A Vision of Crows

Chapter 14 - The Line of Understanding

Upon the first sounds of the explosion, the entire plaza remained silent, frozen in the disbelief of what they had just heard. But once the heavy clouds of smoke began to emerge from the site of the noise, the blanket of shock lifted as the people realized what had just occurred.

People began to scramble towards the exits or wherever else they felt was safe, accompanied by the panicked screams of those lost within the chaos of the horde. Some merchants tried to quickly pack merchandise as quickly as they could while others abandoned theirs in the pursuit of safety. Terrified cries of children rang in the air as they were carried off by their mothers and other relatives.

Mr. Avci grabbed Meg's hand as he urged her, "Come on, Miss!" It's not safe here!" But Meg wouldn't budge.

She felt as if her whole body had suddenly frozen in place, preventing any movement, anchoring her body from the bench that Mr. Avci was trying to pull her from. She kept hearing Mateo's words echoing in her mind over and over until she heard a familiar voice call for her.

"Miss!"

Meg suddenly rose out of her chair to where she saw Cia sprinting towards her as fast as her small legs could take her.

When Meg had rushed over to her, the small girl was gasping for breath, her freckled face white from fear.

"My... uncle! He's, He's, I can't find him!" she gasped, her black eyes widened and desperate.

Meg hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the girl who she figured didn't have any family aside from her uncle, she felt her heart was heavy. She picked up the girl and turned towards Mr. Avci, "I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

Mr. Avci pursed his lips, then placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll go with you, "he said calmly.

The three of them headed towards where Mateo's food stand was, only to be greeted by a peculiar sight. A group of soldiers stood around the stands. One in the center was yelling out orders, while others were scrambling around. They all wore gas masks, but some of them wore strange white gloves that exposed their bare palms. The ones that didn't wear gloves held rifles; a couple pointed towards the soldiers with gloves.

Meg and Mr. Avci immediately darted behind a nearby stand, not daring to attract any attention. Meg held her hand against Cia's mouth, in order to prevent the girl from making any loud noises.

She tried to listen to the conversations, but to no avail, as they were speaking in Mardan.

She looked at Mr. Avci, who simply shook his head, having guessed as to what she was going to ask. Cia, who had been squirming, had gone still.

Meg glanced at her, but before she could ask her what was wrong, a hand from inside an enclosed stand grabbed her blouse and pulled her inside.

Just as Meg raised her head to see who had grabbed her, Cia wiggled out of her arms, hugging the person. Mr. Avci, who had been holding on to her sleeve as she had been pulled, fell on top of her. Before she could fell any sense of embarrassment, she looked up with relief at Graciela face.

As Mr. Avci scrambled away, flustered, Meg got to her feet, brushing her skirt as she smiled at the older woman. "Graciela," she whispered happily, "Oh I'm so glad to see you!"

Graciela returned the smile as she petted Cia's head, who clung to her legs, trembling. Then she looked behind, her face slowly turning grim.