The Serpent and the Crow

Book 1: Chapter Nine

Catalina unlocked the door to the trailer. Wade saw it had its own shower and toilet at the far end. A basin sat opposite a dinner table, and two benches on either side. He looked at a picture of the family, Rosa wore a beautiful ceremonial dress. Her father and mother behind her dressed to suit. Catalina holds a baby Halonie. A shorter young man in ceremonial Marine Corps Uniform.

"That's Rosa's Kindaalda. In Mexico, we call it Quinceanera, her coming of age ceremony."

"She looks beautiful, Mrs Nez. I guess she gets that from you, huh?"

"Well, she doesn't get that from her father; that's for sure."

He pointed to the young man in the photo.

"That's Askook. My eldest. Our son," Her smile fades, "He went to another desert land across the sea in uniform, and when he came back... we buried him in it, too."

Wade had known many kids looking to make something of themselves. Kids looking for something other than what was waiting for them in their hometowns. Perhaps it was an escape for Askook.

It was never easy losing a child, especially in such a manner. Judging from Halonie's age in the photo, it was long ago.

Wade saw a guitar, army figures, a baseball mitt. Belongings that couldn't have been for Rosa or Halonie. It was his room, Askook. Wade saw now why Catalina seemed so reluctant to house him here. It surprised Wade that Douglas even allowed it.

"You know, I can stay on that couch, in the living room. It would be no problem. I slept many times on the couch when I was..."

Wade couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Catalina concluded on her own.

"I assume you know of Dia de los Muertos, coming from Tejas."

"The Day of the Dead..."

"Perhaps you should go sometime. How old was she?"

He said, "My wife, Michelle, was twenty-five. My daughter was..."

"El Dotada. I am gifted, like my mother before me, and her mother before her, and so on."

He didn't believe in such things, but he restrained his disbelief since he was a guest.

"You don't have to believe in something for it to be true. The truth is independent of what you perceive or believe."

Wade witnessed nothing supernatural before or ever will.

"Have you seen the Eiffel tower with your own eyes?"

Wade shook his head.

"But it exists, correct?"

Wade stops to think. He's intrigued. Catalina gave him some blankets; the night was frosty. It was an odd conversation, but then the entire day was strange.

Wade thought of his family; Michelle Schofield, and his baby-girl... Mary Schofield.

Wade pulled out his cell. He scrolled down to his contact list and calls home. He put it on speakerphone. The answering machine played.

"Hey, this is Michelle."

"And, Wade."

"And, this is Mommy and Dada's House, so please leave a massage."

The parents laughed. "It's 'message' not 'massage,' Sweetie."

Wade played the message again. It was his routine when he could bear to hear their voices again.

Wade scrunched up his face, angry that this happened to him. Wade didn't want anyone to know or hear from the house. He tried not to cry, but it was too late.

Wade knew that his family was dead, and he knew it to be true. But he didn't want to believe it.