Chapter Twenty-Eight

A sweet smelling breeze lifted my hair. The strange stillness of the temple mesa was gone. Leaves rustled once more. Birds sang. The ice cream truck finally drove by.

The absolutely ordinary day surrounded me, and I reveled in it. The grass under my fingers was soft and itchy. I didn’t remember falling. Hands digging into the earth, my body heaved out gasping breaths. My head was swimming and I struggled to keep from tipping over. It was a wasted effort though because I found myself sprawled out on the grass a few seconds later with Tanner hovering over me.

“Arra, what happened?” he asked, panting with anxiety. “You went so still. You didn’t look like you were even breathing, and then you just collapsed. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His hands roamed over my body checking for damaged and tickling me enough to make me laugh and squirm.

“Tanner. Tanner! I’m fine. It’s okay. We’re both fine, now,” I gasped.

Tanner just stared at me, completely perplexed. His eyes clouded angrily. “Why are you laughing? I was scared to death. I thought you were dead when you fell. What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Tanner.” I reached up and grabbed his face and pulled it down to mine. Seeing the fear in his eyes brought everything back. I never thought I would see him again and now that he was in my hands I didn’t want to let him go. Pulling him to me I locked him in a passionate kiss. His anger melted away the stiffness in his body and his hand came up to caress my face.

“I really didn’t think they knew each other that well,” Father Margulies said. Tanner and I darted apart at the chuckling voice, our faces deep shades of crimson.

“Are you okay?” my grandpa asked with a weary laugh. His voice was tight, his throat raw and nearly hoarse, but a relieved smile played on his face.

Looking over at him, I smiled. He looked worse than I felt. He pulled himself off the ground, using the bench arm rest for support, and slid onto the uncomfortable wooden slats. Reaching for me, his hand shook slightly. I stepped away from Tanner and went to him.

“I’m okay, Grandpa,” I said. “I’m better than I expected to be at this point.” Taking his hand, I slid onto the bench beside him. Tanner and Father Margulies both waited for us to gather our thoughts. I was sure they both wanted explanations, but they looked content to wait a little longer.

“How did you know it would work?” I asked. The relief and wonder I felt at how he had rescued me made him look down self-consciously. “I didn’t think anything would stop this from continuing.”

“When I saw his face, how different it was from the dream, I was shocked. I believed him when he said he wanted to stop it. I could almost pity him. Almost,” I said with a grimace, “but I still didn’t think he would stop from killing me.”

“When I looked at them,” my grandpa said, “I realized that they were the ones being punished. I mean, it doesn’t really make sense to kill so many just to teach two people a lesson, but I think that was what Tlaloc was doing. I had suspected it before today, but there was no way to know for sure. I wasn’t sure either of them would actually do what I suggested, but I hoped.”

“If you could have seen her in my dream, the joy on Kivera's face when she was offered a way to save herself, you never would have believed she would offer herself to save me. I wouldn’t have,” I said.

“When my great uncle described what had happed at the temple, the way the woman looked ready to crumble into dust, I knew she must be hungry for redemption, they both were. I wondered if she would take the chance to atone for her terrible choice, if only it was offered. I just wish I could have done something for the others,” my grandpa said, pain cracking his voice.

“When Kivera, mentioned the other girls,” I said, “asking if they could be saved too, my heart leapt. I prayed for that brief second, that Katie and Maera would come back. I know it was a foolish thing to hope for, but it was hard not to.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I was so afraid that I was going to be forced to watch you die.” He shook his head, as if shedding years of pain and grief in the slight motion. “I’m just so glad to have you here now. Let’s have no more talk of the past. It has haunted our family long enough.”

Both Tanner and Father Margulies still looked slightly unsure of what had actually happened, but neither of them said anything. I would explain to Tanner later, and I was sure Father Margulies would get the details from my grandpa sooner or later. But for now neither of us wanted to speak of it anymore.

“What time is it?” I asked. The time spent atop the temple mesa seemed to have lasted days, hours at least. With the exhaustion that had overwhelmed me, I would not have been surprised if it really had been several days since the Aztec guard had touched my hand. I shivered remembering that brief contact.

“It’s twelve oh five,” my grandpa answered. “I don’t think any time passed at all while we were there.” Rubbing his eyes, he sighed deeply, expelling emotions that seemed ready to overwhelm him. “I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”

“Me too.”

My grandpa ran his fingers through his hair and winced. His fingers came away bloody.

“That isn’t going to be easy to explain,” Father Margulies said.

“We’ll just tell your dad I tripped while we were hiking. Old fogies like me are always falling down,” he said, laughing for the first time in days.

“Then he’ll want you to go in for a cat scan,” I said.

“Why don’t you come inside and let me get you cleaned up,” Father Margulies said. “I’m sure Tanner can get Arra home okay.”