“I ’d say you should step forward a little, Alice,” the Pillar says over his shoulder again. “I’d like you to welcome the little girl. She will be in your care.”
Slowly, I step forward, forcing a steady breath. I can’t imagine I’ll be seeing the girl I’ve always been curious about. I wonder if she can answer many of my questions.
“Once last thing,” the Pillar says. “I want to point out that the faces you’ve seen in Fabiola’s vision when you first knew about the Circus don’t stay the same.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll let the girl explain it to you, but for now understand that you will not recognize her face when you see her.”
“Now that sounds like another trick of yours.”
“It’s not,” the Pillar says. “Just bear with me. Open your mind and don’t be stubborn. Not with this girl. She is special, like I said.”
“But you say I will not recognize her from the vision.”
“True, and you will understand why later. Just keep an open mind.” He rolls himself closer. I don’t panic like Tom, but I’m totally apathetic for the moment. “It’s been frabjous meeting you, Alice.”
I swallow hard. Say nothing. It’s been frabjous meeting you, Pillar, I know. But you’re such a dark and terrible man, it’d be a sin if I admitted it.
“I hope you burn for eternity, Pillar.” The words cut like a knife out of my lips, but I manage to make him believe it.
The Pillar nods, sincerely disappointed — or sincerely faking his disappointment. He turns to the Mushroomers. “Get ready to meet the Queen of England boys. Just don’t get close to her nuts.”
The Pillar turns into a silhouette against the low sun outside. I watch him roll himself out into the hands of the Interpol officers. The Mushroomers behind him.
In exchange, a little girl is tapped on the shoulder and instructed to approach me inside. Like the Pillar, she is still a silhouette with the sun in her back. I can tell from her height that she is younger than what I’ve thought of her. Somewhere between seven and ten years old. I still can’t see her face. She is really tiny. If she has skills, she’d fit through the crawlspace of the hole. I see her carrying a box and a suitcase in each hand. They’re too big for her, almost weighing her down.
I stroll up to help her. That’s when her face shines through. That’s when I see her. When I realize she isn’t the girl I saw in Fabiola’s vision — though, I also realize I can’t quite remember the girl from that vision anymore.
But that’s not what’s makes me stop halfway. The surprise is unexpected, but brings such joy to my heart. How can this be?
I kneel down and open my arms for her.
She drops her belongings and runs into mine.
I hug her like I haven’t hugged anyone in a long time.
“I missed you, Alice,” she whispers in my ears. “But I’ve always believed in you.”
“I missed you, too.” I squeeze her in my arms as the doors close. “I missed you so much, Constance.”