THE TURK'S SWORD hovered over me. At any second he would strike the final blow. Yet all I could do was laugh.

At what I was dying for. At the total ridiculousness of it all. At the preciousfreedom I was about to be granted at last.

I looked into his hooded eyes, and though I knew it was probably my last breath, I simply could not hold back.I just laughed....

My attacker hesitated, his sword poised above my head. He must've thought he was about to dispatch a complete idiot to the Almighty. He blinked at me, his brows arched, confused.

I searched my mind for something to say in his tongue, which Nicodemus had taught me. Anything at all.

This is your last warning, I said to him. Are you ready to give up?

Then I burst out laughing once again.

The massive Turk, his eyes like fiery coals, loomed over me. I waited for the death blow. Then I saw his expression relax into the slightest inkling of a smile.

Choking back the laughter, I stammered, Th-the thing is... I'm not even a believer.

The giant man hesitated. I didn't know if he would speak or strike. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin. Nor am I.

His sword still quivered menacingly over my head. I knew any moment could be my last. I raised myself to my elbows, looked him in the eye, and said, Then, one nonbeliever to another, you must kill me in the name of what we donot embrace.

Slowly, almost inexplicably, I saw the hostility on his face fade. To my utter amazement, the Turk lowered his sword. We're too few as it is, he said. No reason to make one less.

Was this possible? Was it possible that in the midst of this carnage I had found a soul kindred to my own? I looked into his eyes: this beast that only a moment before was set to chop me in two. I saw something there that this whole bloody night I had not seen: virtue, humor, a human soul... I couldn't believe it.Please ,God , I finally prayed, don't let this be some kind ............