Page 178 of The End of the World As We Know It

“Everything they say about you true, sir?” asked the man, who hadn’t introduced himself by name.

“Depends on what’s being said,” Jacob replied, smiling. His suitcase sat upright on the floor of the wagon, between his knees.

“That you’re a prophet. That you predicted this whole thing. The end of the world, and all that.”

“Oh…” Jacob turned his head so that he could look out beyond the canopy of the wagon and at the horizon, where the sun was setting in a multitude of hues. “Doesn’t look like the world has ended to me.”

The large man shifted uncomfortably on the wagon’s wooden bench.

“Have you read my book?” Jacob asked him.

The man shook his head, then averted his eyes so that he didn’t have to meet Jacob’s gaze.

“Do I frighten you?”

This time, the man did not respond at all—just kept his eyes trained on the floor of the wagon.

Jacob reached over and placed a hand on the fellow’s left knee.

Quietly, the man began to sob.

So be it, Jacob thought, removing his hand and closing his eyes as darkness filled the interior of the wagon.

3

Zarah Smith was among those chosen to greet Jacob Cree upon his arrival, so when the horses’ hooves were heard echoing throughout Calvary, she rushed out into the waning daylight and scurried mouse-like past the field of tiny crosses, to where a dais decorated in balloons and lit with kerosene lanterns stood empty and anticipatory. It had been decided that only a select few women would greet the prophet, with the townsmen watching from the sides of the road like sentries. Zarah had wanted so badly to be selected, but feared she wouldn’t be chosen because of her pregnancy, even though she was barely showing. Yet shehadbeen selected, and she’d lain awake that night in bed (next to Benjamin, who’d been snoring like a locomotive) and, staring at the ceiling, imagined what it would be like to finally meet Jacob Cree in person. Later, when the town council chose her for the induction—the dinner, the candles—she felt like God Himself was smiling down upon her.

She knew only what he looked like from the author photo on the dust jacket of his book—a handsome, studious gentleman in a tweed sports coat, whose eyes sparkled with the knowledge of a thousand lifetimes. What Jacob Creehadknown, of course, was the reason he was here, and the giddiness Zarah now felt as that makeshift wagon came to a stop and a man in a tweed sports coat was helped down, was unlike any sensation she had ever felt in her lifetime. She feltbuoyed, as if she might at any moment lift right off the pavement and sail unencumbered into the atmosphere.

Jacob Cree was led up to the dais, where Ted Lomm made a throaty announcement. The women in the street clapped politely,while the men, farther back from the road, nodded silently in appreciation. Cree stood there on the dais beside Ted, a suitcase as black as obsidian at his side, surveying the crowd. For a moment, Zarah thought his eyes settled directly on her, where his stare lingered.What is he thinking right now?she wondered.What notions are coming into his brain, as if from the ether, and seeding there?

When Ted was finished with his speech, he urged Cree to stand front and center to address the crowd.

“My official presentation won’t be until tomorrow,” Cree said, and Zarah was delighted to hear that his was a strong, cultured, satisfying voice, “so I will keep this brief. But I wanted to thank you all for inviting me here to meet and speak with you. I hope this proves to be a pleasant experience, and that at the very least, I’ll leave you all with some modicum of peace.You are not alone.”

Again, the women applauded and the men nodded their approval.

A motley assortment of musicians had been culled from the town—a trumpet player, someone with a set of bagpipes, an acoustic guitarist, a snare drum strapped to one man’s chest—and as Jacob Cree was led back down from the dais, they all began to play. The music was awful—Zarah couldn’t help but laugh a little to herself, as did a number of the other women who had gathered to greet the prophet. She was still laughing about it as she filed into a queue, and each woman shook Cree’s hand as he walked down the line. They each had to say a single word of their choosing, so when Cree approached Zarah, she said, “Blessed.”

His smile was a million miles.

Zarah was pleased to find his hand cool and dry, his grip firm but not aggressive. He looked her straight in the eye as he held her hand, and she imagined she could see an entire universe swirling inside the tar-black pupils of his eyes.

She watched Cree move down the line, then vanish into Ted Lomm’s house along with the members of the town council.

It was only then that Zarah looked around at the faces of the menin attendance, and ultimately spotted Benjamin standing among them. Even from such a distance, she could recognize something dark and seething behind the mask of his face, and it was a thing that Zarah Smith didn’t trust.

Not in the least.

4

Jacob was given an entire house to himself for the night, which was rarely the case whenever he would visit these remote villages. Water was brought in from a well and a tub was filled for him to bathe in. He was also offered fresh clothes, but he only patted his clamshell suitcase and said that he had everything he needed, but thank you. After his bath, however, he pulled on the same clothes he’d been wearing all day—with the exception of the tweed sports coat, since it was a nice night out.

He was told that his induction dinner was to be sponsored by a Benjamin Lewis and a Zarah Smith. Yet when he arrived at the house, only the woman was present. He didn’t ask about the man’s whereabouts.

She was young, mildly attractive in a plain-looking way, and with a face that seemed eager to soak up whatever knowledge he might wish to impart. She smiled at him when she answered the door, and if she thought it odd he carried his suitcase with him, she didn’t say anything about it. Later, as she leaned over and lit the mismatched collage of candles at the center of the table in preparation for their meal, he noticed she was in the early stages of pregnancy.

“I was told your village has electricity,” he said.