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"She stood up, threw up her aruage was sih words to describe it¡ªhow she had come upon me on the banks of the sea and seen that I was naked and she had given herself toI could not be a man of the earth

"No sooner had ht from above had filled the cave She had rushed in fear fro it, and before her eyes I changed so that she could see through me, yet still she saw me

And I was grown tall, with is! This vision¡ªthis creature through whoh water¡ªshe saw only for an instant Then I vanished I was gone as surely as I sit here now She had hovered, shivering, watching, praying to the ancestors, to the Creator, to the Demons of the Desert, to all powers for protection, when suddenly she had seen ain¡ªtransparent, to sued and enor towards earth in a fall that would have killed a h that is what I beca in the dust

" 'God,' I prayed 'What do I do? What this woman has said is true! But I am no God You are God What do I do?'

"No answer came from Heaven, not to my ears, not to my heart, not to my cumbersome and elaborate brain

"As for the crowd of listeners, whoed to be about thirty-five, exclusive of all the children, no one spoke Everyone was considering this No one was quick to accept it No one was going to ju in my manner and posture held them aloof

"No surprise I certainly didn't cower or shiver or evince what I was suffering I had not learnt to express angelic suffering through flesh I , coh to try to hurt me as they so often hurt others, to stab, or pierce, or burn h times to their enemies, and to their own despised

"Suddenly the whole group burst intoA very old man rose to his feet His words were even simpler than hers I would say he had perhaps half of her working vocabulary But this was enough to express himself and he asked of me simply: 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

"The others reacted as if this question were an expression of sheer genius Maybe it was The woman pulled very close to me at thatlook, she embraced me

"I realized sohtly afraid of all these people, her kindred And she wasn't afraid ofThat is what tenderness and love can do, and ht And God says these people are part of Nature!

"I hung ing her up withall the words known in her language, soeneration that the adults didn't yet know, I said:

" 'I mean you no harm I came from Heaven I came to learn about you and to love you And I wish you only all good things under God!'

"There was a great cla their hands, and rising to their feet, and the little ones jued that Lilia, the woroup She had been cast out to die when she had come upon me But she was now surely upheldAnd she had returned with a god, a deity, a sky beingthey aimed for it with many syllables and combinations of syllables

" 'No!' I declared 'I aod I did not make the world I worship, just as you do, the God who did '

"This, too, was accepted in jubilation Indeed, the frenzy began to alarm me I felt the li and screa at the wood in the fire, and this lovely Lilia clinging to me