Water and Stone

by Glover, Dan

  "May I see it, Church?"

  "Of course, mother... it's right here."

  The shadow sitting beside her moved. Pulling it from the sack he carried and opening the box before turning it upside down the boy allowed the stone its freedom to hover a foot above the floor. Just the sight of the piedra set her body to ease... the plague of pain eased, her muscles seemed strengthened, and her mind became clear, a shining blue crystal. It was singing to her... the old melody that she'd grown used to falling asleep with.

  "It looks so much like the moon, doesn’t it, Church."

  "It does indeed, mother."

  The piedra hung motionless in the still island air shining like a gem cut by the gods, its myriad colors changing even as she gazed upon its surface. Something flashed across the floor and before she could utter a word Adame had the stone... or perhaps it had him. In an instant he was off again trailing sparkles of light behind him.

  "Oh no... what do we do now, mother. That cat has the stone."

  "Let him be, Church... it'll do him no harm."

  The boy had a look on his face like she had never before seen, as if he felt responsible for some deed unbecoming of him, as if he had mistaken her for someone else and now he realized his error. The light in the room had become brighter... she could actually see again though one eye seemed cloudier than the other. The tropical sunshine was shining through begrimed windows filled with cobwebs and enormous black spiders.

  "Oh... I'm sorry, Tia Evalena... here I thought you were my mother. It was so dark before I must've made a mistake and entered the wrong room."

  "Church! I'm your mother. What are you talking about?"

  "Either my eyes are going bad or you're Evalena... take a look in the mirror. You even sound like her."

  Church was right... her voice was strange and not at all her own. She sounded like Evalena. She remembered the odd little dream... could it have really happened? Was it possible to dream herself into another body?

  Gliding to the bathroom she had no pain in her joints. At first she paid it no attention but then it occurred to her that she hadn’t walked across a room without hurting for months.

  She was almost afraid to look into the mirror... what if Church was simply teasing her? She knew the boy better than that, though. Church didn’t play tricks on anyone. She often wished he wasn’t so serious but that was her son... he was who he was.

  Evalena stared out of the mirror right into her one good eye. They had always been like twins though her sister's features were somehow sharper or more delineated. Yani always put that off to the girl's daring and impetuous nature taking charge of even her physicality.

  She took a deep breath just to test her lungs. It'd been what seemed like ages since she could do so without the dreadful ache developing right between her shoulder blades cutting short any chance of coughing up the phlegm that continuously coagulated deep inside her chest causing a rattling sound each time she huffed a bit.

  The ache was gone. She took another breath even more deeply than the first reveling in the ability to do something she'd heretofore always taken for granted. The world was full of miracles today.

  "Where did the cat run to, Church? Do you see Adame?"

  "He's in the other room... I hear him meowing."

  "That's the living room. Something strange is going on... I thought I was sleeping in there. I'm going to take a look, Church... I want to see what the big guy is on about."

  She'd forgotten how good it felt not to be in constant pain. Each step she took was a joyful bounce... if the house had been just a little bigger she would have broken into a trot just to feel the wind in her hair.

  The pocket door to the living room was open a tiny crack, just enough for the cat to slip through. She heard heavy breathing... a deep labored rattling which reminded her of how she was gasping for breath just a few minutes ago.

  "Is that you, sister? I don’t know what's happened to me... I can't seem to get out of my bed. My bones all ache... I feel as old as dirt."

  "Yes, it's me, sister. Just lie still... there's no need to get up."

  The window in the room was covered with black sheets and she didn’t want to light the lantern... it would illuminate a face that belonged to another. She could see the outline of Adame where he was lying upon the sofa next to the old woman watching the shining stone as it revolved just above his head as if gauging his chance of making another leap to catch it once more.

  "Please bring me a glass of water, sister. My throat is so dry I can scarcely speak."

  A deep sense of guilt descended upon Yani as she skipped into the kitchen... it was her fault that Evalena was an old woman. Could she undo what had been done without knowing how to do it? Of course not... why should she feel remorse over something that wasn’t her fault? She'd done nothing but wake up young again.

  A figure stood outside the back door. Without looking she knew who it was and what he wanted... Hajdani had come just as she knew he would and in fact welcomed. He would help end it for her... the pain, the age, the eternal desire for youth.

  Except now he'd come for Evalena. It was almost comical to think that the woman who had given Yani away like so much luggage was now in the same dire straits. Why did she continue to feel such a sense of kinship to Evalena? It didn’t make logical sense.

  Walking back to the living room where Church waited with Evalena she glanced toward the door indicating a visitor... one that they both expected and yet dreaded.

  "He's here, Church. What should we do?"

  "Is he alone... mother?"

  His tone was uncertain as if he wasn’t sure she really was who she said... like he might suspect Evalena of some new trickery.

  "Yes... I think so."

  "He's here for you, isn’t he... I mean, he's here for who he thinks you are... or who he thinks you were."

  "I don’t know, Church... he's just here. He could have taken me at any time if that's what he wanted. He met me in Miami. He told me he knew where I have been all this time. I saw him again here in Cuba just after I landed on shore."

  "I met him too... or should I say he met me. He's a liar and a scoundrel, mother. Don't believe him."

  "Hajdani is like the devil, Church. He mixes sweet truths inside blatant lies to entice us into doing his service. He's here for me now... only he doesn't realize what's happened. Should we allow him to have what he desires?"

  "Maybe it's always been about Evalena, mother... perhaps that's who he wants. He knew we would lead him to her. He has a score to settle with her, or so I heard."

  "I don’t think that's so, Church. He knew where Evalena was too. I remember him saying how she promised me to her but he couldn’t take me without her permission. I thought Hajdani was my father all the time I was growing up here. I never understood how he could turn on me like he did. I loved him and I thought he loved me. But on my fifteenth birthday he drugged me and a group of his followers attacked me. I ran away that night and never returned to Cuba until just a day ago."

  "Hajdani is my grandfather?"

  "Yes... no... I don't know who or what Hajdani is. I just know he scares me, Church."

  "I met him in town... when I told him my name he said we were related but I don’t understand how someone as young as he is could possibly be my grandfather. Perhaps he's our cousin, mother, but he can't be your father."

  "I'm sure you're right, Church... but you didn’t grow up on this island. The customs here are old... their beliefs go all the way back to Africa, and even farther. The world here isn't the same as the one in Texas."

  "Why doesn’t he knock, mother?"

  "He knows we sense his presence, Church. He's giving us a moment to settle our thoughts. When he's ready, he'll simply walk in. There's no need for knocking on the doors of this island. That's a custom of a civilization that doesn't exist here."

  "I have a gun, mother. If he tries anything, I'll shoot him if I have to. I'm not allowing him to take you."

  "No... please
save your bullets. There may be another way, Church."

  Chapter 59

  They were all waiting for him.

  Perhaps they'd always been. Drawn home to Angangueo at the end of each October like the myriad butterflies, Church rarely stayed more than a day in the village before setting out for the mountains where the cave was located.

  He often considered bringing the piedra with him each spring when he ventured north to the Triple Six but the thought of losing it or having it stolen waylaid those plans. It was better to leave it tucked away in the safety of the mountains of central Mexico where the spirits of the valley and his family watched over it.

  "We should live in Mexico year around, mother. The weather is so much better than here in Texas."

  "You know that's impossible, Church... who would look after the ranch?"

  He found it odd that his mother insisted upon having the chabola rebuilt rather than living in the hacienda. Perhaps she felt safer in the tiny cabin... or maybe she heard the whispers of ghosts.

  He knew he did. As he walked through the massive mausoleum that he once called his home he sometimes caught glimpses of Rancher and Billy Ford idling over the chess board... often the odor of a succulent piece of meat being baked in the gourmet kitchen by mother Lorraine reached his nose but when he entered the room it was always empty.

  They existed now only inside the piedra... in that interminable expanse that lay between waking and sleeping where he loved to linger as long as he may. Tree was there too waiting for the day he was ready to join her.

  "What do you want, Hajdani? Why are you here?"

  "You know that, Evalena. I've come for Yani."

  He'd listened through the door as his mother confronted the boy she knew as Hajdani. He seemed to present no danger... he made no overt threats, and neither did he bluster his way through life like many strong and confident men in his place might well have done.

  "What will happen to her? Will you harm her? She's just an old woman, Hajdani. Why not allow her to live out the rest of her life in peace?"

  "Are these words really coming out of your mouth, Evalena? Don't tell me you've suddenly grown a heart where there was none."

  "You know how I feel about Yani... you know how close we are."

  "If I wanted to hurt Yani I could have done so a million times in the past. She must acquiesce to our desires, otherwise we're like children, helpless and adrift. That's why we have waited all this time despite knowing where she was. We could've taken her any time but not without her consent."

  "You still haven’t told me what you'll do to her, Hajdani."

  "Our plans for her are none of your concern, Evalena. Where is she?"

  Church heard the old woman wheeze and moan somewhere in depths of the house behind him. Had she heard the conversation? Did she realize what was happening to her... that even now she was being led to the slaughter?

  "Promise me that whatever happens to her is quick and painless, Hajdani. Otherwise, you're not passing this door."

  Church brought the pistol out of the ankle holster where he kept it, checked the chamber that it was still loaded, and clicked off the safety with his thumb. It smelled faintly of oil, of gunpowder, and of death.

  He had never shot a man but he had no doubts that he could put Hajdani down if the need arose. Should the man try to strong arm his mother, he'd die for it. Leaning into the door and ready to spring forward at a moment's notice, Church listened for the next words to exit from Hajdani's mouth.

  "I promise you that Yani will not suffer any more than what she brings upon herself. Is that good enough, Evalena? May I come in now?"

  "She's in the next room, Hajdani. You may have to carry her. She's extremely weak. Remember too that her mind is going... she keeps thinking she's someone else."

  "I'll be gentle with her, Evalena. Thank you for finally seeing things my way."

  "I'll never see things as you do, Hajdani. Now, go before I change my mind."

  Hearing the spitting anger in his mother's voice, Church wondered for an instant if Hajdani did too and if so, did he realize who she really was? The man was obviously some sort of adept when it came to the piedra though without it in his possession Church doubted he had the audacity to challenge the woman who he thought was Evalena.

  "He's gone, Church... you can come out now."

  "Are you okay, mother? You look sick."

  "I hate to think what they'll do to her, Church... but on the other hand, whatever it is won't be as terrible as what she's done to others over the years. I suppose it's true... we all draw back onto ourselves the hate and pain that we inflict onto others."

  "Can we go home now, mother?"

  Everyone seemed to be staring at them as they walked down to the dock. Church didn’t know if it was because his mother was such a striking woman or if they took her for being Evalena... either way, the walk only lasted fifteen minutes.

  Waving American dollars in the ship captain's face worked wonders at getting them a ride back to Miami. The old pickup truck was still parked where he left it. Piling into it they were half way across Louisiana before they stopped for the night.

  "Tree Patterson was with me on my way to Cuba, mother. I think she touched the piedra. When I woke up she'd vanished. Do you know what happened to her?"

  "Not exactly, Church... but I've heard it said anyone who comes into contact with the stone becomes part of it... they're absorbed by it."

  "But what about Adame? He grabbed it. But he's fine."

  The big cat rode between them purring like a locomotive. At the sound of his name his ears perked up and he stretched and yawned and blinked his eyes like an owl.

  "I think Adame knew that I was in danger... he helped me to trade places with Evalena... or perhaps the piedra guided him to do so. Either way, I simply don’t know enough about the stone to give you a solid answer about Tree, or Adame for that matter. I'm sorry, Church."

  "If I touch it, will I go to her?"

  "You might, or you might not, Church. From what I understand, we all perceive the piedra in a different fashion... our desires drive it... our deepest fears are magnified by it, and our most profound guilt takes us to the places we'd never dare go on our own."

  "Maybe I should wait... is that what you're saying, mother?"

  "You're a man now. You can choose for yourself... but since you're asking me for advice, I say have patience. Touch Tree Patterson in your dreams and see what she says. Remember, if I'm correct about the piedra, it exists outside of time and space as we know it. What we see of the stone—what we see of the world—is merely a semblance that our senses are capable of seeing."

  "I miss Tree."

  "Wait until you master your thoughts, Church. It may take ten years or it might be twenty... but one day you'll know you're ready. You won't have to ask anyone. But if you attempt to tame the piedra before the time is ripe it may trick you into going places you'd rather not."

  "What are we going to do with it, mother?"

  "The piedra belongs in your keeping now, Church. You decide what happens to it. Keep it safe. "

  He lived in his dreams now. Tree appeared each night soft and full of love and even during the day he would hear her singing to him... or was it the piedra? Did it matter? As the years passed by like hushed early spring mornings he chided himself on his cowardice... on his hesitance to take the stone in his hand and go to her in all his corporeality.

  Only his mother's warning stayed him, but for how long?

  Chapter 60

  That whorehouse odor was back.

  Had her whole life been but a dream? Was she still asleep at the bordello in Mexico? Or had all that been in her imagination too? If so, life was a splendid adventure best lived in gentle slumbers.

  Hands were picking her up, lifting her like she was a child again. She wanted to shout to all that she was flying. Perhaps that was it... she had dreamed it all and she was still but a monkey living inside a grand green savannah surrounded by great op
en lands and towering mountains that reached so high they sometimes blotted out the sun and the moon and even at midday she could see the stars whirling overhead.

  "Don't worry, Yani... we'll make sure it's done quickly."

  She seemed to recognize the boy's voice from somewhere but her memory was so hazy that she'd rather fall back to sleep than to wrestle with understanding him.

  The one thing that stood out was how she knew her name was Evalena. Yani was her sister, a creation of sand and blood, breath and mud. Still, the misunderstanding seemed hardly worth the trouble it would take to speak.

  What did he mean? What were they going to do quickly? Should she be afraid? Perhaps if she had the strength she might struggle against the inevitable but it seemed far better to simply give in to the night that was slowly and softly descending all around her.

  She had gotten her wish. Maybe part of her wanted to atone for the cruelty that was elemental to her nature or perhaps in the end the piedra would always exact its due... either way, she was glad it was finally over.

  They were going to carve the skin from her bones while she yet lived. She didn’t know how she knew that, but it was a certainty. It seemed a harsh way to die, one she'd rather not partake in, yet she didn’t seem to have a choice.

  That was the answer. She had to play on Hajdani's emotions, to allow him to make the only choice ahead of him... to lead him to it the way only she could do The boy who carried her like an old burlap sack full of potatoes was a master at deception but he didn’t realize who or what was in his arms... he thought she was Yani. Instead he held hell in his grip.

  The piedra was waiting. Even with the shadows falling around her and a body old and frail the thing that was Evalena still burned brightly within the flesh. She hadn’t lived so long to go as quietly as the man expected.

  "Kiss me, father... I've missed you so."