Prologue Of Eli Night

Prologue

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11, The Bible

The cold gray light cast faint shadows onto the bike path that wound along the coast of Lake Huron and through scattered pine forest and picnic areas. Gusting wind blew around little piles of leaves, as the path made its way through an open area next to the great lake. Whitecaps and the larger swells from the lake occasionally broke up and over the small retaining wall that separated the path from the menacing water. The little boy on his bike pedaled as fast as he could through these stretches, and imagined one of the waves reaching up and over the wall, plucking him up and carrying him out into the vast expanse. He fought to keep down his panic as he rode for what had been hours through the ominous weather which, besides being cold and wet, included occasional flashes of lightning and the low menacing growl of distant

thunder.
The day had begun as a brisk, but pleasant mostly sunny affair. Eli had been especially excited about the school wide bike-a-thon that was taking place this Veterans Day Weekend. He had gotten rid of his training wheels and had been practicing riding up and down his street for the last several weeks in preparation. He was the only Kindergartner going. Both his parents worked for the school he attended and he was going with them. But the day had gotten worse along with the weather. As the cloud cover increased and the temperature dropped, Eli had become separated from his school group. He was not fast enough to keep up with the older kids and the slower group made up of teachers, parents, and grandparents was much too slow. Now he had lost touch with both groups and was pedaling through the enormous state park on his own.
He knew he was going to be in trouble, and the thought was terrifying. Dad was a strict disciplinarian and he knew his Mom would be worried sick. He wasn’t quite sure how long he had been gone, but the shadows were lengthening and the sky was getting darker and he knew it had been several hours since he had seen them. He cried softly and wiped at his tears with the bright yellow sleeve of the jacket he was wearing. He just wanted to be home! He was trying to keep an eye out now for anyone who might help him, a family, a kindly stranger, anyone really who could help him find his parents. In the distance what vaguely sounded like sirens was carried over the wind and Eli wondered if it was somehow related to his disappearance. The thought made him uncomfortable, all those people looking for him, thinking about him, created a feeling of anxiety separate from his fear of being lost. It almost felt as if it were somehow dangerous to have so many people thinking about him all at once.
He stopped the bike in the parking lot of the picnic area he had entered and looked around. This particular lot was larger than most of the other picnic areas Eli had come across and he searched anxiously for someone who could help him. The parking lot was empty and no one was using any of the the picnic areas. There was a fishing boat with a small tower in its center attached to the aluminum dock that ran out into the turbulent water, but other than that there was no sign that anyone had been here recently.
Eli put his foot back up onto the pedal and prepared to push off when he heard an engine and at the same time saw the flash of headlights turning into the parking lot. Immediately his hope reignited and he moved so he could see the vehicle entering the lot, wishing against all odds it was his parents.
As soon as he saw the vehicle, he knew it was not his family, but he still he hoped, “Maybe it is someone who can help . . “
The last group he had seen had been several hours ago. A large group of young adults was packing up from what had looked like a rather spirited picnic. Eli had been too nervous to approach any of them, and was not nearly as scared then as he was now. At this point, he was willing to ask almost anybody for help.
He moved to a spot a little behind a garbage dumpster so he could observe the vehicle and then decide if he would approach it. He got off the bike and leaned it against the side of the dumpster, and looked out at the car. It was an old yellow Datsun, and trying to get out of the back seat was an older woman who was unleashing a torrent of words that Eli knew should never be used. He had first hand knowledge of this because he had learned some of those words from the older boys across the street and tried them out on his mother who had washed out his mouth with soap and then given him a spanking. It appeared that she had somehow gotten her leg tied up in the front seat belt while trying to exit and was issuing the verbal assault on a much younger woman in the front seat who appeared to be making the exit as difficult as possible on purpose. The older woman finally got out of the vehicle and attempted to light a cigarette when a fat drop of rain fell out of the sky and put out the flame on her lighter. The woman cursed once more at her younger companion and then put away both cigarettes and lighter. A third occupant was also exiting the vehicle from the driver’s side and she gave a resigned but disapproving look at the other woman and then said something quickly and crisply that Eli did not quite understand, and all the women began to unload bags of what appeared to be groceries from the old Datsun.
Eli had become quite absorbed by the drama between the older and younger woman and had inadvertently let himself be seen. The driver saw him first and said something to the other two that Eli could hear, but not quite understand. All the activity at the car stopped and then, with all three women watching him, the young boy recalled everything about his day and burst into tears.
The older and younger woman turned to the driver, a stern looking middle aged woman wearing an official looking forest green jacket like a park ranger might wear. She looked at the boy again and nodded in his direction. The three women approached the young man quickly. The youngest one reached him first.
“What’s your name?” She asked.
“Elijah,” The boy sniffled, “Eli, I mean”
Deep down he felt a little nervous telling strangers his name, but his desperate need for help, and the motherly tone had inspired enough trust that he felt he could be honest with these ladies.
“What’s wrong Eli?”
That question was the key that unlocked Eli and he told these three ladies everything that happened that day starting with when he arrived at the park. They listened to him and let him talk and when he was finished he cried again and could not stop, and they let him do that as well. It wasn’t until Eli started to calm down that the middle aged driver woman stated,
“Well, it is a good thing we found you. We work here at the park and an announcement went out over the radio to keep an eye out for a young man who matches your name and description.”
Eli started feeling hopeful for the first time.
“Let's get back to the station, and we'll call it in over the radio. You don't mind a little boat ride, do you?” She asked Eli and tousled his hair. “Our station is a little island lighthouse about a half mile out.” she added and gestured out toward the lake.
Eli really had no desire at all to get in the boat, and it must have shown because the woman smiled down at him and took him by the hand, “It will be alright.” she said. So Eli let her lead him down to the dock and hoist him on to boat. He was still nervous, but as he got on the boat the wind died down and the sun found a gap in the clouds which immediately helped raise Eli's spirits. He started thinking about seeing his parents again with a mixture of fear and relief. The fear of seeing his Father, from whom the inevitable disciplinary action would come, ate at him. But, this was offset by the feeling of relief he felt at the thought of being reunited with his Mother, who would forget how mad she was that he had wandered off the second she saw him again.
The boat moved slowly away from the dock and gradually picked up speed as it moved across the lake.

Eli let himself enjoy the cool breeze and occasional spray of water while thinking about his upcoming reunion with his folks. The bow of the boat rose out of the water as the boat moved into open water and the hull slapped the water every so often jolting Eli out of his comfortable state. The wind was not quite finished however, and as Eli looked back at dock, it picked his baseball hat right off his head and deposited it in the lake. He watched the hat glumly as it floated away from the boat.The weather though, generally continued to improve and as they approached a small island with a lighthouse, the sun began to set. Finally clear of the clouds which had obstructed it most of the day, the sun was putting on a show of amazing color that made Eli feel he was getting a glimpse into a corner of heaven as the clouds parted and showed brilliant blue behind the

gaps.
The sun began to descend rapidly towards the horizon as the boat reached the dock on the island. The light from the setting sun had turned the lighthouse a beautiful red and orange Eli noticed as he got out of the boat. The more official middle aged woman took him by the hand and led him towards a small building attached to the lighthouse, as he tried to keep up with her, his head began to sag and he had to try really hard to keep his eyes open. The woman picked him up when she noticed and carried him the rest of the way, and the last thing Eli thought as he drifted to sleep was to wonder whether or not he even knew her name.