Short Trip to the Edge
Where Earth Meets Heaven—A Pilgrimage
Chapter One
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
The boat is the Áxion Estín, and I am finally on the boat.
The concrete pier at the bow marks the end of the world, where lies a modest village with an ambitious name; it is Ouranoúpoli, Heavenly City. We remain bound to its bustling pier by two lengths of rope as thick as my thigh.
Any moment now, the boat will be loosed and let go, and we will be on our way to Ágion Óros, the Holy Mountain.
The air is sun-drenched, salt-scented, cool, and pulsing with a riot of gulls and terns dipping to grab bits of bread laid upon the water for them. The Aegean reflects the promising blue of a robin's egg. A light breeze dapples the surface, reflecting to some degree the tremor I'm feeling just now in my throat.
I've been planning this trip for most of a year.
And I've been on this journey for most of my life.
For a good while now, the ache o ... read full excerpt from: Short Trip to the Edge ebook
