Ghosts of History Book 1: Mount Lemmon, Tucson, Az

The Mission

"Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strength when we feel we have none, faith is hope when all seems lost." - Catherine Pulsifer

After a few minutes of silence, Xitllali's phone started to ring and she saw that it was her friend Joshua Dillon. "I know that you just got here not that long ago but am in the lobby waiting so we could go out on the town," Joshua said which made Xatllali laugh. "You caught me in the middle of writing my usual history thing but I got stumped. I'll meet you down there just let me get my stuff," Xitllali said before hanging up after Josh said goodbye. One of the things that Xitll grabbed was a book even though she may not read it at the moment but it was a habit that she had from when she was a kid and it was to get out of the awkward situation with her family. Xitllali had arrived in the lobby before spotting Josh in the dining area where breakfast was held every morning reading something on his phone. "It's nice to see you again Xitll after you being gone these past few years though I've tried to watch out for photos on National Geographic," Josh said when Xitll walked up.

"Well I had been working as a travel photographer since we graduated high school, Josh," Xitll said. Josh and Xitllali had been friends since middle school when they met in their middle school history class. During that class, they were given a project about the Krakow-Plaszow camp made famous for being the concentration camp featured in the movie Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg. The project was special to Josh because he is Jewish and had lost family to the Holocaust so it was a way to tell their story in a way that honored their memory. Their friendship had been tested when Josh had been the first person that Xitllali had told that she was leaving Christianity for the beliefs and traditions of her indigenous ancestors who worshiped the old Gods pre-Spanish colonization. "I always kept up with your adventures outside of your pics in Geographic which included your short stories," Josh said with a smile. Xitll knew that it was his way of watching her make something of herself while screwing her family in the process.  

The pair walked to the streetcar stop at University Blvd there at Main Gate Square to head west and head for downtown to grab something to eat. One of the many conversations that they had was about the afterlife and those conversations helped them learn about the other's faiths in the process of it. With Xitllali, her beliefs of the afterlife are often viewed as multiple levels and the souls that have passed return to the land of the living once a year. While with Josh, as someone of the Jewish faith, does acknowledge the afterlife and they call it Sheol which translates roughly as 'place after death'. "How is everything with your ability to see ghosts?" Josh asked while getting on the westbound streetcar when it arrived. "Not bad but it brought me back to tell a story about an old federal camp up on the Catalinas here in town," Xitll said remembering what she saw in the vision when she saw the photos of the old camp. "A campsite here in town and we both know that there are dozens of those surrounding the city but are there any specifics about that you saw?" Josh asked when he heard that.

"It's on Mount Lemmon and I have the name of the camp," Xitllali said looking at her friend as they sat down in the AC. He asked her for it and Xitll said that the name was Catalina Federal Honors Camp. "Catalina Federal Honors Camp and that's the name of the camp that you saw in that vision of yours?" Josh said trying to remember 'cause he knew of the name from somewhere. "Remember when I researched the court case Hirabayashi v. United States for APUSH for that World War 2 unit?" Xitll asked mentioning one of her best moments in history class. " Yeah, I remember you had the highest grades in the entire class during that unit but what does have to do with the camp," Josh said trying to put the pieces together when it finally clicked. "That's the camp that Gorden Hirabayashi was sent to when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WW2 after Pearl Harbor after the court case," Xitll said and that's when Josh that the vision was telling his friend about the camp to tell it's story because people know about it despite the full story not being told.

"Wait the camp is right by Soldier's Canyon trail and we could start there for the story," Josh said leaning his head back against the seat. "Don't you know two people that could help us with further research on the camp?" Xitll asked looking over at her friend before realizing that they stop at the 6th Av and Congress St stop. "That's true and I can call them up telling them the situation along with your ghosty power so they don't freak when it happens," Josh said knowing that his friends would freak out in case ghosts-related situations later down the road. "Fair and having two other sets of eyes on this is going to be helpful in the long run," said Xitllali as they walked towards the HUB Restaurant and Ice Cream down the road. Josh knew that something about the vision and the story of the camp in the long run. Xitllali had told him that it was not the first time that a vision like the one that she had before coming back had bugged her this much though this time 'round something is changing. The pair promised that whatever comes their way, they will get through it together and they could make good on the promise that they made when they graduated high school. That promise was that they are going to tell the untold stories of the well-know places in the world and they are going to start in the States before heading internationally.