But it didn’t go away.
It was all still right there in front of her when she opened her eyes. The giant still taunted the Israelites, and the Israelites still trembled in fear. Wren saw David was still talking to his brother.
“Why have you come down here? Only to watch the battle?” It seemed like Eliab’s anger had boiled up inside him as he spewed out his words. “You are so conceited!”
David shook his head and held his hands out. “Now what have I done? Can’t I even speak?”
She felt a little awkward because she wasn’t sure what she should do. Walk around and meet people? Introduce herself?
She didn’t wonder for long, because a lady dressed in a red shirt and jeans came out of the crowd of soldiers. Her clothing style didn’t match the others. She dressed like Wren dressed.
“Hey, over here!”
The lady heard Wren call her and headed over to where she was standing.
“Hello, I’m Josephine.”
Wren scanned her memory files and couldn’t remember a lady named Josephine in the David and Goliath story.
“Hello. I’m Wren.”
The lady looked at her and shook her head. “You’re not from here.”
“I’m from Kansas. And you don’t look like you’re from around here either.”
Josephine smiled. “No, I’m not from this place.”
“Do you know where Kansas is?”
“Yes, child. And I also know when you’re from. But there isn’t time for explanations. I need to show you some things that will help you on your journey.”
Wren was confused. “Journey?”
“Right now, I don’t want you to ask questions. Right now, I just want you to have faith. Okay?”
Strangely, Wren felt a peace in Josephine’s presence. “Okay.”
“Good. Now follow me.”
She followed the lady back through the crowd of retreating soldiers out into an open area of grass. Josephine led her right into the middle of the valley. From her new vantage point, Wren looked up and saw the two hills on either side of her. Both armies were in motion. However, like moving water in a cup, neither moved too far. Just back and forth, back and forth, over the close confines of their respective hills.
The giant stood tall, towering over all of man and nature.
Josephine pointed in his direction.
“Now, I’m going to show you something, but I promise you have nothing to be afraid of. Okay?”
Wren didn’t know what was coming next, but ever since landing back in the Bible story of David and Goliath, she had decided to soak in as much as she could. Besides, she didn’t get a bad vibe from Josephine. “Okay.”
“Good. Now close your eyes and count to three.”
Wren looked at the lady.
“Go on. Close your eyes and count to three. After you get to three, open them. Just don’t panic when you do. I promise I’m here to watch over you.” Josephine put a hand on Wren’s shoulder.
“Okay, here goes.” She closed her eyes. “One…two…three.”
“Open her eyes,” Josephine said.
Wren couldn’t imagine who she was speaking to. But then, she opened her eyes and the whole world shifted. Her brain was flooded with images she had never seen before.
She was standing on sand, and a great wind had begun to blow around her. She looked at Josephine and felt her mouth drop open, wider than her eyes had gone. The lady was glowing, and her red shirt and jeans were gone. Wren thought she might be wearing a white shirt and pants, but she really couldn’t tell for sure because of all the light that was radiating from Josephine.
And wings?
Yes! Josephine had wings with white feathers!
“What’s happening?”
“Don’t worry, child. As I said, you have nothing to fear. You are safe here.” The lady moved her wings ever so slightly.
Nothing she had ever felt in her short life compared to what Wren was feeling now. It wasn’t fear like being scared of bad things. She was in awe of what her eyes saw. Past Josephine, out across the valley, a dark cloud swirled. As she watched, the cloud broke up into pieces. Wisps of black smoke-like bands moved in random patterns of flight over the valley.
Apparently sensing Wren’s apprehension, Josephine stretched out a wing. “Hold on to me!”
Wren grabbed the wing.
The black bands slowly morphed into shapes—the shapes of men—and all landed on the valley floor around them. She squeezed Josephine’s wing tighter. Josephine turned so that her back was facing Wren.
“Get on!”
Get on?
Wren let go of the wing and grabbed on to the lady’s shoulders. Both wings shot out and pushed down, lifting her and Josephine up into the air.
I’m flying!
Unbelievable!
“What’s going on?” Wren shouted over the rushing wind. The valley looked smaller and smaller the higher Josephine flew. Cold air rushed across her face, blowing her ponytail around like a pinwheel.
“Hold on!” Josephine kept her wings stretched wide as she banked to the right.
Wren looked in that direction and noticed they were almost directly over the Philistine army.
Josephine pumped her wings two more times, and they flew out past them. Wren looked down and saw the dark shapes on the ground were moving toward the Israelites. But then one of the figures turned and walked in the opposite direction toward the Philistines. This dark shape was much larger than all the others.
Josephine adjusted her direction to follow the track of the large one. “That’s Ra’zeil. He’s a leader of the enemy’s army!”
Wren watched as the shape in question swirled around the giant named Goliath. After a few swirls, the dark moving cloud morphed into a dark giant the same size as the superhuman from Gath. Josephine pumped her majestic white wings a few more times and changed her course so they could watch the two giants.
“What are you?” Wren asked her.
“An angel!”
An angel? “Awesome!”
But her excitement of flying with an angel was quickly erased.
She looked down and saw the dark figure engulf Goliath completely. Simultaneously, the dark shapes that had been marching toward David and his brothers stopped. They all turned and faced her. She looked down and could see the figures all had purple eyes.
In unison, all the dark shapes out on the valley shot up, off the ground, and flew right at Wren.