When Mateo first arrives in Haran, he finds himself in a world thousands of years removed from his home in Nicaragua.
Everything is unfamiliar. The clothing, the customs, the animals, and the daily routines of Abraham's household are things he must learn to understand.
Fortunately, he meets a boy named Suri.
Suri knows this world. He understands caravan life, the responsibilities of the workers, and the expectations of those who serve Abraham's family.
And he takes Mateo under his wing.
What begins as a simple friendship between two boys will eventually become one of the most enduring relationships in Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word.
A Friendship That Grows with Time
Mateo's first experiences in Haran are filled with discoveries. With Suri's guidance, he begins learning how to fit into a household very different from anything he has known.
But Verbum Aeternum has an unusual way of complicating things.
When Mateo returns to his home in Miraflor, his life continues as though he has been away only briefly.
Yet when Verbum brings him back to Abraham's world, he discovers that things have changed.
On one return, Mateo learns that he and Suri have become household servants to Sarai.
There's just one problem.
Mateo has no memory of how they reached those positions!
For Suri, however, nothing unusual has happened. His friend has been beside him all along.
Thirteen Years Later
On another extraordinary journey, Mateo returns to discover that thirteen years have passed.
Suri is no longer the boy who first helped him adjust to caravan life. He has become Eliezer's deputy steward, a position of considerable responsibility within Abraham's household.
And Mateo?
He discovers that he is now an under-steward.
But perhaps the greatest surprise isn't their new responsibilities.
It's learning that Suri has married and become a father.
The boy Mateo once knew now has a family of his own.
For Suri, these changes happened naturally over the years. For Mateo, they are discoveries waiting on the other side of Verbum.
More Than a Supporting Character
When I began developing Suri's character, I wanted Mateo to have someone who could help him understand the everyday world surrounding the biblical events.
But as the story developed, their friendship became something more.
Suri represents the ordinary lives that continued between the events recorded in Scripture.
People grew older. They married, raised children, accepted greater responsibilities, and built relationships that lasted through the years.
And Mateo, through his extraordinary journeys, gets to witness those changes in a way no ordinary traveler ever could.
That's one of the things I enjoy most about writing biblical historical fiction. The events recorded in Scripture provide the foundation, while imagination allows us to explore the lives unfolding around them.
A Friendship Beyond Time
Mateo and Suri begin as two boys trying to find their places in Abraham's world.
Years later, their responsibilities have changed, their lives have become more complicated, and one of them has a family of his own.
Yet something remains the same.
Their friendship.
And perhaps that's what makes their relationship so special.
Verbum can carry Mateo across thousands of years, but it is friendship that makes him feel at home when he arrives.
