He shook his head. “I think believing in something brings us security.”
Maya sighed with relief that she wouldn’t have to worry about the gift being taken, but she didn’t intend on believing in something just to feel secure. She ripped at the brown paper packaging. Two gifts lay inside. The first was an elongated, handcrafted wooden box, but not just any box—it was a puzzle box, like the many she had, only much different in shape, the type of wood, and the pattern of the grain. She lifted it.
Her father’s eyes widened. “It's been in your mother’s family for ages. It used to belong to your great-great-grandfather."
She pushed on the pieces of wood, pressing and twisting, turning to each face of the box, but was stumped after trying every move she could think of. She placed it on her dresser with the others in her collection for a later time.
The other gift in the box was the badger Kachina doll, the spirit god of healing. He held a bow and arrow, was carved from wood, hand-painted, and had fluffy feathers around his back. The paper inside said he represented strength and power. He ruled the skies and was a messenger to the heavens.
A note attached to the box read:
To my child Maya,
When you think all hope is lost, find
your faith in the old ways.
Love,
Grandma Oriel.
Maya stood puzzled by the gift. She had never learned the old ways. She felt tears welling in her eyes at the beautiful sacrament. Even if it was silly and superstitious, her grandmother believed in them. Her grandmother grew up as a basket weaver. Her hands were wrinkled and her days of being an artisan were long gone at her ripe old age. Maya often wondered about what it had been like to grow up in the time her grandmother had. A time before running water and electricity. What she loved the most about her grandmother was how she never forgot about her, even though they were miles away and they had only met on a handful of occasions, her grandmother still sent her reminders to show that she cared.
"Your grandmother wishes she could visit, but it’s difficult at her age,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"She says it will bring hope.” She looked up at her father, wishing he would agree, and tell her the doctors were wrong.
Dad kissed her forehead. "It's late. I have to look after your mother." He left, pulling the door shut behind him.
Maya sulked for a moment. How could someone living under the same roof feel so far away? Her mother lay a few feet above her head in the upstairs bedroom, wasting away behind the forbidden door.
Maya lay her head on her pillow, wide awake, and stared at the ceiling.
Her mind wandered as she thought of how excited her mother had been about creating a space they could use to relax together with family and friends.
Her eyes gravitated to the window where she could see the swimming pool her mother had constructed before her illness. It was grand with a lagoon shape. The cement was stained the color of sand, and there was a tiki bar in the back where they made smoothies. They had shopped together for patio furniture with bright floral pillows. It was exceptional for guests, and her father kept repeating how it would increase the value of their home, but Maya couldn’t help but feel saddened by what used to be in their backyard before the renovation.
At one time it was full of blooming flowers in the spring, bushes around the back by the property line, and an enormous oak tree that spread its branches so far it almost shaded their entire yard. Its bark had deep ruts that meandered like roads and it was full of knobs that were great for holding onto. As a child she would hug the trunk and come inside smelling of sap. She hid behind it during hide and seek and climbed its jungle-gym branches. Birds nested in it and sang morning songs. Squirrels harvested acorns, stuffing their cheeks.
One morning Maya awoke to a team of men cutting down her beloved tree. She ran out to the backyard and tried to stop them, but they laughed at her, explaining her parents had paid them to remove it in order to put in their pool.
When Maya confronted her parents her mother said, “Sweetie, you know we are getting a pool. You didn’t think the tree would be growing out the middle of it, did you?”
The truth was she hadn’t given it much thought, but if she had to choose between the two it would have been the tree. She continued watching from her bedroom window as the men hacked and sawed until the oak cracked and fell to the ground. Maya’s heart ached. It seemed brutal to cut down such a beautiful thing. It was like the overwhelming feeling when one of her friends moved away, only worse.
After they left she sat by the stump, holding her legs to her chest and feeling sorry she couldn’t stop them. She counted the rings, all one hundred twenty-three of them. The tree had been there longer than any of the houses on their block. It didn’t seem fair for people settle around it and then cut it down.
⭐⭐⭐
Maya awoke in the darkness of her moonlit bedroom. She had difficulty breathing and sat up, trying to focus her bleary eyes. Her bedroom door was wide open. For a split second she saw movement in the hallway. Her heart raced beneath her chest.
Death could pay a visit.
From the corner of her eye she saw something fluttering outside her window.
"Bat! A bat!" she shrieked.
A thumping of feet could be heard on the stairs above her. Her dad. She hoped he would hurry. Before she knew it, he was in her doorway, flipping on her light and breathing heavily. "What's the matter? Did you have another nightmare?"
"There were bats flying by the window." She held tight to her covers.
A gust of wind blew, causing the curtain to flutter in its ghostly fashion.
"It was just the curtain," he said, shutting the window. "I'm sorry I forgot to plug in your new nightlight."
Maya cringed. She hated that he didn't believe her. "There was a bat that flew in last time. I saw it!"
"Maya, we've been over this almost every night for the last couple of weeks. There are no bats flying in your room. We don’t have bats in this area."
"Dad I s–"
"Shhh. Only nightmares. I came downstairs to make sure you had gone to bed earlier and you were fast asleep. There are no bats." He plugged in the nightlight and looked her in the eye with a firm nod. "Goodnight.” He turned off her bedroom light before turning to close the door behind him.
"There was a ba-at." She insisted on having the last word and managed to get it out just before the door closed.
Her nightmares started the night the bat had come, like the one about her mother wandering out of bed on her skinny legs that barely supported her. Occasionally she was being chased by her. Other times when she slept she had vivid images and feelings, as though there were a strange connection to someone... someone familiar, yet unknown. She could hear their thoughts and they could hear hers, as if they were connected to this circle of life. Each morning she tried to remember the dreams, but the memories flushed away like the tide of the ocean.
3. The Forbidden Door
The first Friday in June arrived and school ended for summer vacation. It was a bittersweet change as Maya was glad there would be no more homework, but there would be nothing to occupy her mind from the mundane life, sitting at home and wishing there were something to free her mind of her mother.
Maya looked at her cell phone when it buzzed.
Dad: Can you cook something for dinner?
Maya: I don't know how to cook. Mom always does it.
Roy strode through the front door, flinging his backpack on the couch. There was something strange about coming home knowing Mom was upstairs and not being allowed to give her hugs or talk about her day at school.
Maya came in behind him, flopping onto the couch. "What are we going to do all summer?”
Roy shrugged, putting his hands in his front pockets. "Hang out with Bella."
Maya kicked off her shoes. "She's spending the summer with her dad. Her parents share custody, and he lives out of state. I can't do this for three month
s..." She looked up the stairs, knowing her mother lay in her bedroom like a caged animal. She felt guilty and useless for not helping to take care of her, even if she was obeying her mother’s wishes. She sighed. “Maybe I should run away.”
"Don't say those things, Maya. Don't you feel guilty?" He shook his head, throwing his hands in the air. “We have enough on our plates without having to worry about you.” He turned on his heel and went to his room where he would play videogames until Dad got home.
He was right, but that didn’t change the way she felt about leaving. I should say goodbye to Mom.
Her dad was still at work but would be home soon. She crept up the stairs and stood in front of the forbidden door. Her shoulders tensed and she gritted her teeth, trying to build up the courage to go in. She stood there staring for what felt like hours. Finally, she turned the knob. To her surprise, it was unlocked. It eerily creaked as it swung open.
The room was dark but she could see her mother's outline in a beam of light through the curtains. She was resting, stiff as a post on the bed. A blue scarf was wrapped around her balding head and her mouth hung open, making an obnoxious noise. Her skin was a sallow yellow color. One hand dangled over the bed, revealing her frayed fingernails, and her ribs shown through her nightgown.
Unexpectedly frightened, Maya gasped and felt the blood drain from her face. Breathlessly, she closed the door behind her, her heart thumping.
She jumped at the sound of the garage door opening.
Dad!
She thundered down the stairs where she fell in line next to Roy, who waited in the hallway to greet their father.
He emerged from the garage clutching his briefcase in one hand and two large brown paper bags of Chinese food in the other.
"Help me with the food, please," Dad said. He wore black slacks and a blue button-up shirt with a tie. There were bags under his eyes from his late nights taking care of her mom.
Roy grabbed the bags and headed to the dining room.
Maya set the table and sat next to Roy, Dad at the head of the table. They began dishing out stir-fried rice from the cardboard containers.
Roy cleared his throat. "Dad, I was thinking. Now that school is over, I want to apply for a job down the street at the video game store.”
Dad hesitated for a moment. It seemed as if he was searching for an excuse to shut down his question, the way he paused and avoided eye contact with Roy. "You'll have to work the rest of your life. Why not enjoy your youth while you can?” He took out his cell phone and began scrolling through messages. He was always preoccupied with work.
"You've always told me I should work hard. Now that I'm old enough, you say, Enjoy your youth while you can!" he mocked in a deeper tone, throwing his hands up. "What the hell?"
"Yes, well… that is true, I have said that." He took a bite of food while staring at the screen.
Roy leaned forward, glancing from his father’s phone to his face. "So, can I?"
He looked uncomfortable and shifted in his chair. "I wouldn't get a job just yet."
Roy grunted and furrowed his brow. "Dad, I can't stay here every day, all day! It's… it's…"
"Creepy?" Maya supplied, arching an eyebrow.
Roy nodded and frowned.
"I don't know how to tell you this..." their father began. His phone buzzed and he checked a message he received while leaving them in suspense.
Maya and Roy put their forks down.
He cleared his throat, as if about to speak, but took a bite of food instead. He chewed, swallowed, and opened his mouth again and took another bite, all the while absorbed in his phone.
"Well?" Roy probed, placing his elbow on the table and leaning in.
"Huh?" Dad jerked his head up, then sighed. "It's your Grandma Oriel. She wants you to visit her. She's getting along in years. I think it would do you both some good to be with family."
Roy's smile fell and his shoulders slumped. "Grandma Oriel's? Dad, I want to get a job this summer. There’s nowhere to work around her place. It's surrounded by miles of desert."
"Grandma could use some help at the bed and breakfast.” He took a sip from his cup, unaffected by Roy’s disapproval. “The horse trainer is always looking for hands."
"So, I'll be shoveling horse manure?" Roy's jaw dropped, his eyes widening in horror.
"There is more to it than that, but shoveling is a part of the job." He grabbed Roy’s bicep and looked him square in the eye and smirked. “It’ll put some muscle on you.”
Roy stared at him, speechless.
Maya stifled a laugh, pretending to cough. The thought of Roy shoveling horse manure was just too much to handle.
Maya remembered visiting her grandmother's bed and breakfast before. Her hard-working Aunt Roslyn managed the hotel that the family also lived in. It would be an opportunity to spend time with her and her three cousins.
Roy turned red and their father turned back to scrolling through messages on his phone.
"Do I get to drive?" Roy folded his arms.
"Yep," Dad replied, without looking up.
Roy loosened up and started eating.
⭐⭐⭐
Maya awoke to the sound of her shades being drawn. Light illuminated the room. She put a hand in front of her eyes to see if she could catch a glimpse of the culprit.
"Roy! Leave me alone. I'm trying to sleep," Maya said, pulling a pillow over her head.
He pulled the pillow off and threw it across the room. "Get up! It's almost lunch. We're leaving, remember?”
“I thought that was tomorrow.”
“I’m driving. I can’t stand another minute here. Dad said it was fine. We can surprise Grandma early.” He scanned her room. “Where's your suitcase?"
Maya propped herself up on her elbow. "I didn't have one, so I had to put my things in a garbage bag.”
"You mean this?” he said, picking up a heavy-duty kitchen trash bag. “Looks ghetto, if you ask me." He had a difficult time flinging it over his shoulder as he walked into the hall towards the garage. "What did you put in this thing? Rocks?" The garage door swung shut behind him.
Maya snatched her nightlight from the outlet. As she walked by her dresser, she caught a glimpse of the puzzle box Grandma had sent. She snatched it before walking out the door.
Dad stood in the hall and gave her a hug. Maya tried to let go of her anger knowing he loved her and it wouldn’t do her any good to hold a grudge. It was still difficult. He was the rift, and she was the iceberg drifting away from the motherland.
“I’ll call you on the landline to give you updates,” he said. “There’s no cell service at Grandma’s, so you’ll have to leave it until you get back.”
It felt like the bad beginning to a horror movie. She pulled her beloved cell phone from her pocket and frowned at it. Now she knew how Frodo Baggins felt when he had to bring the ring to the Crack of Doom in Mordor. She sighed, placing it in her father’s palm.
He kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” She glanced up the stairs to where her mother was, feeling a hole in her heart. Bye, Mom.
She opened the garage door to see Roy sitting in the car with a grimace. He revved the engine while moving his eyebrows up and down. Maya rolled her eyes but smiled back. She hadn't seen him this happy since she had done his math homework. She sat in the passenger seat and noticed their dad waving goodbye.
They waved back.
Secrets of the Anasazi Page 3