Chapter 24

His heart pounding from the short run, Noah ducked into his tent and blinked hard as his eyes adjusted to the darker room.

“What is it?” Emzara asked.

He spun to his left and found his wife sitting at her table with several scrolls sprawled out before her, animals sketched on many of them. He took a quick breath and wiped sweat from his brow. “He spoke to me again.”

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. Slowly, recognition spread on her face and her jaw dropped. “The Creator?”

Noah nodded.

Emzara sprang to her feet and moved around the table. She grabbed his hands. “What did He say?”

Taking a deep breath, Noah tried to make sense of what he had learned. “He called me His friend.”

“His friend?” She looked at the ground. “That’s kind of strange.”

“I thought so, too.” Noah shook his head in wonder. “But I’m not complaining.”

“And He told you about the ark?”

“Yes. I need to write down the directions before I forget.” He pointed to the table. “Do you have a scroll I can use?”

“Of course.” She turned toward her supplies, but then stopped and spun back to face him. “What did He say about our friends?”

Noah’s excitement faded as he realized the recent conversation included nothing about them. He shook his head. “Nothing.”

She narrowed her gaze. “And you didn’t ask?”

“Em, I—” He scratched his head. “I can’t explain it, but when He was right there before me, I couldn’t think like I normally do. He is so wondrous to look at. It’s as if all of my concerns disappear in His presence.” He kissed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Ham is gathering everyone outside so that I can let them know what I heard.” A smile formed on his face. “We can finally start.”

Emzara furrowed her brows. “And what will you say if someone asks about who the ark is for?”

Noah bit his lip and stared at nothing in particular on the tent wall. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe we should ask Garun and Laleel what they think first.”

Noah thought through her proposal before slowly nodding. “That’s a great idea. Would you mind getting them? I need to write down some notes.”

“Here.” Emzara handed him a small scroll and kissed his cheek. “Be right back.”

After unrolling the first portion of the parchment, Noah dipped Emzara’s pen into the inkwell and started jotting down notes as he spoke to himself. “Gopherwood. Make rooms. Pitch, inside and out. Cubits — 300 by 50 by 30. Leave one cubit from the roof unfinished. Three decks.” He quickly sketched the image of the ship that he had seen as the Creator spoke to him.

“Noah,” Emzara’s soft voice broke his concentration.

He turned to face her. She stood in the middle of the tent next to Garun and Laleel. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d returned.”

Laleel nudged her husband and smiled. “I know what that’s like. Sometimes I have to call his name three or four times.”

Garun shrugged. “Guilty.” His smile faded and he folded his arms. “Zara said you had something very important to ask us about before talking to the group.”

Noah took a deep breath. “The Creator spoke to me again.”

Laleel grabbed Garun’s arm and looked expectantly at Noah. “So you have the rest of the details?”

Glancing at his notes, Noah rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s big. Really big. But I’ll share all that with everyone when we go out there. There’s one detail I want your advice on.”

“Our advice?” Garun wrinkled his forehead. “About the Creator’s message?”

Noah swallowed the lump in his throat. “The first time He spoke to me, He said that the ark would be for the animals and for me, my wife, our sons, and our sons’ wives.”

“And you didn’t have any children at that time.” Laleel clapped her hands as she bounced on her toes slightly.

“Right.” Noah held out a hand. “That’s why I was so confident about surviving things in Iri Geshem. I know the Most High will keep His word.” Noah shifted his weight to one side. “And this time, He said essentially the same thing, that He would confirm His covenant with me, my wife, our sons, and our son’s wives.”

Garun lifted his head as if he understood. “And He didn’t say anything about the rest of us?”

Noah lifted a finger toward him and nodded. “Exactly.”

Emzara placed a hand on Laleel’s shoulder. “We’re concerned about the rest of you. The Creator didn’t say anything about you — whether you’ll be on board or not.”

Laleel patted Emzara’s hand. “Don’t worry about us. Noah, didn’t you tell us that God will always do what’s right?”

“That’s what He asked me the first time He appeared, when I became troubled over the idea that the whole world would be destroyed.” Noah stared out the opening of the tent. “I know He’ll always do the right thing.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Garun said. “If He wants us on the ark, then that’s where we’ll be.”

“And if not?” Emzara asked.

Garun and Laleel exchanged a look, and it seemed to Noah that their eyes held peace. “We know God will do what’s right. For now” — Garun unfolded his arms — “we’re committed to helping you build this ark. We’ll leave those concerns for the Most High.”

“But what do I tell the others?” Noah asked. “I can tell them the instructions for the size and how it’s to be built, but what do I say about this?”

“Do you need to say anything about it?” Garun scratched his head. “Just tell them about the ark itself and what we need to do. We can worry about the other issue when the time comes.”

“And what if someone asks about it?” Emzara wiped her eye with the back of her hand.

Garun shrugged. “You said that you aren’t really sure about the answer. So just be honest and tell them that you aren’t sure. It sounds like this thing will take a while to build.” He turned quickly to Noah and snorted. “Some of us may not even live long enough to see it completed.”

Laleel playfully slapped him on the chest. “Don’t talk like that.”

Garun grabbed her hand and kissed it. “We’ll be alright. Besides, I wasn’t talking about you. You don’t look a day past 400. Let’s stop worrying about things we don’t know.” He glanced up at Noah. “We have an ark to build.”

Noah chuckled, knowing Laleel was well beyond 500 years old. Then he shifted his gaze to Emzara. “Sound good to you?”

“I think so — for now.”

Noah briefly studied his notes before moving toward the exit. “Let’s go tell them.”

Stepping into the late morning sunlight, Noah shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the brightness. Emzara leaned softly against his shoulder as he scanned the gathering and thought about what he would say. Circled about the fire pit, which was barely smoldering from the previous evening, their group quieted down when they saw him. Garun and Laleel took up the bench to Noah’s right. Purlek stood near Evet behind the next log while Kezia played with a cloth toy Elam had made for her. To their left, Methuselah relaxed next to Lamech. Japheth and Rayneh sat on the other side of Noah’s father, their hands covered in soil. Elam rested on the next bench by himself, with plenty of space next to him for the two young men racing toward them from the field where the herds were kept.

Moments later, Shem and Ham sped into the assembly, with Ham slightly in the lead. As he hurried around the bench to sit first, Shem leapt over the log and quickly sat next to Elam before Ham found a spot.

“I win,” Shem said as he pushed dark locks away from his eyes.

Ham shoved his shoulder. “You cheated. I got here first.”

“You started first.”

“No, I’m just faster than you.”

“I wasn’t even trying.”

Ham shook his head. “Let’s do it again. Right now. I’ll beat you anytime.”

Noah smirked as the squabble reminded him of growing up with Jerah. “Shem. Ham.” His words came out loud and firm, but not angry. “Not now. You can race later.” He pointed at Methuselah. “Besides, you have no reason to boast. A 900-year-old man made it here before both of you.”

The group laughed as the boys folded their arms across their chests. Noah winked at his sons and said, “You’ll need to save that energy for something else.” He quickly looked around the group again. “Thank you for taking a break from your work. I’d like to make today a day of celebration.”

“What are we celebrating?” Methuselah asked.

Noah licked his lips. “The Most High appeared to me again this morning.”

Methuselah’s smile faded and he scooted forward. Evet picked Kezia up and implored her to listen. Even Shem and Ham stopped whispering back and forth and turned their full attention to their father.

“He said that we have done well by preparing for the building of the ark. Then He gave me some basic instructions.”

“How big is it going to be?” Japheth asked.

Lamech held out a hand in front of Japheth. “You can tell us that later. I want to know what He was like.”

“I’ll tell you all about that during the celebration.” Noah put an arm around Emzara and squeezed her shoulder. “The ark is going to be huge — bigger than I imagined.”

“Will it be larger than the ships you made back in Iri Geshem?” Elam asked.

Noah nodded. “Nearly twice as large as the biggest I’ve ever made.”

Elam’s eyes grew wide. “Twice as big?”

“Almost. I have a lot of planning to do.” He pointed at his youngest son. “You’ll get to use that engineering mind as we determine the best way to do this.” Noah looked at his father, Japheth, and Rayneh. “The three of you can keep growing crops for now. At some point, we’ll need to start storing up food for the animals. And Purlek, I’m sure we’ll need plenty of strong braces for the ship’s joints. I’ll need your help in planning the best way to build them.”

“I’m happy to help,” Purlek said.

Noah held his arms out and raised his voice. “We have much to celebrate today. Beginning tomorrow, we start planning. I believe this project is going to take a long time to complete.”