Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost

(Paradise Found?)

I almost let the phone go to voicemail since I didn’t recognize the number and suspected I would have to be rude to yet another salesperson.

Yes?

Mr. Samuel Makarov?

Yes?

I have a story for you.

Those are magic words. I’m a freelance reporter. I’ll take whatever news I can get. Excluding who is sleeping with whom, who had a face lift or tummy tuck or who got who pregnant.

Talk to me.

Not over the phone.

The man gave me the address of a coffee shop just out of town. We agreed to meet in thirty minutes.

Mr. Ahmed Sharuff a middle-aged man has a full beard sporting streaks of grey. His abaya and keffiyeh were simple, serviceable, and unadorned. Upon his urging, we strolled through the garden behind the coffee shop while he told his story. He said he made his living as a member of a salvage and clean-up crew. They specialized in cleaning up after bombings and explosions. He had not been without work in decades.

“Quite lucrative” He admitted with a shrug. “Officially, we’re not supposed to take anything and bring it home. But you know how it is. Normally I don’t take anything, at least nothing big. But this time it was different.” He shrugged again, holding both hands up in a helpless gesture.

“Something about this item spoke to me. It felt hot to the touch, much warmer than everything around it, yet comforting at the same time. I tucked it in my pocket. It fit as if it was made for it. We worked about a week longer at that site before we went home.

As soon as I came home, the dreams started. They were both frightening and beautiful. Familiar and strange. Ethereal and normal. But above all urgent and compelling. Each night the message became clearer. Different voices, different languages, cajoling, demanding, feminine, musical, or fatherly.”

The story Ahmed told me was interesting, but I was not convinced it was newsworthy. I pumped him for more information, asked for more evidence. He showed me pictures. Quoted phrases in languages he did not speak.

We met several times, he never wavered from his conviction and kept repeating that “This needs to be shared with the entire world. I was told to share this with the entire world. What if they bury it? They can, you know.” He referred to the synagogue he had given the artifact to.

I followed up with the Jewish Great Synagogue. They confirmed that, yes, Mr. Sharuff had turned over the artifact. And that yes, it was being studied.

So, I drafted his story and contacted an editor friend of mine, urging him to print it. It was ten days before he found enough column space between AI developments, wars, famine, and other general mayhem. Even then, the story was buried on page three.

Jerusalem Post

September 15, 2023

Recent Discovery.

Byline: Samuel Makarov, Independent contributor.

This reporter was recently approached by Mr. Ahmed Sharuff, from Amman, Jordan. He informed that he had found a significant artifact while cleaning debris at an explosion site.

A series of low- to mid-level earthquakes, one month ago, along highway 90 at the West Bank, caused damage to natural gas lines. The tragic explosions that followed leveled three houses in the small town of Qumran and took the lives of twenty-three people. Clean-up efforts were delayed to search for the remains of missing members of the three families.

Once all twenty-three people were accounted for, and the area made safe for the salvage crews, clean-up resumed. Just last week, Mr. Ahmed Sharuff one of the salvage crew members, contacted this reporter. He admitted having taken one of the items he found among the rubble and to have brought it home to Amman, Jordan. He described the item as a stone, the size of an adult palm, approximately 10x15 cm.

Mr. Sharuff added that, despite it being wrapped in sailcloth, there was some apparent damage at the corners. This could be attributed to either the earthquakes or the explosion, or both. He described the stone as being smooth, as if it had been touched often, and being much warmer than other stones or rubble around it. Mr. Sharuff further reported that the stone showed inscriptions or carvings, though he was unable to decipher them.

He admits to taking the stone home with him to Jordan, assuming that since all family members had perished in the explosion, there would not be any interest in one simple stone artifact. “Besides, it just felt right.” He added.

Just before he met with this reporter, Mr. Ahmed Sharuff had turned the stone over to one of the rabbis at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Mr. Sharuff, a devout Muslim, told this reporter that he believes he was commanded in dreams to do this. He describes his dreams as being vivid, colorful, and compelling.

Mr. Sharuff was adamant that one or more higher powers spoke to him in his dreams. He related having heard the same message in a variety of languages, through a variety of voices. He is convinced that these higher powers have charged him to share the stone, the tablet and its message, with the entire world. Acting on these dreams and the instructions, he traveled to Jerusalem and tried to present the stone to the Knesset, assuming world leaders would be interested, but he was referred to the Jerusalem Great Synagogue.

This reporter has made several inquiries at the Synagogue and has been assured that extensive studies are in progress to authenticate the age, decipher the inscriptions and make comparisons to existing artifacts. This reporter has learned that experts on Dead Sea artifacts have been called in.

It is important to note that the Dead Sea Scrolls and remnants of the Ten Commandments were found in Cave 4 near the village of Qumran.

This reporter will remain on the case and inform you, the reader, of any further developments.

Between other assignments I made a general nuisance of myself at the Synagogue. My persistence paid off when six months later I was one of the reporters present at the following press conference.

March 31, 2024. Christian Easter.

Announcement from the World Ecumenical Council.

Six months ago, the Jerusalem Great Synagogue was presented with a small stone. The gentleman who donated the artifact, told Rabbi Slobovak that he had been instructed to bring the stone to temple.

Rabbi Slobovak shared the artifact with his superior, Rabbi Dimitrov, who is an expert in antiquities and specializes in decoding and understanding the Dead Sea scrolls.

Rabbi Dimitrov, after examining the stone, called in colleagues from both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, the Church of England, other Christian leaders. Leaders of the Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other religions.

In addition to extensive studies, including carbon dating and comparisons to the original Dead Sea Cave 4 discoveries, and spurred by visions experienced by all who have touched the tablet, the members of the council are convinced, beyond a doubt that the tablet is authentic and contains two additional Commandments.

XI - Thou shall not judge or persecute another for his belief.

XII - Thou shall not proselytize or impose one’s belief on another.