They reached the white sign that read Holy Ghost Revival, and Pete whistled when he saw the large wood structure in the distance.

“Have you ever seen so many cars in your life?” he said.

“No.”

She didn’t say anything else because she didn’t know what to say. The truth was, it did seem rather bizarre. The people they passed on the road all seemed strange. The looks they gave her were not like the kinds of normal looks you get in daily life. It was as though everyone suspected something magnificent was going to happen.

When they neared the wood structure, she could hear the sounds of a tuba and other brass instruments, and a bass drum, and a snare, and singing. Lots of singing. There were so many voices she could swear she felt the earth moving. Stringbean looked almost frightened when she heard it. She stayed near Pete.

The closer Ruth got, the more her vision was blocked by other people. Ruth leapt up to get a better view over the sea of heads and hats. She jumped a few times but couldn’t see where to go. The wood structure was surrounded by people like chickens gathered around a June bug.

“We’re not gonna be able to get inside,” Pete said. “There must be two thousand people here. We might as well turn around and leave.”

She was not about to leave. She felt something in this place.

“You wait here,” she said to Pete. “I just wanna see what I can see.”

“Ruth!”

“Just wait here. I’ll be back, I promise.”

“Wait!” he said, chasing after her. But she had already left him in the dust.

Hordes of people surrounded the building on all sides. They were peeking into the gaps between the wood, and children were sitting on the shoulders of grown men. The crowd pulsated with brassy music. The closer she got, the louder the music became. People were standing outside singing along with the people inside, and it sounded like voices were either rising to heaven or coming from it. Ruth didn’t know the words to the song, but the people around her did. She closed her eyes and let the sounds of voices swirl around her.

When the singing finished, there was applause from inside the wood building loud enough to blow the nearby trees out of the dirt. Then people outside the wood tent began to murmur among themselves. Eventually, one man standing in front of Ruth, who wore a white hat and a blue suit, turned to her and said, “The harlot’s on the stage now.”

The news spread throughout the crowd like wildfire. People spoke of the harlot with true wonder. Ruth could hear it in their voices.