THE DEVIL'S PARADISE
The tiny rough-hewn cabin lay in the lap of one of the most forbidding mountain ranges on the Pacific west coast. These arrogant peaks lashed out with unmitigated hostility toward any living creature who dared enter uninvited into their pristine realm and presence. They produced weather of every imaginable and chaotic description and brought it down with fury upon the heads of any unfortunate enough to wander through, however innocently. Man or beast; no matter.
Why Gary and Melinda chose to build and set up housekeeping in this devil's paradise is anyone's guess. Anyone's guess because they were a quiet, private couple, telling others little about themselves and where they were heading in life. We knew them, of course, at church, but they weren't great mixers. They kept to themselves, and their two children were as unassuming and shy as their parents. Nevertheless, the Adamsons were not uneducated rustics lacking in social skills and concern for their fellowman. They had met in college and both had degrees, she in psychology and he in engineering. They began their family not too terribly late in their married life (they were married midway through college but put off starting a family until after settling into the promising jobs awaiting them after graduation), yet certainly not as early as many other younger couples whom they knew. Born in the "Way of Truth," these impetuous and hot-blooded teenage babies were not allowed to date, first by church edict, and second, by parents in the thrall of the unbending and antiquarian Church Conclave.
Gary and Melinda were fine people who chose this neck of the woods, I can only assume, as an antidote for sorrow over the future they had abandoned and the unsatisfactory substitute placed in its stead.
Becoming well-educated and using their talents on behalf of humanity was important both to Gary and to Melinda long before they had met each other. It was a case of two young, earnest individuals wishing to rise above their respective upbringing in the lower middle class. Neither was ashamed of the heritage given them by their parents. They simply had to work all the harder for what they wanted in life. Likewise had their fathers, when young men, sought out a better way of life and, as a result, diligently though modestly provided for their wives and children. However, the young couple was part of a new generation that aspired to greater things. Certainly it wasn't a question of sheer materialism. Knowledge is power, and, if properly utilized and applied, becomes a beneficent means by which one betters oneself and those in one's sphere of influence. A degree and a career that pays well is not so bad either.
Having experienced the tragedy of mental illness among members of her extended family, Melinda, ever the child bringing home the wounded bird for Mother to bandage, or the lost dog - 'Daddy, can't we please keep him 'cause I know he's a stray and he's really hungry and he's so cute ...' - had a heart of gold, helping not only wounded beasties but also "wounded" souls of her own kind. She possessed an intuitive knowledge of what was troubling others, and acted - or did not act - accordingly. Calming and soothing the brokenhearted friends of childhood (as the need might arise), Melinda seemed a natural for her chosen field. Bright and inquisitive, she was loved by her friends and admired by her professors, who went out of their way to open several doors of opportunity for her.
The Adamsons were at one time a cheerful and giving couple. I say were because the recruiters who knocked on their door about five years ago changed all that. I don't mean that those two strangers alone turned Gary and Melinda's life upside-down. They merely introduced the couple to a life-altering religious experience.
Ordinarily, one would think of religious zealots as truly sincere (though misguided), wishing to aid the listener in the here-and-now in preparation for the life-to-come. The brand of zealots of which I speak, however, were connected with The International Church Conclave, the elitist oligarchy mentioned earlier. Rather than simply preach the Word from the Good Book, these recruiters seemed only interested in getting new bodies into the little meeting hall. To persuade potential converts not only to listen in the first place but also to attend the "Bible" class, the missionaries, of necessity, were compelled to make extraordinary claims about their faith. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. Evidence, or lack thereof, however, is not presently the point at issue.
Back to our polite and receptive married couple: they invited the two young men into their home and listened intently. After some fifteen minutes hearing an enthusiastic recitation about a better future, Gary and Melinda looked at each other. Each knew what the other was thinking.
Surely you know how it is when you're tuned in to another human being ...
A kindred spirit, a soul-mate.
