Chapter 6

"That was a really good Wednesday."

Daniel shrugged and packed up the pot carefully. They drank their fill of the water, then Daniel put that pot away too.

"We'd better get going," he said. "Let's see how far we can get before it warms up too much."

They walked along the path. It started winding uphill, and the trees changed. They had larger leaves than the trees at home and they cast a green shade over the path. Rocks poked through the path and Paul had to watch to make sure he didn't trip. The walking worked out the stiffness from the night and soon he was pleasantly warm. Daniel pointed ahead in silence, and Paul saw a deer in the woods. It looked at him then walked away.

Walking uphill tired him out quickly. His legs burned as he took each step. He'd never hurt so much in his life. There were more springs though, and the air was cooler. The cloak didn't make it as overwhelmingly warm as the day before.

They camped under some trees that were covered with soft needles instead of leaves. Paul breathed in deeply. The smell of the strange trees was sharp, but pleasant and the fallen needles made the ground almost as soft as Paul's mattress. The night was colder, and he was glad for the heat of Daniel's back against his.

In the morning Paul got up first and filled the pot with water. It was Thursday, oatmeal again. He thought of the honey from yesterday and sighed wistfully. When the water boiled, he put two measures of oats into the pot and stirred it carefully.

When it was ready he put Daniel's portion in his bowl and handed it to him. There was no milk because Paul couldn't think of how to carry it. He hoped Zaccheus enjoyed it before it went bad.

If oatmeal was unpleasant, oatmeal without milk was worse. Daniel reached into his bag and pulled out the honey.

"We aren't to sweeten the oatmeal," Paul said. "The Book says to eat it with milk."

"It doesn't forbid honey," Daniel said. He put a large dollop on the mess in his bowl. "We don't have any milk."

"But we can't go against the Book," Paul said. "We'll displease God."

"I can't imagine God being displeased by a little honey."

Paul remembered God saying that he didn't care for oatmeal. Maybe it was because he didn't put honey on it. He looked around fearfully. Surely God would come and smite him for such impious thoughts. Nothing happened. Daniel sat and ate his honeyed oatmeal as the birds sang and the sun shone.

"God chose me to be your companion," Daniel said. "If you don't trust me, you have to trust God."

"OK then," Paul said and held out the pot. Daniel put a dollop of honey on Paul's oatmeal.

"This is the only way I can stand to eat the stuff," Daniel said.

Paul wondered how often Daniel put honey on his oatmeal, but the sweet taste of the honey distracted him. It tasted oddly like Diana's lips. Before he realized, Paul was scraping the last of the oatmeal from the bottom of the pot. They washed their dishes in the stream before Daniel packed them away.

"I think God must have chosen you as my companion because of your wisdom," Paul said. "I had hoped to meet Diana first."

"That would have made your journey much more interesting," Daniel said, "especially the nights." He grinned at Paul and Paul's heart lifted. He wasn't Diana, but maybe Daniel was going to be a good companion in his own way.

They walked along. The path still was mostly uphill, and the trees with the soft needles became the most common. Some darker trees with harsher needles appeared and Paul hoped he didn't need to sleep on those needles.

They arrived at Cepha in the middle of the afternoon. It was a larger village than Paul's home. A herd of cattle grazed in one pasture and sheep in another. People were hoeing an entire field of vegetables. Paul and Daniel walked into the centre of the village where there were some people sitting behind booths filled with all kinds of goods. After the quiet of the walk, Paul's ears ached with the sound of so many people talking at once.

"Maybe we should stop and trade for another bowl," Daniel said, "and perhaps a skin for water."

"What do we have to trade?"

"You have a cheese, don't you?" Daniel said.

"I thought we were going to eat it."

"A whole cheese?"

"Diana gave it to me."

"She also gave you a kiss, and the kiss is lighter."

Paul sighed, and they found a man sitting at a table covered with bowls and other things.

"We'd like to trade for a bowl and maybe some water skins," Paul said.

"What do you have to trade?" the man asked. Paul pulled the cheese out of his bag.

"I don't need any cheese," the man said. He waved at someone across the square and a woman walked across.

"What you have here, Levi?"

"This boy has a cheese," Levi said.

The woman took the cheese and hefted it. She smelled it and even sniffed at it.

"It looks like a fine cheese," she said. "It's more aged than what I make. I'll give you ten for it."

Paul wondered, ten what? He looked at Daniel, but his companion just lifted an eyebrow. Paul looked at his Page.