Chapter Twenty-Six

I saw my grandpa as soon as I entered the garden. It was a small area, sheltered by trees on one side and opened to the grass and flowers on the other three. Under the shade of one of the trees, my grandpa sat calmly on a wooden bench. Letting go of Tanner completely, I walked over to the bench and took the seat next to him. Tanner stepped back giving us our privacy and waited with Father Margulies.

“Did you get a little sleep?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa, I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that. I should have been helping you. I’ve just been so tired since all of this started.” Maybe at least after I was dead I might get a little rest.

Wrapping his weathered arm around me, he pulled me close to his chest. “No, it’s good you got some rest. You may need it before the end.”

“Grandpa, there nothing left. I know you want to believe you can change what will happen, but you just can’t. We’ve run out of time,” I said. “Just promise me one thing.”

“What, Arra?”

“Promise that you’ll keep trying. We may be too late now, but it will happen again, and maybe by then you’ll have figured it out. Just promise you’ll keep trying,” I asked.

“Of course I will, but don’t give up yet,” he said. He stroked my hair for a few seconds before asking, “Did you tell your parents where you were going this morning?”

“I left a note,” I said quietly. “I told them I was going over to your house and that we were going to visit a friend of yours. It’s not much of a goodbye, is it?”

“Hopefully, goodbye won’t be necessary.”

“I almost stayed,” I said, “I wanted to have a few more hours with them, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to put them through that, watching me die, especially not Dad. I can’t do that to him.” I looked at my grandpa with guilt in my eyes. I had thought so much about protecting my dad from all of this, he seemed to need it so badly, but how much had I thought of my grandpa? “I don’t want to do this to you either, Grandpa. You’ve already lost so much. I feel so selfish expecting you to go through it all again. I just don’t think I can do it alone.”

He dried my tears with his fingers, brushing them away as fast as they could fall.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

His shoulders sagged. “I’m not completely sure, honey, but promise I won’t leave you alone for a minute. I have had more than twenty years to figure out what to do. I won’t lie and say I’ve figured everything out, but I’m not going into this blindly either. Just don’t let go,” he said, grasping my hand tightly.

His tone was so calm and sure. Did he have a plan? I wondered what he was still holding back. “How did you know what ceremony to ask Mr. Gadner about?” I asked.

His face and voice were calm, but he gripped my hand so tightly it started to hurt. “I went through all of this after Katie died. I knew then that the stories were real. I went to South America for a few weeks to see some of my family, others who knew the curse was real. I needed to hear the stories from someone closer to the source. Women are usually the story keepers in families, but not ours.

“My great uncle was bedridden from illness and age, but when he heard why I was there, he summoned me to his sick bed. He told me a secret that he had never told another soul, not even his wife. When his daughter died, like Katie and Maera did, he was right next to her. They were tending their goats together out in the fields when she suddenly started screaming. He said she leapt up and ran as fast as she could. He barely caught up to her before it happened.

“He grabbed her arm to stop her, and suddenly they weren’t in the fields anymore. They stood, both of them, on top of an ancient temple.” My grandpa struggled to control his emotions. “He was taken with her, but he couldn’t do anything to save her. They held him and forced him to watch his own daughter die. After that, he knew every detail of the ceremony. It wasn’t hard for him to find his answers then.

“He was so stunned. He had no idea how to help his daughter. Like me he didn’t believe the stories until it was too late. I don’t know that I can be any more successful than my great uncle was, but I will try. I have spent so many years searching for answers. They won’t take you from me, Arra, I promise,” he said, his calmness returned. He smiled down at me. “Just don’t let go of my hand.”

“I won’t, Grandpa,” I said, my eyes wide. He was scared, I knew that, but he had a plan, I knew that too. I knew why he would not tell me what it was as well. He was afraid it wouldn’t work. Even that thought soothed me. Not able to come up with anything useful myself, I threw every ounce of willpower into believing in my grandpa. Whatever he was planning, even if he didn’t believe it would work, it was more than I had. I did trust him. I hugged him even more tightly and hoped.

Sitting quietly on the bench, we watched the flowers blow in the breeze, neither of us speaking. Tanner and the priest stood watch as well. Tanner’s looked ready to run to my side, but Father Margulies held him by the arm. I guessed that might have had something to do with the story my grandpa had just told me.

The four of us waited together for what we knew must come. The morning breeze stirred the leaves above our heads. The sun inched its way up the sky. We hardly breathed. I knew it was insane to simply sit and wait for my death bringers to arrive, but I could not bring myself to move from my grandpa’s side. Ice cream truck music drifted through the air, drawing my attention to the nearby road.

Expecting brightly arrayed colors plastered on the side of a truck, my eyes widened as I saw a dark skinned trio of men slowly marching towards me. My body stiffened. Clutching my grandpa, I cried out. Tanner struggled against the priest, but Father Margulies held him tight.

“Arra, what do you see?” My grandpa’s voice trembled. He pulled me closer to his chest. “Who’s coming?”

“Three men,” I said breathlessly. “They’re dressed like the men in the dream. What do we do, Grandpa? They’re coming closer.”

“I…I don’t know. Running won’t do any good.”

Our eyes met, both wild with terror. My face hardened and my shaking stilled. “Well, I’m not just going to sit here and waited for them to come get me. Get up,” I said. Eyes on the approaching men, we stood together. I was ready to bolt into the trees, my grandpa stood his ground.

“Arra, you can’t run from them. You’ll only waste your strength, something I don’t think you should do,” he said firmly. His grip tightened on my hand, keeping me in place.

“But, Grandpa, there coming closer!” My calm visage collapsed. Shivers rippled through my body. My knees were on the verge of buckling and Tanner was trying to tear himself away from the priest. “They’re almost here,” I whispered.

“Be strong, Arra. We’ll get through this. Trust me,” he pleaded. His gaze was calm and sure. I didn’t know what his plan was to save me, but the strength in his eyes held me and comforted me in a way I would not have expected.

“Okay,” I squeaked, steeling myself.

Suddenly, and without warning, the men were in front of me and my grandpa. Their speedy approach did not so much as stir the air. Still unable to see the men, my grandpa seemed to be able to feel their presence. The air felt as though it thickened around us, noises ceased. I had the impression I had been wrapped in a bubble and suspended in time.

The man leading the group leaned close to me, but did not touch my body. Piercing eyes gazed into me, seeing through my outward appearance. He seemed to take pleasure in assessing his prey. An appreciative look settled on his features.

I pulled closer to my grandpa. What was this man doing? I wondered why he didn’t just take me wherever we needed to go.

The man glanced at his companions. Each nodded in agreement. The leader extended his hand, waiting for me to accept it.

Looking at my grandpa, I saw his bewildered expression and remembered that he could see nothing of what was happening. I didn’t want to take the man’s hand, but I felt that my grandpa was right. This was at least more bearable than screaming through the streets in terror. Slowly, my own hand extended. The tips of my fingers brushed the smooth skin of the Aztec warrior’s hand, and the world slid away.