And how could Solomon have been Susana’s nephew, unless …?

“Zahra was Susana’s sister,” Shereen told him. “Her twin.”

Jesus gaped. Inside he heard Solomon’s voice.

Sometimes we are called upon before we are ready.

His mind spun.

Had the gray-eyed shepherd somehow known his secret all along?

The wet touch of Anna’s muzzle on his cheek steadied him.

Shereen observed the young shepherd intently. “We have not kept sheep here in years,” she said, “and are very much in need of milk and wool. We have decided to ask if you would stay and tend our flock.”

Jesus bent to press his face into Anna’s woolly back.

Somewhere inside himself he heard the tearing of a seam.

“We cannot pay you with coins,” Shereen added. “But you will be well cared for and this will be your home,” she said, indicating the large cave. “Are you willing?”

He looked up and mistook Shereen for his mother.

How he wanted to hear her call his name! To feel her arms enfold him. How he—

“Are you willing?” Shereen asked again.

Jesus peered through dual rivers of tears. He nodded.

Ruth shared a smile with the others.

Sister Shereen came and knelt before him. She glanced from shepherd to lamb and back again. A sudden spark lit her expression. She gazed intently into the shepherd’s eyes. “Anna?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

Jesus swallowed hard.

An invisible door swiveled inside him.

“Yes,” she answered.

PART THREE
SISTER

CHAPTER 11

Somewhere within The Narrows outside ancient Palestine—17 A.D.

Early dawn paused before flushing across the desert. The sun, still dressing in her illuminated robes, remained hidden. The air rustled with dry scents. A raven alighted on a crag, hunting for lizards. A lone shepherd stood against the horizon, her leg crooked to rest one foot on the other knee. At her waist hung a leather sling and a pouch full of stones. Beneath her a small flock of sheep spread across the valley floor. In a single flash, quick as lightning, the shepherd loaded her sling, set her target, and fired. She watched with satisfaction as her stone ricocheted off the ground just inches below the sheep’s nose, changing the animal’s course and diverting the flock away from the snake-infested rocks.

Living separately from the others, Anna had sought to establish a routine designed around the needs of her animals. Each morning she rose before the sun, built a fire, washed her hands and face in a small bowl, and ate the meal left by Sister Ruth.

It had not taken her long to train the animals to negotiate the ridge down into the valley. There she would let them mingle in the fresh air and sunshine. Sometimes she could even find a fresh spring. The landscape, despite its barrenness, bubbled with many hidden water sources.