In her bag, Mark could see an eviction notice demanding she leave her home by the next day. She was doing all she could to not upset her grandchild. The thought of possibly being separated from the child, the only joy in her life, was unbearable. She prayed, hoping for a miracle that would keep them both from going to a shelter.
Despite all her loss and all that she had suffered, something was telling her to hope. “The baby Jesus loves us, Child,” she said to her granddaughter, holding her head high, defiantly proud, ever believing that something, someone would answer her prayers.
Mark could see she owed $102 in back rent. Not much for three months, but enough to motivate a slum landlord of the South Bronx to throw her into the street. She had only $9 in her purse. A mere few hundred dollars could bridge the distance between anguish and a reprieve from the city marshal.
He took out a piece of paper and wrote a note:
I am a stranger who feels your pain and wants to help. Please take this. Secure your home, feed your grandchild, and never ask why. Sometimes things just work out.
Why this woman’s plight affected him more than those of others, he did not know. Maybe it was her courage, her blind faith. Maybe it was the beautiful eyes of the little child holding her school bag on her lap. He placed a thousand dollars into the paper and folded it into a package.
He sat down next to the woman and said, “It’s really hot out for this time of year.”
“Yeah...” she responded. “I was hoping it would cool off a bit. I forgot my umbrella. It’s a cloudy day, too.”
“Are you having a bad day?” asked Mark.
“More than some,” she said, “but less than others, I guess.” Her voice crackled with sadness.
Mark answered, “Well maybe this afternoon the sun will come out, and it won’t rain.”
“Yeah, maybe...” she said.
Mark put the package into her bag without her noticing. He got up to leave the train and took a chocolate bar out of his pocket. He gave it to the little girl. “What a pretty-colored bow you have in your hair. Do you like Mounds bars? They’re my favorite,” he said.
The little girl was wearing a plaid dress, brown with blue and red in its cross-hatching, with the bright yellow ribbon tied neatly into her hair. Unaware of the weight her grandmother bore, she smiled and said, “Thank you, sir! I love Mounds.”
The old woman smiled at Mark.
It was a little thing, Mark thought. One family’s stress would now be less; two lives, happier. This world has too much suffering, too much injustice.
Mark realized that changing this world would not be his mission, but he knew he could never again remain untouched by the cruelties that he saw. He would do what he could, yet he understood he had another path.
After getting off the train, he walked towards the campus, not knowing how he would find a way to contact Gabriela, but he knew that he would.
When he stepped onto campus, he went to check his box as he always did. There was a small pink envelope inside. He knew who it was from.
His mind left all else behind as the thought of Gabriela provoked his senses. He read:
“Thinking about you is consuming me, so I try not to.
My only thought is to take you in and never let you out, consume every drop of you.
And after you are tired, and your sweat rolls away, let you lie quietly, and fall asleep in my arms.
“I’ll be in the library at 2:30.”
There was no signature, nor should there have been. Now, more than ever, secrecy reigned. Mark looked at his watch. It was 10:20 AM. How can I wait until then to see her? I will just have to stay busy and not think about her, if I can. But he could not.
The time had never seemed to move so slowly for him, and although he did his best to distract himself, the hours went by at the pace of a subway train being held for construction.
Finishing his work early, he watched the clock as 2 PM finally arrived. Mark knew that the hour of honesty was upon him. He could no longer hide his identity from Gabriela. He must tell her.
Crossing the campus, he kept searching for the words… what would he say when he saw her? I will have to share my whole person and tell her of Jason as well, he thought. How will I tell her? Maybe I will do as Jason did and just show her. It must be poetic… But I should explain first. I don’t want her to have a heart attack.
When he entered the library, he saw Gabriela sitting amidst a pile of books, frantically taking notes. When she raised her head, their eyes met.
She smiled in recognition and signaled with one finger for him to wait a moment.
He saw that her student intern had just fetched some research books for her. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Gabriela set her free. She collected her papers, placed them into her bag, and approached Mark.
“Well, hi there. I guess my little note worked.” She chuckled. “I am sorry. I have this Latin flare when my heart takes over.”
“Yeah, well, it worked. I’ve been holding my breath all morning. You look so good... Let’s get out of here! We need to talk.”
“Talk?” She smiled with a devilish look in her eyes.
“Gabriela, we have to talk. Let’s get off campus.”
“Oh, okay... Let’s talk,” she said. “But let’s meet somewhere. I don’t want people to notice us leaving together. How about The Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue? That’s far enough away, and I am dying for some pastrami… But in an hour. I need to drop this stuff off at my office.”
“Sure, sounds good,” replied Mark, nodding in agreement. They both walked off in separate directions.
Mark arrived first and got a booth in the back. He loved this place; it was always full of interesting and busy people. Overweight garment district salesmen mixed with beautifully donned Broadway personalities.
It was not long before Gabriela arrived. She quickly found Mark and sat across from him.
“It’s crowded at this hour; I’m glad you found a booth!” she said.
“Yes,” responded Mark. “It’s so good to see you! You’ve been filling my thoughts...”
“And you’ve been in mine,” she replied. “So, let’s eat quickly and find a place where we can be alone.”
“Listen, Gabriela... I have to talk to you.” Just at that moment, the waiter came over.
Gabriela said to him, “Bring me a big, fat pastrami on rye and a dripping order of coleslaw! Mark, what do you want?”
“Just a soda; a Cherry Coke,” he responded.
“Make that two!” said Gabriela. The waiter left with their order. “So, what’s weighing on your mind? You look so serious.”
“Gabriela...” he said. “I have to talk to you about who I am and where I am from.”
“Where you’re from? What? Are you having a problem with immigration? You know, the university can take care of that for you. They are great with that kind of stuff! You have student status, don’t you? They have a load of lawyers for that. Don’t worry.”
“It’s not exactly that...Where I am from is not covered by immigration.”
“Oh, you’re not from behind the communist bloc, are you? Are you from a communist country? Well, we will get you political asylum. I know people, you know. You never told me exactly where you are from. Are you in trouble or something? Oh...Oh my God... You’re not a spy or something, are you? Are you a spy? A Russian spy? Oh, I love it... A spy!”
“No. No, I’m not a spy. If only it were so simple... No. Gabriela, I am from another world.”
“You’re what? Yeah, yeah... Me too. It’s called the Literature Department. Come on, Mark. What are you talking about?”
“No, really, Gabriela. I am not a human being. I come from a planet thousands of light years away from here.”
“You’re not a human being, huh? Sure, Mark... Did you forget the limo ride already? Remember what we did together? You seemed pretty human to me, Mark. Very human, and very cute. Have you been working too hard?” She reached up and touched his forehe
ad, feeling for a fever. “How long have you been thinking like this...? Didn’t you tell me you were going to talk to that psychiatrist, Doctor... what’s his name? Abernathy?”
“No, listen, Gabriela. I am a manifestation of sorts. I mean, I am real, but I am not human. It’s complicated, Gabriela. I knew this was not going to be easy... Gabriela, I am an alien who has been sent here to save your planet.”
“Save the planet? Oh, great... Save the planet! From what, greasy french fries? Please Mark! Will you stop this and get real! Let’s talk about where we are going to find a hotel. I suggest some little place in the thirties on the East Side. There are a bunch of dive-y, but not too dirty, places over there. No one will see us.,” She smiled.
The waiter brought the food. It was dripping with fat. “Oh, yum, I know this kind of stuff turns you off, but I love it. Please pass the mustard,” said Gabriela.
“No, Gabriela, I’m really serious.” How am I going to get her to believe me without doing something big or theatrical? He passed her the mustard.
“Oh. I get it. You want to have some kinky fun with me? Do you want me to dress up for you or something? Well, I can do a nurse or a chambermaid. I’m not sure how to do an alien. But can’t we just do romantic for now? That’s the kind of stuff you get into when you start to get bored with me.” She pouted.
“No, Gabriela. I don’t want you to dress up. And I will never get bored with you, and I don’t need you to play games. You are more than enough for me just the way you are. I need you to listen. This is really important.”
“Okay, okay... I’ll try and understand. I love you too. But I don’t believe a word that you’re saying. And I think you’re having a breakdown.”
“You know,” said Mark, “I could do something to prove it to you right now. But you deserve a more eloquent demonstration, something with panache. So, I am going to show you when we leave here. You said you want to go to a little out-of-the-way hotel? Okay, eat up.”
“Oh, you made a reservation?” said Gabriela. “I can’t wait!” Her eyes glistened.
Gabriela ate her food, and they said little more to each other; she just gave Mark sparkling looks as she devoured her sandwich. When she had finished, Mark had a playfully determined expression on his face.
“Let’s go!” he said. “You’re going to like this.”
Chapter 23: The Sunset
Gabriela opened the door to the street, but as she stepped out of the restaurant, she did not hear the familiar voices of office workers as they rushed to their jobs, nor did she see the roaring of cars with their engines bellowing carbon-laced fumes. She did not feel the blast of the city heat upon her face or smell the pungent odors of the hotdog stands. Gabriela walked through the door into something else.
She looked out upon a sun vanishing into the blues and greens of the sea with crying seagulls’ purging the waves snapping up the refuse from fishing boats. She saw children laughing and teasing, running home along the sand to their mothers’ dinner tables.
When Gabriela thought of a sunset, it was always that of Mallorca, those deep oranges and yellows of that August orb being swallowed. La meurte del dia, “The death of the day,” her mother would call it.
Gabriela turned and looked at Mark. “What is this? What is going on…? My God, this can’t be real.”
Looking down, she found herself lying on a blanket at the beach, her toes just touching the water’s edge. Now she was draped in a white, sheer cotton dress, embroidered in island style. She looked at Mark, who was also dressed in comfortable white cotton. He was pouring a glass of sparkling red wine for each of them. As she took a sip, the bubbles bounced and tickled her nose, and from the glass, she heard musical notes. Mark smiled and said, “Do you believe me now? I am sorry for the theatrics, but you simply weren’t hearing me.”
“Believe you? What is all this? I’m frightened. Where are we?”
“Don’t be frightened! This is meant to help you see that what I am telling you is true!” exclaimed Mark. “Maybe now you will believe that I’m from another world. I am not human… but I love you. And if you believe that, everything will be okay.”
“Mark,” responded Gabriela, “you’re from another planet? Please tell me this is a dream!”
“Well, maybe in a way it is, and maybe, in a way, it’s not.” He smiled and gestured with his hand to the world about them. “I created this from your mind. I needed to convince you, but I wanted you to feel very comfortable, so I chose your favorite place. We have only a short time here, but I hope it will be enough time for me to convince you that I am telling the truth, and…” he said with a mischievous boy-like grin, “maybe later find your favorite little hotel.”
“Comfortable? Hotel? Are you kidding me? I hope you conjured up a good hospital too! When I recover from shock, I’m going to need one! You’d better start talking and talking fast!”
“Listen, Gabriela, you really do not need to comprehend everything right now. Let me just give you the short version; I am in your world, hopefully, my future one. I am going to tell you something scary now, so prepare yourself... One of the main reasons I am here is to save this world from destruction. We have been sent here to do that. And rest assured, I will save it. I mean – we will – my brother and I.”
“Save the world from destruction? Are you serious? And you have a brother?”
Gabriela started to hyperventilate and looked terrified.
“Please, try to calm yourself, it’s all going to be fine. I don’t want to get into everything right now, and I know I am frightening you. But I don’t know any other way to explain myself. Yes, I have a brother, a twin in fact. We will have to leave here soon, let’s not waste it.” He touched her lips with his fingers, and surprisingly she felt a sense of serenity.
“I know this all sounds mad, but what’s important now is us. I never knew what it would mean to love another person… but now I do. I feel so alive, so happy.”
“You’re happy? Love, huh… Well, that’s really great. You’re going to have to let me digest all of this.”
“Of course. Let’s take a walk. We can do anything you want. This is your dream,” responded Mark.
“Mark, it has started to sound like my nightmare. Will you promise me that everything will be alright?”
“Yes, I promise. Everything is going to be fine.” Of course, Mark knew that may be just a hope.
Gabriela started to breathe more normally, thinking that this may all be a hallucination anyway, and that she is going to wake up in a hospital with a nurse by her side explaining how the brick fell down from the 24th floor and hit her in the head as she exited the deli.
They got up from the sand and started to walk along the promenade where there were some boys playing in the street as if they were in a bullring. One played the matador, the other, the bull, charging a towel that he used for a cape.
“Mark, do you remember I told you I had an older brother? He is always my first thought when I come back here. We used to play on the beach together. Sometimes I played the bull while he danced with his cape, dodging my thrusts.” Can this really be Spain?
When they turned the corner, Gabriela saw some children chasing a football that, without warning, turned into a small pink pig playing a bagpipe. The pig turned his head towards the window painted blue. It had a large flower box filled with yellow daisies that started to sway and sing melodies.
Then, just to her right, she saw her husband George sitting at a table outside a restaurant. He was dressed in a fine silk suit and wore a large straw hat with a blue and red feather in its band. It was a bit shabby but jauntily perched upon his head. There were three men at the table, two wearing colorful garbs made of silk and satins that reflected a bygone age. The fourth was an American from the 1930s, wearing a gray contemporary jacket and smoking a pipe. George was asking them questions.
“George, what are you doing here? I don’t want you here!”
“It’s alright Gabriela, I don’t mind you
being with Mark,” her husband replied turning to her. “I just need to finish this conversation! It is making me crazy.” George turned back to his tablemates. “So, Professor Copernicus and you, Galileo, what do you think about the start of it all? I mean you heard what Hubble here says about the Big Bang. I am sure your Pope would really have a lot to say about that! Gabriela, could you please ask your Mark how it all started and where it is all going?”
She looked at Mark, and he turned and whispered something in her ear. “I think he feels you should find out on your own, and he said to eat a lot of soup,” Gabriela replied.
George seemed totally satisfied with her answer. “Okay, I’ll see you at home. We have things to do,” he replied. The four of them started talking and eating a dark blue soup full of twinkling equations.
As they continued walking, she found herself looking up at Mark. She had grown small, and was six years old now, holding his hand.
“Mark, am I still dreaming? Is this all a dream?” Mark did not reply. He just smiled. Then, in the next step, she found her mother was holding her other hand. But she was young and beautiful, just as she remembered.
Gabriela turned and spoke. “MaMa, he says he is an alien who is going to save the world. I really don’t understand, but I think I love him.”
“Well,” her mother answered, “you know our family is not native to Spain. Your grandmother was born in Nancy, from the east of France. And when she first came to Barcelona, she said it felt like she was on another planet.”
“Yes, MaMa, but he says he is from a place way up in the stars. And he says he is not human.”
“Well,” she smiled as she spoke. “Your grandmother said Barcelona felt as if she was living in another world when she first came. There was no foie gras, and the herbs were all different. Just a bunch of olives in the market, she would say, and –”
“MaMa! I don’t know what to do! I have so many questions.”
“Yes, I see they are all over the newspapers.”
Gabriela turned to look at the newsstand and the papers resting there. All of a sudden, hundreds of question marks started to emerge from the print and dance upon the pages, busily scampering about as if they were in frantic discussions with one another.
Soteria- The Crisis Forge Page 14