CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

The Long Awaited

The villagers stood near the lapping waves and watched while the boat grew smaller and smaller. By the time it had reached the waiting ship and was lifted up, they could barely make out the two men and the girl as they were taken aboard.

Even then, they continued to hope that Pascale Chardon would turn out to be the Long Awaited. They watched the water as the mighty ship became little more than a speck in the distance. They watched, waiting for a message that did not come.

“Well, that’s the end of it then,” Elder Sun said.

“A lot of fuss and worry over a girl,” said Elder Moon.

“Funny, though, that she was here seventeen days, just as the legend foretold,” said Elder Star, “and still, it wasn’t her.”

Elder Star was absolutely right. It hadn’t been her.

It was little Oralee Oceansong who first noticed something peculiar. While all eyes were focused on the ship disappearing in the distance, a strange occurrence was taking place right under their noses.

“Papa?” Oralee said, tugging at her father’s hand. “What’s happening to Inch?”

Mr. Oceansong glanced in the direction his daughter was pointing. His eyes grew wide.

“Look here!” he called out. “The girl’s beetle is doing … something odd.”

Within minutes a crowd had circled Inch, who seemed to be pulsing. A kind of glow had begun to emanate from him and while they watched, his color changed from black to a bright, glossy blue and … could it be that he was … getting bigger?

Soon, there was no doubt about it. Inch doubled in size, and then doubled again. As onlookers watched in astonishment, his color went through another change, going from blue to a rich, warm red, and finally to a glorious yellow, like the brightest buttercup ever seen.

And all the while that one color was giving way to another, he continued to grow. As his size increased, the air around him began to shimmer and pulse with a strange vibrancy. But those were not the only changes they were to see that day. The villagers stared in wonder as slowly, slowly, Inch rose up and floated into the air, until he hovered just above them. The glow surrounding him was by then as bright as the morning star on a cloudless night and yet it caused no distress to watching eyes.

By the time Inch’s transformation had fully taken place, everyone on the beach, no matter how far off, could see him. And while there had been many excited utterances at the start, a hush had soon fallen over the crowd. They stood in awe while their hearts beat with expectation and wonder.

The people of TeJÉ understood at last, and with absolute certainty, that the Long Awaited had indeed come to their island seventeen days earlier.

And who could blame them for never once having considered during those seventeen days that the Long Awaited might not be Pascale, but Inch!

But now they knew. How many long years they had looked forward to this day, and now they waited, trembling, to learn their fate.

In the quiet of that moment all of nature was muted around them. The steady sounds of life were suspended so that not a birdsong, not a tree rustle, not a frog’s croak or a monkey’s call or any other voice of nature could be heard. Even the waves broke silently on the shore.

And the Long Awaited spoke.

The voice was like no other they had ever heard. It was as deep as thunder and as soft as rain and it fell on them like the morning dew.

“Children of TeJÉ, my time here with you is nearly at an end. I have come to give you a message and when I have done that I must depart.

“But first, there is something many of you are wondering. And it is natural that you are curious, that you want to know more about the role Pascale Chardon played in this event. The answer to this is simple. Pascale was chosen as a vessel to bring me to you. She was chosen because her heart was open and loving. She was entrusted with my care during my time on this island and she honored that trust.

“But in the end, I must tell you: Pascale is a girl, nothing more and nothing less. She is human just as you are human, and has no special powers. I see that some of your hearts have come to love her, and this is good and right, but remember that she is your equal and you are hers. She is never to be exalted or revered, for to raise one up is to lower the rest, and this injures all.

“There are many other things you wish to know. Be assured you can find your answers if you search diligently for them. The single caveat is that you must seek the truth over all else. To do this, you must set aside desire, for what you want to believe may easily hide what is true.

“People of TeJÉ, I have told you my time with you draws quickly to a close, and I must tarry no longer.

“Your legend says I will foretell the future of this island. This I will now do, but the truth is, you do not need me to tell you what will be. You have always known it, even if you did not see that it was ever before you.

“You have heard that if what was found on TeJÉ was peace and unity, the island would know happiness, but if there was conflict and strife, the future would be one of misery.

“What you have forgotten is that all of these things come from inside each of you. Your hearts create the world around you. There is no mystery beyond that.

“In recent days I have seen you show mercy when vengeance was justified. And I can tell you, when you forgive, you free your own heart. In all things, what you nurture within you becomes your destiny without.

“If you build upon hope and faith, peace and goodness, if your hearts are prepared to give before taking, to serve before demanding, you will know true contentment and joy.

“These are all manifestations of love.

“And love is all.”