mountains, flowing from the meek moon and the sparkling stars that decorate the deep black sky of the desert..The breeze passes over the faces, and chests are widely opened to be filled up with life.. Ra'afat  goes back with the others to spend the evening either talking or praying or in an attentive silence.

Finally he comes back into his room, lies down upon his mattress that is laid on the cold stony ground..and closes his eyes to sleep in no time..