Girl with all the Pain

by Michael Herman

  “Ay captain. Full speed ahead.”

  Forbes gives Zed an irritated look, starts to say something and then stops himself. Better to just close his eyes and concentrate on the search. He is quiet during the rest of the drive that ends in a steep, narrow road slowly winding its way around and up the huge hill.

  When they arrive near the top, before Zed can park, Forbes announces, “She’s not here. Let’s park and walk to the top, where the statue is. Should at least be a good view of the city below.”

  “You’re looking better, Uncle Forbes, if that means anything.”

  “Yeah,” Forbes rubs his face, “I’m feeling better, but I’m not sure I’m going to get much now. I think I’m losing her.”

  “Well, at least you can’t fault the view. Definitely won’t be a waste of time from the turista standpoint.”

  They walk to the brick paved Plaza Vasca that fronts the small Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception church, and that is below and to the side of the huge Virgin of the Immaculate Conception Statue. Two full-size statues flank the wooden double doors that lead into the church. A stone relief of Saint Christopher supporting the baby Jesus on his shoulder fills the arch over the doors. Above the stone relief resides a full-size statue of the Virgin holding the baby Jesus.

  “We can’t NOT go in,” Zed says as he heads towards the church. Inside is a rustic three-story volume formed by arm-deep thick stone walls with huge beams that support a wood plank ceiling. Decorating the walls are numerous reliefs depicting the life and death of Jesus. A crucified Jesus hangs from the ceiling at the end of the aisle, flanked by carved wooden benches on each side.

  “You see any of this in the scream?” he asks Forbes.

  “No,” is Forbes’ quick answer.

  “Move on to our query?” Zed says to Forbes, who is already walking back out the doors. “So much for enjoying the native artwork,” he mumbles to himself as he follows Forbes out of the building.

  They head up masonry stairs flanked on both sides by terraces of shrubs and flowers. At the summit, a towering white Madonna stands with outstretched arms watching over the city. Standing beneath it, seeing all the people with cell phones out snapping pictures, Zed says, “Photo op city up here.” He pulls out his cell phone and jokes, “Feel like doing a selfie?”

  Forbes doesn’t even acknowledge the jest. His eyes pan across the city below. The mount they are standing on is over 1,000 feet above the rest of the surrounding city. Buildings and streets stretch out in all directions below them. High-rise structures stipple the downtown area. East of them the white-capped mountains travel forever, both north and south, into the distance; fading into the smog.

  “Where are you, my little one? Which church was in your mind?” he murmurs quietly. His impression of her has grown weaker, but he is sure she is somewhere below, somewhere not far from where he stands, someplace where she can see the statue he stands beneath.

  He sits down at the top of the stairs, closes his eyes and tries to block out the surrounding crowd. Like a sonar ping, Isabel’s signature reaches out to him; ping, ping, ping. But, either its strength is getting weaker or his sensitivity to it is waning. He knows it’s only a matter of time before he loses her completely. Where is it coming from? What direction? Opening his eyes, he walks to his right, where his senses tell him the signal is strongest from this direction. Scanning the buildings below, he searches for what he feels is the best link to her location. Finally, he fixes his eyes on a church with a spire in the distance.

  “There,” he says to Zed. “That church. It may be the one.”

  Zed looks off in the haze and squints at the neighborhood directly beneath the hill. “I don’t see it.”

  “Come here. Follow where I’m pointing.”

  Zed stands next to Forbes, tracks down Forbes’ arm to his extended index finger and sees something that may be what Forbes is pointing at.

  “Okay.” He pulls out his cellphone, brings up a GPS map of the area, and types in a request for churches that brings up Parroquia de Santa Filomena. When he shows it to Forbes, Forbes says, “That’s the parish.” He points to a symbol on the map. “That’s the church, Iglesia Santa Filomena. That’s where we go.”

  “So what do we do? Stop in and ask if anyone has noticed a little girl screaming?”

  Forbes, already walking down the stairs towards the car, says, “We drive, Zed. Just drive.”

  Straining his eyes, Zed looks off towards the church. “Where are you, little screamer? What are we going to find when we get there?”

  Chapter 11

  Day 1

  Santiago, Chile

  Isabel marvels over the library of books in Sister Mary’s living room. An entire wall is covered with shelf upon shelf of books: Big books, small books, books that smell newly printed next to books that hint of mildew and age. Sister Mary has left her alone for the moment, telling her she’ll return shortly. Like a child with a stick running along a picket fence, Isabel runs her finger over the books, bumping along until her eye catches a title of interest: Signs of Guardian Angels. She pulls the book from the shelf, sits down in a chair and opens to the beginning.

  Inside the book, she reads that Guardian angels leave signs of their presence.

  A white feather is one sign. The passage reads that Guardian angels leave white feathers for us to find to show that they are with us. Isabel has never seen a white feather left for her.

  Another is the sound of a celestial choir. Isabel is not sure what a celestial choir sounds like. The only choir she has ever heard is the choir at church, and she is fairly sure that the author is not talking about that.

  Coins, crystals or pebbles can be left as small gifts by the guardian angel. Isabel has seen lots of coins and pebbles but they never seemed like they were left for her as a gift. Maybe she wasn’t paying attention. She thinks leaving pebbles would be silly.

  Media signs are another gift. Is finding this book a media sign?

  Coincidences are another sign that a guardian angel is there. Maybe one is looking for something and a friend comes by who has seen it and is able to help find it. Isabel can think of a lot of coincidences. Maybe her guardian angel was there at those times. She’s unsure.

  Scent is another sign. The book says many people notice the smell of flowers, especially roses. Other scents are vanilla or perfume or cologne. She thinks of the odor of her big friend, and giggles to herself about the thought of that being the sign of a guardian angel. He certainly looks out for her by finding places for her to sleep. He brings her food and sometimes toys. Sister Mary, who always smells nice, is definitely sent by a guardian angel. She loves Sister Mary and wishes she could stay with Sister Mary forever.

  The next chapter deals with humans being Earth angels. This interests her and addresses her thoughts that she may have been responsible for making the boys disappear instead of her guardian angel. Is she an Earth angel? She reads on to find out.

  The first sign that someone is an Earth angel is that one is wise and mature for one’s age. Isabel considers this and can’t really pinpoint anything that would make her wiser than anyone else. The book addresses people trusting and opening up to an Earth angel. Only a few grownups like Sister Mary and Mrs. Diaz seem to trust her, and no one really opens up to her.

  The second is that people ask an Earth angel for advice. Isabel can think of only a few times someone has ever asked her for her advice. Usually, people never care what she thinks. This reading is not going well for her. Disappointed, she considers closing the book but decides to forge on anyway.

  The third is that an Earth angel feels a strong sense of purpose. Isabel’s life is simply survival. This makes her feel more certain that she could not be an Earth angel.

  The fourth is that an Earth angel has intense sensitivity. This buoys Isabel’s hopes. She has always been very sensitive to crowds, avoiding them and feeling hemmed in by them. Violence, especially directed at her has always left terrible feelings inside her. Mayb
e it is her sensitivity that makes her scream and makes people vanish. This line of thinking bears consideration. She decides to pay attention to her sensitivity. Maybe it’s a clue.

  The fifth has to do with healing and philosophy. That is a dead end for her and she quickly moves on to the next.

  The sixth is confusing. It states that an Earth angel is attracted to abusive situations or relationships. Isabel knows that her life is filled with abuse at the hands of others, but she has never felt attracted to it. Instead, she’s done her best to avoid it. And the section states that Earth angels sometimes use drugs and alcohol. That is definitely not her. She thinks the book must be mistaken on this part. The people whom she has encountered that fall into this category are people to be avoided.

  The seventh is having a deep personality. The description of what that means is confusing and doesn’t sound like her.

  Isabel closes the book and contemplates what she’s just read. Is she an Earth angel? Or is she being protected by her guardian angel? She still isn’t sure. She drops to the floor, lays the book out in front of her, and reads over the signs once more, one by one.

  When Sister Mary returns, she finds Isabel kneeling on the carpet, facing the bookcase, engrossed in the book. Isabel doesn’t hear Sister Mary enter the room. Sister Mary crosses to her, bends down, reaches out with her index finger and touches Isabel on the shoulder. Startled, Isabel lets out a yelp as a small spark pops into the air between Isabel’s shoulder and Sister Mary’s finger. Sister Mary gasps with surprise and snaps her hand away from Isabel.

  Reflexively, Isabel cowers in fright and then, when she sees that it’s her beloved Sister Mary, instantly relaxes. Sister Mary quickly surmises that her feet against the carpet caused a static shock to occur between the two of them. Recovered, she laughs at the minor incident. It’s been a long time since she was bitten by static shock. It’s nothing to get excited about, just a side effect of friction against the carpet.

  “Oh, Isabel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a shock like that. It must be the dry weather we’ve been having the last few days building up the static shock in the carpet. Are you okay?”

  Isabel is surprised by Sister Mary’s laughing reaction. People usually respond in anger when they get shocked by her. Sister Mary’s laughter is refreshing. The only people responding with laughter were the boys laughing at their friends who got shocked by her. The ones getting shocked never laughed. This is just another reason to love Sister Mary.

  “What have you there, my love?” Sister Mary asks.

  Isabel holds up the book for her to see.

  “Oh that. It’s silliness given to me by a friend. I thought I had gotten rid of it a long time ago. Did you read it?”

  Isabel nods.

  “Well, I’m sorry if it confused you. Don’t put much stock in it.”

  “You mean that guardian angels don’t leave white feathers as a sign they are there?”

  Sister Mary laughs. “Isabel, I grew up on a farm that had chickens. If white feathers were a sign of guardian angels, I would have had thousands of them. Guardian angels are mostly for your soul, my love. I wish they were here more to protect us from harm, but sometimes harm just finds a way.”

  “What about Earth angels? People that are angels on Earth. The book says that people who are angels on Earth do drugs and drink alcohol and are attracted to abusive relationships.”

  “Well, that right there is a clue that the book is just so much silliness. So you are still concerned about your guardian angel?”

  Isabel nods her head.

  “Child, I think it’s better to pray to God or the Holy Mother for help. Do you pray often?”

  “Sometimes,” Isabel admits.

  “When the boys who were hurting you disappeared, did you make a prayer that they would stop and go away?”

  “I just screamed, Sister Mary.”

  Their conversation is interrupted by three quick knocks on Sister Mary’s apartment door. She answers it, a muffled conversation between the sister and a male ensues for a few moments, then she closes the door and turns to Isabel with a smile.

  “Good news. Father Donovan says that he is going to make a special case out of you. He has agreed to let you stay with me for the time being. Our lack of success in finding you a suitable family worries him. He feels maybe you would be better off here with me for a while. Do you know what that means?”

  “I’ll be living with you in your apartment?”

  “That is exactly what it means. I’ll make room in my study and make it into your own personal bedroom. Have you ever had a bedroom to yourself? Did the Lopezes have you in a room by yourself?”

  “I slept on a cot in Mrs. Lopez’s sewing room. The boys slept in their room. Mr. and Mrs. Lopez slept in their own bedroom.”

  Sister Mary sighs. “Well, you’ll get your own room here with me.”

  This is the best news Isabel has heard in a long time. She leaps up off the floor and into Sister Mary’s arms. Finally, she feels safe. Finally, she’ll have a friend she can trust who won’t hurt her. Finally, she can take warm showers and have clean clothes and not be bothered by mean little boys like the Lopez boys.

  What started out as a terrible day has turned into the best day ever. Relief washes over her and once again, the skittish yellow-eyed black cat within her purrs and purrs.

  Chapter 12

  Day 1

  Santiago, Chile

  Forbes stands on the sidewalk in front of the historic Iglesia Santa Filomena church entry wall while Zed looks across the street to the other side, where a mashup of humdrum retail clothing shops front the street in both directions. At a tiny café opposite the church, three people occupy one of the sidewalk tables, drinking coffee, smoking and making small talk. Two schoolboys wearing backpacks walk past them engrossed in their own conversation. In front of the shop windows of an adjacent shop, a young couple discusses clothes on display.

  As he turns to the historic church, a tall wrought iron and masonry entry wall separates him from the paved church courtyard beyond. Vibrant red flowered bougainvilleas in full bloom entwined into the metalwork embrace it on both sides of the entry gate. Beyond the wall, the interior courtyard is quiet and empty of people. He looks up, and his eyes travel to the cross-topped multi-story gothic spire they saw from the summit of the Immaculate Conception hilltop. East of the spire in the distance is the omnipresent summit, gauzy through the haze of smog. A twenty-story high-rise a few blocks away stands tall, obscuring part of the summit.

  Forbes walks to the closed gates, pulls the handles and finds them locked.

  “So, what now? We climb over the gate or try to find another entry?” Zed asks.

  Forbes looks down and frowns. “I’ve lost her. I’m sure she was here, but I’m not getting a read from her. Whatever trouble she was in must have resolved itself because I’m getting no feelings of distress from her.”

  “So we hit a dead end.”

  Forbes shakes his head. “No. We got close this time. Next time we know where to start looking for her.”

  “You think she lives around here?”

  “It’s just a feeling; like this is her stomping grounds.”

  Fleeting images had flown through Forbes’ mind during the scream episode; images of buildings, streets crowded with people, vendors selling goods, a red car, a boy’s face.

  “We can always come back. Maybe after we do the Laser Array thing, we can return the next day and cruise the neighborhood, get into the church, talk to the good Padre.”

  Forbes shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head. “Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

  “Now that we’re here, we might as well take a look around. Get a feel for the neighborhood.”

  “Yeah, I like the sound of that.”

  They leave the truck behind and begin walking, taking a spiral path around the church, widening their area of travel until they come to a small cobbled street that is blocked off by a police car and a fire
truck. A crowd has gathered at the entry to the street that has policemen controlling access to it. Forbes is able to make out from random conversations that people have been killed somewhere near the middle of the street. Three boys’ bodies have been found and there was an explosion in the building next to where the boys were found.

  “Drug lab maybe,” Zed guesses.

  “Could be anything. Kids playing with gasoline, who knows.”

  “Think our little screamer was involved?”

  “I hope not. Not if there are dead bodies. Our screamer is a girl, I’m sure of it. She wouldn’t be one of the dead boys.”

  “Good news for her.”

  “Unless the boys had something to do with her dilemma.”

  “You’re thinking she was with them when they were all in trouble and she managed to escape?”

  “I had the impression she was being choked. Maybe they came to her rescue and paid the price for their interference.”

  “Maybe we should learn more about the boys.”

  Forbes presses a few people in the crowd about details of the deaths, but no one has additional information. He approaches a policeman blocking access to the street and tries to get data from him, but is rebuffed and told it’s a police matter, and not for the general public.

  Returning to Zed he says, “Maybe Twizzle’s people can get something out of the police. She has a way of getting what she wants from government bureaucrats.”

  “She’s pretty wrapped up with her Breakthrough Starshot project and the people at the Centre.”

  “She’ll find the time. She listens when it’s something serious.”

  “And you think this is serious.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “Yeah, this is serious. Besides, what else do we have to do? Party down with the locals and look for women? Sight-see all the turista stuff? Check out the volcanos and mountains and lakes and rivers and islands and desert and...”