Excerpt: Promise Land

Katherine remembered when she went to class as a child, her mother was her teacher for four years. She was a tough teacher, with a soft heart and Katherine did not get special treatment just because she was her daughter. Camille made Katherine call her Mrs. Malcolm or Ma'am at all times during the school day and that transferred into daily life, even now, Katherine called her mother Ma'am. She could hear the lesson that was being taught and she knew her mother was touching on the prophecy of their first Prophet, the recently resting Prophet. Camille was giving the story as to how Promise Land began, why they were living where they were and what it was like above them. Katherine leaned against the cave wall and listened, with the white linen curtain covering the window between her listening ears and the classroom.

"...the Prophet lay awake in his bed after the dream he had been given from God. He brought his vision back to the small group of people in his church and retold the story to the people of Promise Church. The dream was a miraculous prophecy of the days to come and what God had in store for his chosen people. My grandmother has told me that Benjamin Sterling, our Prophet, our Father and voice of God, stood in front of the congregation in that wooden barn and told his people that it was time. It was time to get ready for the day that they had been waiting for. The Prophet was 30 when he received the vision of Hell fire and demons that would one day rule our Earth and wipe out the unsaved people, the unworthy people of the planet. Everything would be engulfed in flames and damnation, famine and disease, torture and torment and those who were chosen, our ancestors were told that now was the time to give their lives to God, to give their families and its future generations to God."

Katherine knew that Camille was pacing in front of the children she taught and with a small breath, she listened for the rest of the speech, her mother never deviated from her story of the prophecy and the end was near, just in time to send the children home for preparation for dinner. Katherine leaned forward listening at the window for the last bits of the prophecy, "Fifty years ago, our people were brought down into Promise Land and given a place to live that was of God. A sinless life that has not been tainted or tampered with by evil and demons. Above us, the Earth our ancestors knew, has been engulfed in torment and Hell and for those of us who choose not to follow the path of our God will rejoin the demons of our past and live there for eternity."

Katherine knew without looking that the prophecy had stilled all the children in the room, that her mother, Camille had all of their attentions drawn on her. After a significant pause, Katherine heard her mother clap her hands three times and add, "That would be the end of class today, ladies and gentleman. Please make sure you clean up your space before you leave and remember that you must have your verses of the Grand Book memorized for presentations tomorrow." As the curtain to the school room opened, Katherine watched the young children start to file out. Most were young children ranging in age of 7 to 9. It was well known that most male children were sent to the church in their township when they turned the age of 10 when they were recommended by her mother to graduate to that life as a preacher. The cluster of children dispersed in different directions of the tunnels to get home in time to get ready for the Patience Parish devotion dinner that evening.

Once the school room had cleared out, Katherine entered the room and greeted her mother. "Mother. It is so good to see you." She gave the older woman a warm smile and stepped closer to the open arms of her mother. Her mother always smelled like roses from the greenhouses. The roses were kept in the greenhouse behind her mother's home and the scent had been known to waft to the windows of her mother's home and take over any other smells that might be detected. Katherine buried her head in her mother's shoulder and enhaled the familiar smell deeply before stepping back away from Camille and blinking the tears from her eyes. "I have been so anxious to see you. Its been a trying week in the name of God's trials and I must admit, seeing your face has lightened my heart."

"Well, then let's go home, child and prepare for the devotion. You can speak to me about the trials that God has blessed you with along your path and we can work them out together." Camille voice was a mixture of soft and commanding tones as she pulled her light blue shawl over her head and covered her deep strawberry blonde hair. The light blue of the linen fabric played tiny sparkles against her hair and the lanterns on the walls flickered the glow around her head like a halo. Katherine noticed that since the last time she had visited with her mother, a week or so before the Prophet died, her mother had a few gray strands of hair threaded through her beautiful red.