Chapter 4
The Twelve Chosen
Jesus appointed us, the Twelve, to be His closest companions and messengers. We learned from Him daily, witnessing His compassion and power. We were a diverse group, united by our faith in this extraordinary man.
The dust swirled around our sandals, a constant companion on the winding paths of Galilee. It was a good dust, though, the kind that clung to you like the scent of the sea after a storm, a reminder of where we came from. Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and myself, Peter. Twelve of us. It still felt like a dream, this life. Just yesterday, it seemed, we were mending nets, haggling over fish prices, our biggest worries the next catch or a coming squall. Now, we were following *Him*.
Jesus. The name itself was a melody, a thunderclap, a whispered secret all at once. He’d chosen us. Not the scholars in the synagogues