Hour after hour I hurried on, with no idea what I would find when I arrived.  I far outran both the donkey and the young man, but I was close to exhaustion when I finally stumbled up the road towards the Shunammite’s house.

I climbed the stairs to the roof chamber and found the boy lying dead on Elisha’s bed.  By that time, he was quite cold to touch, but I obeyed my master and put the staff on his face.

Naturally, I was hoping that the boy would take a sudden breath or even sit up and look at me, but nothing happened at all.  I waited a little while just to see if something might be happening more slowly.  Nothing did, but as I waited, the boy’s father came into the room and asked what had happened.  All he knew was that his wife had hurried off without explaining anything.  He had finally asked the maidservants about his son just an hour before I arrived, and they had been able to report that their mistress and the servant had gone without the boy, so he must be somewhere about the house.  A search had turned up nothing until they finally searched Elisha’s room, and there they had found the lad, dead.

Trying to explain to the man what had happened wasn’t easy, as I didn’t know much myself.  But at least I could tell the man where his wife was, and that Elisha the prophet was already on the way.

I knew that the woman would be concerned about her son and that my master would want to know if his staff had made any difference – but would they want to know that it had done nothing?  Or would that just make the woman’s suffering worse?  What should I do?  It was a hard decision to make, especially while trying to ignore my extreme tiredness after running so far.  Eventually, I decided to hurry back to meet my master.  Every step was hard work, and the pain grew as I again ran most of the way.  It took almost an hour to reach them, and by then I could hardly stand, let alone run!  Gasping for breath, I told Elisha that the boy had not awakened despite my putting the staff on his face.

Seeing his worried response and the tears again springing to the eyes of the Shunammite, I felt that I had let them both down.

Then it was time to turn around yet again and hurry back to Shunem.  As we walked, I could see that I wasn’t the only exhausted one.  The fit young man was looking all in and the poor donkey looked as if only stubbornness kept it going.

I was glad that it was summer time and the days long, but even so, darkness had well and truly fallen before our faltering steps brought us to the Shunammite’s house.  At the same time, the darkness made it a little easier to hide my utter exhaustion, though I believe that Yahweh gave me a little bit of extra strength for that last hour.  Nevertheless, we were all very close to collapse as we climbed the stairs to Elisha’s special room, wondering exactly what we would find.  Elisha opened the door and we all craned our necks to see, but nothing had changed since I had hurried out of the room.  The boy still lay there with the staff on his face.

Wasting no time, Elisha explained to us that he would go in alone and pray.  The rest of us could, he said, wait outside.

So we did – at least, I was the only one who stayed waiting at the door.  The Shunammite immediately went to find her husband and tell him what had happened, and the young servant staggered off to look after the tired donkey.  Both man and beast had had a very hard afternoon and evening’s work.  It occurred to me that both must appreciate their mistress greatly to be willing to work so hard to help her.  I don’t know if it is being a servant that makes me notice how other servants are treated, but notice I do!

Waiting was hard.  From time to time, I would hear Elisha moving around, then silence would reign for a while.  Suddenly I heard a sneeze, and I knew that it wasn’t Elisha’s sneeze!  It must be the young boy – and then he sneezed again.  And again.  In fact, I think he sneezed seven times in all, and then I heard Elisha calling me.  Eagerly I pulled the door open, and there was the lad, still lying on the bed, but now with his eyes open!

Elisha doesn’t encourage me to ask him how he does such miracles – maybe he doesn’t fully know himself – but this time he smiled at me almost with relief as I walked in with my mouth hanging open and a look of amazement on my face.  I’m so lucky – blessed? – to have a master who shows me the power of God so often and reminds me that there is always more in this world than meets the eye.  Later on he explained to me what had happened in the room, and it sounded as if that miracle was a great struggle for my master, although I’m not really sure how that works!  At that moment, though, he wanted me to call the Shunammite, so I hurried down the stairs, stepping carefully in the darkness, and went to find her.  I didn’t want to steal my master’s thunder by telling her that her son was alive again, but I did smile happily as I told her that my master wanted to see her – and I think she understood.

There was just one more thing about that wonderful day.  It seemed little, but I don’t think it was.  Elisha presented the Shunammite with her son and said simply, “Pick up your son.”  But she didn’t, or not straight away at least.  First, she went and fell at Elisha’s feet, bowing to the ground, and this time I wasn’t so silly as to push her away.  She simply had to express her thanks for the gift of her son, which had just been given to her for the second time.  Thanking God was even more important to her than touching her newly-raised son.

A little thing?  I don’t think so.

Anyway, I’m no scribe, and I’ve spent so much time describing this incident that I don’t have any left to write about any of the other amazing things that Elisha has done, except for the thing that led to the opportunity to better myself that I alluded to at the start.

It seems strange to start by saying that one day, with no warning at all, I suddenly had a chance to become rich.  I don’t think that happens to many people.

However, I’m ashamed to admit that the only way I could get my hands on the money was to be a little deceitful.  Of course, I wasn’t cheating anyone out of anything they weren’t willing to give, but there’s no doubt it wasn’t the best thing to do.

Naaman was the commander of the army of Syria and an exceptional leader, but he was also a leper.  The king of Syria was willing to pay a huge amount of money to get Naaman cured by a prophet in Israel that he had heard about from a little slave girl.  Of course, she must have been talking about my master, but neither the king of Syria nor Naaman knew who it was, so Naaman went to the king of Israel more or less demanding a cure – though he was willing to pay handsomely for it, in gold, silver and fine clothing.

It’s quite a long story, but I’m really pressed for space, so I’ll just say that Naaman eventually came to Elisha and was actually cured, after a bit of a false start.  Then, as he was leaving, he tried to give all the money and clothes to my master – but he refused.  All that money, just begging for a new owner, and Elisha was refusing it!

Now a workman who lives in his employer’s house is typically paid about 10 shekels per year as well as his board.  At that rate, Naaman was offering about 10,000 years’ wages!

As soon as I heard the incredible offer and my master’s even more incredible refusal, my mind began to search frantically for a way to get my hands on some of that money.  Naaman urged Elisha again and again, but he was immovable.  I was almost weeping in frustration by the time Naaman gave up and left.

Round and round in my head went the thought that Naaman had been let off lightly, and as I watched the party move off down the hill, I decided that I must not let them out of my sight.  Somehow or other, I must go and get some of that money.  I hate to admit it – because Elisha would say it was completely wrong – but I even took an oath in the name of Yahweh that I would get it.

I ran down the hill after them.  I still didn’t know what I could do, but I couldn’t let it all that beautiful money just walk away!

Then, just as I reached the bottom of the hill, a brainwave struck me, and I smiled as I ran after the Syrians.  This would be easy.

And it was easy.  Naaman saw me coming and stopped to wait.  I explained that two of the sons of the prophets had just arrived and could my master have a talent of silver[1] and two changes of clothing?  It wouldn’t do to be greedy.  Of course, it was all lies, but it worked.  In fact, Naaman pressed me to take two talents[2] and I graciously conceded.

As I staggered back up the hill – carefully making sure that I stayed out of Elisha’s sight – I dreamed of all that I could do with my newfound fortune in silver.  Gehazi, the owner of olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants, and dressed in fine clothes to suit my position of wealth.

I sneaked into the house and hid the money before going in to check on Elisha.  It was hard to act as if things were normal, but I did my best.

It didn’t help.

As soon as I walked into the room, Elisha said, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“Your servant went nowhere,” I said, cautiously.

But he said to me, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?  Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.”

And that was it.  Naaman’s leprosy has been mine ever since.  White as snow I walk through life, and strangers cringe from me.  Those who know me understand that since I am white as snow with no raw flesh, my leprosy does not make me unclean, so I can move freely among the people,[3] but the stigma remains.  Never can I forget my disease, or its cause.

Well, my time for writing is gone, and there is nothing more to say except to describe what happened to the money.  Two talents of silver is a fortune, and it was all mine to dispose of.  Elisha had made it clear that he didn’t want it and that I shouldn’t either.  For some time I left the money untouched and it sat in its two bags in my room, reproaching me.  Should I take it and lead a life of comfort on my own?  Legally, I was committed to Elisha for the rest of my life, committed by the ceremony of awl and ear,[4] so to leave him would be to break my promise.  This money had already led me into enough that was wrong, and I didn’t want to add to the problem.

Finally I decided to give the money away.  Elisha often had poor people coming to him begging for help, so it wasn’t hard to find a demand for the money.  Gradually, I managed to get rid of it all.

It was hard to give away all that money, piece by piece, watching my hope of security and comfort slipping through my fingers, but I’m sure it was worth it.  I have to admit it: I haven’t needed it.

[1] One talent weighs 34.5 kilograms (76 pounds).
[2] Two talents weigh 69 kilograms (152 pounds).
[3] Leviticus 13:12-15
[4] Deuteronomy 15:12-18 specified that a servant was to stay with his master for six years after which he was free to leave unless he chose to remain as a servant forever.  Gehazi appears to have been Elisha’s servant for more than six years so we assume that he chose to become a servant permanently.

The eBook serial of "The Darkness Deepens" finished last Monday on 30 July.  Final corrections and preparation for publishing and printing are now being made.

The audiobook serial has reached its halfway point.