The Gold of Ophir

By Adriel Chevalier

Learn the continuing saga of Adriel's adventures into the realm of the inexplicable and unknown. Many introspective challenges await the reader with perspectives that include adult experiences and life beyond this earthly plane. His quest to find a lost gold mine takes him from the pyramids of Giza through the papal archives in Rome and Avignon. His discoveries are enlightening as he learns a unique mode of travel and capabilities that boggle his mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adriel Chevalier
• Release date: Feb 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463939796

Adriel Chevalier

Adriel Jacques Chevalier descended from a French family that migrated to the Netherlands before immigrating to the United States. His family's vocation centered around the jewelry and watchmaking business for generations. However, Adriel was never adept with handling the delicate parts of tiny machinery. Instead, he turned his interests to the software industry that was just becoming popular in his young, adult life. He found that logic and problem solving better suited his skills, and he excelled in his field.Adriel's elder sister had taught him to read and write at the age of three. Due to boredom suffered from structured learning, he sought to educate himself from his youth. In his adult life he spent decades studying ancient history and various writings, mostly centering around Christian and Judaic literature. Some of his studies he opted to conduct in the pre-translated, original language to gain a clearer understanding.Always frustrated with the structure and politics of organized religion, he sought relationships according to the instruction of the Messiah, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst." Adriel recognized that the Messiah's name was synonymous with his authority, which is Truth, and that any group larger than three brought annoying problems.Adriel and his fellows departed from the mainstream teaching of the established religions and embarked on a journey that led them on a quest for intrinsic Truth. Through many enlightening revelations and miraculous experiences, Adriel came to recognize that much of what is taught today concerning the Creator and his anointed one is rubbish. He forsook the erroneous cliches, rhetoric and discrepancies of the religious culture and embraced Truth, which is available to any man anywhere at any time.Although it was contrary to Adriel's belief system to share his findings in a rhetorical document, in his latter years he decided to envelop them into works of fiction to be enjoyed by others. He has developed several stories with elements of actual experiences and enlightenment for others to enjoy and ponder.

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Adriel Chevalier Book Series

False Antichrist - 2016

The Gold of Ophir - 2018

Noah’s Portal - 2019

Zanzibar - 2020

The Precinct Murders - 2020

Where the Chips Fell - 2020

COVID-21 - 2020

The Templar Secret - 2020

The Geneticist - 2021

Midnight Marauder - 2021

The Ribbon Maker - 2022

The Seven Peals of Thunder - 2022

To the Reader

The intimate encounters in this episode often left me speechless. The barrier of language does not permit adequate explanation of the experiences that I enjoyed during this project. I have done my best to convey what I could with words, but until one walks the golden highway naked and unashamed, it cannot be fully comprehended. My hope is that you all share the same.

I had to change names and locations to protect the anonymity of others, and any similarities to persons living or dead are merely a coincidence.

All my love,

Adriel

THE GOLD OF OPHIR

Adriel Jacques Chevalier

Copyright © 2018 Adriel Jacques Chevalier

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9780463939796

CHAPTER ONE

Negotiations

THERE’S NO WAY I’m signing that nondisclosure agreement, Eddie. It’s ludicrous. Have you lost your mind?

Eddie pushed the damned thing closer to me across my kitchen table. Adriel, don’t be ridiculous. I’m negotiating eight figures each for us to do this mission.

You know I’m not lured by the money. In fact, I’m really skeptical that they would be willing to offer that kind of compensation. Do you have any idea what you are getting us into?

Yeah, I do! We have a chance to go down in history as the guys who saved this country financially.

Oh my god! Eddie, in the past you have accused me of being idealistic and an unrealistic dreamer, but now I’m doubting your sanity. First of all, there’s no way I’m signing that nondisclosure agreement. No one has ever found this place that they are talking about. How in world do you think I can find it?

Well, if anyone knows where to find it, my best bet is that you can.

I seriously doubt that. Besides, this agreement prohibits me from even telling Evelyn what I’m doing. She’s not going to agree to let me get involved in anything that she doesn’t know about.

Really, Adriel? You sure kept her in the dark last time when we moved to Orlando to prevent a devastating global catastrophe.

You can’t possibly compare this sham to what we did before. It wasn’t my idea to do it in the first place. I didn’t have a choice.

That’s not true. You always have a choice, and you know it, Adriel. I’ll admit that choosing not to do it would have resulted in turning this world upside down, but if you hadn’t done it, my guess is that someone else was waiting in the wings to step in.

There’s no way to know that. Besides, being called by the Creator of the universe to save this world is a far cry from what you want me to do. You know darn well that I hate the idea of getting involved in the economy of this nation. Actually, it’s the entire global economy. If I did find this place, can you imagine the trouble it would cause? There’s no way we can do this.

That’s interesting, you just as much as admitted that you can find this place. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be concerned for the outcome. Eddie pushed the agreement even closer to me.

Damn it, Eddie! Stop pushing that infernal thing toward me. I’m not signing it! It’s too restrictive.

Well, if you had gone with me to D. C., you could have negotiated a different agreement with the delegates of the U. S. Treasury, but instead you left it all to me because you are afraid of flying.

Afraid? You know I can’t stand the motion of an airplane. I stopped flying over a decade ago. You know what happened to me. I don’t ever want to fly again. I can’t believe that you did sign that agreement. In fact, you’ve already violated it by disclosing it to me.

Eddie jumped up from the table and started to pace the kitchen. That’s because I never dreamed that you would resist signing it. We’ll never have to work another day in our lives. Come on, Adriel! Chances like this are extremely rare. What’s the big deal? So you might have to fly across the world. So what? We’ll be fixed for life with this kind of money.

First of all, I like what I do for a living, and I don’t care if I have to do it till the day I die. Secondly, you know I don’t trust anyone. You’re talking about the feds. Do you really want to get into bed with these guys? They’ll own us.

Eddie gave a long, deep sigh and stood behind his chair holding the back with both hands. You know, Adriel, I really hoped that it wouldn’t come to this, but you need to understand something. I hated it when Eddie gave me that look. It reminded me of a physician getting ready to tell me that I had cancer. They know what we did.

I snapped to attention. What do you mean they know what we did?

They know everything, Adriel. They know that it was you who communicated with the leaders in India and Pakistan and the President of the United States. They believe that you can still read minds and transfer thoughts to others.

I nearly swallowed my tongue. But you explained to them that I can’t do that anymore, right?

Actually, I didn’t. I was afraid that I would lose my edge in the negotiations.

Oh, Eddie! What have you done? How much did you tell them?

They knew everything. They knew where we were staying in Orlando. They knew it was my software that controlled the email message packaging. They had copies of every email that you sent to both India and Pakistan, not to mention the U. S. officials.

At this point I was nearly in tears. Are we in some kind of trouble now?

Eddie smiled and shook his head. To tell you the truth, I think they’re kind of afraid of you. Eddie started to chuckle. But don’t get too complacent. They don’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer. We can renegotiate this agreement, but you need to understand that we’re not getting out of this.

I need some time, Eddie. I really need to discuss this with Evelyn when she gets home. I can’t believe this is happening. I really don’t want to travel half way around the world. I know it’s no big deal for you. You travel all the time, but it’s a big deal to me. I can’t bear the thought of being so far away from Evelyn.

So, bring her along.

What? Can you imagine Evelyn tagging along on something like this? She would constantly be worried, and there’s no way I would put her in that kind of danger. Have you considered what would happen if anyone knew what we were doing? If we did find this place, we’d be killed immediately, and whoever killed us would step in for the gold.

We’re going to be protected by the U. S. government. What are you so worried about? Relax, Adriel.

You can’t be serious! First of all, we’re talking about quadrillions in pure gold, maybe more. When money is involved, you can’t trust anyone. Once they got what they wanted, we would be toast.

I really don’t think they want to kill the goose who laid the golden egg, Adriel. You’re far too valuable to them. Besides, they want us to fly under the radar as much as possible. There are only five people who even know about this mission. Well, six counting you.

What are you going to tell Angela? This could take months, if not years.

We’re not there yet. I have no idea how long this will take, or if you and I will be in the same place at the same time.

Whoa! I’m not doing this on my own. In fact, I’m not sure that I’m doing this at all! I don’t think you know what we’re up against. Its cliche to talk about King Solomon’s mines. It’s the gold of Ophir in the land of Havilah. Most historians don’t have a clue where this place is. They base it off of the rivers that ran out of the land of Eden, but they don’t take into account the splitting of the continents or the great deluge that covered the earth. We actually got to see that, you know.

So, you do remember before we ever got to this earth, even though you can’t read minds anymore.

Sure I do. I didn’t lose my memory, just my ability to read minds and interject thoughts in others. I still remember our lives before we came here.

And you just mentioned the split of the continents and the flood. My guess is that you might really know where this place is. You just to need to recall what happened back then.

You’re giving me too much credit, Eddie. We didn’t watch everything that was happening on earth. We were still conversing with one another and talking about our chance to come here and live.

But there’s a chance that you could locate this place, right, Adriel?

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I honestly don’t know.

OK, how much time do we have before Evelyn gets home? I’d really like to tell you the benefits of finding this place and what they intend to do with it.

She’s getting her hair done. I think she said that the hairdresser is coloring it today, so we may still have about an hour left.

Great! All they really want is for us to locate the gold, whatever that means. Once they have the location, we’re out of the picture. They will make all of the arrangements necessary to mine the gold and ship it to the U. S. Their goal is to go back onto the gold standard, eliminate the national debt and abolish all federal income tax. They think that there will be enough to fund the rejuvenation of the entire infrastructure across the nation and buy back the real estate held by foreign countries. It will economically put the U. S. in the driver’s seat for the global economy.

I tilted my head and closed one eye. Seriously? Do you really believe all that? Have you considered the ramifications of our country having that kind of power? I still think it’s incredibly dangerous to put that much money into the hands of politicians. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. What we did before was a great service to this world. In fact, more so than anyone really knows. All they knew was that we avoided a nuclear war by exposing a coup in Pakistan. What they don’t know is about the false antichrist who was behind the entire operation, who, by the way, is still at large. I never forget that. This mission doesn’t ultimately help the world. In fact, I’m afraid that it will destroy it to some degree. I know you say that they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, but I don’t see how we can agree to this. In fact, if they back me into a corner I’m liable to agree and fail purposely just to avoid this catastrophe.

Failure isn’t an option. We have to deliver to get paid.

Yeah, I don’t care about the money, Eddie. You already know that.

But I do! You may want to work the rest of your life, but I’d like to travel with Angela while we’re still young enough to enjoy it. I’m ten years behind you, and I still have another ten to be eligible for retirement. I hate to ask, but would you do this for me?

I can’t believe you’re talking like this. Since when did you get so greedy? You were never like this before.

I was alone, Adriel. I’ve never been married. I don’t have children. For the first time in my life I have someone to look forward to doing things with, and I want to enjoy it. Is that so bad?

You should know as well as anyone else that it doesn’t take money to enjoy the best things in life. Is Angela really that materialistic? After all, I really don’t know her that well, and I can’t read her mind anymore. You two have been together for less than a year. She doesn’t even know about this opportunity. What makes you think she would want this?

It’s just something that I want to do for her.

I’m not buying it. I can’t read your mind anymore, which at this point I wish I could. You’re not coming clean to me about something, and it’s frankly none of my business. I think this is a terrible mistake. Maybe we can convince the feds that these mines really don’t exist.

But you think that they do, don’t you?

I actually do.

So, do you want to lie to the federal government?

Damn it, Eddie! I feel like I’m in a straight jacket. This isn’t fair.

Well, life isn’t fair, Adriel. You know that. You can kick and scream all you want, but somehow we have to do this. I think there’s a reasonable amount of wiggle room in this nondisclosure agreement. We may need to include Evelyn and Angela and have them sign it as well, but I’m not flying solo this next time. You have to come to D. C. with me and represent yourself. Eddie pointed his finger in my face. And we’re not driving! You’re flying with me, so I don’t want to hear any excuses.

My heart sank. I had the worst feeling of dread that I had experienced since our last harrowing mission. Perhaps I was naive to think that it was all over, especially since the feds knew what we had done. Granted, they were grateful for our intervention, but they have unrealistic expectations about what I can do. It’s just a matter of time before they realize that I have little to offer. Maybe that’s good. I don’t know. The truth is, I’m afraid that I can actually find this place. I mean, I know relatively where it is, but I’m certainly not going to admit that to Eddie right now. I’m hoping we can quickly get this over with and go on with our lives, but I have the sneaking suspicion that it just won’t be that simple. One thing is for sure, nothing will ever be the same, whether I succeed or fail.

One more thing before your wife gets home, Adriel. I’m going to call my contact at the U. S. Treasury and let him know that we have reservations with the nondisclosure agreement. I’ll also tell him that we are willing to come to D. C. to renegotiate and get some questions answered. I guess at this point it won’t hurt for you to tell Evelyn about this. You haven’t signed anything. Just, please don’t get me into hot water over this. Make sure that she tells no one! I was in a stupor. Adriel! Did you hear what I just said?

I shook myself back to awareness. Sure! Of course I did. You don’t want me to get you into any trouble over the disclosure. I get it. I’ll talk to Evelyn when she gets home and let you know how it goes.

Eddie grinned. I can just hear her now, ‘Oh that damned Eddie! What has he gotten you into now?’

Actually, Eddie, I expect far worse than that.

I walked him to the front door and watched as he got into his car. A gentle rain was falling, and the leaves on the Japanese maple tree in front of the porch were starting to mature. It was still fairly cool out due to the reluctance of spring to fully set in. I stepped outside as he backed his car out of the driveway, and I sat down on the porch swing. I gave a little shiver, but it wasn’t the brisk air that caused it. I wasn’t sure how I would explain all of this to Evelyn. We had enjoyed a couple of months of normal life since my last adventure, and we were both grateful that it was over.

I remembered her tears when she realized that I could no longer read her mind. The ability that I had been given to accomplish my task was removed, and she was so relieved and happy to have me back the way I was. Well, sort of. I still have the memories of everything, and I still remember our existence before we came to this earth. I remember reading all of those minds and the twisted, painful frustrations that so many of the people suffered. I was glad that I couldn’t see that ugliness anymore. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

As I sat there trying to construct my explanation to Evelyn about what I had just learned from Eddie, an intrusive thought made me shudder. Did the feds know about my invasion into that darkened house at the end of the tunnel? My memory of that night had completely returned. Luckily, Eddie never asked me again about that time that I went exploring in the tunnel in Orlando and stumbled onto the blind woman in that house whom I encountered on one of my explorations. Eddie had flown home for Thanksgiving, and I was alone, bored, and terribly curious about the garage that sat at the end of one of the tunnel corridors. I’m wishing now that I had never entered that garage. I didn’t know that it was in the basement of another house that was owned by the same people who owned the mansion where Eddie and I were staying. Although I could read minds, I couldn’t detect all that someone knew. I could only read current thoughts, and whenever Eddie was in contact with the vacationing home owners where we stayed, they never had a thought about their blind daughter living in that house. Most of all, I felt terrible about frightening that poor young lady. I had exited the house so quickly and ran so fast down that corridor that when I looked back to see if anyone might be following, I ran smack into the wall of the intersecting corridor. I lost my memory, and I couldn’t recall what had transpired over the last couple of weeks. It took several months for my memory to completely return, and along with it, the embarrassment of my stupidity over being so curious. Oh, I hope the feds haven’t figured that out, but they probably have. A police report was filed. I know that for sure, and Evelyn flew to Orlando to take me to the hospital. That was the link that established that I was in Orlando, which is where they had traced the origination of the emails.

That raised another question. When did the feds figure out it was Eddie and me who perpetrated the investigation into the coup in Pakistan? They had hired him to find whoever was sending emails to the President and the eastern prime ministers because of his software package that he had intended to market to the government years before. He had published a website to introduce the software into the marketplace to see if there was any interest. The government technical staff that was assigned to find us recognized the similarities in the design, but Eddie never finished the software package. He had gotten sidetracked and shelved it until I asked for his help with the emails that I needed to be untraceable. I know when they hired him they had suspicions, but they didn’t really think that it was Eddie behind the software that enabled me to communicate incognito. My guess is that they finally made the link between the hospital visit in Orlando when Evelyn took me in for my concussion. Evelyn was right, it was only a matter of time before they connected the dots with me being in Orlando and Eddie being my friend. As relieved as I am that I can no longer read minds, it would surely come in handy right now.

I heard the low growl of Evelyn’s Nissan Maxima and looked up as she was pulling into the driveway. I felt so unprepared. I knew she would be upset and there was no way to sugar coat this situation. It was going to be painful no matter what. I took a few really deep breaths before I stood up and went back inside. I heard the overhead garage door going down as she entered the laundry room through the service door. She was in a good mood, and I dreaded spoiling it for her.

What do you think? Evelyn twirled around for me to appreciate her hair.

Frankly, it looks the same to me.

Oh, don’t be silly. Amber trimmed the ends and covered up the grey roots and gave it some highlight.

Evelyn’s hair was light blonde to begin with, and I didn’t see the advantage of covering any grey. I rather liked the platinum look, but kept my mouth shut about such things. Instead, I decided to step closer to feign interest by analyzing it closely. My goodness, she sure does a good job. Your hair looks fantastic.

Evelyn smiled, kissed my cheek, and headed into the bedroom with a couple of shopping bags. She obviously had stopped somewhere on her way home. That wasn’t unusual because getting her hair done often spurred her desire to shop. Once again, I was really hating to bring her down. I decided that there was no hurry to explain my dilemma and decided to let her revel in her good spirits for at least a few hours. I needed to fix dinner, and I decided to let her choose whatever she wanted to eat this evening. Naturally, I was going to ply her with a few glasses of wine during and after dinner to soften her spirits. This was a real gamble because the effects of the alcohol could send her in two very different directions. I was taking a chance here.

I didn’t waste any time. I chose a great Pinot Noir from Oregon, which I knew she really enjoyed. As I pulled the cork, I heard her call from the bedroom, Did Eddie stop by to talk to you this afternoon? You mentioned that he was supposed to come over.

I walked into the bedroom with her glass of wine as she was pulling her sweatshirt over her head. I always appreciated her pink sweats that she wore around the house. She looked so beautiful, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much in love with her I was. My heart was sinking as I tried to determine when to explain all of this. It had to be tonight. I handed her the glass of wine, and she took a sip. Oh, thank you, dear. I really love this wine. This is the one from Oregon, isn’t it?

You have a distinguishing palate my dear. I was using my sophisticated tone to amuse Evelyn. She gave me a sideways glance and a grin as she headed for the kitchen. I trailed along behind her and fetched my glass of wine.

We sat down on the back porch in our rocking chairs when she started to ask about Eddie. She hadn’t seen Eddie since he and Angela had come over for dinner the night that Eddie introduced her to Evelyn. Since then, she had expected to hear of a wedding announcement, but I rather doubted that would happen. She didn’t know Eddie the way that I did, and he wasn’t a traditionalist in the least. Evelyn had a Catholic background, and things were fairly black and white to her. So, are Eddie and Angela tying the knot soon?

I think Eddie prefers not getting string involved with Angela. I was trying to keep things light, but I could feel myself being sucked into the funnel. I wasn’t going to be able to put this off. Maybe I could wait until her second glass of wine, but certainly no longer. I tried to change the subject. So what would you like for dinner tonight?

Oh, I really don’t care. Why don’t you choose?

Are you in the mood for steak, chicken, or fish?

Certainly not fish. How about grilling a steak?

Sounds good and simple. I’ll steam some broccoli to go along with it. Evelyn and I had started following a low carb diet. She sometimes complained, but as I told her, she could eat whatever she wanted every fourth day. Today was not a carb day. Evelyn was in great shape. She exercised everyday at work and kept herself slim and trim. I appreciated her diligence in that department. She would never allow me to be present when she weighed herself, but I estimated her at about 110 pounds. No matter, she always looked great to me.

I jumped up to busy myself in the kitchen. That would give the wine more time, but dinner would be ready in half an hour. As I went out to light the grill, Evelyn was attending to the many plants on our back porch. She felt the leaves to determine if they needed water. Apparently all was well because she didn’t make a move for the watering can. I kept my eye on her as much as possible to determine when I could refill her wine glass. She was drinking slower than I had hoped, but it really didn’t take much to get her relaxed.

As I was washing the broccoli, Evelyn sauntered into the kitchen and stood behind me to give me a loving hug. I could tell that the wine was doing its trick. I turned to kiss her and hold her for a minute. I then reached over, snagged the wine bottle, and refilled her glass. She smiled, raised her glass, and kissed me. The stage was set. The question was whether to start the conversation during dinner or after. I would play it by ear.

The coals in the grill were glowing white and ready for the steaks. I coated two ribeye steaks with Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and took them outside. The cooking grid was nice and hot, and the steaks sizzled as I dropped them onto the grill. I headed back inside to microwave the broccoli for a few minutes and returned to the steaks. I turned them a little to create crosswise grill marks and waited another minute. I then flipped them to repeat the same on the other side. Evelyn and I liked our steaks very rare with a cold center, so it didn’t take long to have this dinner on the table where we sat on the back porch ready to discuss the day’s events and enjoy our meal.

She was nearly finished with her second glass of wine, and I poured her another half glass. The conversation was light, and I really can’t recall what she talked about because all I could think of was how to introduce this bad news. Apparently, my mood was far too transparent, as Evelyn put her fork down, looked me in the eye, and said, What’s troubling you? You haven’t heard a word I’ve said for the last five minutes.

I felt a lump in my throat. The moment of truth had arrived. Evelyn, I have some disturbing news, and I wanted to hold off telling you as long as I could tonight because I didn’t want to spoil your mood.

Adriel, you need to tell me because whatever this is, it’s going to disrupt our evening if you go on like this. It’s about Eddie, isn’t it?

Yes, it is. There’s something that I have been keeping to myself because I hoped that it would go away without incident. However, I’m afraid that it can’t be avoided. Do you remember when Eddie and Angela came over for dinner, and Eddie and I came out here to the back porch to talk while you and Angela cleared the dinner table?

I think so. That was before dessert, right?

Yes, it was. Eddie pulled a letter from his jacket that he had received from the U. S. government about a lucrative proposal that they wanted him to consider.

That sounds pretty positive, Adriel. So what’s the problem?

The problem is that they want him and me to locate a particular gold mine. Now before you say anything, you need to know that they have connected all the dots, and they know about everything that Eddie and I did with India and Pakistan.

Evelyn pushed her plate forward and stood up. I could see the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, and my heart was breaking. Our lives are going to be turned upside down again, aren’t they? The tears spilled down her cheeks.

I immediately jumped up and held her tightly. I whispered softly, I’m afraid so. I held her for several minutes as she and I silently wept. I knew the memories of my last ordeal were streaming through her head. The last thing I wanted to do was put her through another stressful experience, and I knew that it would last a very long time. There would be no consoling her. I didn’t even mention the compensation that was being negotiated because she wouldn’t agree to suffer this for a billion dollars. Evelyn excused herself to go to the bathroom, and I put our leftover meals into containers to store in the fridge. I had hoped to get through dinner before disappointing her, but I couldn’t hide my consternation long enough. I contemplated opening another bottle of wine. I walked into the bedroom and found her lying on her side in bed. Sweetie, why don’t I open a second bottle of wine, and we go back out to the porch to discuss this. There are a lot of details that you need to know, and we really can’t afford to waste much time. Evelyn was silent. I walked around the bed to face her, and tears were still streaming from her eyes. I grabbed a tissue and began to gently wipe them from her face.

She took the tissue from my hand and sat up. I suppose you’re right. I need some time to prepare, but I know that I won’t get it. Open that wine, and we’ll get started. Evelyn was putting on her stoic face as she stood and walked out of the bedroom. Her emotional explosion hadn’t happened yet, but I knew it was coming. She was going to start blaming everyone and ranting about how stupid we were to disclose Orlando as the origination for the emails. Yes, it was Eddie who naively had pointed the feds to Orlando because they already suspicioned that’s where the emails originated. I had forgotten to tell him that Evelyn had taken me to the hospital that day before he returned from his Thanksgiving holiday. When I had told Evelyn, she exploded and said that we were being too careless and not communicating properly. Eddie traveled a lot, and flights to Orlando weren’t nearly as suspicious as me having a hospital visit there. Besides, Eddie wasn’t even in Orlando when some of the more important emails were made. Again, I was assuming that’s how the feds figured it out. I could be wrong.

When I walked into the kitchen, Evelyn wasn’t in sight. I figured she had already taken a seat on the back porch, so I opened a bottle of Merlot and headed out to join her. She was rocking vigorously in her chair, which I knew to be a sign of great stress for her. I handed her a full glass of wine. There was no more sipping. She took three gulps and set the glass on the side table. This was going to be a long night.

I began. From what Eddie explained, it appears that the U. S. Treasury department wants us to locate a gold mine that no one has ever been able to find. It’s supposedly the origin of the gold used by King Solomon of Israel, and it’s rumored that there is an incredible lode to be found there. No one really knows for sure. So far, seekers have looked in the wrong places mostly due to other articles that were supposedly brought from the same region. They don’t seem to take into account that the earth and surrounding geography and resources have changed considerably since that time. Evelyn remained silent and continued rocking in her chair. I could see that she was thinking intently. I continued. Once Eddie and I locate the mine, our task is complete. According to Eddie they are willing to pay us eight figures each. I know that’s ambiguous, but when you consider that the lowest of that amount is ten million dollars, it’s a considerable sum. Still no response from Evelyn, not even a glimmer. Eddie seems confident that if this mine exists that I can find it. The problem is…

Evelyn turned her chair toward me and glared with her penetrating eyes, stopping me in mid-sentence. I was a little frightened that she showed no signs of inebriation, but distinct clarity instead. You want to do this, don’t you? We’ve been married for almost thirty-five years, and the only reservation you have is that you don’t want to put me through another ordeal. If it weren’t for me, you’d jump at this chance, wouldn’t you?

I closed my eyes. Evelyn knew me better than I knew myself. I had been deluding myself into thinking that I didn’t want to do this, but given my knowledge and former studies, not to mention the abilities that I had received from the Creator, I was certainly most likely to succeed. I couldn’t deny it. You may be right, Evelyn. It is the chance of a lifetime, and if I didn’t try, I would probably wonder what would have happened if I did. I just can’t do this to you. Besides, it’s going to require me to travel abroad, and that in itself is very distasteful. I really dread that aspect, not to mention that this is a very dangerous mission.

I don’t want you to do it. I have to be honest. I don’t want to lose you due to an impulse of greed that is perpetrated by our government. I know you, and I know you can’t stand the premise on which this proposal is built. It goes against everything you believe. Besides that, you haven’t been called by God to do this. It’s the greed of mankind that is fueling this preposterous endeavor. How could you possibly agree to this?

I’m not sure. Everything happens for a reason. The fact that it appears that I can’t just refuse is a definite concern for me. It also just might be part of the plan that the Creator has for me. I really don’t know.

Well, you really didn’t know the last time you got involved in one of these schemes. You weren’t sure what was happening for quite a while. What will they do if you refuse?

I really don’t know the answer. Eddie said that they weren’t willing to take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m sure he is negotiating an astronomical figure for our compensation, but does it really matter? It’s not about the money. Oh sure, I’m intrigued that they think I can find this place, and you know I like a challenge. I just don’t like the danger that comes with it. By the way, we can’t mention this to anyone. Do you understand?

What do you take me for? Of course we can’t mention this to anyone, whether you do it or not. First of all, I doubt that anyone would believe it, but I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to hear about it. Where do things stand right now? I really don’t trust Eddie to represent you in any way. You can’t let that happen.

I know that. He is contacting the Treasury Department to set up a meeting so that I can sit down with everyone and renegotiate the nondisclosure agreement.

Nondisclosure? You failed to mention a contract. Has it really gone that far?

I’m afraid so. Eddie brought the contract over today, and I refused to sign it. It’s far too restrictive to the point that I wouldn’t have been able to tell even you.

Well, that cat is out of the bag. For the first time, Evelyn giggled.

Yeah, Eddie is concerned about me telling you. He doesn’t want to get into any trouble over the disclosure.

Oh, that damned Eddie! He’s always concerned about himself.

Evelyn gave me a quizzical look as I burst into laughter. He said that you would say something like that.

Of course he did. He knows full well that he never has your best interests at heart. I still feel like strangling him over leaving you alone in Orlando. He expected for you to miss your family holiday, but by damn he wouldn’t miss his own.

Let’s not get started on that. We still have a lot to discuss. He even mentioned me bringing you along on this mission.

What?! That’s preposterous! I’m not taking my valuable vacation time to do something this crazy. He’s out of his mind.

I already told him that I wouldn’t want you in that kind of danger.

This all sounds too crazy, Adriel. I have so many questions. We need to write all of this down so that you don’t forget what to ask. When are you supposed to meet with these people?

I have no idea. Eddie is going to contact them.

You call Eddie right now and tell him not to set any meetings without your consent. We need time to prepare.

I agree. We paused while Evelyn filled her wine glass. I gave Eddie a quick call and explained that I needed to be involved in setting up the meeting with the feds. I had to have time to build a list of questions for them to answer before I could begin to consider this. He wanted to know how Evelyn was taking it, but I refused to discuss that with him. I cut the conversation short so that Evelyn and I could continue.

Evelyn returned to her chair and was in sipping mode once again. Adriel, this all sounds like a bad dream. I’m hoping that I will wake up, and it will be morning, and all of this will just go away.

I hear you. I wish the same. Let’s get ready for bed because if we open another bottle of wine, we will be sleeping in our clothes.

How true, Evelyn admitted. We retired to the bathroom to change into our pajamas and brush our teeth. We decided to stay in the bedroom to finish our wine. If we fell asleep, at least we would wake up in the right place. Evelyn settled in with a pen, paper, and her glass of wine. I think she enjoyed making lists. You need to negotiate a specific contract to solidify your responsibilities, job description, compensation, timeframe, what the government will provide, etc.

Evelyn, I think you will probably have a better idea than I do as to what should be asked. Keep writing, and we can review it later. I was already feeling sleepy, and I was exhausted from the consternation of telling her about this. I started drifting off. Every time I opened my eyes, she was feverishly writing on her pad of paper. I smiled. It felt good to have such a wonderful advocate in my corner looking out for me.

I awoke long before dawn. I looked over and saw that Evelyn had fallen asleep with her glasses on. Her pad of paper was lying on top of her, and the pen was abandoned in the bed. Her empty wine glass was sitting on her night stand, and her light was still on. I slipped out of bed, carefully removed her glasses, grabbed the pen, paper pad, and wine glass, turned off her light, and headed for the kitchen. I was trying to clear my head and make sense out of our new reality. I was beginning to question the idea of reality. It was so subjective that it disturbed me. I rinsed out the wine glasses and put them into the dishwasher. It was still very early, but I decided to start a pot of coffee. I plopped down on the living room couch as the coffee brewed.

Once again, I was wondering where the Creator was in all of this. How could I possibly be put into this position without his approval of it being the best opportunity for my life? I had experienced so much in the last year. If I learned one thing, it was that the Creator never allowed anything in my life that didn’t have the potential of being what is best for me. Could I prove that? Of course not, but I had learned to live by faith in that premise. So where was my faith in this new predicament? Why did this seem so inevitable? Would it really matter if I accepted or refused? Would the Creator use either circumstance for my good? As much as I thought that I had learned up to this point in my life, I realized that I still had a lot more to learn. There is a reason that we don’t have all of the answers before having to make a life altering decision. It’s because we are expected to live by faith, and that does not settle well with the logic pattern of this world. I had to remember that my fear of the danger, or my distaste for flying in an airplane, or my separation from Evelyn were merely my worldly concerns that fought against my opportunity for faith. Then again, those who live by faith appear to be terribly deluded and out of touch with reality. So which was I? Did it really matter?

I often viewed myself as a mere paintbrush in the hand of the Great Artist. He could do with me as he pleased. It wasn’t my agenda that mattered, but his will for my life. If I am the paintbrush, then where does my free will come into place? Obviously, it had to do with me allowing him to do as he pleased with me to accomplish his will. I wouldn’t deny that, but should we succumb to every strong wind that blows, assuming that is the will of our Creator to follow? Once again, living by faith does not produce concrete proof or direction. I realized that my decision would not be backed with logic or merit. If I chose a faith based direction, it would seem insane to those who don’t know the secret of living by faith. I finally had my answer.

The coffee had finished brewing. I filled my cup and reached for the stevia. I had given up using creamer in the last few months, and surprisingly my arthritis improved. I sat back down on the couch to further contemplate my direction. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t signing any documents. The nondisclosure did nothing but jeopardize my own welfare. I certainly had no intention of disclosing anything simply because that would not be in my best interests. I didn’t care about the compensation. If I am supposed to pursue this endeavor, it will transpire according to the will of the Creator. I wanted no strings attached. I decided to call Eddie in the morning and explain it all to him. Evelyn would be terribly disappointed that I was not going to use her list to negotiate anything. This world became what it is because men took control rather than submit to the direction and will of the Creator. What we never realized was that we truly were not in control. It was an illusion and self deception. The problem lay within the attitude of the heart and the unwillingness to be that paintbrush in the hand of the Creator. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it with total trust in my Creator and not worry about the outcome. I knew this was going to be unpleasant, but we’re called to do whatever he wills, and this life is not the prize to be attained, but the means of exercising our faith to achieve the eternal reward, but not according to what most men think. The concept of heaven and hell had been grossly misconstrued. I knew it couldn’t be what so many say that it is.

I decided to return to bed and rest until Evelyn had slept to her heart’s content. It was Sunday morning, and she could sleep in. As I lay there sorting through my thoughts, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber. I awoke to the sound of the toilet flushing. Evelyn was up, but I wasn’t willing to open my eyes yet. I felt her quietly slip back into bed, and I rolled close to her to hold her tightly. She rubbed my arm and kissed me. She gently whispered, Let’s wait until the sun comes up.

Evelyn and I had opted to have brunch at a cafe in a nearby village that we enjoyed. I didn’t care for restaurants, but I could tolerate breakfast food in a restaurant more than most other fare. I always had a difficult time deciding between lox, bagel, and cream cheese or the Eggs Benedict. One thing was for sure, we were each having two or three of their wonderful cappuccinos. I hadn’t yet told Evelyn about my plans. We had enjoyed a great morning together and shared a long shower before coming to the restaurant. I certainly didn’t want to spoil her mood. Admittedly, there was a selfish aspect involved, but there was no urgency in disclosing my intentions with this new mission opportunity. After we had our fill of coffee and brunch, Evelyn wanted to peruse the village shops after making a stop in the restroom. I agreed. We had no plans for the day, and she always enjoyed looking at all of the knick knacks and art that were on display. Luckily, we never bought anything because I was never a fan of all those trinkets. Our home was filled with my own paintings, so we never considered hanging anything else on our walls.

Much to my pleasure, once we got home Evelyn decided that we should return to the bedroom to rest a while. So we did. We both awoke to the doorbell ringing. I grabbed my robe and headed to the front door. It was Eddie. Eddie! What in the world are you doing here? I was further surprised to see Angela standing behind him. My goodness! Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming?

I did, Adriel, about an hour ago. Didn’t you get my message? Eddie looked me up and down. Well, apparently not. How about you get dressed while we wait in the living room?

Excellent idea, I agreed. As I returned to the bedroom, Evelyn was pulling on her sweat pants. I could tell by her body language that she was perturbed. Calm down, dear. I had no idea that he was coming over today. He said he sent a message an hour ago, and sure enough, here it is on my phone. We must have been sleeping again. Evelyn didn’t say a word. She ran her fingers through her hair and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

Eddie wasn’t a coffee drinker, so I offered him a bottle of water. Angela, on the other hand, was quite a coffee drinker, and Evelyn was pouring her a cup when I suggested to Eddie that we step outside to talk. Rather, he wanted all four of us to discuss the matter at hand. I got really uncomfortable at this point because I still had not told Evelyn about my decision as to how I was going to handle this. I was a little disturbed until I remembered that everything happens for a reason. I just wished I had more time with Evelyn to discuss it before disclosing it to Eddie. I knew this would set her off, and I didn’t want her to explode in front of them. Eddie, could you please excuse Evelyn and me for a minute? There’s something that I need to tell her before we get started.

Sure, Adriel, no problem.

I took Evelyn by the elbow and led her back to the bedroom. She was a little confused as I closed the door and turned to her. Sweetie, I need to tell you something that I should have mentioned much earlier today.

Oh no! Now what? Evelyn’s worried face returned.

I am taking a very different direction than what we discussed last night.

Why am I not surprised? Evelyn was shaking her head.

I’ll explain the reasoning behind it all later after they’re gone, but for now I need you to go along with me and just listen. I’m so sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but I had no idea they were coming over today. Evelyn rolled her eyes and agreed to keep silent.

We returned to the living room and shared a seat on the piano bench facing Eddie and Angela. So, what brings you two here? I assume you want to discuss our direction with this new opportunity.

Eddie began, Absolutely. I have told Angela everything that the U. S. Treasury discussed with me, and I also tried to explain the pitfalls to agreeing to do this.

Interesting, I interjected. And you think you know what those pitfalls are?

Well, I obviously don’t know all of them, but I know this is a dangerous endeavor, and we need to be protected as much as possible. You mentioned that you had a list of questions, and I think we should pool our resources to complement the list before we present it to the feds.

I glanced over at Evelyn. Actually, I have changed my mind on this. I’ll agree to find the mine, but I won’t sign any papers.

Eddie just stared at me. He was usually never at a loss for words. He blinked a few times and then stammered. You, you, you what? What do you mean that you aren’t signing anything? We have a nondisclosure and a proposal to accept. The feds aren’t going to proceed without signed documents to cover their asses.

Well, if they want to cover their asses, they can kiss mine, I countered. I could hear Evelyn giggle softly.

Adriel, I don’t think you understand. This is a business agreement. This isn’t the type of thing that you just shake hands on and assume that everyone is going to do what is expected. There’s a considerable amount of money involved here.

I realize all that, Eddie, but I don’t care about the money. I know you do. You can sign your life away if that’s what you really want, but that’s not what I intend to do. This will be pro bono on my part. Evelyn turned to me with widened eyes. I reached over and patted her on the knee as a reminder to keep silent.

Adriel, this is ridiculous. This will never work. There’s no way they will agree to such a thing.

Well, they can take it or leave it. I can assist in finding the mine, but I won’t spend any of my own resources to do it. I will also need to work while I am helping them, so I will need Internet access wherever I am. If I don’t expect to be rewarded, I certainly do expect for them to meet my needs. Otherwise, I will return home, and they will be on their own.

Well, I’m flabbergasted. I really don’t know what to say at this point. Eddie didn’t notice the smile on Angela’s face. I then realized that Evelyn and Angela were smiling at one other. Eddie put his hands on his knees and pushed himself into a standing position. He was shaking his head, and his mouth was open, but no words were coming out. He looked over at Angela and extended his hand. She stood as she grabbed his hand, and he finally spoke. I really don’t know where to go from here, Adriel. I guess I’ll be in touch after I talk to the feds. I suppose this means that you have no intention of going to D. C. with me.

You are correct. I have nothing to negotiate. If they can’t meet my needs at any point then I will discontinue to help them. It’s really quite simple.

Actually, it’s not quite that simple. I’ll let you know what they say. Eddie escorted Angela to the door. Evelyn and I followed. Eddie never said another word. We watched him back his car out of the drive and then returned to the kitchen. We each poured another cup of coffee and headed to the back porch to talk.

Evelyn gave me one of her looks that said, I hope you really know what you’re doing.

I sat in my rocker and positioned myself to start explaining. Wow, honey! You must really think I’m crazy that this point.

Oh, Adriel, we passed that point many years ago. There’s no amount of money that would get me to agree to this horrible assignment, but doing it for free? Where did that come from?

I was up early this morning thinking about all of the components involved in this dilemma. The compensation they are offering is a worldly carrot to entice me to do the job. Any onlooker would assume that I took the assignment for the money. If I’m supposed to be an example to all as to how we should live by faith, I cannot accept the money. The Creator promised to take care of me, and as much as I may find it unpleasant, he will also supply what I need to be able to fly across the world, confront any danger, and guide me according to his will. We may talk about living by faith, but if we don’t put it to practice, it’s useless.

I understand that, Adriel, but shouldn’t you be compensated for this as you are for your job? After all, this is just another contract, but not according to your vocation.

Exactly! It’s not according to my vocation. It’s according to certain gifts and opportunities that were freely given to me. I have freely received, and I should freely give. The resources that I need to use were not gained through worldly means, they were granted to me by the Creator. There’s no way I can accept compensation. I do expect to have my expenses paid because that is their cost of doing business.

Business, exactly! Just like Eddie explained, this is a business contract. This is nothing like what you did when you had to stop the world crisis.

It may not seem so to you, but the more I thought about it, I realized that the means in which this was presented to me made no difference. The Creator can call us in any way he sees fit. If he is using the federal government, then I see no difference in that than I do in starting to read people’s minds, which is how it started last time. If he isn’t calling me to do this, it will go nowhere.

I understand your convictions, Adriel, but I don’t always agree with them. Do you really think they will go along with you on this?

It doesn’t matter. If the Creator has a reason for me to do this, it will happen no matter what. I just need to be true to my faith. Otherwise, I can’t be certain that the direction I take will be the right one. At least I did learn that from my last experience.

Well, now I feel far worse than I did yesterday. At least yesterday I had some consolation of financial freedom, but now it’s nothing but dread.

That is quite a worldly perspective, Evelyn. The joy of living by faith brings peace, joy, comfort, patience, understanding, love, forgiveness, compassion, gentleness, meekness, kindness and encouragement. I don’t need their money. My faith will transcend anything that the money will buy. Don’t get too wrapped up in this three-dimensional world. It will one day pass away, and if you sacrifice your opportunity to exercise faith by entertaining worldly distractions, you can’t get that back.

I believe what you are saying is true, but it’s hard not to accept the money.

It’s all a choice Evelyn. Love and faith are both choices that we must make to serve others. In fact, true love emanates from faith. Another thing I realized this morning is that what appears to be the situation is based on our perspective. I am quite certain that the true reality of this is far different from what we are thinking. If I remove the obstacles that would skew my perspective and just approach this all by faith, I have a better opportunity to see this for what it really is. I certainly don’t trust the feds, especially knowing the things I learned from my last endeavor. I have to trust the Creator to reveal to me what I need to know, and I must be careful not to be encumbered with greed or any other worldly diversions.

"Oh, Adriel, I