For those of you who may still be worried about Gabrielle, as I am, you should know that there is someone other than Inca who is looking out for her. Though Inca’s protection is quite enough for anyone! But today I met Tariku, the Persuasion who has taken on the case of Gabrielle’s parents.
Tariku is young like me, but already a Principality, and he did not seem concerned by the rigid beliefs that his new charges cling to. “Homophobia is something that we have been fighting for a very long time,” he explained to me. He is a sunny, smiling soul, and just being in his presence makes one want to please him. “I’m delighted to say that we’re winning—the tide is turning towards acceptance. But progress always incites backlash, and people like Gary just set their feet more firmly against the current.”
I was intrigued by this picture of a battle I have not been aware of in our Long Fight. “Would you say that feeling such as this results from fear?”
“Oh, certainly,” Tariku said. “Some of it is the simple feeling of not being able to understand the viewpoint of another. I think here, though, it is more complex. People who set themselves on a high moral ground are frightened when the world seems to turn away from those morals they uphold. To them, the glorification of what they see as sinful behavior threatens all else that they believe to be right.” He looked at Gary as we spoke, and I was surprised that there was fondness in his gaze. “When you have been taught one thing all your life, when it is what you trust to make the world safe and comprehensible, it is hard to examine it objectively.”
“But that is your task.” I shook my head. “I do not envy you, my brother!”
“Less my task than my strategy,” Tariku said with a flick of his wings. “I’ve found that if I can persuade my charges to take a closer look at their own beliefs, they often find that they have been building up a God who suits their world, rather than trying to shape their world to suit their God. It takes courage and humility to come to that conclusion, of course.”
“Neither of which are Gary’s strengths.”
Tariku laughed. “Yes, I know—I am going into this case with open eyes! But I do have an advantage in that Gary truly does love his daughter. He may not have the first idea how to express that love, but it gives me a starting point.”
“Well, I wish you luck,” I told Tariku, “not that I think you will need it. You are just the angel for the job.”
“I am pleased to hear you say it, Asa’el,” he said, turning his warm smile on me. “I have been a reader of your work for some time, and I was honored to take on this case. If you believe that I will do well, then I am certain that I will reach Gary’s heart in no time.”
I was surprised, and a bit embarrassed, by his admiration. It has been some time since any of my siblings told me such a thing. Of course I am gratified to have so many readers who are interested and invested in my work. You all give me strength and inspiration to keep on, even in the hardest times. I thank you, and I hope that someday I may meet you all and call you not just sibling, but friend.