Keanu smiled at my impatience and quickly opened the passenger door and hopped out of the truck. Extending his hand to help me out, I wriggled myself and my big belly across the bench seat.
Tribal members had already started wandering toward us out of curiosity. Once close enough, a few of my friends recognized me and moved to hug me.
One such friend was Nova.
“Nova! Where is my grandmother? Is she alright? Is she here?” I couldn’t hide the panic in my voice.
“Of course, Cassia, she’s fine. She’s probably gone to bed already, that’s all.” Her chestnut eyes filled with worry as she scanned my face and then glanced down at my stomach. “Are you alright?”
“Um, I can’t really talk about it right now, I’m sorry.” Pushing my way through the crowd, I made my way to my grandmother’s house.
My lower back ached as I walked through the dark paths of the village. Stretching, I tried to release the tension that was pinching the nerves and muscles.
Nearing my grandmother’s tiny home; I was suddenly self-conscious about my pregnant belly. Would she be disappointed? Surprised? Yes, definitely surprised. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset.
I walked up to the door of the familiar home. Rustic, yet enchanting, it always reminded me of the homes described in The Hobbit. A wooden shack was surrounded by vegetation; her house seemed to invite nature to rest itself upon it. Large trees hung their heavy branches, lush with foliage, like a protective umbrella over her house. Shrubs and cacti had nestled themselves close to the side of the house as though protecting the old woman’s home from intruders. An enormous Aloe Vera, with its mystical healing properties, grew close by in case of an emergency.
Knocking lightly on her door, I cringed as I imagined her sleeping and then being startled awake by my intrusion.
I hope it’s not too late.
I realized that my thought had two meanings. Too late in the evening and, of course, too late to save her from the evil that killed Amy.
With my heart thudding hard in my chest, I was nervous when I couldn’t hear anything from inside the shack. Then, I recognized a familiar shuffle emanating from within. She’d always had a bit of a limp, but refused to use a cane. Hearing a click on the other side of the door, I waited with trepidation as the old door groaned open.
Tears filled my eyes as I saw my grandmother for the first time in at least two years. Clad in her nightgown and robe, her long gray hair, normally held back in a tight bun, flowed passed her shoulders and draped over her forearms. Her ancient brown eyes, shrouded by the weathering of time, stared at me with a calm that only comes with the wisdom of the ages.
Speechless, I reached out to hug her. I had to stoop over a little to wrap my arms around her tiny frame. Enveloped in her loving embrace, I sobbed tears of relief and gratitude. After several blissful moments, I stepped back.
“Hi Grandma.” I spoke in the Hopi tongue.
Taking my hands into hers, she held them as she stared affectionately into my eyes and said, “Child, you’ve come home.” Glancing once at my enlarged belly, she added. “And I see that the prophecy is once again at hand.”
Chapter 18
“Would you like some tea?” My grandmother shuffled slowly through her tiny adobe toward the kitchen to heat up some water.
“Sure.” I tried to sound calm, but my insides were churning with anticipation. What was this prophecy? Did she know what I was?
Sitting on a wooden bench propped before a homemade table, I waited and tapped my fingertips anxiously against the knotty surface. Normally I felt calm in her cozy home but tonight, I felt nothing but the angst of uncertainty.
“How was your trip?” She asked casually as she placed a cup and saucer in front of me, tendrils of steam rising into the air from the confines of the teacup. Setting one on the table for herself, she groaned as she sat down across from me.
Wrapping my hands around the teacup, I absorbed the soothing heat into the palms of my hands. Taking a long breath in, I let the atmosphere of my grandmother’s home embrace me. She always had a way of helping me center myself, to clear my thoughts.
“Well…some was good. Some bad, I guess…there’s a lot going on right now.” I fumbled, honestly not knowing how to answer. As much as I didn’t want to worry her, I needed her to understand the gravity of the situation. I needed her to tell me whatever she knew about me. I needed answers.
She nodded as she lifted her teacup to her mouth, her lips twitching with a smile. I envied her quiet wisdom, her ability to surrender to the winds of faith and know without a shadow of a doubt that whatever divine powers that be…would protect us.
Staring down into the dark waters of my tea, I debated on how much I should tell her of the last few months. Some of the experiences were so horrific, I didn’t know if I could even repeat them, let alone tell a frail old woman who’d likely never heard of such atrocities.
Breaking the silence, grandmother spoke quietly to me. “Cassia, I know you’ve come for answers and I will tell you what I know, but I must warn you, I don’t know all the answers.”
I fought against the tears brimming in my eyes. Before she could continue, I jumped up and moved around the table to hug her.
Rubbing my back, she added cryptically. “I know you have seen many nightmares, my child, but I fear there may be more to come.”
Pulling back from her loving embrace, I looked her seriously in the eyes. “Please, just tell me what you know.”
Gesturing for me to take a seat, she began, speaking slowly in her native tongue. “The day you were born, my apprentice and I were out collecting herbs in the desert. It was very hot, even for February. We’d spent the entire day collecting sagebrush to use for my cleansing rituals.”
She rose from her seat and retrieved something from a nearby cupboard. “While we were walking near Doe Mountain, I found this.” She placed a leather satchel on the table. “I figured it couldn’t have been there long, it was very clean with no sand on it.”
Nodding, I understood what she meant. Anything that dares land on the desert’s floor would very soon be smothered by the sand. Grabbing the tiny bag, I held it in my hands and caressed the smooth leather with my fingertips.
Continuing, she wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she spoke. “I looked around the place, for the owner. Walking a ways up the mountainside, we heard screaming coming from one of the caves.”
“Screaming?” My eyes widened as she told the story.
“Yes. When we reached the cave, we saw a woman in there…ready to give birth.” Sighing, she continued. “Fate. Coincidence. Luck. How is it that a doula and her apprentice would be walking through the desert and come upon a pregnant woman ripe with child? I still ask myself that every day.” Lowering her head, obviously tired, she muttered the last part as though to herself.
“Was this…” I held up the satchel, a waft of tobacco drifting from it as I moved it. “hers?”
Lifting her head slowly, her eyes met mine as she responded. “No, that…was your father’s.”
My father.
Grandmother sat across the table from me, her eyes, though focused on me, were tired and fighting to stay open. Most likely exhausted from old age and the time of night, but I suspected she was also weary of the secrets she’d been holding onto for over twenty years.
“Was he…there?” I felt numb as I watched my grandmother intently.
“Yes. He was there.” Her voice was quiet yet I could tell that she was relieved to be divulging this information.
Confusion overwhelmed me. Tears flowed freely down my face as mixed emotions rose to the surface.