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Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow

Chapter 26: Rooftop

V2.0 – 10/11/2025

I awoke into darkness.

I pushed the covers from off me and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I sat up and looked around me, trying to remember who I was and where I was. The huge unfamiliar room was quiet, nothing moved. The only sound I could hear was the sound of my own breathing.

Then I remembered everything.

I was Caleb Feldman now, an Israeli citizen, a prisoner of a rich man, living now in a huge estate just south of the great pyramids of Egypt in the city of Cairo.

I lay back on the bed as reality crashed down on me, smothering me with its weight.

I thought about the previous evening’s dinner, the oil poured over my head, the wine overflowing my glass into my lap, all to mock my faith. Blessed are those who are persecuted for my names’ sake. I didn’t feel very blessed. I ran my hand through my hair and felt the oil still in it.

I threw my legs off the bed and stood up uneasily in the darkness. I straightened the strange sleep shirt and pants that I wore. The carpets around the bed under my bare feet were warm and soft. I picked up the new phone I had been given off the bedside table and tapped the screen. It illuminated to life and blinded me for a moment. The time on the small screen read 3am. I still had some time till I would need to be awake to get to my training with Jason.

I walked across the dark room and found the huge double doors that led out into the hallway. I slowly opened one and stepped into the lighted corridor beyond it and closed it softly behind me.

I didn’t know where I was going.

I needed a walk. I needed movement. I needed to explore.

I walked through the winding hallways of the mansion that were lit by dim lights. I passed the occasional guard stationed outside a door, none paid me any notice nor said anything to me. I exited the building and walked the pathway that led toward the outside staircase. I came to it and climbed the stairs to the roof. The roof was illuminated with soft hanging lights. It was incredibly beautiful. The night air was warm and there was a gentle breeze. There were no clouds in the sky allowing me to see thousands of stars shining down on me.

The scent of flowers surrounded me as I made my way through the rooftop garden and then out onto the viewing deck. I half expected there to be someone out here sitting in one of the chairs unable to sleep like me, but there was no one in sight. I was grateful for the solitude. I walked to the railing and looked out.

It was even more of an incredible sight at night than during the day. Below me I could see the compound stretching out and then ending at the far wall. Beyond that was the darkness of the desert with only a spattering of lights here and there. I guessed those must be the excavation camps. Beyond the desert’s darkness rose the pyramids, two massive black silhouettes against the city lights beyond. The lights of the city spanned the horizon as far as I could see in both directions.

I turned around and chose a chair to sit in. The cool rooftop beneath my feet felt good as I walked across its uneven surface. I sat down and brought my legs up under me to sit Indian-style. I faced out towards Cairo and the beautiful night vista with the rooftop garden at my back. I felt safe up here alone in the middle of the night. I knew there were guards at every entrance to this compound. I knew I was physically protected here, at least for the moment.

Waves and waves of thoughts and emotions washed through me. I closed my eyes tight against them. I opened my awareness of the spiritual world around me and was surprised to find peace filling me. Then I shifted my spiritual sight and perceived Jesus sitting in the chair next to me. He was casually sitting back in the chair, lounging in it. He looked out across the roof at Cairo and the pyramids in the distance.

For a long time I just watched Him. He was always so peaceful, so calm, so powerful, and so… present to me. How I longed for everyone to be able to see Him as I did. I felt my anxiety and anxiousness fading from me. I turned my awareness back to the city in the distance.

Then Jesus spoke, “It wasn’t so long ago that I came here to rescue my people from the hands of Pharaoh.”

“Not so long ago.” I said softly. God’s perception of time was so different.

Jesus turned His head to consider me then said, “I’ve brought you here for a reason.”

I nodded to Him.

When Jesus spoke there was an overflowing of understanding I knew I could never put into words for others.

In an instant understanding flooded me. In an instant I saw Freya’s face smiling up at me as she held tightly to my arm as I led her through the hallways to go to dinner the night before, I saw Jason’s face telling me of the buildings of this compound on the tour, I saw Aaron’s face as he introduced me to his wife, I saw Mr. Zaryan’s face as he told me how I belonged to him now, and I saw all the faces of the guards and servants around the compound. They were all the whys of my current circumstances.

I bowed my head and replied, “Give me the strength to be a light to those around me now.”

I looked up at Him. Jesus looked back at me. He shifted forward in his chair and put and hand on my shoulder. I felt the warmth of His love filling me from the spiritual touch. “I live within you. I have filled you to overflowing with My Holy Spirit. My Father and I are one.”

One. The reality of that word flooded me. God and I were One, just as They were One. Wherever I went, He went. I wasn’t alone here. Far from it. My awareness of the spiritual world around me expanded and my mouth fell open.

In that moment my eyes were opened.

I could see everything.

I saw, standing in a circle around me on the roof, my guardian angels. They stood at least eight feet tall, both males and females, they wore gleaming golden armor from head to foot, they held strong shields that shone with brilliant light, and they branded swords that looked sharp enough to cut through anything.

I slowly stood to my feet and turned around and around.

Just beyond the rooftop, just beyond the compound’s walls, and filling up the night sky I saw the armies of heaven. Ranks and ranks of flaming chariots led by flaming horses illuminated the spiritual realm above me. They rode in a wide circle around me. They held flaming swords of fire. They wore bright armor that shined with God’s light. There wasn’t just one or two, but thousands, no… millions of them.

I turned and turned taking in the heavenly vision.

Tears ran down my cheeks. How could I ever think I was alone again with such a host of heaven protecting me. How was it possible? What had I ever done to deserve such protection?

Jesus stood up and watched me taking in the incredible sight around me. He shone more brighter by far than any of the angels. He took a step closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders. He looked me deep in the eyes. I couldn’t look away. I was drawn into the flaming depths of his gaze. My awareness of everything else faded away until He was all I knew, or saw, or sensed.

“I show you all this so that you can endure what comes next in your journey.” Jesus told me, His voice the sound of rushing of waters. Tears filled his eyes. He blinked sending them running down His cheeks. Why was He crying? Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision for a moment. I blinked to clear them. The weight of what He was telling me tried to crush me, but He somehow held it back.

“What comes next for me?” I asked Him softly.

He smiled and, not answering my question, said, “I will be with you through it all. I have a purpose in all of it. Trust Me. Find your strength in Me. Love those I have sent you to. Forgive them. Be My representative to them.”

I nodded to Him. He pulled me to Himself in a hug. I felt His love flood me. I wanted to stay in that moment forever, safe in His arms.

My awareness of the spiritual world faded slowly. I was again standing alone on the dimly lit rooftop of the mansion of the compound in the middle of the night. I still felt Him hugging me.

“Thank you.” I whispered to Him, and added, “Help me never forget what you’ve showed me tonight.”

I took one last long look at the incredible vista of Cairo in the distance. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Whatever God had planned for me next I knew this one thing: He would be with me through it all as He always had been.

I turned and walked through the rooftop garden and went down the stairs to the courtyard below. I reentered the mansion and found my way back to my room. I opened, entered, and closed the large door quietly behind me. I crossed the dark room back to my bed using my phone’s illuminated screen to light my way. I crawled back under the covers and fell back asleep quickly with the feeling of Jesus’ hug surrounding me.

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