THE RISING SUN

CHAPTER THREE

In the midtown of Ashurla, there was a parish built by the early Christian missionaries. It was a historic church, not just because it had existed for more than a century, but because its foundation followed significant events in history.

There was a monk whose name was Thomas. He was a regular visitor to Ashurla, especially for trading. He supplied some items from Europe, and also bought from the Ashurla market, then distributed the goods in Spain.

There was a loud cry at the market that day, and almost everyone was deeply forced to pay attention to the woman as she was crying bitterly. Her 12 years old son had been suffering from convulsion for 7 years. On that very day, it became very hard that he was at the point of death. When Thomas arrived, he brought out a bottle of oil, dropped it on his right thumb, and crossed it on the boy's forehead. Then he prayed in the name Christ for the boy to rise, indeed, he rose and became well.

After the miracle, the witnesses were amazed, and some of them followed Thomas and were converted. Hence, the Church in Spain permitted him to begin evangelism in Ashurla. However, the local chiefs, initially were not happy at Thomas' evangelical movement in their area. So, a decision was made to put an end to the congregation he was building, but the decision was annihilated by his work of charity in the area. Everyone loved him, even though most of them who were conservative Muslims still refused to join his congregation. In time, he was offered a large piece of land for his congregation and him. Thus, the congregation collectively, in a diligent way, erected a church on the piece of land that was given to them by the villagers.

So, as some of his members travelled to Abiath, the capital city of Carutha, and beyond, Christianity was also introduced at the different locations they found themselves. In time, a diocese was established in Abiath, but the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish remained as the pioneer church in Carutha.

Zainab had never passed through the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish while doing her business. So, as she was walking along, a catechist saw her from the church premises and had compassion for her, as she was walking in the sun.

"Hello, my friend!' Please, bring your bread here."

But, she was really surprised when the man called her onto the church premises. She moved carefully towards him, with trembling eyes.

"Salam alaikum!"

Zainab was immediately relieved by the expression he used. Such an expression means a lot in Islam. So, if such a Christian could use it, then there was every reason to feel safe in his presence.

"Walaikum salam", she replied.

"May I know how much you sell your bread?"

Upon knowing the price, he decided to buy them all. He just wanted to reduce her stress of walking about in the morning sun.

"Oh! thank you very much, sir!' I'm really grateful."

" Please, always come every morning, so that I can get some loaves of bread for my family."

This act of kindness really pacified Zainab, and made her to forget about her worries at that moment.

As soon as she turned to leave, the catechist asked her to hold on. He called upon his son, Emmanuel, to see her off at the junction.

As they were walking along, Emmanuel's presence created a moment of great laughter for Zainab. They kept walking and talking to each other; it was fun for both of them.

Along the road, the bell of a bicycle rang behind them, and it produced a sound familiar to her. She immediately began to run without looking back, leaving Emmanuel behind. At first, he was scared seeing her running that way, so he turned back to see what was chasing her. But he could only see a young man dressed in a moderate attire, which was typical of a teacher. But he could not see him as a threat or as the cause for Zainab fleeing that way.

"Was she scared away by the sound of the bell? What could be the problem?" he asked himself.

The young man gradually rode past him, and both of them exchanged greetings. So, Emmanuel turned from there and returned home with a lot of rhetorical questions on his mind.