The Mender

Epilogue - Peace Tsunami

Eight years later.  . .

"Honey, I'm home!" Esri called inside Clea's front door.

"Oh, Esri!" Clea's beaming face appeared in her kitchen doorway and she made her way down the hall. "My dear girl, how wonderful to see you." The two women hugged long and hard.

"I've missed you, Clea."

"And I've missed you." Clea pulled back a little and stroked Esri's cheek. "I shouldn't call you a girl anymore. You're such a beautiful young woman. You're so good about writing this old lady, but it's not the same as seeing you in person."

"I know. Same for me." Esri smiled at Clea. "You look great, Clea."

"I'm doing well. A little slower, but enjoying watching the changes, aren't you? We have so much to talk about. I was thinking that we should go right away, and then come back here for tea and muffins after. Will you have time for that?"

"I do have some time. I promised Dad I'd be home for supper, and my flight doesn't leave until ten tonight."

"Good, I'm glad we'll have time to talk. How long will it take you to get to your excavation?"

"A few days. It's in a pretty remote place. I'm told it will take planes, boats, cars, and feet to get there. I'm meeting up with someone else from the team tomorrow morning in Munich, and we'll make our way there together. He's been at the site before so knows the way."

"And when will you come back?"

"I don't know, Clea. I know it's farfetched, but I want to look for Dagan's golden rock. It's the one landmark from Flat Rocks that I think I could have a chance of finding. My big plan is to make myself indispensable on the site and find a way to stay in the area for a while."

"I'm so thrilled for you. But manage those expectations. That all happened such a long time ago." Clea handed Esri a pair of garden shears that were sitting on a small table. "I thought we could cut some iris to take with us." She reached for a worn, wooden cane leaning in the corner. "And I'll bring this to make sure I don't topple over."

After a half hour ride in a taxi, Esri and Clea stepped out and made their way along the winding paths. Esri held the iris bouquet and gave Clea her other arm for support.

"Do you get here often?" Esri asked Clea.

"A few times a year. Jilly takes me. And the last little while I've come with your dad and Pauline. I'm enjoying getting to know her better. You didn't write much about that. Was it a surprise for you when she and your dad got together?"

Esri laughed, "Well, Luka and I were kind of thrown at first. We were like, huh? What? But now I think it's great. My Dad, he's so happy and relaxed. And you know, Jilly always liked Pauline. She's good for Jills. And now Luka and I are brother and sister. It's pretty funny. But it's nice, really nice I think, for everybody."

"I agree. They're good together. It adds to all the nice things I'm seeing and hearing about these days, though I'm sure your Dad and Pauline would have happened without the Mending."

"Do you really think the Mending is working, Clea? It felt like nothing was happening at all for a long time, but now it's like there's something in the air, a turning in how people approach things - less anger, more compassion, and sometimes from the least likely places. I started noticing changes and thought it was because I was looking so hard for some signs of the Mending. But it's pretty big. I don't think it's a fluke."

"No, it's not a fluke."

"Do you think it will be enough?"

Clea was silent. Her cane kept tapping on the path.

Esri paused their steps. "Clea?"

"I want it to be enough. It must be."

The last stage of their walk took them down a steep incline to a small open area in the wooded, hilly graveyard. The two women stopped in front of a tan marker among the several dozen headstones in the hidden glen.

Esri knelt and placed the iris on the grave. Her fingers traced the carved outline of a cape buffalo etched in the tombstone. She whispered. "Your peace tsunami, Thomas, I think it's coming."