777 - Bourne Again!!!

Recap: Samuel, Deji and their friends were travelling on holiday through Costa Rica on the 7th of July 2007, when it occurred to them that the date was of some major significance to their destinies. They had figured that it referred to the 7th verse of the 7th chapter of the 7th book of the Bible, but just when they were on the verge of discovering the implication of Judges 7:7 they were involved in a terrible road accident. When Samuel awoke two years later Dami, the woman he loved, had gotten married and he had no recollection of any events since the accident...
When Samuel woke, Deji and Afua were at his bedside. He sat up and observed them cautiously.

It was Deji who broke the silence. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine thanks," he replied, but he had things other than his wellbeing on his mind. "What is today's date?"

Deji and Afua looked at each other, but before either of them could respond, Samuel continued. "Let me see your phone," he said. Deji took his phone out of his pocket and passed it to him. He immediately checked the date. 09/07/2009. So he hadn’t been dreaming; he’d been unconscious for exactly two years…and two extra days.

"Dami told us that you had already found out," Afua said.

"We weren’t meant to tell you," Deji added, "the doctors thought that the shock would be too much."

"Where am I? Are we still in Costa Rica?"

"Yes, you’re in San José hospital’s special patients ward," Deji replied. "We flew in from London a couple of days ago when we heard your condition had improved. Your mother had to return to London to sort out a couple of things but she will be back here tomorrow."

"How is she?"

"I spoke to her this morning," Afua said. "She absolutely can’t wait to see you!"

There was a long pause before Samuel finally said, "So what have I missed these past couple of years?"

"Where to even begin..." Afua started.

"Well, let’s start with you lovebirds. Are you married yet?"

Afua wasn't very good at disguising her feelings and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Go on," Deji said, trying to lighten the mood. "I think you can tell him. After all, he already knows he’s lost two years. What's the worst that could happen?"

She looked him in the eye, as if hoping to gain strength from him, and then nodded.

"Well," she said to Samuel, "we broke up shortly after the accident."

"Really, what happened?"

"I had a dream that it wasn’t meant to be."

"Let’s just say that we both realised that we weren’t compatible," Deji explained.

"Wow!" Samuel exclaimed. There was a barely noticeable pause before he continued. "What about Dami – who is she married to?"

Deji hesitated. "I think it’s probably best if you heard that from her directly..."

Samuel was satisfied with the response, at least for the moment. After a short ponder he continued, “You know Quepos reminds me of the word ‘queso’ in Spanish.”

“Really, what does that mean?”

“It means cheese. Have you read the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’”

“Yes,” Afua said, “it’s about two mice and two little people in a maze going around looking for cheese. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” he continued, “the cheese signified what they wanted out of life. Our trip to Quepos reminds me of their journey to find the cheese.”

“Really,” she responded, “how so?”

“The unpredictability of everything. It’s like our passage through life. You embark on a journey to a certain place you aspire to but on the way things barely turn out the way you plan them.”

“And when you reach your destination or achieve your goal," Deji added, “it never feels quite how you expected it to.”

“Yes,” Samuel agreed, “and the people you start your journey with aren’t necessarily the people that you complete it with.”

Afua also chips in. “So it’s like an underground network where people get on and get off at different stops?”

“Exactly,” Samuel continued, “and most times you have no control over when and how they come into your life, or indeed when they leave.”

“That’s certainly interesting,” Deji concluded. “Anyway, I brought you some books to read. We ought to leave so that the doctors can see to you. You’ve been out for a long time! The good thing I guess is that on this journey of life, God always gives us second chances!”

Deji put the books on the coffee table as they left the room. When Samuel turned his head he noticed that a Bible sat on top of the pile. It was bound in black leather and had the words “NUEVO TESTAMENTO” inscribed on it.

Second chances, Samuel thought. The Bible is made up of two testaments. Two years, two days, he thought. Second chances. What if the seventh verse of the seventh chapter of the seventh book is in the New Testament and not the Old Testament? It was an epiphanic moment. Samuel jumped out of bed and grabbed the New Testament Bible, shaking his head at the irony of it all when he realised they had found similar Bibles in Quepos but didn’t check them because they only contained the New Testament. He looked at the contents page and counted to the seventh book. It was 1 Corinthians. He hurriedly turned to 1 Corinthians 7:7. Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me—a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.

Oh no, not the gift! Samuel thought. What if this was the path he was meant to take in life? Perhaps this discovery was to help him overcome the struggles from his past. Perhaps this all made sense, considering that the woman he loved was now married - God gives some, like him, the gift of single life while others, like Dami, the gift of married life. He couldn’t help but feel that this was a second birth and he determined that he was going to live it to the fullest. In that moment, Samuel knew what his calling was – at least he thought that he did.

When Deji and Afua left Samuel’s room, they returned to the hospital reception, where Dami and Officer Barbosa were waiting for them. Officer Miguel Barbosa was the head of Special Operations for the San José police who had rescued the four friends from a kidnapping by a Costa Rican drug lord shortly before the accident. When Dami saw them emerge, she ran into Deji’s arms and hugged him tightly.

"How is he doing?" she asked. "Did you tell him about us?"

"No, I didn’t," Deji replied. "The doctors think the shock might be too much for him to take if we told him too soon."

Afua agreed. "If he fainted for two whole days when he found out you were married, who knows what will happen when he finds out who you’re married to!" she said.

"I’m really worried how he’s going to take it," Dami admitted.

Deji held her reassuringly. "Remember that this is for the best. The alternative would have been much worse. We have to keep reminding ourselves of that even if Samuel never learns the truth."

“Speaking of the truth,” Barbosa interrupted somewhat impatiently, “did he take the bait?”

“Only time will tell,” Deji responded, “Like we agreed, I made sure the New Testament was top of the pile of books, so we’ll have to see if he bought it.”

“You do realise that I’m going to have to ask him some questions to make sure that he doesn’t remember anything that’s happened?”

“Of course,” Deji replied, “take all the time you need.”

As Barbosa left for Samuel’s room, Afua turned to Dami and Deji. "Since we're not telling Samuel about you guys yet I think it would be a good idea for you to lay low while he recovers. Why don’t you return to London for now until he is well enough to leave Costa Rica? I can stay back here for a few days to keep him company."

"Okay," Dami said, with some reluctance. "But make sure you keep us updated on his progress and let us know when it’s okay to come back out here – we’ll have to tell him sooner or later."

They hugged Afua, said their goodbyes and left the hospital, taking their rental car back to their hotel room.

The mood in the car was sombre and neither said a word for ten minutes. The tension in the air was palpable; Dami had noticed a change in Deji’s body language the moment they left the hospital, and she knew him well enough to detect when he was keeping up appearances in public. Something was clearly troubling him. She tried to put her hand on his but he chose that moment to place his free hand on the steering wheel.

"What’s the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied as tears began to well up in his eyes. "I just feel guilty about what happened to Samuel, and what’s happened since"

"Deji, we’ve been through this a thousand times, you’re not responsible for what happened to Samuel!"

"I know, but it doesn’t make this any easier. I knew how Samuel felt about you and that’s all he’s going to care about when he finds out about us!"

"Hold on, weren’t you the one reassuring me at the hospital that this was a small price to pay given the alternative?"

“Yes, but it seems like I’m the fall guy in all of this. I just wish there was an easy way of getting him to understand the circumstances.”

Dami pondered for a moment and then continued, “So would you rather we told him about the 300 and what really happened to him?”

“Of course we can’t do that. Remember that it’s in his best interest that he doesn’t remember all that?”

“Not to mention that it’s classified information?”

“That’s also true.”

“Look, don’t worry about Samuel. He’s mentally strong. He’ll get over this in no time.”

“You’re right, and once Barbosa confirms that he doesn’t remember anything, we can all move on.”

Dami was silent for a while, staring out of the window at the passing scenery. "Don’t you believe that we would have gotten married even if Samuel hadn't gone into a coma?" she eventually asked.

Deji didn't respond, but that was as much an answer as anything he could have said. She shifted her body ever so slightly so that she was now turned to face the window. They continued their journey to the hotel exactly as they had begun it – in complete silence.

When Samuel woke up later that evening, Afua alone was sitting by his bedside. She was crying. He quietly observed her for a minute, noticing that she was holding some documents. Looking closely he could see the phrase ‘The 300’ written in bold on the file on her lap. Unbidden, his mind immediately shot back to Judges 7:7, the scripture they had discovered just seconds before their fateful crash. He didn't know how, or why, but he could remember it verbatim. The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."

"What’s wrong?" he asked, once he was ready to let her know he was awake.

She hurriedly reached up to wipe the tears from her face.

"Nothing…nothing at all." She wasn’t very convincing, as she barely managed to get the words out.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, if you insist." He stared at her for a moment to see if she would change her mind. She didn't so he continued. "Something has been bothering me since I came out of my coma. I had these very vivid dreams about being in an ambulance after the crash. So vivid that they felt real. Barbosa was there. He asked me several questions. He said his name was actually Agent Shenouda. It's not a name I'm familiar with but I remember it so well. Ordinarily I could have dismissed this as a meaningless dream but his coming in to see me this afternoon seemed to confirm it. He asked if I remembered anything about the crash. Of course I told him I remembered nothing."

Again she did a poor job of concealing her thoughts. Her hesitation and the slight worry on her face betrayed the fact that she knew something she wasn’t willing to say.

"Afua, is there something that you’re not telling me? Do you know anything about my dream?"

When she remained silent, he continued, "What is that you’re holding? It says something about three hundred."

"Oh, that’s nothing," she replied, putting the file away more hurriedly than she would have liked. "Didn't we see the movie together? The one about the 300 Spartans who fought against the vast Persian army. You said it was a classic tale of the underdog emerging victorious despite overwhelming odds."

"Didn’t they lose that battle?"

"I think you meant they gained personal victory despite being defeated. You remember Judges 7:7 don't you? Gideon’s valiant 300 defeated the Midianite army numbering tens of thousands. You used it as a comparative story. You said they gained a public, as well as personal, victory. I think you were using it to highlight the difference when God is on your side. Didn't you say that's what the story of our whole episode has been about?"

Samuel couldn't remember saying any of the things she now attributed to him, though they sounded like statements he could have made. And he couldn't remember Afua being a convincing liar so it had to have been true. Didn't it?

"So you're saying that everything we’ve been through - the 777 riddle, your dreams and the two years I’ve lost all have something to do with 300 men?"

"No Samuel. I’m saying you said that. Look, I have to leave. You really should get some rest."

"Wait," Samuel said as she made her way for the door. "I don't remember any of the stuff you just said. Tell me about the 300? And why do I have memories from after the crash if I’ve been in a coma all this time? What really happened to me? You have to tell me."

Afua got to the door and paused. Her friend was more formidable than any of them had given him credit for.

"The answers you’re looking for are somewhere in your subconscious. To find them you have to go back to the beginning, where it all started." And then she left the room.

The beginning, Samuel thought. Whatever the future held, he knew that it would involve digging for the missing pieces of his fractured past. A past so mysterious that even those closest to him were intent on keeping it from him.

THE END

1 Corinthians 7:7 (The Message)
Judges 7:7 (New International Version)