Chapter 4 is posted ! All Chapters in the Galilee Stories
Chapter 1
Cautiously I peered over the ridge, waiting for the Roman soldiers to pass by. I was dressed in rags to intentionally look like the poorest of the poor. Not only was this my best method of avoiding the authorities it should make it easier for him to find me. Looking around for signs of life I decided to risk using my goggles. I pulled them on and adjusted the lenses. I turned my gaze upon Caphernaum. I could make out a few dark boats floating on the Kinneret and wondered if he sat in one of them. I took a few stills and put the goggles away. I began walking.
Behind me the city of Tiberius faded into the distance. Gauging my pace I estimated I would arrive near dusk. Despite the secret padding built into my sandals my feet hurt. They were also disgusting and I was actually avoiding the piles of manure which littered the path.
Suddenly hearing laughter I paused and looked for cover. Seeing none I crouched near the side of the road and began mumbling. Three men and 4 children came up behind me and didn't even pause as they passed me. I glanced at them and marveled at their indifference.
I stopped for lunch near the shore. I squeezed my canteen flat and pushed it under water. Osmotic pressure filled it with pristine water in a few minutes. I waded out into the water washing my feet and looking for a wayward fish. After a couple of fruitless minutes I walked back and chewed on a protein bar.
More voices echoed behind me, this time the reeds hid me well enough. I sat listening as the voices faded. I caught a few words but could not hear the entire conversation. As the sun began its downward journey I gauged my progress would get me to Caphernaum by dinner time. Nobody else crossed my path the remainder of the journey. When I reached the village I asked a few people for dinner and the third one agreed. He was a fisherman named Andrew but he had no brother.
I slept on a mat in Andrew's living room that night pondering his answers to my questions. No carpenters lived in Caphernaum, he knew 2 men named Yeshua but neither was a carpenter nor had a mother named Mary. He was only vaguely aware of the name of the Roman procurator, and certainly not keeping track of the number of years since the last one. In short I still had no idea exactly where I could find Jesus, or where I would go next. After everyone was asleep I pulled out goggles and read through the histories. This would be more difficult than we had planned. There were only a few hundred thousand people in this part of the world, but they were so spread out it could take weeks to find him.