On a Morning Like This Chapter 9 Darkness

The Scrufflings were panting with fear. Bar-thur looked at his stomach, raw from hurriedly squeezing past the fallen slab. “That was close!” Hoopy whined, panting.
Nonna turned to her companions. “You have helped me so much. I apologize for endangering you! Bar-thur is right. The Narflbots are so wicked they would make skins of you if they caught us.” Tears filled her eyes.
Pata-Pikki turned to her, “This is not your fault. Of course, we forgive you. You had no choice. We picked you up and carried you away.”
“We struggle with fear, which tries to win us with bad thoughts. I am responsible for my choices. I was wrong not to warn you of the danger. I hear many more thoughts when I am away from my homeland and become confused,” Nonna cried.
“We forgive you as The One Who Lives would want us to do,” Pata-Pikki snuffled.
Flur-Ella went up to Nonna and put her arm around her. “Thank you,” Nonna said, hanging her head.
“Can you find the spring?” Flur-Ella gruffled.
“I don’t see where the lantern is. At least one, if not more, is here somewhere,” said Nonna in frustration.
“I lied when I told you they sent me to the Farmer Man. They did not send me. I took the broken part to him to surprise everyone; plowing needs to begin. Look at the grief I have caused! I know my family is worried about me. You have been in danger because of my foolishness and have lost your homes.”
“You could not help what happened to you. I am sure your people love you,” Bar-thur replied sadly, “though it is heartbreaking to hurt someone you love.”
Nonna hung her head and cried. Flur-Ella cried with her. “I didn’t ask others. My actions hurt people who love me. I hope they can forgive me, and that you will forgive me.”
“We forgive you,” said Bar-thur.
“Yes,” said Hoopy.
A worry nagged at Pata-Pikki. “Wait here,” he whined. “I want to see what has happened with the Strange Contraptor.” Retracing their steps to the mouth of the stone cavern, he drew near the entrance. Outside, he listened to the voices of Narflbots above him. He realized they must have left footprints in the sand when they ran to the cave. Looking out of the entrance, he saw the tracks in the sand leading to the rock opening. The Narflbots would see them!
How could he erase them without being seen? To his surprise, a wind came down the floor of the canyon. Swirling in circles, it picked up sand, threw it into the air, hiding the footprints, and then continued down the dry riverbed, moving east. Pata-Pikki heard coughing, loud voices, and the scrape of metal. The Narflbots were going back into
the Whirly.
 He checked the impulse to run after the circle breeze and talk to it, as he had never seen such a wind, but the Narflbots were sure to see him. The canyons were very mysterious Pata-Pikki understood why Nonna had called it a fortress. Becoming lost in the canyon was a probability without guidance. Though the canyon floor appeared to be a straight pathway, it was confusing as they had passed turnings and branches.
Above him, he heard the Strange Contraptor starting. Dust filtered past the rock slab in front of the door. He coughed, thanking The One Who Lives for His goodness in sending the whirling wind. He descended deeper into the cave, looking for a lantern.
“There was a Strange Contraptor on the cliff above us,” Pata-Pikki barked. “They are gone. We are safe now. I searched the cave from the entrance and saw no lantern. It must be further on. Flur-Ella, lead Nonna until we find it.”
Suddenly, Flur-Ella pointed to a carved-out niche in the rock. They saw glass with a metal covering. Nearby was a bottle of something golden and a box.
“We do not have this - lantern, as you call it, Nonna. I see a glass with a metal covering. Could that be the lantern? Can you see it at all?” Pata-Pikki barked and pointed high up in the wall.
“No, I can’t see; it’s too dark,” Nonna sighed. “It sounds like a lantern.”
Bar-thur took the glass out of the niche. “It has something oily in it. There is a string coming from the top held by a wire. What should we do with it?”
“There must be a striker there, too.” Nonna laughed with relief.
Pata-Pikki nodded to Hoopy to hand Nonna the box. “Here, Nonna, can you understand this?” Hoopy gruffed.
“Yes, this is the striker.” Feeling the box, she slid it open and took out a long stick. With her finger, Nonna found a rough place on the side of the box. “Is there a candle? It will be a wax stick with a string on the top.”
“Here,” said Bar-thur, taking the candle from the rock ledge. He smelled the scent of honey in it and drooled.
Nonna ran the striker along the side of the box, and it burst into flame, illumining the cavern. She placed the striker on the candle wick, which burst into flame. Nonna looked around her. “Oh, how beautiful!” she exclaimed, gazing at the roof and walls of the cave. Nonna made the secret sign on her chest and said, “I thank you, Blessed One.”
Pata-Pikki was awed. Nonna knew the mysterious Secret of Power that The One Who Lives gives for help. “You use this sign?” he asked.
“Why yes!” said Nonna. “This is the sign of the High King.”
“Are the High King and The One Who Lives the same?” Pata-Pikki asked in surprise. “Perhaps He informs us both? Can this be true?”
“Yes, I feel this is right,” Nonna said. “The Lord, Yeshua, informs you and gives words to me. They are words that are true and filled with love. He blows where He wills and is a Mystery,” she explained with a slight shrug. Her eyes were as bright as the lantern. “When He spoke to you, I, too, heard the same affirmations. We must both hear the One.
Pata-Pikki would have to ask The One Who Lives about this. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He felt that Ultimate Truth and Love came to him through The One Who Lives’ words. He trusted those words as the only solution for what lay before him. The One Who Lives knew more than he did. Pata-Pikki knew it was better to ask before making choices. The closer he was to The One Who Lives, the happier he felt. Was this what Nonna was describing? The One and the High King were the same?

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