Chapter 18

 

Finally, Yahweh stood up and turned to face the dead calf.

"You know," he said to Gaia, "I should bring it back to life, but I can't."

"Well, I can, but I won't," she said.

Yahweh looked at her.

"You always were harder than me," he said.

"I had to be," she replied. "No one else would do it."

"It seems we either love them too much, or not enough."

"Maybe it's the wrong kind of love," she said. "They need to be on their own. You know that. They know that. But they need to hear it from you. Not from me."

"But how do I tell them?" he asked.

"You open your mouth and speak," she said. "In the beginning was the Word."

"And here at the end," he said, "The Word appears again."

"It just seems like the end," she replied. "We will all survive," she added with a smile.

He reached out for her. She came into his arms and he held her tightly.

"I love you very much," he said.

"I know," she replied, "I know."

He turned to the altar, picked up the calf and vanished.