CHAPTER THREE
August, 1854
Jacob was back in Happy Valley, at a point where he had felt that the final decay of the village had set in and quickened its pace, culminating in Jacob being the last man standing by September of that year. It was morning and Jacob was leading the prayers before the communal breakfast. The other seven villagers had grown accustomed to this. Many were more than happy to allow someone else to make the spiritual decisions for them. When Happy Valley had been established, there were no leaders, just followers. But leaders always emerge and Jacob filled that role. Sat at a long wooden table, which now seemed to engulf the eight people as it had been built for more than twice that number, Jacob began his prayers.
"Lord, as always, I pray that you will help us to keep our minds focused on the spiritual prize that awaits us in eternity. Let us not focus instead on Mammon and by doing so, make money our God. You have said that the love of money is the root of all evil, as are all worldly pleasures. Do not allow such pleasures to entrap us Lord. Today is a new day and we are thankful that we are eight strong. We do not judge those who have chosen to depart for you have given us free will to make our own decisions. Likewise, we must not judge those who, by committing acts of indecency with their mouths or bodies, were forced to depart Happy Valley. But please Lord, keep us all together. Let us not take the easy path and choose to leave. Give us all the strength, moral, emotional and spiritual, to stay where we are, here in Happy Valley doing your will. And please Lord, grant me the added strength to hold the remaining flock together. Please grant me the wisdom to know which is the right path for us all. We thank you for your guidance and for our daily food, nourishment for our bodies. Amen."
A collective amen was heard after which the villagers ate mostly in silence. Jacob sat at the head of the table with his remaining brethren in direct view. To Jacob’s immediate left was Elias, a young man of 21 to Jacob’s 33 years. It seemed to Jacob that for every step he had taken toward increased spiritual leadership, the more Elias had challenged it. Next To Elias was Lucius, an older black gentleman, the sole remaining villager of color. He seemed to regard Jacob with no particular resentment and neither welcomed nor spurned his leadership qualities. Then there was Melissa, a young girl who seemed all too afraid of life and had become more withdrawn since Ruth, her only true companion, had deserted the village a week earlier. It seemed that Ruth’s love for the world was greater than her onetime desire to help Melissa with her personal struggles, struggles that she would not share with Jacob. Melissa sat adjacent to Bess, a middle aged woman who liked to talk with Jacob and share her
views on the direction the village was headed in. Then there was Emily who was about Elias’ age and full of questions, spiritual and otherwise, while Pamela, the oldest member of the village seemed to have an air of being above it all. The youngest member, Joel, sat next to her and to Jacob’s right. He was a young boy who had recently finished school and it sometimes seemed to Jacob that perhaps Joel regarded the village as more of a temporary stop in his life until he found out what he really wanted. On the other hand, having made it this far, Joel had as much right as any to claim himself more dedicated than those who had abandoned Happy Valley.
Breakfast later concluded and Jacob sat in his chair as each member returned to their cabin for spiritual reflection and prayer. It was his turn to clean the eating utensils which he began after he was completely alone. Cleaning for eight was not a particularly demanding task, and capable of being done by one person. In the beginning, everything had truly been a communal activity, where an entire village farmed, cooked and cleaned as one. That was mostly gone now.
After the utensils were cleaned and returned to their wooden box by the side of the dining table, Jacob returned to his chair and reflected for that bit longer. Happy Valley now felt like a ghost town, having lost twelve of its original settlers, with their cabins still standing as a reminder of those of little faith, and it seemed to Jacob that one of two outcomes were most likely at this point. The village would eventually be abandoned, as would any future attempts to create another utopian existence. This sometimes seemed all the more likely as there had been no new faces in the village at all to replace those who had left. Not one.
However, there was a second outcome, one for which Jacob prayed day and night. Jacob believed that the village would be replenished. The day would come when the village would see those in need of spiritual nourishment who had been wandering in the wilderness for too long suddenly discover a spiritual oasis in a lush corner of greenery surrounded by trees,
CHAPTER THREEAugust, 1854Jacob was back in Happy Valley, at a point where he had felt that the final decay of the village had set in and quickened its pace, culminating in Jacob being the last man standing by September of that year. It was morning and Jacob was leading the prayers before the communal breakfast. The other seven villagers had grown accustomed to this. Many were more than happy to allow someone else to make the spiritual decisions for them. When Happy Valley had been established, there were no leaders, just followers. But leaders always emerge and Jacob filled that role. Sat at a long wooden table, which now seemed to engulf the eight people as it had been built for more than twice that number, Jacob began his prayers."Lord, as always, I pray that you will help us to keep our minds focused on the spiritual prize that awaits us in eternity. Let us not focus instead on Mammon and by doing so, make money our God. You have said that the love of money is the root of all evil, as are all worldly pleasures. Do not allow such pleasures to entrap us Lord. Today is a new day and we are thankful that we are eight strong. We do not judge those who have chosen to depart for you have given us free will to make our own decisions. Likewise, we must not judge those who, by committing acts of indecency with their mouths or bodies, were forced to depart Happy Valley. But please Lord, keep us all together. Let us not take the easy path and choose to leave. Give us all the strength, moral, emotional and spiritual, to stay where we are, here in Happy Valley doing your will. And please Lord, grant me the added strength to hold the remaining flock together. Please grant me the wisdom to know which is the right path for us all. We thank you for your guidance and for our daily food, nourishment for our bodies. Amen."A collective amen was heard after which the villagers ate mostly in silence. Jacob sat at the head of the table with his remaining brethren in direct view. To Jacob’s immediate left was Elias, a young man of 21 to Jacob’s 33 years. It seemed to Jacob that for every step he had taken toward increased spiritual leadership, the more Elias had challenged it. Next To Elias was Lucius, an older black gentleman, the sole remaining villager of color. He seemed to regard Jacob with no particular resentment and neither welcomed nor spurned his leadership qualities. Then there was Melissa, a young girl who seemed all too afraid of life and had become more withdrawn since Ruth, her only true companion, had deserted the village a week earlier. It seemed that Ruth’s love for the world was greater than her onetime desire to help Melissa with her personal struggles, struggles that she would not share with Jacob. Melissa sat adjacent to Bess, a middle aged woman who liked to talk with Jacob and share herviews on the direction the village was headed in. Then there was Emily who was about Elias’ age and full of questions, spiritual and otherwise, while Pamela, the oldest member of the village seemed to have an air of being above it all. The youngest member, Joel, sat next to her and to Jacob’s right. He was a young boy who had recently finished school and it sometimes seemed to Jacob that perhaps Joel regarded the village as more of a temporary stop in his life until he found out what he really wanted. On the other hand, having made it this far, Joel had as much right as any to claim himself more dedicated than those who had abandoned Happy Valley.
Breakfast later concluded and Jacob sat in his chair as each member returned to their cabin for spiritual reflection and prayer. It was his turn to clean the eating utensils which he began after he was completely alone. Cleaning for eight was not a particularly demanding task, and capable of being done by one person. In the beginning, everything had truly been a communal activity, where an entire village farmed, cooked and cleaned as one. That was mostly gone now.
After the utensils were cleaned and returned to their wooden box by the side of the dining table, Jacob returned to his chair and reflected for that bit longer. Happy Valley now felt like a ghost town, having lost twelve of its original settlers, with their cabins still standing as a reminder of those of little faith, and it seemed to Jacob that one of two outcomes were most likely at this point. The village would eventually be abandoned, as would any future attempts to create another utopian existence. This sometimes seemed all the more likely as there had been no new faces in the village at all to replace those who had left. Not one.
However, there was a second outcome, one for which Jacob prayed day and night. Jacob believed that the village would be replenished. The day would come when the village would see those in need of spiritual nourishment who had been wandering in the wilderness for too long suddenly discover a spiritual oasis in a lush corner of greenery surrounded by trees,
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