Noah (8 page)

“Please keep the baby inside,” Ila pleaded with her. “Where it’s safe. Don’t let Noah—”

Naameh put a finger on Ila’s lips. “Your baby is coming,” she said. “Don’t think about anything else.”

Ila winced as another strong contraction came. She closed her eyes, riding the waves of pain as they came and went.
Please let my baby be safe. Please let my baby be safe
.

Shem stood guard outside the tent holding his spear.

More contractions gripped Ila. Naameh squeezed her hand as she called out in pain.

Hours passed. When the pains came, Ila kept her eyes on Naameh’s face as Shem’s mother gently whispered
encouragingly to her. She thought of Shem and her birth parents and Ham and Japheth, all the people she loved. Even Noah. But she couldn’t let herself think about the baby right now… she was too afraid, too worried about Noah’s terrible threats, and what he would do.

From outside the tent, the women heard roars and a loud bang. Naameh shot a worried look at the tent entrance and then looked back at Ila.

“You are doing well, daughter. It won’t be long now.”

A new pain tore through Ila and she let out a moan. Another contraction came, and another.

“Now, Ila!” said Naameh suddenly. “Push!”

Ila obeyed. As the contractions came, Ila pushed again and again until…

A loud cry filled the air. At the sound, Shem rushed into the tent. He looked at his mother. She quickly wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed it in a basket on the floor.

“Boy or girl?” he demanded. “Which one?”

Ila watched Naameh’s face. She wanted to know too. Naameh didn’t answer him right away.

What’s wrong?
thought Ila.
Why isn’t she
…
?
Suddenly Ila felt more pains. “Naameh,” she began. “I…”

“What’s happening?” Shem asked in a panic. “What’s going on?”

Ila couldn’t speak.

Naameh’s face had turned white. “There’s another one coming,” she said.

“What?” said Shem. “Two babies?”

“Yes, twins!” Naameh said. “Two babies, my son! She turned back to Ila. “Push, Ila.”

Ila obeyed, pushing again. Soon another child emerged and cried its first breath.

Shem glanced at his mother who was holding the second baby. “Well…?”

Ila was holding her breath. She kept her eyes on Naameh’s face, waiting for the answer.

Naameh looked at the infants, and then Ila saw her face fall.

A scream had gathered in Ila’s throat even before Naameh spoke.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Naameh murmured. “The babies are sisters.”

“No!” Ila screamed. “No!”

Shem moved to Ila’s side and grabbed her hands. He kissed her tears and took a long, deep breath.

“Where’s Noah? Where’s Noah?” Ila demanded again and again. “Keep him away! Keep him away from our daughters!”

“He will not touch them,” Shem said fiercely. “I will make sure of that.”

A new fear gripped Ila as she saw Shem pick up his spear again. “Shem!” she cried.

But it was too late. Shem was already racing through the Ark to find his father.

* * *

Ila sobbed and the babies wailed. Somehow Naameh had managed to stay calm. “You must nurse them now,” she told Ila.

Ila nodded, and Naameh helped her to lift the babies to her breasts. Her mind was racing.

What was happening between Shem and his father? Could Noah be stopped without anyone being harmed? How could they protect their babies?

From far away she heard yells and loud bangs. She and Naameh exchanged worried looks. Japheth was with Naameh now, but neither of them had seen Ham for some time.

Suddenly, there was a loud scraping sound and the huge ark lurched violently. As the ship bounced and tilted, Ila held her daughters tightly. The sound of wood splintering filled the air.

Naameh gasped and rushed to look outside. “The Ark struck land!” she cried. She took a baby from Ila and bundled her up tightly. She did the same with the other infant. “We must find a safe spot for you now, daughter. A safe spot for all of you.”

* * *

Ila carried one baby while Naameh held the other as they made their way to the roof of the Ark.

“Stay here, and don’t move until I return,” Naameh
ordered. “I will see what is happening with the men and come back to let you know.”

Ila nodded, too frightened and exhausted to think for herself at the moment. She clutched the babies to her chest, praying softly.
Let us be safe. Let us be safe
…

A brisk sea breeze stirred the air. Ila shivered, though she couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion or the cold. Maybe it was both.

She gazed down at the babies, overcome with love. They were beautiful, tiny fists and dark eyes… Each had a patch of light hair.

What a miracle
, she thought, rocking them gently. She wished Shem were here with her now. Worries rippled through her. Was he safe? Would he harm Noah?

Ila wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a shout rose from below.

“It’s a boy!”

That’s Naameh
, Ila realized. And then she heard Noah’s voice.

“Move away,” he ordered. Then there were his footsteps.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

One of the babies squirmed in Ila’s arms. “Hush, little one,” she murmured. “Please don’t cry.” Desperately, she tried to soothe her. Then the other baby woke up and began to cry.

No
…
no
… Ila thought in desperation. Frantic, she was about to try to nurse them.

But then another shout came from below.

“No!” Naameh moaned. “No, Noah! You can’t touch them. They are beautiful!”

“
They?
” Noah echoed. “Are you telling me there are two?”

“You can’t kill them!” Naameh pleaded with him. “You can’t!”

Now Ila could hear his steps. He was coming up the ladder, coming closer and closer to her and her infants with every step.

Ila’s heart pounded in her chest, her prayers replaying again and again as she sobbed.
Please keep us safe. Please keep us safe.

Around her the wind picked up, and suddenly she thought of Methuselah and his blessing that day in the forest.

What had Noah once said to her…? It was the day she’d asked him about a wife for Ham. He’d said that she was a precious gift. Ila looked at her daughters. Would not he see these babies, too, as a precious gift?

All at once the air grew still. Ila closed her eyes, feeling her heart slow too. She breathed slowly, in and out, in and out, crying still but paying no attention to the sounds behind her, Noah limping toward her.

In her arms, the babies were still crying.
Are they hungry
? she wondered. Or could they could sense all the madness and violence around them?

At last he reached her.

Ila spoke softly. “Noah, please. These are my children. Your grandchildren.”

“I will not be stopped.”

Ila turned to look at him. His clothes were torn, and he was wounded, bruised, and bloodied by whatever had happened below with Shem.

Where is Shem?
she wondered again.
And Ham…?

Gazing at his face, the steely look in his eyes, Ila knew it was hopeless. She took another deep breath to collect herself and swallow her tears. “I know I cannot stop you, Noah. But my babies are crying.”

She swallowed hard. “Please don’t let them die crying. Please let me calm them. Please just… Just let them be at peace.”

He stared at her, saying nothing for a long time. And then finally he nodded.

“Thank you,” Ila whispered. She started to hum. It was a lullaby she loved, a lullaby filled with tender memories of the man who had found her and taken her into his arms like a father one night long ago.

As Ila sang, her infants hushed. Calm, at peace, they stared up at her.

“I love you,” she murmured, caressing each baby’s perfect face. Silent tears streamed from her eyes.

At last Ila stood up and turned toward Noah. He reached for the babies, but Ila shook her head. “No.”

Noah blinked in surprise. “You do not need to see this, Ila.”

“No. I won’t hand them over. I will hold them,” she declared.
I am their mother
, she thought.

Noah closed his eyes for a moment. Then he tightly gripped his knife. Behind them Ila could hear Naameh, maybe others on the roof now. But she kept her eyes pinned to Noah’s face.

“Do it quickly!” she urged him.

In his hand the knife blade glinted in the light. The babies both looked up at him, squinting and blinking.

Tears filled his eyes.

Beside him, Ila could feel something in him melt.

Then he turned from her, unable to look at her or the babies anymore.

Numbly, she watched him stumble to the edge of the Ark. He teetered there, as if he were about to fall or jump.

Slowly, his eyes lifted up toward the heavens and the
Creator. “I cannot do this.” His hand relaxed, and the knife plunged into the churning waters below.

Ila heard footsteps behind her. “Shem!” she cried in joy. He scooped up his daughters. Ila hugged him, feeling the two babies’ tiny bodies between them.

My husband. My children.

Japheth and Naameh rushed over too. There was no sign of Ham.

“Is Ham safe?” she asked Shem. He nodded. “I will explain everything later.”

Ila saw Noah stumble off, heading back down the ladder.

Just then her eyes landed on something in the sky.

It’s a dove!
she realized in amazement. The white bird was flying toward the Ark, an olive branch in its beak.

AT THE HEARTH ILA HELPED NAAMEH AND JAPHETH
stack wood for their cooking fire. Tonight there would be fish for supper, and Ila thought she’d easily be able to find some more grapes or berries as well. The floodwaters had receded months ago, and already this island showed plenty of signs of new life—vines hanging heavy with fruit, young saplings sprouting up from the earth, and colorful wildflowers all around them. Birds nested in the trees and all manner of animals were grazing on the hillsides.

Ila looked up and noticed Ham up on the hillside, gazing down at them from near where the Ark had come to rest.
The grounded ship sat behind their camp on the hillside now, worn and decayed from its time at sea.

Shem had caught sight of Ham too and suddenly called, “Japheth!” He and Japheth hurried up to the cliff that overlooked the sea, towards their brother.

I wonder what is happening
, Ila thought. But there was no more time to wonder because her daughters were already awake from their nap and crying to be picked up and fed.

She went into a tent to get them from their cradle, smiling at their sweet, still sleepy faces. Then she carried them outside, noticing how much progress Shem had already made on their home. It was a tall, sturdy-looking structure, constructed mainly from boards from the Ark.

Ila fed her babies, the sun warm on her face.
Each day it is easier
, she thought. Each day she was able to release another terrible memory, and put the past a bit further behind them.

But some of those memories would never be released, she knew. They were embedded in her family’s story now, like a thread woven inextricably through a garment.

Over time, once she had recovered from the events, Shem and Ham had told her most of what had happened on the day of their daughters’ birth.

According to Shem, Tubal-cain had managed to board the Ark during his troops’ battle with the Watchers. He was wounded badly, but Ham had found him and bandaged his wounds and brought him nourishment.

“Tubal-cain and I… we had a strange bond,” Ham had
said. “From the first time we met. I thought I wanted a way to seek revenge on Father.”

The two of them had waited for the right opportunity. Finally, on the day of Ila’s labor, Tubal-cain had instructed Ham to lure Noah to the mammal deck. He gave Ham a small knife and told him to wait.

Tubal-cain and Noah battled. And then the Ark had smashed into land, ripping a hole in the hull.

Shem had been determined to stop Noah, too, before he could hurt the babies. Not realizing what was happening between Noah and Tubal-cain, he’d brought down his spear on Noah’s head. But then Tubal-cain had come out of nowhere.

“He’s mine,” Tubal-cain had snarled, desperate to reach Noah first. He tossed Shem aside like a sack of grain.

Shem crashed hard into a beam, and Ham, who was hiding, saw his brother go down.

Tubal-cain raised a rock over Noah’s head. “The Ark, the beasts, and all of your women are now mine,” he declared. “I will build a new world. In my image!”

But before Tubal-cain could strike Noah, Ham attacked the warlord with the knife.

Ham had turned to Noah then. “Her name was Na’el,” he’d informed his father. “She was innocent! She was good!”

The story still filled Ila with grief. She never could have imagined how much her family would change, how violence and sorrow and blame would wrench them apart.

Ila put the babies down on the blanket. Shading her eyes,
she looked up at a cave carved out of the sea cliff. She could see Shem and Japheth enter the cave while Ham hung back, staying near the entrance. She saw him drop a small satchel near the cave opening, and then he turned and left.

Above she could see, too, traces of Noah’s solitary life there—the remains of a cooking fire, a basin to collect rainwater, his battered winepress.

She knew that they had gone to find their father. He would be in the same place he spent every day—on the floor of the cave, drunk and ruined.

* * *

“Ila?”

Ila was washing a cup in the small stream they used for drinking water when Ham came toward her. Her heart sank when she saw that he was dressed for travel, a bag over his shoulder.