The moment he steps foot out of the airport, Montgomery’s smothering embrace makes him regret having stepped foot onto the first of those many cramped, noisy airplanes. The honking of cars and the rising of drab, dull buildings cements that regret. They remind him of the worst changes his home has undergone, these days. His companion, sensing his sour mood, attempts to lift his spirits as they sit in the back of an Uber.
“We will find them here, in such a loathsome place.”
She reassures, but the man isn’t comforted much. He responds in his native tongue, clinging onto it like a memento.
“Are you certain we should look for them, at all?”
She smiles, though it feels forced.
“They should be held responsible, should they not?”
At this, conviction dissolves his discomfort. He has choice words for those he plans to meet, and trifling concerns won’t delay these words.
“Ah, well.”
The conversation ends there. The driver parks at a hotel and offers to help the pair unload their luggage from the trunk. The man shakes his head and goes to retrieve the suitcase himself. The woman looks at the driver, thanking him for the polite gesture. She returns it by shifting her face, speaking with a voice the driver recognizes.
“She’s waiting for you to call. She misses her father.”
The driver, astounded, stumbles over his words.
“How did-did you-did-”
But before he can finish his question, she and the man with the suitcase step away to check into their hotel. It becomes a wondrous day for the driver, as he calls his estranged daughter.
As she checks the pair into their room, the front hotel doors open abruptly. The man sharply turns, tightening his grip on the suitcase. A pair of women hurry inside, carrying a stack of pamphlets and wearing blue shirt displaying the message: “He returns!” With zeal in her voice, a woman declares,
“They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory!”
The other woman adds, with similar enthusiasm,
“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!”
Some hotel staff start to move toward the women, politely but firmly ushering them out. The first woman says, before being escorted away,
“There is new life for all! Come, see for yourselves!”
When the women leave, the man relaxes his grip. He asks his companion,
“What was that?”
To which she, after a moment of deliberation, simply responds,
“Opportunity. Let’s follow.”1