My Beautiful Mind

14.

We land not so gracefully into the dirt and grass, the Andean settlement just barely visible in the distance. The formidable Andes Mountains tower above the very green terrain. As we vigorously brush off weeds and soil off our arms and legs, Mila peers out at the tiny village with a frown on her pale, thin face. "I'm sorry, this was the closest I could manage to bring us. I've never traveled so far with multiple people before." Mila's genuine regret and fear of our anger is more than enough to forgive her for this only slight inconvenience. "Please do not apologize, Mila. Exercise will do us well for the forest hike that lies ahead," Emy says, marching in the direction of the village. She looks over her shoulder to see that we all haven't moved, just staring at her. "Let us make haste if we would like to find Mathias before sunset." Cordelia mutters something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like "over cheerful wench," and Adela and Mila do their best to smother laughter. Shaking her head in faint amusement, Mila goes after Emy and we follow.

After a mere twenty minutes of walking, I'm rendered a panting, sweaty mess. It's not very hot here much to my surprise, but it's times like these that I wish I was more athletically inclined. As I'm huffing and puffing away, Cordelia seems to be taking the trek well up front with Emy–but then again, to me, she isn't even remotely human. Adela's not too far behind the pair, determined to show them she can keep up too. I provide Mila with silent company, both of us trailing a little ways from the three. I carefully monitor the girl to make sure she doesn't collapse, fear taking over my mind. If she were to have a medical emergency, I would have no idea how to save her in my complete panic. Mila notices the question I don't have the courage to ask on my worried face. She turns to me with her face slightly drawn, but nothing too drastic of a change. "We should probably take a break." She must've seen the doubt still etched into my expression because she adds, "I hypothetically asked my doctor if this would be alright and she said if I were to drank plenty of water, walked really slowly, and rested, I would be fine. The worst of my chemo is over." As she settles herself on the dirt and grabs a water bottle from her backpack, Emy, Cordelia, and Adela notice that we've stopped.

Their faces are remorseful when they realize that they've momentarily forgotten about Mila's fragile, unstable condition. Not even Mila's insistence that all is forgiven is enough to dim that regret. Thankfully though, Emy breaks the heavy silence with an offhand comment. "Edwin insisted that he accompany us on our journey, but I told him that we wanted a 'girls' day out.'" Emy widens her eyes in slight panic and turns to Adela, "did I say that correctly?" After Mila assures us she's ready to keep going, we continue to trudge across the lush green grasses towards the cluster of houses. We hurry our pace when dark, ominous clouds appear overhead promising rain. An hour later, the girls and I step into the bustling village unsure of what to do next...except one person. While the three of us stand awkwardly by a little house, Emy marches over to a woman carrying a basket of laundry and asks in fluent Quechua if they know of a tall, a bit lanky, mousy brown haired young man carrying a camera around who's reportedly staying with one of the families here.

"We can choose whether or not we're visible to others when we're visiting other universes, but not in our own," Adela explains to me as Emy and the woman continue talking, "that's why your father didn't see us at the cemetery, nor did your parents hear us all those times we were in your room." "Excellent. She is beautiful, kind, and multilingual," Cordelia grumbles to no one in particular. She shuts her mouth when Emy comes back to us with a satisfied smile. "Mathias is in fact residing here for the duration of his stay in Peru. The very kind lady said he and a group of villagers went not too far into the forest, only a mile or two from the northern border. She has so generously insisted we have a midday meal with her family before leaving." Sure enough, the woman with the laundry basket waits for us by the front entrance of what looks to be her home, excited for our company. "Great! I'm starving," Adela says, giving the woman a beaming grin to convey her gratitude.