THE PREY OF THE TERRIBLE
(Isaiah 49:25) 

By Tessa Harvey


    Jack was dreaming. In his dream, he was once more on that tiny ledge. The waves were breaking ferociously, flung spume falling like rain, making the rock slippery and treacherous. The wind had again risen, pulling at his thin jacket with malicious fingers. He felt suspended between sea and sky and cried out in fear.
    The boy woke suddenly - he had heard a voice when he was on the ledge earlier before the tide came in.
    It was getting dark. A child's voice had called "Oy, boy! What ya doing up there? Jack remembered a dog barking also. It was easy to imagine voices, when you were desperate - less likely to imagine the dog. So it was real. He had called for help then and heard a faint reply and the sound of scampering feet. The dog's bark came once more far away.
    The child must have gone for help. Then why had he only just recalled the incident? Because even in the dwindling light he could see with shock that the child's face exactly mirrored his own!


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