The wind in Beulah smelled of fruit. White flowers grew beside the streams. Across the river, the Celestial City shone. Christiana’s daughter stood in the doorway and asked whether this was where her brother had come before.
Chris nodded. He and Hopeful went into the garden and stood for a while in the old place. Christiana did not immediately follow. Watching the boys side by side, she could at last feel more than sorrow that she had missed the first visit.
Several letters arrived at the lodging. One came from the village Honest had named. The widow had received the money. Her reply was brief. The amount was correct, and she had recorded what was still owed. She did not say she was no longer angry. She did say the children now had clothes warm enough to wear.
Chris’s father read it twice and put it with the debt records. Christiana did not complain that the few lines were unkind. An honest account of the facts was already a place from which repairs could begin.
Another letter came through the helpers outside the city. The neighbor to whom she had written had finally left the dangerous district and was staying in a nearby village. Her house was lost. She had brought little away and complained of many inconveniences. When Christiana reached “I want to know how to find the narrow gate,” she sat down to write back.
Ignorance had sent news too. He was still learning to read maps. Now he was willing to ask before crossing a bridge. He was helping in the bridge repairer’s yard and hoped to travel again when his leg was stronger. Chris smiled and put the paper beside his scroll.
That afternoon, a messenger took them to a rise overlooking the river. It was the River of Death, he told the children. When the King called his children home, they would pass through it into the Lord’s presence. Until that day, their living days were a trust from the Lord. Looking forward to the city must not make them neglect the life and responsibilities he had given them today.
The little girl tightened her hold on her mother. “Are we going across today?”
“Not today,” the messenger said. “Today you have meals to eat, rest to take, the Lord’s words to learn, and many people to love.”
Christiana looked toward the opposite bank. Once she had only wanted to keep the family in the same house forever, as though a tightly shut door could prevent anyone leaving. She still could not bear to lose them. But she was beginning to understand that only the Savior could keep a whole life safe, including the final stretch on which nobody could bring their family along.
That evening she finished her reply and talked with her husband about settling nearby. They would work, provide for the children, and help the lodging care for passing travelers. Before bed, her daughter asked whether the new house would have a place for the rabbit.
“Yes,” Christiana said. “First we’ll find him a corner without a draft.”