The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (75 page)

A
s
h
e
dr
esses
f
or sc
hool h
e sees
th
at
his trou
sers a
re t
oo s
hort -
eve
n with
out s
hoes
o
n, th
ey
look too
s
hort. And th
ere
i
s
n
othing
m
ore to
l
et
d
own,
n
o
further cl
oth
t
o
dr
aw o
n. H
e
mu
st
h
ave grown a
nother
i
nch in th
e
l
ast
f
ew mo
nths
wi
thout n
oticing i
t
and sta
nding b
efore
th
e
full-l
ength
mirr
or o
n th
e back of t
he d
oor
,
h
e w
onders
a
t th
e
imp
erceptible gro
wth
o
f hi
s
b
ody,
findin
g i
t h
ard
to
acc
ept th
at
h
e
will
c
hange f
rom w
hat h
e sees
h
ere i
n the mir
ror i
nto
a
Gr
own-Up,
w
ith
d
ifferent vo
ice,
s
mells
a
nd hab
its, a
nd p
er
h
aps
di
ffere
nt
beli
efs.
H
e wo
nders if h
is
belief w
ill cha
nge, if h
e
will
s
till beli
eve
wh
at
h
e
b
elieves no
w in ten, t
wenty o
r fift
y
y
ears'
tim
e?

Tod
ay is
th
e
d
ay
h
e m
ust
s
tand up
a
nd
say
wh
y
h
e bel
ieves. H
e
h
as
p
repared
n
othing in
hi
s
mind
.
All h
e c
an th
ink o
f i
s
hi
s
r
eticence a
nd th
e s
niggering
r
idicule
s
tirring at th
e
b
ack o
f th
e
cl
ass.
A
s
h
e
d
oes
hi
s
ti
e,
h
e
reh
earses
his first word
s a
nd h
ears
th
e c
ackle
o
f H
ooper a
nd h
is
foll
owers.
It would b
e goo
d if God
s
howed up t
oday,
but th
ere ca
n be no
g
uarantee
o
f thi
s
.
God cho
oses w
hen t
o
r
eveal
Him
self.
He doesn't und
erstand
th
is se
lectiveness on G
od's
p
art.
It
's
a my
stery
.
Ju
st as
h
e ca
n't
e
xplain wh
y s
ometimes he c
an
talk to God
as
n
aturally as
if H
e we
re
s
itting in th
e
r
oom
with Him
, a
nd th
en
i
n
o
ther ti
mes
f
eel
th
at no
thing
is
th
ere
.

H
ow ca
n h
e
m
ake t
hem b
elieve w
hen
his
o
wn f
aith
falt
ers
thi
s
w
ay?
H
e ca
n't.
It
is
n't up to him
.
Wh
y,
he could
s
tand b
efore
th
e
cl
ass
f
or
d
ays
,
w
eeks,
months
or
y
ears t
estifying
a
nd th
ey
would
s
till n
ot
beli
eve
him
.
H
e
could perf
orm
miracl
es
b
efore
th
eir eyes:
turn ink int
o
wine, bubbl
e g
um to
br
ead, co
njure
a
fi
sh
in hi
s
palm -th
ey s
till would not
c
hange. Th
e o
nes who list
en to
him will be th
e
on
es
who
a
lready h
ave a
d
esire
to beli
eve
pl
anted w
ithin th
em.

H
e
prays
n
ow
th
at
th
e
word
s wo
n't
di
e
in hi
s
thr
oat t
he
way
th
ey
d
id i
n th
e
dream
.
H
e
pr
ays
th
at
h
is wo
rds
w
ill
s
peak th
e
truth
.
It
is
temptin
g
to
e
xaggerate t
he thin
gs
h
e's
w
itnessed,
t
o s
prinkle his t
estimony
w
ith
b
ogus
d
etail a
nd
el
aborate ex
tras in
o
rder
to c
onvince
th
em.
But th
ere
w
ould
b
e
n
o
p
oint. G
od will be li
stening.
Th
ere
i
s
n
othing
t
o
b
e gai
ned
f
rom m
eddling
with th
e
truth
.
If h
e
t
ells
th
em a s
tack
of
li
e
s
and
th
ey
l
ike-w
hat h
e says,
h
e
will
h
ave
d
eceived
h
im
s
elf.
If h
e
t
ells
th
em
th
e
truth
a
nd th
ey
l
augh
him d
own
th
en
h
e w
ill h
ave
don
e
th
e
ri
ght
thin
g.
A
w
itness mu
st
t
estify
.

Ta
liesin
t
a
kes h
is
pl
ace
at th
e
l
ectern,
his
s
tomach
c
hurning up
a
t
t
he
s
i
g
ht
of
tw
enty-two
f
aces
re
ady
t
o
d
ismiss
or
acce
pt
hi
s wor
ds.

'
What
yo
u
go
nna t
alk a
bout W
orm:
di
abetes?
'

'H
ey
sta
nd up W
orm!'

'
Q
u
iet,
p
le
a
se
.
L
et
T
aliesin g
ive h
is
asse
mbly,' Mr D
avies
d
emands
.

'
S
h
ow
u
s yo
ur
w
a
rts, W
orm!
'

H
oop
er
i
s one o
f tho
se
in sh
adow a
t th
e
ba
ck o
f th
e
cl
ass.

He
is quiet but Taliesin knows he's there. Unusually, he has taken a back seat and
allowed the others to throw the verbal d
arts t
hat
d
isrupt a
nd discoura
ge.
Mr Davi
es o
rders
o
ne fin
al s
ilen
ce.

'Fo
r h
eaven's sake
, l
et
the b
oy s
peak!' h
e s
houts
.

A
kind of hu
sh
comes over the class. As
Taliesin looks at them he doesn't really see anyone person
.
He remembers the
a
dvice
th
e
t
eacher ga
ve
the cla
ss
l
ast
yea
r,
'
When
yo
u
s
peak to
p
eople,
tr
y
and f
ocus o
n
a
p
articular s
pot n
ear
th
e
b
ack
of th
e
r
oom, j
ust
a
bove th
e
h
eads o
f
yo
ur l
isteners.'
H
e
d
oes
thi
s
n
ow, a
lthough from wher
e
h
e
i
s s
tanding th
e fa
r
co
rners
of
th
e
room ar
e
in
s
hade and he cannot
quite see th
ose
wh
o a
re
si
tting th
ere.