He held a water bottle I hadn’t even noticed. He lifted the opening to my mouth and squeezed it. I gulped and gulped the senaba, wanting more and more. Then I looked at him, took the bottle from his hand, and held it to his mouth.

“Thank you. But I will not drink it again myself until we are all together in Charis.” I saw wetness in his eyes. “I was unashamed to die for you. Will you be unashamed to live for me?”

“Yes,” I wanted to say. But I knew myself well enough now to hold my tongue.

“Remember, Nick, you were the cause of my journey. I loved you as you were, but I loved you too much to let you stay that way. Rather than give up on you, I gave myself up for you. I chose to go to Erebus for you rather than go back to Charis without you. The gift I extended to you is free but not cheap. It costs you nothing. It cost me everything.”

I looked at his hands.

“Do you understand the extent of my gift?”

I started to say yes, then hesitated. “No,” I said.

“Good answer,” he said, smiling thoughtfully. “Any who thinks he understands does not. But understanding is not necessary for belief and worship and obedience.”

He put his hands on my shoulders again, rubbing them firmly with his hands. “It will not be easy for you where I’m sending you, Nick. But one day you’ll understand that a short period of difficulty is a small price to pay for a clearer view of your King.” My spine tingled at his words.

“Friday has passed,” he said to me. “Tomorrow is Sunday. I send you back to the world’s Saturday. Know that the never-ending Sunday comes, and even until it does I am with you. I listen to you, and I weep with you that you may one day laugh with me.”

My eyes burned.

“Listen carefully, Nick, for in a moment I send you back to the true Skiathuros. Before I do, I want you to look once more at Charis. I am preparing this world for you—and I’m also preparing you for it. Charis isn’t just a world I make for you, it is the world for which you were made. Every part of it resonates with who you are, who you really are, not the old Nick Seagrave, but the one I’ve made you to be. I have a new name for you. You’re not ready to hear it yet. But I will give it to you when we meet face to face in our home.”

The darkness parted just for a moment, and I saw and heard and smelled and tasted Charis with Mom and Lee Ann and Shad and Malaiki and Gordy and Victoria and Quon and Shaun and the others.