“Wait a minute,” John said. “What did you mean by that?”
“By what?” Father Zimmers said.
“By, they loved Sylvia as much as if she had been their own,” John said. “What does that mean?”
“Oh…, I am sorry,” Father Zimmers said. “I just assumed you knew. You see…, Vincent and Marie never had any biological children of their own. Sylvia was adopted.”
“Adopted? How is this possible?”
Father Zimmers shrugged, and said, “I…, I don’t know what to say, but, I know for a fact she was adopted.”
“You know, Father, this makes me furious! Did you know, they never told Sylvia this?” John said.
“What? I don’t understand,” Father Zimmers said. “Why would they need to? She was ten when they adopted her. I actually baptized her the first week she came here to New York.”
Chapter 15
April 19th, 2017 - Café Del Sol Mexican Restaurant - Mountain View, California - 10:30 PM
“Mmmmm,” Sylvia hummed as she finished the bite of Arroz con Pollo on her fork. “You were right, Father. This has to be the best chicken and rice I have ever had!”
“Hector,” Father Morales said. “If we are going to have dinner together, you should call me Hector.”
“OK, Hector,” Sylvia said. “You have a deal.”
“So, are you feeling better now?” Hector said. “You were looking quite ill there for a minute.”
“Oh, much better,” Sylvia said. “A little food on my stomach was just what the doctor ordered.” She grinned and said, “and how delicious. This place is fantastic.”
“It is one of my favorites. I come here quite often,” Hector said. “And it has long been my experience there are few ills in life that cannot be alleviated by some roast chicken, refried beans, and some freshly baked tortillas.”
Sylvia laughed.
Hector continued, “I am glad you are feeling better now. It was quite a spell you had back in Alyssa’s apartment. I was afraid I was going to have to call an ambulance.”
“It looked far more dramatic than it was in reality,” Sylvia said. “I just got a bit light headed for a moment, that’s all.”
“I think it was more than just being light-headed, Sylvia,” Hector said. “You fainted away completely.”
“I have been having a lot of trouble with my blood sugar lately,” Sylvia said. “That is why going out for something to eat was such a good suggestion. But as to my spell, trust me, it was nothing.”
“If you say so,” Hector said.
“You seem doubtful.”
“We both know why you fainted,” Hector said. “I don’t know why you are embarrassed about it. It was quite startling when we opened the closet and discovered the idol inside. I mean, it shocked me even, and I was kind of expecting it.”
“You mean that creepy little skeleton statue? Well, forget it,” Sylvia said as she waved her hand dismissively. “That kind of superstitious nonsense has no effect on me. But…, what does concern me is the effect these things might have on Alyssa. From what I gather, she is quite an impressionable and naive young woman.”
“She is just confused but hardly naïve,” Hector said. “Actually, from the few conversations I had with her, she seems remarkably astute. Definitely astute enough to realize she was on the wrong path and needed to change course before it was too late.”
“So, Hector,” Sylvia said. “What now? Are you going to now take Alyssa’s little sack of macabre knick-knacks back to the rectory and dunk them in holy water, or something? Is this how your whole system works?”
“I will dispose of them properly,” Hector said flatly. “As Alyssa and I discussed.”
“Well, hopefully taking items out of her house won’t cause any problem with the police investigation of her disappearance,” Sylvia said. “If asked, I will vouch for you that her spooky collectibles were the only things removed. But…,” she added with a grin, “don’t ask me to explain why you took them.”
“Well, it is most likely a moot point, anyway,” Hector said.
“A moot point? I don’t understand.”
“Nothing is going to come from any police investigation,” Hector said. “I can tell they aren’t going to do anything.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Think about it from their perspective,” Hector said. “Think about the call we made to the cops. I could tell they thought the whole thing was farfetched.”
“Oh, I don’t think it sounded unconvincing,” Sylvia said. “Well…, this is quite a switch! Originally, it was me who was opposed to calling the police. Now that we have, you seem to be having second thoughts.”
“An old priest complains that a young woman fails to show up for a pre-arranged meeting, and the young woman’s nosy neighbor breaks in and spies a towel on the floor of an otherwise neat apartment.” Hector raised his eyebrow and said, “So, naturally, these two decide to call the police and report a missing person. Frankly, the whole thing sounds like the beginning of a bad joke — you know, a priest, a rabbi and a water buffalo walk into a bar and—”
Sylvia grinned and said, “—hey, who are you calling a water buffalo?”
Hector smiled, pointed at Sylvia and continued, “but think about it. Neither of us is related to Alyssa in any substantial way. You heard what the police said; there have been no other reports filed of her missing from any family or friends. In fact, there is no hard evidence she is even missing!”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Sylvia said. “It does all sound kind of flimsy. I still say something happened to her. I wasn’t positive before, but after seeing her phone and purse left behind, I am now.”
“Me too, but, I think it may be up to us to find Alyssa,” Hector said. “No one seems to think anything is wrong. I mean, even your landlord seemed nonchalant about Alyssa’s disappearance.”
“Yes,” Sylvia said. “And this whole incident is a good argument against having your rent on autopay.”
“What do you mean?”
“The landlord told me Alyssa has her rent, as well as all of her other bills, on automatic payment. It appears as long as everyone is getting paid, no one really cares what happens to you.” She paused and said, “God, I sure hope if I went missing someone would at least check on me. I hate the thought of falling in the shower one morning and then being found dead six months later.”
“No doubt your vicious guard dog would let someone know,” Hector said as he smiled.
“Ha!” Sylvia laughed. “You are probably right. I am sure she would start howling like a nut the minute she missed her evening treat.”
“Well…, the Lord works his will according to his own, hidden purposes. And it appears it’s his will that you and I crossed paths seeking Alyssa. This makes us duty-bound to help her. And I also know, with Jesus’ divine protection and guidance, we will be successful. He is our, and Alyssa’s, only hope. I know tomorrow morning I will pray for her rescue at morning Mass. Perhaps you would care to join me?”
“Sorry, Hector, I don’t do the Mass thing anymore,” Sylvia said. “And…, to be perfectly honest, I don’t know whether I should get further involved in this situation. I do want to help Alyssa, and I feel I did my part by calling the police, but…”
“But?”
“Well…,” Sylvia said as she looked down at the chicken cooling on her plate. “You have been very kind to me, Hector. In fact, far kinder than I deserve after I punched you in the head.”
“No problem,” Hector said as he lifted his shot glass of tequila to his lips and took a swig. He twisted his face in mock pain as the liquid burned a path down his throat. “As I told you, after two of these, I am good as new. I have completely forgotten about it.” He smiled and added, “Plus, I know it was an accident.”
“It was, and because you have been so nice to me, I don’t want to be rude to you.”
“Rude?”
“Yeah,” Sylvia said as she shifted in her chair. “Y
ou see…, all of this religious mumbo-jumbo makes me a bit queasy. Look…, please take this the right way, but….”
“But…” Hector said.
“But, honestly, I think you are not helping her gain clarity on her situation. All of this…, stuff, is unhelpful nonsense; from those black candles and conjuring books back in her closet to…, well…, frankly, the Mass you are going to celebrate tomorrow on her behalf. I know that sounds terribly conceited, and I do apologize. But, in my professional opinion, Alyssa needs help — reasonable help, based on logic, science and reality and not based on all of this superstitious nonsense.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Sylvia,” Hector said. He smirked and added, “I kind of figured it was something like that. I have a sense of these things. You were raised Catholic, right?”
“Yes,” Sylvia said.
“I thought so,” Hector said. He pointed to his collar and added, “I can detect an Ex-Catholic a mile away. It is an occupational hazard.”
“Yeah,” Sylvia said as she looked down to the table. “I’m sorry. I know that was harsh.”
“No, I get it,” Hector said.
“Really?”
“I do. Believe it or not, I do understand. I don’t agree, but I do understand.”
“Well, I am not intentionally attacking your beliefs,” Sylvia said. “I am not a jerk. But, I just—”
“—Look…, no one is for believing in superstitious nonsense,” Hector said. “But…, let me ask you a question. You seem like a bright woman, and obviously, you are a good-hearted one. Otherwise, why would you take an interest in helping some woman you don’t even know?”
“I try to be a good person,” Sylvia said. “But, you have to understand — my whole adult life has been a struggle against this sort of magical thinking. I just cannot be a part of it. I have to base my actions on reason and not in some fairy tale world of Gods and Devils, miracles and magic.”
“Yes,” Hector said as he smiled.
“I am sorry,” Sylvia said. “It is just this sort of thing touches a nerve with me. I grew up drowning in my parent’s faith. I had it shoved down my throat day and night. My late mother especially was delusional on the subject. She loved me, and I know she meant well, but honestly — the world she lived in is not a world I care to inhabit. It was not a world based on any kind of reality.”
“And what world was that?” Hector asked.
“A world in which everything was part of some grand struggle against otherworld forces. A world where demons lurked in every corner. A world of daily mass and nightly rosaries and constantly looking over your shoulder for the Devil to pop out from behind the couch. As a child, I swore to myself that once I grew up, I would never live my life like that again. I swore that as an adult I would never put my trust in blind faith like my parents did. I would put it in something substantial, something real.”
“Yes. This is a common problem. You see, there have been two great errors in thought throughout history,” Hector said.
“Oh, what are they?”
“The first is the belief that Demons and Angels are responsible for everything.”
“Yes,” Sylvia said. “My parents were like that.”
“Yes,” Hector said, “but, equally fallacious, and possibly more delusional, is the belief that Demons and Angels are responsible for nothing. To believe there is no world beyond the material one, or that other intelligent entities beyond us don’t exist or have any influence on our world, is not true either. The truth is somewhere in between.”
Sylvia said, “Look, Hector, I really don’t want to be impolite —”
“—But you think a belief in God, or any part of the supernatural, is all bunk, right? You think those who believe in a supernatural realm are just fooling themselves, operating merely on faith instead of science?”
“Well,” Sylvia said as she grinned. “I am glad you said it, and not me.”
“Oh, I know the drill, Sylvia,” Hector said. “I know how it works. But, honestly, I don’t have a strong enough faith to be an atheist.”
“What does that mean?” Sylvia said. “Atheism is not a faith.”
“All worldviews start from a beginning position of faith,” Hector said. “All people operate under a basic umbrella of unprovable beliefs. Atheistic materialism is no different.”
“I don’t agree with that,” Sylvia said. “My beliefs are firmly based in reality, not faith.”
“Oh?” Hector said. “Are you so sure about that?”
“Completely,” Sylvia said.
“Care to test that theory?” Hector said.
“Sure, why not?”
“Well…, how do you know we are actually having this conversation?” Hector asked. “How do you know you are not just some disembodied head, floating in a jar somewhere, imagining this whole conversation?”
“What?” Sylvia said. “That is crazy.”
“Is it? And…, speaking of crazy, how do you not know I am not just some psychotic delusion you are having right now? How would you know the difference? You are a psychologist — you tell me.”
“It can be hard to determine that, especially for a patient in the midst of a psychotic episode,” Sylvia said.
“Ah,” Hector said.
“But, I am not a patient, and I am not having an episode,” Sylvia said. “So, I don’t see what any of this has to do with faith.”
“You are proving my point,” Hector said. “You see, you wouldn’t know if you were having a psychotic episode, if you were actually having one.”
Sylvia said nothing, but, she had to concede this point.
“Now, it is a reasonable assumption to operate on that you are not,” Hector said, “but…, isn’t that always the case? Don’t mentally ill people always say they are not mentally ill?”
“True,” Sylvia said as she nodded.
“You see, some assumptions about the world you just have to take on faith. Like the fact you are not having a psychotic break, right now; or this chicken on your plate is not a hallucination. Trying to prove either of those things empirically would be difficult.”
Sylvia smiled. “Well…, this chicken is pretty unbelievable.”
Hector laughed. “Exactly, but…, prove to me you are eating it.” He passed his hand through the air and added, “and while you are at it, prove that everything around you is not just a grand hallucination in your own mind.”
“OK,” Sylvia said. “I get your point. But, there is a huge difference between having a few, base-level, common sense assumptions about reality, and a belief in a world ruled by a divine white-haired man, sitting on a golden throne up in heaven, directing the actions of the universe. Surely, you must see that?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily phrase it that way,” Hector said. “I don’t know, Sylvia. There are far bigger questions you are ignoring when you dismiss everything immaterial as being superstitious nonsense. This is too broad a brush you are wielding.”
“I don’t think so,” Sylvia said. “I think the world has moved on from a need for God. Science seems to have answered all of the big questions now.”
“Really?” Hector said as he smiled. “I would beg to differ on that.”
“Oh? I am pretty confident,” Sylvia said.
“Well…,” Hector said. “Here’s a good question for you then. And it is the best question of all. There is none bigger.”
“I’m game,” Sylvia said.
“Why is there something rather than nothing?” Hector asked.
Chapter 16
April 30th, 1976 - Pikeville, Kentucky - 8:00 PM
“Maw Maw, I declare, I think that must be the best plate of fried chicken I have ever eaten,” Father Ted said as he pushed himself back from the picnic table. He lifted the back of his hand up to his mouth, wiped away a bit of wayward grease and added, “I really could not eat another bite.”
“Puh-leeze,” Maw Maw said as she gently tapped him on the shoulder. “A big strong man like you, why, you hard
ly ate a thing. And you certainly need to save room for pie.”
“Oh…, Maw Maw,” Father Ted said as he winked. “You are going to fatten me up like one of Joe’s hogs.”
“Hardly, Father Ted,” Maw Maw said. “Might do you some good, though. I think you are a bit on the skinny side anyway.” She smiled as she asked, “are you sure I can’t bring you back a piece of pie? I am heading up to the house for more iced tea.”
Father Ted smiled and nodded, “How could I ever pass up on your world-famous pie? You know I can’t resist.”
“Wonderful,” Maw Maw said. “Just wonderful.” She turned to walk back up the hill to the house but stopped when Father Ted spoke.
“You really should be very proud of your granddaughter,” Father Ted said. “Sylvia was most helpful to me today. Most helpful.”
“Oh?” Maw Maw said.
“Yes,” Father Ted said. “And…, I wanted to ask her mother, but, I guess I can go ahead and ask you instead. I think Sylvia should lead the procession tonight. Would that be OK with you?”
“Lead the procession!” Maw Maw exclaimed. “Oh, Father Ted, I don’t know what to say.”
“You could say yes,” Father Ted said.
“Of course, I will say yes,” Maw Maw said. “Oh my…, this is just too much. To lead the procession, on Beltane even…, what an honor!”
“You don’t think Joe and Darlene will object? I know Sylvia is young and has never been to Circle before, but…, I was quite impressed with her. She is a very bright girl. Very bright.”
Maw Maw’s face brightened as she inhaled deeply, her blue dress inflating like a great balloon. “Object? They will be ecstatic! I cannot wait to tell them. You have honored our family so much. I don’t know what to say.”
“You have honored me,” Father Ted said as he reached out and gently touched Maw Maw’s thick wrist.
“I…, there is so much to do…, so much I need to show her—,” Maw Maw stammered.
“—There is plenty of time, and don’t worry. I will show her exactly what to do. She picks up things quite quickly,” Father Ted said. He shielded his eyes with his right hand and glanced over at the setting sun. “It is just getting dark now. We still have plenty of time before the festivities begin.”
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