***
Normally she was not a forward girl. Normally, in fact, she was very, very shy. In fact, it had taken all her nerve to come to this debate tonight, even to be an anonymous student amongst a gathering several hundred strong. She had deliberately sat in a poorly-lit segment, far enough back that she couldn’t really make out the features of the speakers. Even so, she had known which one was Dr. Barram, if only because he was the one who wasn’t her professor. As the two had debated, the girl had felt a stirring in her chest- a sort of opening feeling, a blossoming that centered around her heart. The things that Dr. Barram had said- they were borderline heretical, but they’d spoken to her in a way all her studies of other people’s interpretation of the Word never had. She had suddenly realized maybe she wasn’t as much a Believer as she’d always thought she’d been- but that she wanted to be.
It was this feeling that had her waiting in a darkened hallway, watching Dr. Barram’s back as he bade a warm farewell to the group of students who had come up to compliment him on the debate. Most didn’t agree with him, of course, but they had a lot of admiration for the points he’d made. She wasn’t sure what she would say to him- but for the first time in her life she felt she might die if she didn’t let a person pass by without greeting.
As though he was expecting her, the man turned and walked over to her quasi-hiding place.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m John Barram.”
“I know,” she whispered. “My name is Mirriam.”
“I thought it might be,” he smiled.
“You look much younger than I thought you were,” she flushed as soon as she said it, mortified he might think she was a star-struck student hitting on him. The burning lightness in her chest did feel like she had always imagines love would feel, but it was for the Message- not the messenger.
“I get that a lot,” he said, his smile broadening, “And it’s only because it’s true. You would never credit me with my actual age.”
“I’m so sorry, that was rude of me,”
“Not at all; it was not said with malice. Come, Mirriam, walk with me.”
For a long time neither of them said anything, as they made their way down the winding paths of campus, into the deepening twilight. Normally Mirriam would have felt uneasy to be alone with a strange man in the dark, but now all she felt was peace- and anticipation.
“Would you like to hear a story, Mirriam?” He paused at a bench beneath a lamp, gestured for her to sit down. She liked how he kept saying her name- it made it sound almost sacred.
“Yes please, Dr. Barram.”
“You may call me John, if you’d like.”
“Yes please, John.”
“It’s a love story- although not a romance.”
“That’s alright. I like love stories.”
“I thought you might.” He hooked his hands behind his head and tilted his head skyward, as though to stare at the stars. His eyes were closed, however, and Mirriam wondered what he was seeing that gave such a wistful curve to his lips.
“Once upon a time, so very, very long ago, there was a man who was more than a man, and he was called, amongst other things, Joshua. Joshua had a great message to deliver, and to aid him in his endeavor he gathered about him many disciples. One of these disciples was a young man who had loved Joshua for as long as he could remember, and do you know what? His, too, was called John…”
Wow, I like this one too. The small hints of foreshadowing on John is great.
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