Between the Cross and the Flame

Chapter 4: Chaya

The next morning, Haniel rose early and woke everyone up. Chaya groggily drug himself into the bathroom to throw on a new set of clothes. He noticed his reflection in the mirror, and he sighed upon seeing his mess of hair. He pulled it back into a ponytail with practiced ease. Chaya wondered who had taught him that; was it his mom, or his dad? Did his best friend teach him? It was painful, knowing that somewhere out there, he had loved ones, probably sick with worry about his disappearance, and he didn't even remember them.

Chaya wiped away a tear. There was still time. Haniel, Del, Irvin, and even Mavet were committed to helping him find the truth. He would find his family soon. He just had to have a little faith. More determined than ever, Chaya stepped out of the bathroom and followed Haniel and the rest to the car. They passed out for the first half of the drive, then, after a hasty lunch at a rest stop, they dove deep into the topic of Trevor's warning.

"Well, he obviously didn't threaten us lightly," Del said. "He was pretty serious about the 'bad things to come' warning."

"But what if it's a trap?" Mavet pointed out. "What if we go all the way to Jerusalem, only to get kidnapped and killed, or worse?"

The thought sent a shiver down Chaya's spine. "Can we focus on the positives?"

"I second that," Irvin squeaked.

"Here's the thing," Haniel began. "We can't trust that Trevor was telling us the truth. He could have been some creepy dude stalking us and trying to kidnap us, as Mavet said. But if he was telling the truth, some pretty crazy stuff is about to go down, and I don't want to find out if he's right about the fatalities."

Chaya's heart sank. "So...it's a catch twenty-two. Either way, there's danger involved."

"I think maybe, just maybe, there might be less danger staying in our own city than chancing a trip to a foreign country," Del said. "This sounds like the beginning of every action movie ever, and I'd rather not throw ourselves at some murderer's feet."

"Agreed, many times over," Irvin said quickly.

"So we're not going to Jerusalem?" Mavet clarified.

"Definitely not," Haniel said.

Chaya breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Well, on that depressing note, who wants to listen to some music?" Del said.

Within seconds, Del had connected her phone to the car speakers, and the most upbeat, fun music Chaya had ever heard blasted through the speakers. The music was by an artist named Juanes. Chaya understood every word, and when the chorus came on for a second time, he was already singing along with Del. They laughed and high-fived after it ended.

"No entendí que sabes español," Del said.

"¿Qué quieres decir?" Chaya asked.

"Chaya...estás hablando en español."

"Está?" Mavet said, his eyes widening. "Creo que Chaya hablaba en inglés..." He gasped. "Espero, ¿Yo estoy hablando en español?!"

"You're both speaking in Spanish right now!" Del said.

"What? I thought – I wasn't – how– " Chaya nervously brushed his fingers through his hair. His heart skipped beats. "I was just talking. I switched to Spanish on accident. Does that normally happen?"

"For Del, it does, but for those of us who aren't bilingual? Definitely not," Haniel said.

"Wait, let me try French!" Irvin exclaimed. He closed his eyes in concentration. "Pouvez-vous...parler...français?"