Where Freedom Reigns

Chapter 106

The Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

One of the highest points in Washington, D.C. is the central tower of the Washington National Cathedral, which rises three hundred feet above Mount Saint Alban. When the French engineer, Major Pierre l'Enfant, was commissioned by President George Washington to develop a plan for the new city, it included a church, which was "...intended for national purpose, such as public prayer, thanksgiving, funeral orations, etc., and assigned to the special use of no particular Sect of denomination, but equally open to all." And early in the morning on that misty autumn day in the capital of a nation still struggling to come to terms with the civil war just ended and the process of reunification just begun, that was exactly the role that the Cathedral would play, as it hosted the memorial service for the two sons of the President of the United States.  

Several hours before the procession of limousines carrying invited dignitaries and buses transporting ordinary citizens would begin to appear on Wisconsin Avenue, which formed the western border of the fifty-seven acre Close, there was just one limousine parked in front of the Cathedral. As Secret Service agents stood beside the doors and at strategic positions throughout the enormity of the Cathedral's eighty-three thousand square feet, Jeremiah Sinclair Kincaid Sr. knelt alone at the communion rail before the High Altar, while on either side of him, two coffins sat silently on catafalques. On one that bore the body of Brigadier General Jake Kincaid, United States Army, rested the American flag, while on the other, which held the body of his younger brother, T.J. Kincaid, Secretary of War for the Continental States of America, lay the navy blue banner with its circle of seven gold stars that for one brief moment had been the flag of a doomed rebel nation. The President had decided to use both flags against the advice of several of those closest to him, including his wife. However, he had remained firm in his decision because, as he said, over seventy thousand men and women had been wounded or died believing in the freedom that the flag had represented. And to pretend that it had never existed would dishonor their sacrifice, no matter how much anyone disagreed with their motives and beliefs. The President also had something planned for the flags at the end of the memorial service that he believed would help bring closure to the wounds in America's heart. But that was still hours away, and at that moment, as the President knelt with his head bowed before God, it was not the flags that occupied his mind, but rather, what lay beneath them. 

"Dear God," he said with a trembling voice. "Please forgive me for my failures as a father to these two boys, whose souls I pray are now with you in paradise."  

Suddenly, the cathedral grew dark, except for a shaft of light that streamed down from high overhead, which cast a golden glow about him. Then, out of the shadows of the sanctuary stepped a hooded figure, whose robe was made of fine, white linen edged in gold that had an unearthly radiance about it. Silently, the figure slipped into the circle of light directly in front of the President and stopped. He reached up and pushed back the hood of his robe, revealing a handsome face with smooth skin that glowed like desert sand at sunset, and eyes the color of the darkest amber. His face was framed by thick hair the color of mahogany, the curls of which cascaded down across his broad, powerful shoulders. He wore a well-trimmed beard of the same color, and something about his features and manner gave hint of an empyreal aristocracy. "Jeremiah," he said in a whisper that echoed throughout the cathedral like a breeze in the treetops.  

Startled, the President looked up, but did not speak. By his questioning eyes, it was obvious that he recognized the face but was puzzled by the robes. "Michael?"  

"Hello, Jeremiah. Do not be afraid. I am the one you met before, but I am not whom you thought me to be." 

"Who are you?"