Another stern command came from above, and Raibo said later
he thought for sure Noah and his sons were going to plunge into the crowd and
break up the fight, but just then Jakal yanked Shabo to his feet and dragged
him away. Raibo didn’t dare follow, he was sure Shaba would be dead anyway.
Several weeks went by and Shaba slowly mended but made sure
he never, ever came near the village where he grew up again. He would rather be
torn by the claws and jaws of a lion than face another adult human. Raibo
eventually found him, because he wanted to, then he went away and brought back
three or four youngsters who were in just as dire circumstances as
themselves. The children hid out in the
jungle but close to the Ark so that they could glimpse and hear Noah’s earnest
pleading.
One day everything changed. The children stared transfixed
as not one pair but two, they more and more animals filed out of the nearby
woods and distant plains and up the ramp in a most orderly fashion. The
children, forgetting their fear, rushed out to get a closer look at this
strange phenomenon. The whole crowd grew silent, and the news must have been
spread by runners because soon the surrounding hillsides were swelling with the
marveling throng.
As the animals came the sky grew dark and there was the
occasional flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder and Shaba saw many look
nervously at the sky, but the threatened rain didn’t come.
Soon the animals had all filed in and Noah started to speak
once again. All around him men and women
were muttering then beginning to disperse. Shaba lifted his arms in longing.
Please, please, let me come, he begged, but Noah didn’t hear him because a burly
giant next to him knocked him over and kept him down with his foot.
The giant eventually walked away and Shaba sat up, and
rubbed the dirt out of his eyes. His companions had all snuck back to the
safety of the undergrowth and before Shaba’s tired eyes he saw the doors slowly
shut.
Shaba hung around with his friends the next few days but
they were all strangely silent.
If they were terrified of the earthquakes that repeatedly
shook the earth they didn’t mention it. More and more innocent young children
who had been brutally treated somehow found their way to them. Shaba became
their unspoken leader.
“Shaba, I am so scared,” Kenzy murmured.
Eight year old Shaba brushed the hair from the little girl’s
eyes.
“We all are, Kenzy,” he replied.
“I’m afraid he was right,” Loto whispered.
“Who was?”
“Noah.”
Shaba nodded.
“And we’re all going to drown.”
Shaba put his hand on the little lad’s trembling shoulder.
“Ya I know we will.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“A little.” The earth trembled beneath their feet and they
hung on to each other for support.
“But I’ve listened carefully to Preacher Noah for many days
and I think I understand what he was saying,”
Right then the unnatural stench from a non-wood fire reached
their nostrils. Terrified, the youngsters clung to Raibo and Shaba.
“They making more and more sacrifices to appease their
gods,” a newcomer announced soberly. “There was five thrown into the fire last
night.”
So they believed Noah, Shaba thought, but didn’t want to
admit it.
“What was Noah trying to tell them?” the newcomer asked a
moment later.
Shaba took a deep breath and looked at the sky. He reached
out his hand as the first raindrop fell.
“That the earth would be washed clean of all wickedness,” He
looked at each child in turn. “You know what wickedness is. “ They shuddered
and stared into each-others frightened eyes.
The rain fell faster. “Shall we go to higher ground?” Raibo asked.
Shabo hesitated then shook his head. “The bad guys will be
there, and some of them will be meaner than ever,”
“What shall we do?” Kenzy wailed.
“We will pray,” Shaba decided, “To Noah’s God.
They did, and then Shaba told them that God was preparing a happy place for all
the little children: a place where they would have plenty of food and playtime
with no reason to ever fear again.
For some reason they became intrigued by how much water was
gushing over the waterfalls and walked over to see it. All around people were
yelling, screaming and pushing their way to higher ground, but the seven little
children watched the cascade with rain gushing all around them. When the ground gave away beneath their feet
they were swept away to Heaven’s gate.
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