“I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face.”
Yrial didn’t respond. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed, but Eloa either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“It’s a fairy tale, a myth. Nothing more,” he continued. “It’s the only tool early man had available to approach the great unknowns of the world, and it had been passed on as truth for centuries. But nobody believes it anymore.”
“Look, just because you don’t.”
Now it was Eloa’s turn to pause. He stopped walking and turned, examining her face. “You’re really serious,” he said finally.
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Because it’s preposterous, that’s why. Listen, suppose we found somebody, a tribe, say, that had been living in some unexplored region of . . . I don’t know . . . the rain forests, maybe, ever since the Great Devastation.”
“And they worship the Rain God? Is that where you’re going with this? That’s a tired argument, Eloa.” She turned from him and started walking again.
“I’ve never heard a satisfactory answer,” he called after her. He caught up to her and matched her pace.
“Eloa, not everyone has to believe the same thing you do. I’m not asking you to adopt my beliefs.” She added quietly, “But I wouldn’t mind if you’d at least respect them.”
“I’d like to, Yrial, but they’re illogical. How can you say that there’s some higher power guiding all of us?”
“How can you say there’s not?”
“I don’t have to. It’s like the savages who worship the Rain God. Can’t you see it? Anyone who knows anything about the way the world and the universe work can just see it immediately. Those beliefs are based on fear and ignorance.”
“So you think that science has all the answers? Did you hear the weather forecast this morning?”
“No. What does that have to …?” he began, but she cut him off.
“Thirty percent chance of rain.”
“And look.” Eloa looked up and held his palms outstretched as if to catch water droplets. “No rain! They got it right.”
“But why the caution? Why not just say, ‘Hey, folks, it’s cloudy today, but leave your umbrellas at home?'”
Eloa looked at her in disbelief. “It’s a weather report, Yrial. Do you have any idea how many variables are at work? There’s always a chance for the forecast to be off.”
Yrial smiled. “Do you have any ideas how many variables are at work in the universe? Certainly more than in today’s weather!”
“That doesn’t prove there’s a God,” Eloa said.
“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed. “But what if I told you there was a thirty percent chance of God?”
She winked at him. Eloa’s mouth slowly spread into a grin. “You’re impossible. You know that?”
“There’s a lot I don’t know. But there’s one thing I know for certain.”
“What’s that? That your faith in your God enriches your life?” Eloa asked sarcastically.
“No, that you enrich my life. Even if you can’t believe.”
“Now, that’s something I can believe.” He reached his arm around her and drew her close to him. They walked in silence the rest of the way.