PROLOGUE
Seventeen Years Ago . . .
Sarah stood atop the mountainside, looking out into the sky.
The expanse of rich darkness and scattered stars reminded her of home. She
desired to return there someday, but knew that she couldn’t. Things had been
set in motion. There was no way to turn back now, even if she tried.
Still, something within her body felt wrong.
Is this the right
place, right time? she thought.
Maybe the details got skewed, blended together, lost amongst
all the immaculate planning. Even they were known to be wrong sometimes. She
hoped against all hope that they weren’t. But stars never lie. She gazed into
the sky. Their configuration—constellation after constellation, linked like a
chain, with the Star of David perched in the center—was picture perfect. This
had to be it. All she had to do now . . . was wait.
And wait she did.
Hours passed as the moon slid by. Just as her mind began to
fill with doubt, it finally happened. The ground underneath her shifted,
rocking her from side to side, up and down, as the stars burned brightly. She
braced herself, running down from the mountain the best she could. Her old bony
legs wobbled, struggling to keep her upright as she negotiated the uneven
layers of rock and grass.
A loud crashing noise like the banging of cymbals lit her
ears on fire as the sky parted, sending a tiny bright shard screaming across
the black canvas, growing larger as it drew nearer.
Her eyes snapped to the road—the projected point of impact.
But one detail had been missed.
Unaccounted for.
Someone else was there.
A vehicle sped down the dusty road, on a straight collision
course with the object, which continued to grow larger and larger as time
ticked on.
Sarah waved her hands as wildly, screaming, “Hey, you have
to stop!”
But her screams went unnoticed. She gasped as the object
crashed to the earth, tearing the car into pieces. She squinted, filtering the
heat from the explosion as she moved in closer to examine the wreckage.
A gaping hole where
the roof used to be greeted her, revealing the charred remains of another
passenger. Sarah scanned the rest of the vehicle for survivors, finding only
the shell of the driver white-knuckled to the steering wheel.
Her heart dropped.
The muffled sound of a baby crying tickled her ears, urging
her to examine the object in the passenger seat more closely. It resembled a
meteor, covered in craters and black ash that sent her into a coughing panic. A
small crack in the outer shell provided just enough space for her to look
inside.
She grabbed the door handle with both hands—wrinkled fingers
trembling as she ripped the car door free—tossing it by the wayside. With a
sigh of relief, she peeled back the shell. Black smoke stung her eyes while her
hands burned from the heat. But Sarah ignored them both, pressing forward with
her mission. Nothing would stop her now. With wet eyes, she smiled, finally
finding what she had so desperately been looking for—a baby girl.
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