The Didymus Contingency (10 page)

Tom was shaken to the core. “You saw her? Alive?”

“Yes.”

Tom grew somber and said, “Then you understand why I’m here.”

David tossed the question around in his mind, remembering the vibrant woman he saw in Zambia and imagined her being gunned down feet from Tom’s arms. “Yes,” David said, not believing he had said the word.

Neither could Tom. “What did you say?”

“I understand.”

A smile snuck on to Tom’s face.

“Come, friends,” the rugged man said again, “Join us for the night!”

Tom and David stared at each other for a moment having a silent argument with their eyes. David softened. “It’s really quite amazing, being here... It would be a shame to go home without a firsthand cultural experience.”

“You won’t regret this,” Tom said.

“We go home in the morning.” David said sternly.

Tom smiled in response. The two headed back to the table full of strangers from another time and place. The rugged man handed them both drinks. “Welcome, friends.”

Tom and David clunked their clay cups together and drank. David gagged and spit his drink out in a thick spray. “What is this?” David asked.

“Wine, of course,” chuckled the rugged man.

“I’m sorry, I don’t drink wine,” David explained. “Could I have some water?”

The entire table of men burst out laughing. “My friend, the water here will do much worse to you I’m afraid.”

David raised his eyebrows with understanding and looked into his cup of wine.

“I have a feeling he’s telling the truth,” Tom said.

David took a sip and swallowed it down while clenching his eyes and crinkling his nose.

“It’s a miracle!” said Tom to the rugged man. “I’ve been trying to get him to do that for years!”

The rugged man laughed and said, “It’s a shame he’s only now becoming a man at his age!”

The entire table exploded with laughter again. Tom seemed to be enjoying all this thoroughly. These were his kind of men and this was his kind of place.

David smiled involuntarily, brought on by all the laughing around him. He took another drink and swallowed it down with a little less effort. Maybe this entire mishap would end without a tragic event and perhaps even with a fond memory? Hopefully Tom wouldn’t get drunk again and transport himself to the Triassic Period. Of course, David thought,
there
Tom couldn’t do any real damage;
here
the next two thousand years were at stake.

—CONCEPTION—

—SEVEN—

Standing

28 A.D.

7:32 A.M.

Bethany, Israel

When Tom and David met that morning, their conversation was brief and to the point. Tom still wasn’t leaving and David still demanded that they leave right away, only this time Tom noticed the argument didn’t last as long. After David cooled down, Tom convinced him that they should go for a walk with their new friend, the rugged man, and see their homeland the way it used to be. They would just be tagging along, doing nothing of consequence, Tom explained. After demanding that they remain distant observers—he didn’t even want to know their names—David conceded and the two headed out with the rugged man and his friends.

Twenty minutes later, Tom wished he had never convinced David to go. The new clothing David brought from the future was uncomfortable, itchy and too hot for the weather. More than that, it was identical to David’s outfit. David explained they were going for authenticity, not fashion sense. He had never planned to stay this long and if they looked funny wearing the same clothes, so be it. But Tom knew it was only a matter of time before their witty new friends poked fun at them, and time just ran out.

The rugged man approached Tom and David from behind and slapped his heavy hands on each of their shoulders. “Beautiful day for traveling, eh?” the man asked.

“Uh—Yes, yes it is,” David said, still wary of who he thought was a strangely over friendly man, in any time period.

“I was wondering...” continued the man.

Here it comes
, thought Tom.

“It’s nice, during these times, to see two men like you being true friends. As though you are brothers,” the man said.

Tom wondered if their clothing had been overlooked.

“Brothers who wear the same clothes!” The man burst out with laughter.

The other men walking with them, some from the night before, others new, laughed heartily. The rugged man shook Tom and David playfully and said, “I’m sorry my friends, but it could not be helped. You brought it upon yourselves.”

“No kidding,” Tom said under his breath.

After a moment of silence, the rugged man spoke again, though his voice had become sincere and quiet. “Tell me, why have you two traveled so far? What is it you have come to find?”

Before David had time to shoot a glance at Tom, Tom had answered the question. “Jesus,” Tom said. “We came to find Jesus.”

“Ignore him please. He doesn’t want to find Jesus,” David said forcefully.

“That’s too bad,” said the rugged man.

David couldn’t resist. “Why?”

“Because we’re on our way to see him now.”

David’s face fell flat.

The rugged man pointed to a tall hill in the distance and said, “That’s the Mount of Olives. Jesus will be there soon.”

David looked like he had just been slapped in the face. “The...the Mount of...oh my...”

“What?” Tom asked, not understanding why this Mount of Olives held any significance with David.

“The Mount of Olives is where—” David broke off his sentence, realizing the rugged man was still listening. He grabbed Tom and pulled him out of earshot of the rugged man.

David whispered, “The Mount of Olives is where Jesus calls the twelve—”

“C’mon David, it won’t hurt just to get a look at the guy,” interrupted Tom.

“I know what you’re trying to do, stringing me along from one event to the next until you’ve proved your all important point. We’re not going any further and that’s final!”

“We won’t talk to him. We’ll catch a peek and leave. I promise. Besides, we’ve already covered the fact that you physically can’t stop me. Unless you plan on resorting to violence, that is.”

Before Tom could finish laughing at his own joke, David had wound up. David flung his fist square into Tom’s jaw.
Whack!
Tom was barely fazed by the blow. He rubbed his chin lightly.

Tom chuckled. “Well, that was a noble try.”

David was huffing and puffing, ready for a retaliation that never came.

“I didn’t know they gave boxing lessons in the geriatric ward,” Tom said.

A small smile crept onto David’s face, half from the joke and half from relief that he didn’t have to fight a battle he knew he’d lose. “I had to try.”

Tom put his arm around David and the two walked back to the rugged man, who was clearly amused about what he had just witnessed. “You are the strangest friends I have yet to encounter,” he said to both of them and then said to Tom, “I told you that drink made him a man...though he still hits like a boy!”

David laughed out loud for the first time since coming back in time. This stranger, who had made them his friends, was a lot like Tom—even his sense of humor was like Tom’s, and David found that refreshing. “You said we’re going to the Mount of Olives, to see Jesus?”

The rugged man nodded in agreement.

“Do you know him? Have you seen him?” David asked.

“Every day,” the rugged man replied with a smile. “David and Didymus, come, follow me.” The rugged man turned and headed toward the tall hill in the distance.

Tom turned to David and asked, “Didymus? Is that supposed to be a nickname?”

David replied with a grin, “I think so.”

“What does it mean?”

“The twin.”

Tom smiled.

*   *   *   *   *

As Tom, David and the rugged man drew closer to the Mount of Olives, David found his heart beating quicker and his feet treading more swiftly. While what they were doing violated his better judgment, he could not deny that the idea of seeing the man—who he believed to be the savior of the world—was irresistible. When they arrived at the base of the Mount, they found a large crowd had gathered, eagerly awaiting Jesus.

Making their way through the crowd seemed easier than David expected. He imagined that people of the ancient world would be far from polite, but these people quickly opened a path for Tom, David and the rugged man as they proceeded up the incline toward the front of the crowd.

When they had arrived at the highest point, above the crowd, David could no longer control his excitement. He climbed onto a boulder for an even higher vantage point and peered out over the crowd. He imagined that spotting Jesus, even among all of these people, would be a simple task.
The mere aura of the man must be tangible
, David thought. He was focused on his task. The breathtaking view of the green countryside no longer held his interest. The mixture of languages and cultures gathered before David had become inconsequential. He was determined to see Jesus, and then silently escape back to the future. That was his plan, anyway.

Tom, on the other hand, was content to wait patiently. “See anything?” he asked David, while leaning against an olive tree.

David quickly shook his head. “No.”

Tom redirected his attention to the rugged man. “So when’s Jesus supposed to show up?”

The rugged man smiled and said, “He’s already here.”

Tom grew incredulous as he looked out over the crowd. “Where?” Tom asked. “I don’t see anyone who could possibly—”

“That’s because you don’t have eyes with which to see. You are blind,” the rugged man interjected.

David caught the words from the rugged man and they sunk in slowly, but once they had, his reaction was violent. David craned his neck around toward the rugged man so quickly that he flung himself off the boulder. He hit the ground hard, but quickly picked himself up. His eyes were wide as he moved toward the rugged man. Could he be?

The rugged man saw David coming and their eyes met. The rugged man smiled and David felt a surge of energy as he realized the truth. David pushed a bewildered Tom aside and fell to his knees in front of the rugged man. “My Lord!” David said with a quivering voice.

David felt his limbs begin to shake and his vision became blurred with tears as emotion took his mind hostage.

Tom didn’t understand. “David, what are you doing?” he asked.

The rugged man replied to Tom, “He has eyes that can see and ears that can hear,” and then said to David, “Stand, David.”

David did his best to stand, but his knees had become as stable as a bowl of Jell-O. He clutched his kneecaps and stiffened his arm so as not to fall over. David had never felt such emotion in all his life. He had been a believer in Christ for twenty-five years. He had gone to church, been born again, received the Holy Spirit—everything that Christians might relate to a supernatural experience with God. But everything paled with this experience. David was undone.

The rugged man placed a hand on David’s head and said, “Peace be with you.”

Instantly, a wave of serenity washed over David. He felt his strength return and his mind clear. The adverse effects of extreme joy disappeared and David was left feeling lighter than air.

Tom finally understood. “Jesus?”

The rugged man removed his hand from David’s head and nodded at Tom. He said, “Your eyes will be opened soon enough, my friend.”

Jesus turned and walked toward the crowd of expectant followers. Tom looked into David’s wet eyes. Each was as befuddled as the other. They turned their eyes back to Jesus, who had walked to the boulder David climbed earlier. Jesus turned to them and said, “Now make yourselves useful and help me up.”

The most important man in the history of the world was asking Tom and David for a boost and all they could do was stare at him.

*   *   *   *   *

Ten minutes passed before Tom or David spoke. They had broken every rule imaginable for time travel scenarios. They hadn’t just observed an event. They hadn’t simply carried on idle conversations with meaningless people in the past. They had become friends with Jesus Christ! They’d had drinks with him! Joked with him! David was beyond playing out doomsday theories with Tom; they were already in the midst of one. David sat on the grass next to Tom, while Jesus addressed the crowd on the hill below them.

“What’s he doing?” asked Tom.

David looked at Jesus speaking to the crowd. He used to think going back in time would be romantic, like watching a movie, but this was real. They were witnessing actual events recorded in the Bible. His stomach twisted as he answered, “I tried to tell you before...he’s calling the twelve.”

“The twelve what?” asked Tom.

“The disciples,” David explained. “Peter, John, Matthew, you know, those guys.”

“Right... How much money did you bring? We’re going to need—”

David burst out laughing. The idea of staying was ludicrous and it pushed him beyond rage to unrelenting laughter. Then he realized Tom was serious and the laughter was suddenly silenced. David knew that simply calling Tom a fool wouldn’t do the trick. Perhaps he could prove his beliefs to Tom with the events they had already witnessed? David started, “Tom, you’ve seen him now. You saw how he stopped me from shaking with just a touch. You—”

“Still can’t believe you think he’s God,” Tom said. “Granted, he’s a nice guy. He’s funny. He drinks. I like him.”

Tom pointed a finger toward Jesus, still standing on the stone, waving his arms as he spoke. “But I’ll never believe
he’s
God.”

David took a breath and said, “If we stay any longer we risk changing the future worse then we may have already. Do I really have to explain this all to you again? You might plan on keeping the results of your quest for atheism between the two of us, but our mere presence here changes things. We might swat a bug that would have transmitted a disease to man. Our conversations might change the way someone thinks—like the old woman in Bethany. We’ve spent an entire day with Jesus already. Who knows how many historically important conversations we’ve already distracted him from.”