by Glover, Dan
He wasn’t actually sitting at one of her tables but from the murmur running through the diner Tree knew if she didn’t hasten to act in his defense Church would be in trouble... more than he could handle from the looks of it.
Big John Gerhard tried to sneak up behind Church... she knew fat John was still harboring a grudge against the boy from their childhood. It sometimes seemed as if the whole town of Guthrie was nothing but hard feelings and resentments over a lot of nothing.
She didn’t have time to voice a warning but with a movement of her eyes she made Church aware of his plight. He surprised her with his quickness as well as his strength by whirling around and in one motion decking Gerhard with a body punch that seemed to shake the entire building.
Within seconds, however, four more boys were coming at Church all of them with ill intent on their faces. She still had a hot pot of coffee in her hand and for a moment she thought about splashing the attackers to give Church a chance at getting away... but then she considered how it probably would simply piss them off all the more.
About that same time Tree saw Dan Stokes who did the cooking at the diner step out of the kitchen with the shotgun she knew that the owner of the establishment kept handy just in case of robbery. At first she thought he was going to hold Church for the authorities but instead he stopped the boys from thrashing him and allowed him to flee.
"Take off, Church. I'll hold these bad asses until the police make me turn them loose. You don't have much time... go!"
At that moment she realized she had enough of life in Guthrie. Taking Church by the hand she pulled him outside and followed him to his truck while peeling off the apron she wore leaving it lay white and lifeless where it fell on the hot Texas sidewalk.
When he let her drive her first instincts were to hightail it out of town as fast as the old jalopy would go. But since she knew they'd risk be stopped for speeding she took her time, driving at the speed limit and doing her best to look surprised at the howling squad cars going the opposite direction to the diner from where they just fled.
Now they were on their way to Miami. She'd always dreamed of going to Florida, only not this way, not in the company of a fugitive who could well be responsible for killing his own family.
She trusted her feelings for Church, however. He wasn’t like that... not like they said. All through high school while she was doing her best to ignore all the jocks and bad boys constantly bullying her Church had never said a word. Oh, she saw him looking her way whenever he thought she didn’t notice. Sometimes she even turned and smiled at him only to see him hang his head with his face a deeper shade of crimson red at being discovered.
"Why would your mother go to Miami, Church? Do you have family there?"
"No... not that I know of. I'm guessing her ultimate destination is Cuba... that's where she's from. I think she might be trying to find my aunt Evalena on that island."
"But why would your mother travel so far just to see your aunt? I heard they had a falling out when Billy Ford moved in with Evalena."
"You knew about that, Tree?"
"Come on, Church... the whole town knew about that... you know how small Texas towns are... and Guthrie has to be one of the smallest."
"They had their disagreements, my mother and my aunt... but they always seemed to respect one another... at least until Evalena took up with Billy Ford. We all tried to warn him about her but it didn’t do any good."
"Warn him about what, Church?"
"Pull off the road up there, Tree. I have to show you something."
She didn’t know what to expect next but did as he said. Was he really some kind of pervert like they said he was back in Guthrie? Was she in danger? What was she thinking taking off with boy she hardly knew... no doubt she'd end up like Beth, a corpse buried in a thinly covered grave at the edge of nowhere.
As she steered the truck to the side of the road and applied the brakes she put her left hand on the door handle just in case she had to jump out and run. If she caught him by surprise she might be able to flag down a passing motorist and make a get away. But then again, the road was as empty as the surrounding countryside.
Watching as he reached behind the seat, she saw Church pull out a cloth sack, reach into it, and remove a box. Suddenly she forgot all about running away... her curiosity was now piqued. What on earth did he have in that box?
Something Allison Johns told her came floating to the surface of her memory... just before the girl left town for good she had called Tree and asked if she would stop by the bookstore... she had a gift for her from Beth.
She remembered the trepidation she felt walking downtown and how she nearly turned back half a dozen times. If Beth had something to give her she would have handed it to her before she went off on that ill-fated trip to the high desert in New Mexico... wouldn’t she?
Still, she had to know. Walking into the store it was remarkable how big the place was without all the books and shelving taking up space. Allison was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor in a full lotus position. She stayed silent for a moment but something told Tree she noticed right off when she walked in. When the girl finally spoke it startled Tree so badly she nearly ran out the door.
"No one believes me, Tree."
"I believe you, Allison."
"We found something out there... it looked like some kind of rock only it didn’t seem solid. It seemed alive. I swear I could hear it singing but Beth said she didn’t hear anything. It was in some sort of weird box that I couldn’t open. Beth was able to, though. She showed it to me. I thought it was something on fire at first and when she moved the box around it jiggled like liquid only it didn’t look wet. I lied when I said Beth took it and got lost. She reached into the box to touch it and then she was gone... like that."
Tree snapped her finger on her thumb as she rose up off the floor like a cloud. She had a look in her eyes that told Tree the girl was telling the truth... at least what she thought was the truth.
"What did you find, Allison? Where did Beth go?"
"I still don't know what it was, Tree. I finally got the courage to leave it with someone who might... but now I'm regretting it. I wish I would've kept it. I might've been able to go to wherever it is that Beth went. I love her. I miss her so much I just want to die."
"Maybe Beth will find her way back here, Allison. Why don’t you wait for her?"
What was it that they had found? Had Allison Johns really been insane like everyone said? Maybe she made up the whole story... or perhaps she was telling the truth.
"I wish I could do that but I have to get out of this town... everyone is talking about what I did to your sister. Here, Tree... Beth wanted me to give you this in case something ever happened to her... maybe she had some kind of premonition, I don’t know, I haven’t read it. Here it is... you can read it later if you want to... I understand."
It was an envelope. Tree's hands shook as she ripped it open to pull out the folded paper inside. She recognized Beth's cramped handwriting right away... the tidy t's and the recalitrantly dotted i's that looked like tiny comets blazing across the white of the page.
"No... you love Beth as much as I do, Allison... here... I'll read it out loud... it says, Dear Tree... if you're reading this it means I'm gone. We're going on a grand adventure, me and Allison, and if I don't return it means we found what we're seeking. I'm sorry I wasn’t a better sister to you... I should have been there... I knew how mother was yet I left you alone with her. Please forgive me, Tree.
"When we were little do you remember each of us drawing intricate treasure maps of the places where we buried our toys? I used to love that game! I always dreamed of traveling to the Caribbean and searching below the ocean waters for sunken ships laden with gold and silver. From what we can discern, the fortune that we seek is far more valuable than a pile of plunder a hundred feet tall.
"I keep having these dreams, Tree, but I don’t know what they mean. I wake up in a place I've never been and y
et I feel at home. Anything I desire is granted so I must take care to guard against thoughts that are harmful to others as well as to myself. Somehow I know that that's the treasure that we seek. If we find it, I'm going to that place and I'll wait for you and for Allison... if you have the courage to follow me.
"If not, I appreciate that you each have your own life to lead. I'm asking too much of you, perhaps, and too much of my sweet Allison. Wait if you have to... someday when the claws of death are clutching at you, remember me. Simply think of me and I'll be there for you, to take you to a better place, one that will be full of promise and love rather than hate and bickering.
"Consider your actions carefully. Don't jump into something rashly even of someone you care about more than anything in the world is compelling you to do something against your nature. Time abides all things and within its grasp we are all equals.
"Please tell Allison that I love her. I know how hard all this will be on her yet I cannot help myself. It's as if I'm being drawn to something so powerful we could call it god and not be mistaken.
"Listen for the sound of music where there should be none, Tree. When you hear it you'll know I'm near. I must be going now... I have a trip to take and many chores to wrap up in the event I don't return.
"All my love,
"Beth."
When she finished reading it Tree handed the letter back to Allison. Now she wished she might have kept it... to read it again. Tree always wondered to whom Allison Johns had sent the strange object... and now she suspected that she finally knew.
Church handed a sort of box to her. It was made out of a material she couldn’t identify... it wasn’t wood yet it didn’t seem to be metal or plastic either. The box felt empty and yet full at the same time. When she shook it slightly she thought she heard something inside the box scratching like it was alive and trying to get out.
She was suddenly afraid though for the life of her she couldn’t understand why. Church didn’t pose any threat to her... of that she was certain. No... the foreboding she felt came from the box she held in her hands like an unwanted birthday present.
"Open it, Tree."
"How? I don't see any latch, Church."
"Just open it... there's no latch. Pull on any edge... you'll see."
He was right. When she put her thumb nail to one edge the box opened almost of its own accord. What looked like a chicken egg was inside only it didn’t rest on the bottom of the box... it seemed to float in the center. She was tempted to touch the object but something whispered to her not to do it.
"I don't understand, Church... what is this?"
"I don’t know, Tree. My mother gave it to me. She told me to hide it somewhere... that Evalena could never get possession of it. That's what I was doing in Mexico... I found some caves there. I dug a hole and buried the sack. But I couldn’t do it... I couldn’t just leave it there. So I dug it up and brought it back with me.
"My mother calls it the piedra... that means stone in Spanish. She said it's been in her family as long as anyone can remember... that the legends tell of how it fell from the sky eons ago. A monkey found it and when she picked it up she was changed into a woman... the first woman.
"It is supposed to have special properties. If you run water over it and then drink it, it restores your youth. Just being close to it alters the life force of those around it. My mother told me how she thought that the piedra must be alive too... that it is where all life came from... that there are other stones like it floating around all over the universe seeding planets like the Earth."
"Have you ever touched it, Church?"
"No... I was warned never to allow it to come into contact with me... that it would change me into something unrecognizable."
"I know... let's drop a bug into the box with it and see what happens."
"I tried that, Tree."
"What happened?"
"Nothing... the beetle I dropped into the box just crawled back out. It went right through the stone, like it was liquid."
"I don’t know, Church... this is some pretty weird shit... have you thought about contacting someone about it?"
"Like who, Tree?"
"I don’t know... a scientist, maybe... someone who deals in stuff like this... a professor, perhaps."
"I don’t think there's anyone who deals with things like the piedra other than Evalena. She wants it in the worst way. Honestly, yes, I did think about bringing the stone to some government authority but I suspected if I did, I'd conveniently disappear along with it."
"So what are we going to do with it, Church?"
"Eventually I'll take it back to Mexico, leave it in one of those isolated caves, and forget all about it... or at least try to."
"Let's do it now, Church. I'm getting some weird vibes from that thing... I think it's singing to me."
"You hear it too? Most people don't... or if they do they ignore the sounds. I used to hear it singing all the time when we lived at the chabola but my Tia never did."
"I'm sorry, Church, but what is a chabola? And who is your Tia?"
"Oh, that's just Spanish for cabin... and my Tia's my aunt Evalena. I never understood why she couldn’t hear the singing of the piedra... it was buried under the roots of a sycamore tree growing up out of an old church not far from where we lived. My mother was afraid of the stone... she thought being close to it might have harmful side effects. But she couldn’t bear to be too far away from it either. So she hid it away from us but close enough where she could still feel its presence."
"Can't we just get rid of it, Church?"
"If someone found it they might be injured, Tree... we can't take that chance."
"What if we weight the sack with a rock and throw it into the bottom of a river... that should work. No one will ever find it there."
"Just throw it out the window, Tree."
"But you said..."
"I know what I said... but go ahead... throw it out the window."
Suddenly she didn’t want to part with the box with the stone inside of it... in fact, why should she? Like Church said, someone else would just come along and find it... then it would be theirs. No... it was better to keep the stone, just for a little while.
"See? You can't do it, can you, Tree."
"Oh I could... I just think, well, that we should hang onto it for now, just in case we might need it later."
"Liar."
Chapter 24
Somehow the brothers had switched places.
Billy now stayed in the decrepit chabola with Evalena while Church and his mother lived at the magnificent hacienda. When she told him they were moving he thought his mother had gone insane... why on earth would his father suddenly want them to come to his home to live?
They were to be married, at least according to his mother. He'd be Rancher Ford's son in name too. After living in poverty for nearly twenty years he and his mother were suddenly wealthy beyond belief. It seemed a cruel irony that the person he loved most wouldn't be around to enjoy it with.
Billy'd become estranged from them all. Church rarely saw him any longer and if by slim chance they did happen to meet Billy ignored him as if they'd somehow become enemies. When had all that happened?
Billy looked awful and he smelled bad too. He no longer exhibited the perspicuity of youth but instead seemed to be walking in a daze as if not sleeping well. Though the boy'd once saved him from more than bullies Church watched in helpless horror as Billy slipped further away from all that he once loved and cherished.
He used to visit Billy often but one day Church got spooked riding up to the chabola. It'd been his home since he was born but now he sensed something unholy dwelling there. The lone window had been boarded up... either the glass was broken or else someone inside didn't want prying eyes looking in or perhaps out.
A type of vine Church didn't recognize had fastened itself to the outer walls of the shack threatening to bury it under a cascade of yellowish green leaves that seemed somehow wan and yet thr
iving at the same time.
The yard which was once a vast bed of well-tended gardens irrigated lovingly by hauling buckets of water by hand from the creek out back now lay seared under the hot Texas sun. Cacti grew higher than his head and the buzz of wasps and other toxic insects filled the still and indifferent air.
When he was a little guy Church rarely encountered any spiders around the chabola but right after Tia Evalena showed up the eight legged creatures had begun to proliferate. He told himself it was only a coincidence... that the increased drought brought them up out of the ground.
Now, though, the entire countryside seemed dead and buried beneath cobwebs as thick and cold and furry as a winter's blizzard. All the tree branches naked as skeletons were infested as was the ground around the tiny cabin and Church's pony seemed ill at ease stepping over the malignant carpet alive with movement.
His pony danced and whinnied in dismay as clouds of leaves blowing in the autumn wind swirled around her legs only it wasn’t autumn and any leaves had long ago rotted into the dust... Church sensed rather than saw the host of spiders gathering around them and clucking the pony into a trot he moved away rather than stopping at the chabola to visit with his Tia or to see if Billy was around.
Despite the guilt he felt at leaving Billy to the devices of his aunt Church turned and rode away as fast as his pony would carry him with a blackness gathering around the edges of his vision as if something wicked was seeking him and happy he'd made an appearance. He didn’t feel safe until he had gained the hacienda, fed and curried his pony, and gone inside the house not forgetting to lock the door behind him.
Was Billy Ford suffering from an undisclosed illness? It would explain his haggard appearance, plus the boy had always been proud—some town folk went so far as to claim vanity but Church knew better—and he wouldn't relish showing himself if he'd contracted some dread disease which caused his body to waste away.
On the other hand Evalena seemed rejuvenated. Church sometimes saw her shopping for various sundries in Guthrie though she did her best to ignore him. She was no more than sixteen years old to the causal observer, one who lacked the skill to see between the façade she'd so carefully constructed about her.
