Chiara Marino and the Demons of Darkness

Chapter 12: The Torture of the Daisy Game

Overnight, Chiara convinced herself that there was nothing creepy about Peter watching her walk to her house. The next morning, however, she reconsidered as she passed the park on the way to school. There, on a bench, Peter sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. One hand was holding onto a circle of brown beads.

Chiara watched him and wondered if she should walk on before he noticed her. At that moment, however, he opened his eyes, causing her to flinch in surprise.

He smiled and jogged over to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"I remembered the park from yesterday," he explained. "It seemed like a good spot for my morning meditation."

"Is that what the beads are for?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's called a mala."

He let her examine it.

"Is it like a Catholic rosary?" she asked as they walked toward school.

"That's the thing you use to pray to Mary, right?"

"Sort of. But we don't pray to Mary. We ask her to pray for us."

"Is it that big of a difference?" he asked.

She nodded. "See, some Christians think we worship Mary, but it's more that she's our version of a superhero, the best human ever made."

"That's kind of how we view the Buddha," Peter said. "He's not a god, but a perfected human. We don't pray to him, either. We just try to follow his example."

"Yes. That's like what we believe about Mary. Only we believe that her holiness came from God's grace and her own acceptance of His will."

She realized that her tension had eased. She certainly did enjoy his conversation. She handed the mala back.

"So do you have any revelations from this morning's meditation?" she asked.

He looked ahead, deep in thought. "I was thinking of how animals stalk their prey, and which way is the most effective."

Chiara stopped. Why does he need to think about stalking prey?

He noticed and halted. "Geez, that sounded creepy, didn't it?"

"What? No." She paused, then admitted, "Okay, kind of."

"I promise, I'm not a creepy person," he tried to convince her.

Chiara nodded and thought, Exactly what a creeper would say.

She didn't know what else to say. Apparently he didn't either. They passed a few minutes in silence as they continued walking.

When they reached the school, Mac called out as she jogged to meet them. "Hey, dudes!"

"Morning," Peter returned. "Well, I'm going to class. Stay safe," he said abruptly, and then jogged ahead of them.

"Is he in a hurry or something?" Mac asked.

Chiara shook her head. "I have no idea."

"I guess he's not avoiding you anymore. You must be happy."

***

After school, Chiara met Mac and Riya in the library and she filled them in. "He asked to join me here yesterday," she explained in a whisper as they sat down. "And then he walked me home."

"Home?" Mac asked with a single raised eyebrow.

"Not all the way. But that's the thing. I stopped him and walked the rest of the way by myself. Then, when I reached my door, he was still standing there, at the end of the street, watching."