E X O D U S
Exodus 1 – The Missing Passengers
The sun bore heavily down upon the tired, wizened face of Noah as he gazed out upon the dry, red desert lands. The hot breeze whipped across his brow, his breathing shallow to ease the burning air from his lungs. Soon, he must take a drink of water.
The work upon the Ark had been complete some three weeks ago, and all of the chosen animals had surrendered to the future safety granted by the Ark. That is, all of the chosen animals were aboard except for two; the unicorns.
Laranki and his wife, Soreecilor, had not yet arrived and Noah had begun to worry for their safety. The world was a treacherous place for animals and Noah feared that the two unicorns might have run into some marauding human band that sought their horns as trophies. The humans would not rest in their quest to obtain a unicorn horn.
Noah slowly shook his head, as vision within it reminded him of the evil that had been carried out by mankind! He could not believe the things that humans would do even though he had seen many of these things with his own eyes.
Noah raised his head once more, squinting against the sun, searching for any sign of the two unicorns.
Across the desert, he could see the nearby hills and, beyond, the hazy silhouettes of the not too distant mountains. The background noise, to these sights, was filled with sounds of various animals and Noah knew that somewhere among them his three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth and their three wives were all at work tending to the animals and making the final preparations for the voyage they would all soon undertake.
Noah thought of all the animals on board the Ark and was puzzled as to why one of their brothers and sisters seemed so intent on missing the boat!
Noah knew, that all the creatures that where to be given sanctuary upon the Ark, had been informed of the location of the Ark by God himself! It was their own duties to ensure that they made their way to the Ark by the predetermined time!
God had given Noah his instructions on how to assemble the Ark, the size it should be and the layout of the rooms within. He had told Noah of the foods to collect, the amounts, and where it was to be placed, within the Ark.
The heat began to burn into Noah’s forehead and he gently tapped his forehead with a cloth, absorbing the sweat and cooling him slightly.
Noah sighed, knowing that it was time for him to move back below the decks and give aid to his wife, and sons, and daughters for, although everything was ready and the great flood was awaited, Noah insisted that he and his family checked everything again, and again. When the floods came, there would be no chance to fix anything; everything had to be right. Everything had to be strong, secure and working correctly.
Noah began to step down from the ladder that he used to see out across the side of the Ark when a figure in the desert caught his attention. It was the male unicorn, Laranki.
Noah placed a foot back on the highest rung and raised himself up, one hand extended across his heated brow as he peered, against the sunlight, across the sand to where he had caught a glimpse of the standing unicorn.
Noah stared, his eyes fighting against the blinding sun, and he saw the unicorn move a little closer toward the Ark. The unicorn stopped and seemed uneasy, his head moving warily from side to side.
The unicorn was too far away for Noah to call to him. And, Noah wondered, 'Why is the unicorn alone?'
The unicorn seemed of silver as his beautiful white coat seemed to shimmer in the gruelling heat of the day.
The unicorn began to advance slowly, struggling through the sand, and then came to a complete halt with his face gazing up toward Noah.
Noah called out to the unicorn. His voice appeared to reach the unicorn for the unicorn nudged himself a little closer to the Ark. The unicorn seemed tense and nervous.
Noah stared at the unicorn and decided that it was trying to gather the strength and courage to come closer, but it was obvious he was failing.
By nature, unicorns were timid creatures but there were also so many more of Gods other creatures that, by nature, were also timid.
‘Other timid creatures had already come aboard, so why was the unicorn behaving this way?’
Noah could see no reason for the unicorn to be afraid when he was this close to the Ark, to the sanctuary promised by God. What was the unicorn afraid of? If he and his wife did not get aboard quickly then it was going to be too late. The unicorns would surely perish when the promised rains took their fatal grip upon the lands.
Laranki had moved very close by now and Noah could see a very worried expression upon the great beasts face.
Noah was fearful for the beast and decided that he should lower the ramp to allow the male unicorn to come aboard the Ark. ‘Perhaps the female unicorn was only a little distance behind Laranki and she too would be arriving soon.’
This thought gave no comfort to Noah because he knew of the great love that unicorns had for each other! Unicorns were famed for there love for one another.
‘One would not travel ahead of the other. Where was the female? Was she alive?’
Noah moved quickly, and yet tiredly, toward the ladder which descended from the Ark. He swung a leg across the side of the ship and his foot sought out the top rung of the ladder.
Even as his foot rested upon the topmost rung he became aware of shouting and yelling. A crescendo of noise came welling into his ears. It was a disturbance that he recognised only too well.
It would be another group of drunken people from the local town.
He gazed down at the small crowd that had gathered upon the desert floor, not far from the ladder that he rested upon. Amongst the crowd, he saw faces of ones that once he had called friends. Now these friends jeered and scoffed at Noah, and his family, and called them fools. Noah ignored them as he had always done since he had first begun his work upon the construction of the Ark.
Noah glanced back toward the desert, and was saddened to see a dust-cloud that hid the receding figure of the frightened unicorn.
A crash beside him caused him to startle; a container had been thrown up toward him! Made of crude pottery it smashed against the side of the Ark showering Noah with broken shards and liquid. It was wine. The fools below were drunk and had come to the Ark for a little self made fun.
A strong arm came around Noah’s waist and, looking upward, he gazed into the features of his son, Japeth. Japeth shook his fist at the mob below. More missiles of pottery and sticks struck the Ark and either shattered or bounced off the wood.
Japeth unsecured the ladder, pushing it away. It toppled towards the crowd, who scattered, their remarks growing louder. The ladder broke into many pieces, and was hurled back at the Ark, piece by piece. Japeth took hold of Noah, by the arm, and tried to lead him inside.
“No, my son, I must wait here. I must await the unicorns,” argued Noah.
“I can do that, father. You must have rest...” Japeth said, arguing back.
“Your body and your strength can do more inside. Go back to work, my son. I will await the unicorns,” said Noah, determinedly.
Japeth looked at the tired and weary eyes of his father and could still see in them the strength to win at all that he chose.
Japeth wiped away some of the wine that had splashed upon his father’s beard, and said, “I will bring you some food...”
Noah nodded and Japeth turned and climbed back down through the tightly thatched hatchway that led into the Ark itself.
Noah returned his gaze to the desert watching, intently, for any other sign of the unicorns. Against the blinding sunlight, Noah could only dimly make out the far away mountains and hills. The unicorn had left no footprints in the sand to show that he had ever been there but Noah knew that was not true. The footprints would be there but they were too small and too far away for his old eyes to see clearly.
Noah let out another sigh and, ignoring the drunken fools below, he continued gazing out across the sun scorched desert in the direction from which the unicorn had first emerged. He hoped to see a sign of the unicorns; some site that would give him hope and faith in the guaranteed return of the unicorn; and the unicorns mate. Noah could only see the hot and tired sand rolling out across the distance as it engulfed the earth as far as his eyes could see. Of the unicorn, there was no sign! It was as if the unicorn had never been there.
The sun was hot, and continued pouring its unrelenting heat down upon the land.