Little Rock, Minnesota, USA

[Rainsparrow]

Zuki stood perfectly still with the rising sun at her back. She listened to the quietly falling snow and watched her breath in faint puffs. Thinking it to be perhaps the faintest sound she had ever heard, she did not move until the cold sank into her fur coat--an old relic she found in a thrift store. It made her restless but did not bother her beyond the simple decision to move forward. The snow looked bright against the scraggly evergreens lining the road. Her footsteps crunched against the frozen ground. Snow always gave her the eerie feeling of futility and solitude. God damn, I need to move south, she thought to herself each winter, but she never had the money to make it very far.

Half of an unlit joint rested behind her ear, and the whites of her eyes were spider webs of red, red veins. Willie had given her the joint before she began trudging home. "It'll warm you up kiddo," he had said as he carefully rolled it on his dining table. She accepted it with a laugh and asked to borrow a lighter she had no intention of returning. Willie wouldn't mind, though. They had never really been friends growing up, but he was impressed with the way she carried herself now. She could bicker with him in a friendly manner and had a certain charm in the way she did things. He watched her eat spaghetti straight from the pan the night before as she stood barefoot in his kitchen. She worried that he was growing fond of her, so she reminded him she was gay every chance she had.

"Why do you come around and pester me, then?" He would ask. She told him it was for the weed and the beer. There was nothing else to do on the reservation during the winter, and he was nice enough. She spent many nights sleeping on his sofa after staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning to help him work on his house. He taught her to lay tiles, paint, install cabinets, repair plumbing, and many other odd jobs. Half the time she watched him with a beer in hand and told him about her many flings with women on campus. He was the only person on the reservation who she discussed these things with, and it gave her an odd sense of relief. "I'm not your fuckin' psychiatrist," he groaned many times. She only laughed.

She pulled the joint from behind her ear and lit it, pausing in her walk to shield the flame from the wind. The walk home always seemed longer. The driveway itself was a mile long, and the bright yellow house could not be seen from the main road. As she often did on these walks, she cursed herself for leaving her car in disrepair. She cursed herself for refusing the ride Willie offered. "It's good for me," she insisted, stomping down the stairs from the porch. As she walked with the cold biting her face, she took comfort in the joint. It at least lightened her mood.

She had not seen another person since she left Willie's house. The roads were eerily quiet. This was not completely out of the ordinary. Little Rock was a rural town, and the only people who bothered waking up early on a Sunday were the few church-goers. Still, Zuki hated the silence. She loved conversation and stimulation of any sort. The restless feeling crept up on her again, and she quickened her pace a little. It was then that she lost her footing and found herself lying on her back, staring up at a gray sky. "Shiiiit," she moaned. There had been no harm done. The fall caught her off guard but didn't kill her. For one reason or another, she remained lying on the ground as she finished the joint and stared at the sky. "Shit," she said a second time, almost thoughtfully.

[Shubit]

An elderly couple and their grandson were making their way towards the First United Methodist Church. They were hardly late. The couple made good effort to wake early on Sunday to feed their grandson Kevin who was a little handful but a delight in their eyes. Once he was awake Kevin would clamber to their door and knock on it three times, belt in like their old dog and jump onto the bed shouting: "Time for Church grandma! Time for Church grandpa! It's snowing today! Eeeh!" He was perhaps the first child they knew who looked forward to praying to Jesus this early in the morning and for that they were very proud of him indeed.

'Here's your breakfast little one,' said the grandpa earlier that morning at the dinner table. They had made a stack of pancakes for his little belly with a pot of maple syrup. Grandma had been a cake designer before she retired and insisted to use the stencil kit that she had in her kitchen. Thus every week there would be a different themed pancake on the plate and today's was a pair of soldiers. Not the new sort in camouflage who showed up on the news with the cigars in their mouth (said Grandpa over the morning newspaper) but the soldiers of the past, the more regal and respected soldiers; soldiers like him before he retired.

'Now you look like a little soldier,' said Grandpa who chuckled as Grandma wrapped a scarf around Kevin and a little bobble hat.
'Don't want to catch a cold in that weather,' added Grandma. 'That snow is very heavy today,'

In the car there was a few strange happenings towards the Church. You see, they lived on a hill and down this hill was a zig-zag of roads with many traffic lights. Along every road the traffic lights mysteriously stopped on red when they approached them.

'Strange' grandpa had muttered. 'Looks like God is saying no today,' he chuckled.

'Oh Francis,' said grandma. 'Don't be silly,'

'Red red red!' said little Kevin in the back seat.

By the time they were on the main road there was 10 minutes towards the start of Mass, the snow fall was heavier and grandpa was rocking to some "Love me Tender" by Elvis when he peered through his rear mirror and said:

'Oh dear!'

'What is it?'

'I think that girl fell over!'

'Not the one we just passed? Oh that poor thing!' said grandma.

'I'll reverse on up,' said grandpa.

Of course they had to stop the car, what with this poor helpless girl laying on her back. Grandpa moved the car back up the road.

Grandma opened the passenger seat when they were near enough. 'Are you ok, my dear?' she asked.

[Rainsparrow]

A crow landed in the tree above her. It tilted its head to stare at her with a glassy, black eye. She stared back with eyes almost as dark. She exhaled smoke. Everything was silent, cold, and gray. The crow flapped its wings, and Zuki imagined that she could hear the individual barbs of every feather shifting. She focused so intently on the bird that she did not notice the truck backing down the road. The voice startled her to her feet. Snow stuck to her black hair and fur coat. Unconsciously, she flicked aside the roach and began to brush away the snow as she answered the old woman. “I’m alright,” she insisted, though her back did feel a bit sore when she stood up.

She looked past the old woman at the other two people in the car: an old man and a young boy. Guessing they were on their way to church, she suddenly felt awkward and self-conscious of her bloodshot eyes. She feared their judgment. As she tried to avoid eye contact, her gaze fluttered in every direction. “You didn’t have to stop for me,” she said with a short laugh. “It was just a little slip.” As if nearly forgetting, she added, “But thank you. It’s nice of you.” Zuki wanted to continue walking but stood rigidly awaiting the woman’s response out of sheer politeness.

[Shubit]

Grandma gave a sigh of relief.

It was a strange coincidence that twelve years ago her own daughter had fallen on thin ice while fishing, and she could vividly remember the paramedics when they rushed onto the scene after an episode of her not stirring. 'Oh thank goodness,' she said.

She looked back at Grandpa who was leaning forward to get a better look at her.

'Mind your way little lass,' he said with a sweet smile. 'This snow can be devious even at the best of times,'

'Oh, and where is your jacket?' said Grandma who felt the need to fuss over her.

The couple must have saw the cigarette perched on her ear and those bloodshot eyes though said nothing of it. They generally looked pleased that she was well and when Zuki thanked them for the trouble they both shook their heads and sent her their good wishes.

'Not at all. God bless you girl,' said Grandpa, turning his attention back to the wheel.

Grandma leaned back into her chair with a mild look of sympathy.
'Get inside soon, won't you? You'll catch yourself a cold!' she said. With those words she closed the door shut and gave a weak wave behind the glass.

The car windows quickly steamed up with condensation. As the engine revved to go, something stirred in the back seat. Although Zuki would not be able to see Kevin, she would be able to see his index finger drawing on the window from the inside. Five words in clear block capitals emerged in the glass.

ZUKI

FOLLOW

CAR

TOWER

CALLS

It was in that moment that the Elvis music reared back to life and steadily the car drove away.

[Rainsparrow]

Zuki mumbled and nodded in response to the old couple’s chatter. When they drove away, she breathed out in relief and half-heartedly waved. As she watched the small family drive away, she saw the words form on the glass. She thought it must be a joke and turned to finish the walk home. The driveway was only a few yards ahead. Then, a realization struck her so that she stood still, weighing each word in her mind. How did they know her name? And how on earth could a tower call? Confused, she spun around and gazed down the road. The car was almost out of sight. Following it seemed out of the question.

The driveway stretched out in front of her. Though it was only a mile long, she felt time drag on as she walked and turned the strange message over in her mind. She no longer noticed the cold that stung her face. The strangeness of the words made her feel a deep sense of urgency to get home. If not for lack of sleep, she might have run the rest of the way. Inwardly she debated whether or not she would try to track down the family. There were only two churches nearby: a Methodist church and a Baptist church. The two congregations pretended to dislike each other, but they were all the same to Zuki. It would be easy enough to find the car.

When she came within eyesight of the house, she saw that her aunt’s Buick was missing. She stomped her boots on the doormat to shake off snow and ice while she read a sticky note through the screen door. AT THE GROCERY STORE. COFFEE IS FRESH. Her aunt had a strange way of knowing exactly what she needed. She slid her key into the lock but a new idea crept into her head. In a sudden burst of energy, she ran down the steps and straight for the woods where a narrow path led to their neighbor’s house.

“Virgil!” She pounded on the old Indian’s door. “Virgil!”

“Zuki!” The voice came from behind.

Embarrassed to have made such a fuss, she was quick to apologize. “I need a ride,” she said quickly. She was breathing heavily from running to his house, and her cheeks held a reddish tint.

The old man had a face with deep wrinkles and yellowish eyes. His hair was long—the way real Indians wore their hair. He stared at her for a minute or two before giving a nod. “Where to?”

She laughed. “I need a ride to church.”

He laughed, too. “Alright.” He never asked too many questions.

Virgil drove a truck that looked as old as he did. It roared as it rolled slowly down the icy road towards the main road. They drove in silence most of the way, and Zuki fidgeted the entire time. He only spoke to ask which church as they approached the Baptist church. She peered out the window but did not see the family’s car. “The other one,” she said quickly.

He dropped her off at the corner outside of the Methodist church. They waved goodbye to each other, and Zuki began looking for the car in the parking lot, hoping she made the right assumption.

[Shubit]

As Zuki arrived at the Church she would hear the faint sound of the entrance hymns echoing through the walls. Above her a flock of birds scattered over the bell tower and apparently fleeing from the sound of Virgil's truck as it drove away.

The parking lot was packed but fortunately for Zuki the car that she had been chasing was in easy view. Being elderly the couple must have took advantage of the reserved parking spot giving them a few easy steps along the gravel path towards the Church door.

Once inside she would see a large projector shining lyrics onto a back screen while the chorus of a hundred Christians could be heard in joyous song. There was a live praise band equipped with a guitarist, bass player, keyboard and drums. Judging by the youth of the musicians they looked like family members of the audience.

If Zuki looked up the isle she would the elderly couple sitting in the front row with little Kevin standing up on his chair, no higher than grandpa's shoulders, swaying his arms and legs, singing the lyrics happily. He enjoyed it so much that when the song finally came to an end he was pouting around him, making the rows behind him chuckle in adoration.

'We would now like to invite all of the children up with us for your Bible Day. Today they will look at the story of the Tower of Babel. Guardians are welcome to come along too,'

A young lady with orange hair and rimmed glasses stepped up to the elderly couple who greeted her with sweet smiles. Kevin obviously knew her as well, as he jumped straight into her arms and made himself comfortable there. Then the orange haired girl and the rest of the congregation's children made their way down the isle towards the front of the Church, towards a small room where the Bible session would begin...

[Rainsparrow]

Zuki circled the car once she found it. The faint sound of music reached her ears. Though she did not consider herself a Christian, she had a deep appreciation for worship and spiritual pursuits of any sort. Her respect for anyone who truly sought an understanding of God stemmed from a deep belief in a Divine presence. The hymns drifting from the church sounded pleasant, and she decided to take a seat in the back of the chapel. After all, she had followed the car but did not know where to go from there.

An older man turned his head and looked at her with a smile. "Good morning," he whispered as if she had been attending that very church her entire life. She nodded and smiled in return. 

The chapel was warm and inviting after being in the cold all morning. She sank back into the seat and listened to the service without participating. Leisurely, she searched for the elderly couple and the young boy. It took her very little time to spot them in the front. She wondered if she should simply approach the boy to ask him how he knew her and what he meant by a tower. Surely he expected her to follow. 

When they called the children up, she sat up in her seat and watched the boy leave with an orange-haired woman. Trying to draw as little attention as possible, she walked after them but hesitated outside of the room. It felt awkward to barge in. Maybe she could offer to help with the Bible study... or ask to speak to the kid... No, no. She didn't know the kid personally. Standing outside the room probably looked odd as well. Zuki took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Hi!" She said a little too loudly. "I'm Zuki, and I thought..." She cleared her throat and softened her voice. "I thought I'd see if you need any help today..." She liked children well enough. This could be fun, she told herself.

[Shubit]

Zuki would meet eyes with three elderly women dressed in matching knitted sweaters. They smiled at her with absolute welcoming, showing patience in their eyes as well as understanding. No matter how out of place she could feel, with most of the women in the room being mother's, anyone would feel this was a place for family.

'And we would be grateful for your help,' they said. 'Thank you for coming,'

It was then that the group of children almost toppled to one side as one of them decided to push others over to stand. It was Kevin, and he was beaming at Zuki with a look of triumph, like he had won a game of cowboys and Indians.

'Zuki!' he said. 'I knew you would make it!'

The lady with the orange hair grabbed Kevin around the waist with a giggle and pulled him back into her lap.

'Oh...' said one of the three leaders, who smiled. 'He knows you then. Well, if you'd like to take a seat with young Kevin, that would be lovely,'

Kevin waited on the orange haired lady's lap, peeking over the girl in front of him to get a better look at Zuki, who, every time she would meet eyes with him, he would beam at and wave his little hand to get her attention.

Across from Zuki the class the ladies brought in an easel board along with some board markers. A younger girl perhaps five years older than Kevin turned the pages of the easel over for the kids to see. There in the middle of the page was a big title that read: "The Tower of Babel" and below was a children's drawing of what appeared to be a tower, climbing higher and higher--so high that there were pictures of birds and clouds above it.

[Rainsparrow]

Now I know your name little squirt, Zuki though to herself as she took a seat next to Kevin and the orange haired lady. Because she felt a little out of place, she had only nodded and smiled in response to the invitation to sit down. If not for the strangeness of the message the boy scrawled on the back of the car, she would have been curled comfortably underneath layers of blankets in her small bedroom. 

Suddenly, she remembered how little sleep she had the night before. Even as the pages were turned to reveal the Tower of Babel, she felt a yawn swelling at the back of her throat. She tried to swallow it but made a strange face. She sat up in her chair a little straighter. This must be the tower, she thought to herself. It felt a little disappointing. For some reason, she imagined something more mysterious. A Bible lesson was not her idea of excitement.

She glanced at Kevin and smiled. She wanted to pester him about the message on the car window. What's this all about? She kept asking in her head.

[Shubit]

Kevin was even smaller than Zuki could have prepared for: out of all the others in the room he was perhaps the smallest. Yet, in his eye there was something like a magic flare that made him look all the wiser, and it was this that she would see when he looked up at her.

'I answer you later, Tower answer you now,' he said cheekily, winking at her and chuckling to himself. The effect was rather cute and nearby mothers pulled friendly faces when he finished his performance.

Almost as if on a queue, the easel board flipped to the next page and the story began. As Zuki would read on the story would follow the original biblical version, though she would notice that all of the illustrations had been drawn by a child. Dribble crayon markings doubled over on the page. Some made squiggles, others made twirls but the main picture was clear. There on the easel was a tower with a number of little stick people standing around it. All of the stick people looked distinctively different from the rest. One of them was wearing a suit, like a wealthy businessman, another looked like a darker woman who was toned and who had fire coming out of her hair, another was pictured driving on what looked like a scooter, with an Italian flag on the back. The final additions were a few other stick men and woman and amidst these was a stick person with "Zuki" written underneath it in children's handwriting. The drawing while basic was a very accurate portrait of her, with her hair, the hint of her Asian background and humorously a mirror image of the expression she may have been pulling at that very moment.

It was here that Kevin pointed her out and smiled sheepishly at her. 'See?' he said, apparently pleased with himself.

Then the easel turned to the next page and the picture was now of complete devastation. The tower was crumbled and fire spread everywhere, the stick figures on the ground, the scooter destroyed, and a few speech bubbles had the words: "help me" and "save me" in block capitals. If she looked close enough she would see her stick figure on the floor clutching what looked like a little boy and printed next to his head, quite clearly this time was the name: Kevin.

[Rainsparrow]

Kevin's response made her jump a little. She did not share the amusement of the mothers sitting around them. With a confused expression, she looked from the boy to the easel as the page turned. What just happened? Could he hear her thoughts? Maybe it was a coincidence. Her mind raced for an explanation even as she tried to focus on the strange drawing before her. She only glanced at most of the stick figures, her eyes settling on something more familiar. Her name.

"How..." She fell silent quickly, and her questioning gaze slid back to Kevin. He looked quite happy about the whole thing, which irritated her simply because she couldn't make anything of it. She answered him with a slight nod.

The next image felt a bit dark for a Sunday school class. The destroyed tower and fire held her gaze at first, but she soon noticed her own figure holding onto Kevin. Suddenly feeling jumpy and uncomfortable, she stood up and slipped out of the room. She walked briskly to the first restroom she could find and stood in front of a mirror. "Maybe I smoked too much," she mumbled to herself, squinting at her bloodshot eyes. She began to splash cool water in her face, blinking and wiping water away from her lips with the back of her hand.

For a few minutes, she leaned over the counter and stared at herself. She felt her heart racing. None of this made sense to her. She wondered if she should bother going back to the Bible lesson to see where it led her, but if the drawing was some sort of omen... She sighed heavily. This is all ridiculous, she told herself. You smoked a little weed and now you're over-thinking everything. She smiled at herself in the mirror.

Despite trying to talk herself out of the strange sense of panic she felt, she decided to wait at the back of the church rather than sit in on the Bible study any longer. She hoped she might be able to get an explanation from Kevin before she left.

[Shubit]

It was five minutes later when Kevin appeared outside the Church, alone, carrying what looked like two snow shifters, or little spades that children would use in the garden.

'There you are!' he said with a giggle. 'Hiding from me, are you?'

From the Church car park, there was a little path leading to an open field which the practitioners must have used for outside masses, for the space was large and there was an open stage covered up with a canvas.

Kevin grabbed Zuki by the hand and tugged her towards this spot and when they got there they could see giant trails from a bulldozer that had trailed over the grassland earlier that morning. There was also a pair of small paw prints, which could have belonged to a small dog or a cat.

'Looks like Mithra has been here too,' said Kevin with a chuckle. 'Come on, let's make a snowman--no'

And he threw his arms in the air like many other children his age.

'Better yet, let's make a tower!'

So he got on his hands and knees and Zuki was handed her own little spade and he began to dig from the heavy snow and quite impressively, started to build a base.

'I know you are confused,' he began. 'Why is this happening to me? I said that too, when Grandma told me that it was nothing to worry about. It's all like fuzzy water, isn't it?'

He carved the snow in such a way that she would have to stop to watch him, for the detail was way beyond his years.

'I have been having dreams about you every day for the last year of my life,' he said. 'I told grandma the first day it happened, and I told grandpa on the second day and they didn't believe me. After that I just thought everyone dreamed like that. But you kept on coming back. It started the same: I was with loads of other children and we stood under a giant tower, and then the tower was falling and you grabbed me and saved me. Just before I open my eyes, you told me your name and said that I'd better find you but I tried Zuki, I really tried, but I couldn't find you! I lost hope early this year but I kept on going and I even drew you in my Sunday School class, and at home.'

He then looked up at her with wide eyes and the sweetest of smiles.

'And today, you're here,'

The mound was no longer a mound--the snow had formed the bottom of a tower. Zuki would be able to see the intricate patterns that made up its walls, and little writings that looked like ancient runes.

'I have been told to tell you this,' said Kevin. 'Zuki, you will be going on a journey. A journey that you have never been on before. You will see things that are not found even in your dreams. You will meet people that you will know for life and you will make decisions that will change our world as we know it.'

And it was in this moment that Kevin put down his spade and leaned over, so his head rested in her lap, and there he cried, and cried, and cried.

'I am so...sorry...' he wept.

Then two very extraordinary things happened. A very fat cat with grey fur appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto Zuki's shoulder and then, in the near distance, a giant bulldozer crashed through some trees, flashed its angry lights in their direction and began to charge full speed towards them...