Michael was no longer running, and it surprised him when he realized that he was barely walking. Where am I?
He stopped for a moment, trying to examine the sore fingertips on his left hand, though in complete darkness, it was impossible to see anything. He kept his right hand pressed against the wall, afraid he would lose his way if he let go. He couldn’t hear any footsteps behind him or in front of him.
“Elizabeth? You there?”
After what seemed like an eternity, a faint voice called back through the darkness, “Daddy, I can hear you but I can’t see you.”
“Stay where you are.”
“What about the soldier? Can you see him?”
“Elizabeth, I can’t see anything. I can’t hear anything. Are you okay?”
“Yes, Dad. I’m just really scared.”
“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll be right there. Just stay put.”
He stumbled forward a few feet, his steps echoing around him. “Are you moving at all, Elizabeth?”
“No, Dad. I want to. It’s so dark . . . please hurry!”
“Okay, I’m coming.”
He started to run but quickly got winded again.
“Elizabeth?”
“Yeah, Dad, you’re getting closer. Please don’t stop. Please!”
“I’m coming, don’t worry. Keep your hands out. . . . Are you doing it?”
“Yes!”
Michael propelled himself forward, stumbling and breathing heavily until he collided with her.
“That’s my arm!” Elizabeth yelped.
He put his hand out and felt her face, putting his hand softly over her mouth. “Quiet, let me listen for a few moments.”
“I can’t hear anything, Dad,” she said, her voice muffled by his hand.
“Okay, okay, turn around and keep walking.”
“Shouldn’t we run?”
“I can’t.”
They took several more strides forward.
“There, look.” Elizabeth pointed to a dim light ahead.
“Elizabeth, how can you be so certain? We could be walking to a whole different world. Does any of this seem familiar to you?”
She stopped. “I’m not sure.”
“Did it take us this long before to walk through the tunnel?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t keep track.”
“Let’s be careful. Just in case, okay?”
The light became brighter with each step forward. Michael put his hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder, protecting her. As they got closer to the light, he grabbed her more tightly.
“Stop.”
“Why?”
“Let me go first. If you don’t hear me calling for you, go back.”
“What?” she yelped. Elizabeth shook free from her father’s grip and raced toward the light. “Stairs!”
“Elizabeth, please. Wait!” He watched Elizabeth’s dark figure disappear through the opening. “Great, here we go again.”
When he reached the lit area, he saw steps before him. Climbing them, he found himself back in the basement of Our Lady by the Bay.
He stood there and looked in wonder at the boxes of food that were stilled piled up everywhere.
“Elizabeth, where did you go?”
“Up here, Dad!” She was making her way up the stairs to the church.
“Elizabeth?”
Michael watched the basement door close behind her, then looked around at the empty room. It was quiet. Even eerie.
He fell to the floor and immediately slammed the trapdoor shut, worried that the soldier might still get them. He got up and ran to the corner, pushing a pile of boxes onto the door. Next, he ran to the other side of the room and grabbed more boxes, frantically dragging them to the center of the room.
“Let’s see him get through this!”
Satisfied with the mound of boxes he had made, he started up the stairs to get Elizabeth. When Michael reached the altar area, he saw Father Dennis by the vestibule.
“What happened, Michael?” he said, pointing to his robes. “When did you get these clothes? Your shoulder, it’s bleeding. Did any of the boxes fall on you? My Lord, where are your shoes! Look at your feet! What happened?”
Michael walked swiftly over to him. “Father, Father. I really need to speak to you. You’re not going to believe this.”
“Calm down, son. Where were you?”
“Elizabeth? Where did she go, Father?”
“She went outside, Michael.”
“Oh, okay. Follow me.” Michael started to run back toward the basement.
“Is everything okay?” Father Dennis asked, running after Michael. “Slow down. You’re scaring me. What happened?”
Michael stopped abruptly, grabbing the priest by the shoulders and staring intently into his eyes.
“Father, I saw Christ!”
“Okay,” he said calmly, “Christ is everywhere. How did he reveal himself to you?”
“No, no, you don’t understand. I saw him. I actually saw him. Down there!” Michael pointed over to the basement door.
“Down where?”
“In your basement.”
Father Dennis looked at Michael. “Have you been hurt?”
“No, Father. Listen to me.” Michael opened the basement door. “Come here, I’ll show you.”
“Okay, Michael.” Father Dennis trailed Michael down the stairs and watched him as he ran to the huge pile of boxes in the center of the room.
“What are you doing?”
Michael didn’t respond. He started shoving boxes two and three at a time away from the disorderly pile he had made just moments before.
“What exactly are we looking for, Michael?”
“The trapdoor to your subbasement, Father.”
Father Dennis slowly walked over to him and reached down to place a hand firmly on his shoulder. “Michael, there is no trapdoor, there is no subbasement. Please, please get up.”
“But, Father,” Michael said, moving his hand frantically across the floor, “we just came from it a few minutes ago.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to say.” Turning away from Michael, he added, “Let me go get Elizabeth for you. Will you be okay while I’m gone?”
Michael stood there looking at the floor, then sat down heavily. “Yes, yes, Father. Get Elizabeth.”
Michael sat stunned, leaning his head against a pile of boxes while watching Father Dennis walk back up the stairs.
I must sound crazy. Father probably thinks I’ve finally lost it.
He decided that he couldn’t be making this up: there was no way that he and Elizabeth could have imagined the same thing. He started to tear up but quickly wiped his eyes when he heard footsteps.
“Dad! Dad, are you okay?” Elizabeth said, running down the stairs. “Father Dennis said you might have hurt yourself.” She ran over to him and knelt beside him.
“I’m fine.” His voice was weaker than he intended.
“Why are you crying then?”
“Look.” He pointed at the floor. “The trapdoor isn’t here. It’s gone! He doesn’t believe me.”
Elizabeth looked around the room before she stood up and started pushing aside piles of boxes. She stamped her foot from one area of the room to the other, searching. Finally, she shook her head and came back to sit down next to him.
“No one will ever believe us,” he said. Then, under his breath, he whispered, “I lost her forever.”
Elizabeth didn’t hear his last statement. She said weakly, “No one believed me, Dad. They thought I was making a joke wearing these clothes and telling them about Jerusalem.” They stared at each other. “But we both know what we saw, right?”
Michael looked over at her. She might be strong and brave, but she still needed him. Pulling Elizabeth to her feet, he said gently, “Yes, we know. C’mon, Baboo, let’s get home.”
They walked through the now deserted church. Father Dennis was nowhere to be seen. Michael picked up his keys and cell phone from the box near the altar, and they made their way down the front steps.
“Car is still here,” Elizabeth said, seeing their Camry parked exactly where they had left it.
Crossing the street, Michael stopped abruptly and looked down Main Street. “You know what, Elizabeth? Today is a good day for a walk. I owe you something.”
Elizabeth looked horrified, pulling him back to the sidewalk. “In these clothes? And you with no shoes?”