"I don't know yet," she replied, "but it comes from some berries I found in that last patch I was looking at. I think I'll run some a.n.a.lysis on them now. It'll keep my mind off Rufus."

"Ok Hun, I'll let you know if anything happens."

It was an hour or so later when Clare came back to the house.

"Steve," she said, calling him to one side. "I haven't had much luck with the berries, but look at this." She showed him her left hand.

"What's wrong with it Hun? I can't see anything."

"That's just it," she said, "this morning I cut my hand on something sharp, and it was quite a nasty cut, I forgot all about it in the rush to get back, but look, it's gone!"

Steve looked again where she was pointing but could see nothing, just healthy skin, very healthy skin. In fact, there were no spots or blemishes of any kind on either of her hands. Even the scar she had had ever since he had known her had gone.

"What do you make of it Hun?" she asked.

"I think we'd better take a closer look at those berries," he answered, and was about to say more when a cry came from the room where Rufus was. They both rushed in thinking the worst, but when they got there, Rufus was sitting up looking much better.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Clare asked Steve.

"I sure am," he replied, "let's crush one of those berries, and give it to him."

Clare took one from her bag and gave it to him whole. He snaffled it down and looked for more. "Just one for now old boy," she said, to him. Then they settled back to see what would happen.

About an hour later Sam came round to see how Rufus was doing. Rufus heard him coming a long way off and began to bark. This startled Steve and Clare, but not as much as when Rufus took off like a three year old out of the door to greet Sam as he arrived.

"What's this?" Sam called out as Rufus. .h.i.t him at speed. "What on the Moon has happened to him?"

Steve and Clare explained all about her hands and Rufus' miraculous recovery.

"Can I have a sample berry to run some tests on?" Sam asked after hearing it.

"Sure," Clare said, pa.s.sing him one, "let me know what you find."

Sam didn't bother to look at Rufus, it would have been too much trouble to get him still enough, so he just left, scratching his head as he went. Rufus showed no sign of slowing down, and no sign of any ill effects, and Clare's hands remained pristine.

The next day at breakfast, Rufus went through his old routine.

"Funny how I've missed that," Steve said, when Rufus had calmed down.

"It's like he was young again," Clare observed, "if he had just been healed, he would still be old, but he seems to be young again, do you think its possible-"

"Anything is possible," Steve interrupted, not letting her finish. "Remember the two trees in the midst of the Bible's Eden? Well, we may have found one of them!"

It was after saying this that something struck Steve's thinking. He jumped up and ran out saying, "Had an idea, see you later."

Clare examined her hands, they were flawless, and young looking, could it really be that they had found the tree of life?

Chapter Thirteen.

Chapter 4.

Kay Sam was busy in his lab with the precious berry. He found it to be quite unremarkable in both appearance and makeup. All of his tests had so far turned up nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing that would explain Rufus' seemingly miraculous recovery. Perplexed, he stared at his computer screen trying to figure out what he had missed. He'd done all the standard tests, and was now quite literally, stuck for a clue as to which way to go next. "Perhaps Clare has had more luck," he said, into the air, and he set off to find her. He was just about to leave when Steve walked in.

"Hi Sam, any news on the berry yet?"

Sam just shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say Steve, it's just a berry!"

"You didn't find anything then?"

"Well, I can tell you that it contains no toxins, is citrus, has vitamin C in abundance, and makes one h.e.l.l of a blue die! Other than that..."

"Is it safe for humans?" Steve asked. "As houses," came the reply.

"Thanks Sam," Steve said, and left.

On his way back home he b.u.mped into John who was also keen to find out just what was going on, and why Rufus was terrorising the dog population.

"Are the rumours true Steve, has Clare really found a miracle cure?"

"It looks that way John," Steve replied, "it has certainly given Rufus a new lease of life. I've just come from Sam's lab, he can't find anything out of the ordinary, and he says it's safe for humans too. Did you know that it healed a cut on Clare's hand, and removed an old scar that had been there for years? Her hands look twenty years younger...I think we need to share this with the whole community, let's schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning."

With that they parted, John off home, and Steve trying to catch Rufus.

When he finally made it home, with Rufus securely under his arm, he found Clare lost in thought.

"Penny for them," he said, as she looked up.

"I can't stop looking at my hands," she responded, "it's like a dream. They really are younger, not just in looks, but in feel and function."

She showed them to him, and he had to admit that she was right.

"I've called a meeting for tomorrow morning Sweetie, we need to share this with everyone. If there's anything you'd like to say..."

He stopped talking and held her hand against his cheek. She smiled and withdrew it, knowing that the dinner would burn if she didn't.

Over dinner, Steve told her about Sam's results. "He says it's just a berry, with nothing out of the ordinary in it at all."

"Beats me," she said, "I have nothing to add either, did he say it was safe for us to eat?"

"He said he'd give it to his granny--if he had one! By the way, did you find many of them out there?"

"There were quite a few plants in the patch I was studying, but it should be easy enough to grow them..."

She stopped because she could see he had a thought about to erupt.

"We have near perfect growing conditions here on the Moon," he said, "but would it grow on Earth?"

"No reason why not," she responded, "so long as the radiation levels are not too high."

"It's the radiation I was thinking about, or more precisely, radiation sickness. There may be hundreds of thousands down there who could be helped by this berry. Something in me won't let go of that thought. If I ever had any doubt about the trip, I don't now. Let's see if we can get this stuff to grow."

It became late, and their bed called. Tomorrow promised to be another interesting day.

Morning came and everyone had a.s.sembled in the central meeting place. Conversation was buzzing when Steve and Clare arrived, so much so, that Steve had to whistle to get everyone's attention.

"Ok guys," he began, "I know you're all excited about Clare's discovery, and I know you know about Rufus!"

Hearty laughs went up.

"I wish we had some concrete evidence to present to you, but the simple truth is, we don't. Sam has tested the berry and found nothing out of the ordinary, neither has Clare, and yet-"

Rufus ran past chasing another dog.

"I rest my case," he said, hands in the air.

Clare stood to speak and Steve stepped back. "The juice from this berry healed a cut on my hand, and also removed an old scar that had been there for years."

She held her hands up for all to see, then continued, "They are young again, the skin seems to have been rejuvenated, every blemish has gone."

She sat down to stunned silence. Steve stepped up again.

"We need to talk about how we handle this. Sam says it's safe to eat, but should we make it part of our every-day diet, or keep it for those who are sick?"

"We don't have anyone who is sick!" This was Katy speaking, and she was right. There had been no sickness in all the time they had been on the Moon.

"It's difficult to test a medicine when no one is sick," Steve said, and was about to go on, when Kay stood up. Steve saw her and stopped to allow her to speak. All eyes were on her as she stood for what seemed like a long time. She was obviously embarra.s.sed and trying to summon up the courage to speak. Everyone waited patiently for her, she was well-liked amongst the Edenites, although she kept mainly to herself.

"It's not true that there are no sick here," she said, her voice trembling as she spoke. She looked at Sam, who gave her a supporting smile.

"The truth is, I've been sick for several years. I've kept it to myself, apart from Sam. I didn't want to be a burden to you, I know you would have worried for me, and I wanted to spare you that."

She broke down and was unable to continue, so Sam took over for her.

"Friends, I have to inform you that Kay has cancer. We've known about it for several years, and I've been treating it with drugs, but it's been a losing battle."

He looked at Kay for permission, she nodded.

"Kay only has a few months to live. There's nothing more I can do for her."

There were gasps, and some tears and a couple of the ladies gathered around Kay and hugged her.

Sam went on, "Perhaps this discovery was no accident. Ever since we've been here we've been blest. It's as though someone has been smiling down on us all the way."

There were nods of agreement.

"As Eden's only doctor, I move we give this berry to Kay, it may have no effect at all, but that changes nothing. On the other hand, it may cure her, in which case we will then know for certain that it works."

Sam looked to Steve for approval.

"What do you want to do?" He asked Kay.

"I don't want to be the bringer of death to Eden," she sobbed, "please let me try it."

"Ok," he answered softly, giving Clare a sign to go and fetch a berry, "but we will offer up our prayers also. Either the berry is a miracle, or the One who gave it to us is, either way, I believe we should give our thanks to G.o.d, Who has surely been with us throughout this entire adventure."

There was unanimous agreement to this; these people were intelligent enough to know that there had to be a higher purpose in all this, there had been far too many 'coincidences' for it to be random.

Clare arrived back with a berry and Steve came down and stood by Kay. He raised a hand towards heaven and prayed, "Lord, You are the Almighty, You alone have power over life and death, if You have given us this berry as Your instrument of healing we thank You. For all the good things we have here, we thank You, and for Kay's healing, we thank You. Amen."

With that Clare gave Kay the berry and she ate it. Through the tears she smiled. "It tastes like black-currant." There was cheering and applause, and Kay was hugged and kissed by just about everyone present. Healing or no, this event had forged a new bond among the Edenites that would not be easily broken.

The party went on late into the evening, and Kay brightened up considerably as the hours pa.s.sed. Normally she would have tired quite quickly at such an event, but the excitement of the occasion acted like a stimulant, and she managed to keep up very well. When it eventually dawned on folk that it was bedtime, they all escorted Kay to her house, seeing her to her door. She blew them a kiss as she closed it; she had never felt so wanted. It was a feeling she liked and wanted to get used to. For the first time since she'd eaten the berry she wondered what would happen, she certainly felt better than she had done for a long time. 'Could it be that it was going to work?' The thought filled her mind and she remembered Clare's hands...

"O Lord," she said, "please don't allow me to be the first to die in Eden."

Somehow she felt rea.s.sured after the prayer, it was amazing to her that such a simple thing could bring such peace. Her intellect had always caused her to keep G.o.d at arms length, yet now, she just knew He was with her. The realisation brought her great joy; now, she really did believe. Sleep was going to be a problem this night.

She tried to wind down by sitting and reading, but it was just about hopeless, everything was buzzing, she felt so full of life! 'Surely by now the adrenaline has worn off,' she thought, to herself, 'if that's so, why do I feel so alert? I should be worn out by now, but I'm just bursting with energy.' Kay was thinking this to herself and trying to reason it out, but she knew it was a waste of time. There was only one thing for it...Bed. Kay retired and fell asleep almost instantly, something she hadn't done since her teenage years. It was well into next morning when she awoke, the alarm having had no effect at all.

"I guess I'm ent.i.tled to a day off," she said, not caring that she was alone. "But that's just it, I'm not alone," she said, almost shouting. For the first time in her life since her parents had died, she didn't feel alone and it was wonderful.

"O Lord, You are wonderful!" She shouted. "How have I allowed myself to miss so much for so long?"

She was literally bouncing on her bed when a knock came at the door. She threw on a dressing gown and ran to see who it was. It didn't matter who it was, right now she loved everybody. She flung the door open to see Sam standing there somewhat startled.

"SAM," she bellowed, "what a wonderful day, come in."

Sam just looked at her.

"I came to see how you were," he said, "and I've seen."

Kay was radiant and still full of joy.

"Sam," she said, trying to control herself, "I've found G.o.d! Or rather, He's found me! I've found my faith, isn't it wonderful."

Sam was speechless, and the look on his face must have said it all, because Kay looked him straight in the eye and said, "I'm healed aren't I, I just know it, He's healed me."