There is silence for a moment and then Forbes is back on the line. “Father Donovan. Isabel would like to see Sister Mary. Is it possible for you to give me the name of the hospital and room number? She is adamant that we take her there as soon as possible.”
This is excellent news, Father Donovan says to himself. He gives Forbes the information and says he will meet them at the hospital. Forbes thanks him and then hangs up.
This is too easy. Finding Isabel, and now the chance to meet the mystery man and hopefully see Isabel’s twin. Finally, he will have some insight into the mystery that is Isabel. This is going to turn out well, he decides, in spite of Sister Mary’s injuries.
Chapter 29
Day 2
Santiago, Chile
Forbes never has cared much for hospitals.
This one is no exception. The odors of antiseptic and cleanser take him back to when he visited his older brother, Messenger, in the hospital. It was after their family’s encounter with the aliens in the Anza Borrego Desert in Southern California, many years ago. Staring at Sister Mary, asleep in her bed, brings back images of his brother wrapped in burn bandages in the hospital bed. It is not a good memory. Putting that aside, he turns to Father Donovan.
“She looks so peaceful,” he says in Spanish.
“She looks much better than she did when I first saw her in the emergency room,” he replies with a tone of relief.
Forbes watches Isabel next to Sister Mary and wonders what is going through her little girl mind. The minute she learned of Sister Mary’s whereabouts, she was adamant that she be with Sister Mary. The two of them truly have a bond.
Isabel is at the bed, holding Sister Mary’s hand. Her eyes, red from crying, are puffy and sorrowful. She is traumatized by Sister Mary’s injuries, which she now understands are her fault and not the action of a guardian angel. Guilt and remorse weigh heavily on her ten-year-old little girl mind.
But Sister Mary’s survival of the event is the overriding factor. She is returned to Isabel where before she had been taken from her. In spite of Forbes’ family volunteering to care for her and Ángel, she craves only the care and companionship of Sister Mary. It was, after all, Sister Mary who gave her a new life as a new Isabel. Sister Mary brought out parts of her she was unaware of. It is that nurturing that Isabel recognizes and gravitates to.
“Will she wake up soon?” Isabel asks no one in particular.
Father Donovan answers, “The nurse said she would sleep for a few hours. If you like, you can wait here to be at her side when she wakes.”
Isabel turns to him with such a pleading look on her face that he adds, “I’m sure everyone would like that, especially Sister Mary. It would make her very happy to have you here when she opens her eyes.” As the last words leave his mouth he gives Forbes a questioning look.
Forbes interprets the look correctly and says, “Isabel can stay as long as she likes. Sister Mary and Isabel being together is all that matters at the moment.” He could never say “no” to Isabel’s forlorn little face, so obviously moved by Sister Mary’s condition, so concerned–it cries out for relief.
At the back wall, Sonnet and the twin watch impassively. Both see beyond the little girl manifestation to the inner damaged GI, whom both regard as the real entity.
Twizzle, always the busy family CEO, has removed herself from the small bedside drama and is in the hallway, in a phone conversation with Doctor Eloisa de la Cruz. At the doorway to the room, like security guards protecting a celebrity, Zed and Ángel flank both sides of the door.
Forbes drags a chair from the corner of the room to the side of the bed, and directs Isabel to it so she can sit next to her Sister Mary and wait in comfort.
“Father Donovan, maybe you and I should talk somewhere where we won’t disturb Sister Mary’s resting. Can I buy you coffee or something?”
Father Donovan, seeing that Isabel and Sister Mary are well taken care of, is happy to move on to learning about Isabel from Mr. Forbes Brown. The fact that he arrived accompanied by the others has really piqued his curiosity. Is this some of Isabel’s long lost family?
“Tea would be fine. The cafeteria has excellent tea here.”
“Or maybe a Pisco Sour?” Forbes jokes.
Father Donovan laughs and says, “Mr. Brown, you have no idea how good that sounds at the moment, but I think tea will do.”
As they leave the room, Forbes says to Zed, “Going to the cafeteria for a few minutes. Bring you back anything?” Zed shakes his head.
“And you, Ángel?”
Ángel nods in thanks and then declines in a deep, soft voice.
As Forbes and Father Donovan walk away, the priest asks, “The large man, have I seen him around our neighborhood? Something about him is familiar.”
“You mean the odor, Father?”
Father Donovan grins in embarrassment. “Distinct, is it not?”
“We are working on that, Father Donovan. Maybe after a few more cleanings, we can get it down to a quiet roar. He’s been on the streets for a long time.”
“He was a homeless man whom you are now providing with housing and food?”
“He’s being taken care of just as we are taking care of Isabel.”
“Isabel,” Father Donovan says, just as the elevator doors in front of them open. “I am very curious about your relationship with her.”
Forbes steps into the elevator and presses the 1st-floor button. “What would you like to know?”
Father Donovan looks up at him and asks, “Are you her father?”
Forbes grins as the elevator doors close. “No, I have more in common with the large man with the special aroma than I do with her.”
“You are a relative of his?”
“For this conversation, I think we will have to say I am a distant relative. He, on the other hand, has been looking out for Isabel for quite some time; helping her and protecting her when she is homeless and on the street.”
“He is related to her?”
Forbes breathes deeply. “He is someone who looks out for her when she is without shelter. He protects her when he can. Finds food and sometimes a new place for her to stay.”
The elevator doors open and Forbes steps off and says, “So tell me about you and Sister Mary and Isabel. Isabel says she was living with Sister Mary. Says she is worried that Sister Mary will no longer want her to share her apartment with her. Is that true?”
Father Donovan frowns. “On the contrary, Sister Mary is taken with Isabel and was very concerned for her welfare after the bombing, which brings up another topic that I have little understanding of. Do you know anything about it?”
“Only what the news says. Sounds awful.”
“None of it makes sense. Isabel and Sister Mary were there together, I think. What does Isabel say about it?”
“Very little. I think she and Sister Mary got separated and then she came back to your neighborhood, maybe looking for Sister Mary.”
They arrive at the cafeteria and Forbes heads to the counter to order. Once they are seated and the two sit across from each other, Forbes asks, “So Sister Mary is able to care for Isabel?”
“It’s a temporary situation until she can find Isabel another home.”
“Perhaps we could help. There is a doctor we know who helps children without families find homes in the community. She has had great success and her people keep in constant touch with the families, looking in on them regularly, ensuring the child is happy and well provided for. Maybe we can introduce Isabel and Sister Mary to her and her people, and see if they are a good match.”
“So Isabel really has no immediate family? What of the young girl that was seen with Isabel, that one of my parishioners said appeared to be Isabel’s sister? She is not a relative? Is she your daughter?”
Forbes laughs. “That young girl is not my daughter. I’m not married nor have I ever been. No, she was just a friend. Maybe she and Isabel can get to know each other if Isabel and Sister Mary decide to
have Isabel enter the placement program. They do look somewhat alike. I can understand the confusion. So tell me a little about yourself and Sister Mary.”
Father Donovan is happy to talk about himself now that most of his fears about Isabel and Sister Mary have been taken care of. He spends the next half hour reminiscing about his time in the parish, and how he and Sister Mary came to know each other. By the time he finishes, Forbes is clear on the fact that Father Donovan has deep respect and admiration for Sister Mary. Perhaps if they weren’t both of the cloth, they might have made more of it, maybe getting married and having a family of their own, but Father Donovan’s devotion to the Church is apparent.
“And what of you, Mr. Brown?” Father Donovan asks.
Forbes tells him about their family’s venture into the Chilean wine-growing market, about how they have bought into a winery and are settling down in a farmhouse on the property. “We want to live on the land, watch the crops as they grow.”
“But how did you come to know Isabel and her friend Ángel?”
“Ah, that. I have a history of being a sucker for lost souls, Father. Perhaps it’s something you can relate to, being a priest. It was chance that I ran into him. And as my young nephew, Zed, would say about me, ‘He just couldn’t resist.’ I have a weakness for people like him.”
“You are going to bring him into your home? Are you not worried about your family’s safety? He is so large and dangerous looking.”
“He is a lamb, Father Donovan. Believe me. His devotion to the young Isabel says everything about him.”
“But his prior homelessness does not worry you? How can you be sure?”
“I’m as sure as I am about you, Father. He needs to be cared for and kept in little Isabel’s life just for stability. We’ll keep an eye on him, though I don’t think it’s warranted. If Isabel and Sister Mary agree to the placement, you and Sister Mary should feel free to check in on Isabel at any time. In fact, judging by Isabel’s attachment to Sister Mary, I would assume the two of them will be in constant contact, spending time with each other and doing things together. Except maybe they should avoid student protests in the future.” Forbes grins, making light of the subject.
Father Donovan reddens in embarrassment. “It’s my fault Sister Mary and Isabel got involved with that. Had I known, I would have never asked Sister Mary to go to the ministry. I should have known better.”
Forbes gives Father Donovan a sympathetic look. “One cannot know everything, Father. You may be close to God, but you aren’t God, none of us is. We can’t know everything all the time, maybe only once in a while.”
Chapter 30
Day 3
Caldera, Chile
Nearly finished with the operation of starting to recharge his bike’s battery, Rafa twists the last cable in place with a “click.” The connection is complete. He flicks two toggles and then checks the battery’s displays. The charging has commenced. Once started, the recharge (according to the manual) should take only a few hours.
“Seeing is believing,” Rafa mutters to himself, doubtful it will happen that fast.
Thanks to Twizzle’s phoning ahead for him, a reserved cabaña at the Hotel y Cabañas Portal del Inca in Caldera was ready for them when they arrived. Due to early preparations by the hotel staff maintenance man, setup for recharging his bike’s batteries has proceeded smoothly.
With the bike taken care of, what now fills his mind are thoughts of a Pisco Sour, a good shower, and a bed–soft, hard or anything in between, he doesn’t care. He is ready for some much-needed sleep. The cross-country drive through the night and into the next morning has been tough. Being pummeled by wind on a speeding bike for five hours is hard enough. Doubling that time frame, and with a passenger holding tight, is enough to weary the hardiest of men. But Isabel’s mirror had been uncomplaining and no problem for him. At times he had to remind himself that she was even there.
Now she is gone, wandered off towards the beach. She has dumped her helmet, gloves, and jacket off in the room and disappeared, telling him, just before she left, to not worry about her, that she would return in a few hours. Said she had areas to explore.
Rafa didn’t question nor worry about her. Avatars were never worried about. Besides, she was more than able to take care of herself. Being an avatar of the twin, no telling what powers she possessed. Woe to the pedophile who crossed swords with her. He would deserve what he got.
Unfortunately, as to the Pisco Sour, he quickly discovers that it’s too early in the morning for the bar to be open, meaning he has to forgo his alcohol, and instead be satisfied with a cold bottle of soda from a machine.
As he climbs the stairs of the rented little Cabaña, he finishes off the soda, belches loudly and heads for his bedroom, where he strips, showers and then climbs under the covers to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.
In what seems like short order, he is roused by loud banging from downstairs somewhere. Groggy and feeling grouchy from lack of sleep, he glances down at his wristwatch and sees that he has been asleep for over five hours.
“Shit!” he exclaims as the banging continues unabated. He has slept too long. Where is Isabel’s mirror, he wonders? She was supposed to rouse him when she got back. Is that her banging? Did she forget her key? Damn, she bangs loudly. He rolls out of bed, wraps a towel around his naked body and goes downstairs to the front door of his Cabaña. When he opens the door, he is surprised to come face to face with two policemen.
“Mr. Mundoz?” the taller of the two asks in Spanish. Neither of the men is smiling.
“That’s me. What’s the problem?” The first thing that comes to mind is his bike. “Someone steal my bike?” he asks. It has been a concern as he left it to charge.
“Bike? What bike, Señor?”
Rafa shakes his head. The bike is obviously not what they’re here about.
“Nothing. Just thought maybe you were here to tell me someone stole my motorcycle.”
The taller says, “Mr. Mundoz, where is your daughter? We were told that you checked in with a child this morning.”
Rafa frowns, wondering why the inquiry about Isabel’s mirror.
“She went to the beach a few hours ago. Why do you ask? Has she done something wrong?”
“You need to come with us, Señor,” the taller asserts.
“What’s this about? Why are you asking about her?”
The taller gives Rafa a look of sympathy.
“Please, Mr. Mundoz. Don’t make this any harder for us or you than it has to be. If you could get dressed and then come with us to the station, your questions will be answered.”
Rafa looks from officer to officer and relents.
“Give me a minute or so. I’ll be right back.” Just as he is about to close the door, he reconsiders and asks the men if they would like to come inside and wait for him. The taller thanks him, accepts and then the two of them step inside. While he is upstairs getting dressed, he hears one of them talking on his handheld radio, but cannot make out anything beyond the sound of his name being discussed. Finished dressing, he comes down to the living room and departs with the men.
Ten minutes later, a green and white police car, with the three of them inside, pulls up to a clean two-story white building with green painted base. The words Carabineros de Chile Subcomisaria de Caldera in green three-dimensional letters are set into the wall over the entryway of the building. The two police officers get out and let Rafa out from the back seat. They escort him into the lobby, where they ask him to wait. A few minutes later, he is led into a small room where a small figure under a white cloth lies on a metal table. The taller uncovers what turns out to be the dead body of Isabel’s mirror. She is completely clothed, but wet. Water from her water-soaked garments pools around her body. She appears to be uninjured.
Rafa studies the body then looks to the policeman, who is watching him closely. He turns back to the body, closes his eyes and covers his face with his hands. This is bad. If he is the father, h
e should exhibit grief, but when it comes to acting, he knows he is lousy. He turns from the body, inhales deeply and does his best to impersonate a man trying to hold it together.
“Tell me what happened,” he says in a slow, low voice.
They explain that she was found at the beach, face down in the water near the water’s edge. They say that a fisherman had watched her go into the water, fully clothed and then she just fell down in waist-deep water. The fisherman thought she was swimming, but when she didn’t move and remained face down, he became alarmed. He ran to her and found her unconscious and not breathing. He gave her mouth to mouth but was never able to revive her.
They say the fisherman’s story is credible and that he is a longtime resident of the city. The policemen know him personally. His reputation is unimpeachable. They say it took many hours to track her back to him. They ask Rafa if she had a medical problem that would cause her to drown in waist-high water.
Rafa has nothing for them, even has to lie about her name. She was an avatar, after all. No history, nothing. He knows he has to get a hold of Twizzle. He unconsciously reaches for his cell phone and discovers it isn’t in his pocket. Damn! Where did he put it? It has to be back at the hotel. He has to make an excuse to get to it.
“I need to call my wife,” he says. “She’ll be heartbroken. Can you please take me back to the hotel? My phone is there.”
“You can use our phone, Señor.”
“I don’t know the number by heart yet. It’s a new number that’s on my phone.”
They take him back to his hotel, where he begins his search for it while they wait. The search becomes frantic when it’s nowhere to be found, until he realizes he stuck it in a locking side compartment on the bike. He tells the policemen he’ll be right back, and that he thinks it’s with his bike. When he finds it, he sees that Twizzle has left a number of messages. Not bothering to read them, he punches in her number and waits until he hears her voice exclaim his name.
Girl with all the Pain Page 17
