Damned!

Chaos

A winding whisper of smoke filled the air, confusing words and shouts. The chaos sent lightning bolts of pain through his mind. The vision he saw overwhelmed his heart as he felt himself letting go of all that had grounded his childhood, the safety of his family, the travels to a different environment, the job where he answered to the government. He had lived two different lives, one grounded in the Catholic philosophy where he had been taught the Holy Rosary and another with the polygod beliefs of the Gandans. In all honesty, as he felt a part of soul being taken from him, the belief came to him that the differences in religion and how it came to you, didn't matter. It only mattered who you love, and he wanted his grandfather, as imperfect as he was back in his life. .

"Damn!" Ein shouted as he tried to push past the yellow tape the security guards were hastily putting up. Imama grabbed Ein in his anguish. Ein sobbed in her arms.

"What did he do! Why?"

Imama shook her head letting the silence take the place of any words she could offer.

Together they held each other as the area around his grandfather's body was sectioned off, the wreckage from the demolished excavators in the distance.

Leaning on his Imama, Ein confessed, "This is my fault, Imama. I brought him in on our plans. I asked him to fight the archbishop on this decision. He said he would help us. I just never imagined...""

"Ein,... He did this on his own. I'm sorry for our loss. After all these years struggling to confront the authorities, it seems odd that he chose our struggles to be the culmination of his dissent. He was betrayed by his government, more than once. I think we were the link. He couldn't bear to see us torn apart, you losing your government job. You may not know this but lately he has indicated his guilt in abandoning his Federico. You knew his love. Federico was not so lucky and Heinrich realized this. He chose to end his career as a priest, because he was ready to show your father his love."

Later that day, Ein called in to Federico. Federico had already heard the news and was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry for your loss Ein."

"It's your loss too dad."

"Maybe." Then a slight sob on the other end of the line. "You turned out alright. You may be right."

The phone conversation had seemed so short and so long at the same time. Ein hesitantly said goodbye cradling the thought that of all the people in his family he had been shown the most love. He was loved by parents and grandparents alike. A community in danger of being displaced, a man torn between his work, his familia duties, and the accepting of a people whose religion was not his, would never fully be his, would be the answer to connect the love that was unspoken.

Federico was going to return on the next train to meet up with Imama, the first time he had come back to the Gandan Jungle for a visit since he left as a teen.

Laura sent word that the project had been halted, thanks to Thomas and Cheryl's investigative work. This meant the end of the problem for at least another six months. The Gandan people would be able to secure a lawyer and fight this enough to delay for much longer.

And the river seemed happy. The edges of the water continuously lapped in the morning and the tide went out at night. The Horah birds gathered as a group making it known the location of the abundant fish. The fishermen and women gave praise to Roshanah for bringing them together as a community, vowing to never let their Roshannah be damned.