THOSE WHO HEAR

 

Collected Papers of Rev. Andrew Kaczmarek (1857–1903)

Editor’s Preface (1903)

The following documents were recovered from the personal effects of Rev. Andrew Kaczmarek, formerly of St. Rita of Cascia Church.

They were found in a trunk beneath the floorboards of a rented room in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, following the Reverend’s unexplained disappearance in October of 1857.

The materials consist of letters, journal entries, copied fragments, and several loose pages of uncertain origin. Some show signs of water damage inconsistent with their place of storage.

Several letters addressed to a Dr. Elias Whitcomb were found among the Reverend’s papers. Though properly dated and prepared for post, none bear evidence of having been mailed.

No body was recovered.

No formal inquiry was pursued.

The Reverend’s last known movements placed him in the Allegheny foothills, traveling alone.

Letter I

June 3rd, 1857

My Dear Dr. Whitcomb,

You once asked whether I had encountered, in my travels, any surviving sects unaccounted for in the established genealogies of Israel.

At the time, I had not.

I write now to amend that answer.

There exists, in the valleys northeast of Pittsburgh, a people who do not belong to any recognized lineage — yet who claim descent from one long scattered.

They do not call themselves Jews.

They do not call themselves Christians.

They call themselves Those Who Hear.

Journal Entry

June 11th

The locals refer to them as Shim-O-Mites.

A corruption, surely.

Yet I cannot dismiss the phonetic resemblance to Shim’on — Simeon.

It is a name not kindly remembered.

Letter II

June 19th

You will recall:

“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations”

Here, that passage is not merely scripture.

It is inheritance.

These people build their dwellings low to the ground.

Not in poverty — no.

In deference.

Their structures seem pressed into the earth, as though seeking not to rise above it.

When I asked why, an elderly woman replied:

“We do not build where the listening is strong.”

Journal Entry

June 23rd

Children are forbidden to shout.

Not discouraged.

Forbidden.

A boy raised his voice in play. His mother did not scold him — she covered his mouth.

Not in anger.

In fear.

Fragment (Translated)

We were told we would be scattered.

So, we scattered.

We were told the anger would pass.

It did not pass.

It was given a place.

We were told to listen.

Letter III

July 2nd

I have traced their arrival — if not their origin.

A shipping ledger from 1693 records several families under variant names:

Shimot

Shemot

Schimot

Destination: New Amsterdam.

No oaths recorded.

No affiliations declared.

They arrived as though they belonged nowhere — and intended to remain so.

Journal Entry

July 9th

I have met one of their elders.

He is a man of perhaps sixty years.

Clear-eyed.

Measured.

When I asked his origin, he replied:

“We come from a place that was broken.”

When I pressed him, he added:

“It is still broken.”

Letter IV

July 18th

Whitcomb,

There are references — scattered and obscure — to a sect fleeing Jerusalem during the Roman destruction.

Some called them Zealots.

Others —

something older.

I have obtained a fragment said to originate from a Byzantine monastic archive.

I include it here, though I cannot vouch for its authenticity.

Fragment (Byzantine Source)

They carried the anger of their fathers.

They believed the curse had not ended.

They believed they must wander until the last accounting.

Journal Entry

July 27th

I was shown an object.

It was wrapped in blue cloth.

The shade -

I struggle to describe it.

Not merely blue.

Deep.

Almost - absorbing.

Within it:

A key.

Bronze.

Large.

Ancient beyond any evident purpose.

I asked what it opened.

The elder replied:

“It does not open.”

Then:

“It keeps.”

Letter V

August 3rd

I begin to feel a most peculiar impression in these valleys.

It is not that I am watched.

Rather -

that I am heard.

Every movement.

Every breath.

Not judged.

Not observed.

Only listened to.

Journal Entry

August 8th

There is a sound in the hills.

At first, I believed it to be wind.

Now I am certain it is not.

It resembles speech -

but lacks any structure or discernible form.

A murmur.

Unbroken.

As though the earth itself were attempting speech.

Extract (Iroquois Account, 1768)

They listen the way we listen.

But not for the same things.

Letter VI

August 14th

I asked why they avoid the ridges.

The elder hesitated.

Then said:

“The high places hear too much.”

I asked what that meant.

He studied me, then added:

“And sometimes -”

He did not finish.

Journal Entry

August 17th

I have made an error.

I have begun to listen.

Loose Page (Undated)

The sound is clearer now.

Not words —

but intention.

Something like —

response. 

Letter VII (Unsent)

August 21st

Whitcomb -

You must understand:

They are not hiding.

They are not preserving a faith.

They are not waiting for salvation.

They are

(ink blot)

guarding.

Not holiness.

Not truth.

Something else.

Something

(tear in page)

Journal Entry

August 23rd

I was told today:

“We are not the listeners.”

I asked what he meant.

He replied:

“We are what remains between.”

Loose Fragment

The key is not for a door.

It is for a place.

A place that is

(ink distortion)

not closed.

Only held.

Final Entry (Fragmented)

Date uncertain

I record this only that I may not think it later imagined.

The sound has changed.

It is no longer constant.

It waits.

It

(ink run)

answers.

God forgive me -

I believe -

it has heard me.

Editorial Addendum (1903)

The final pages of Rev. Kaczmarek’s journal are heavily degraded. The ink appears to have spread as though exposed to sustained moisture.

No such exposure can be accounted for.

The communities described in his writings cannot be located.

Local residents deny knowledge of any such people.

However -

In certain valleys of Allegheny and the surrounding ranges, particularly those subject to persistent fog - travelers have reported:

A low, unbroken murmur.

Not wind.

Not animals.

Something else.

Supplemental Note (Appended, 1903)

A single item was not recovered among the Reverend’s effects:

The object described as a bronze key.

Final Annotation (Unattributed, discovered in margin)

You are not listening.

You are heard.

copyright notice © 2026 Michael C. Metzger

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